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data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Advertisements_masquerading_as_articles" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Advertisements_masquerading_as_articles"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Advertisements masquerading as articles</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Advertisements_masquerading_as_articles-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Tagging_articles_with_spam_or_prone_to_spam" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Tagging_articles_with_spam_or_prone_to_spam"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Tagging articles with spam or prone to spam</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Tagging_articles_with_spam_or_prone_to_spam-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_link_spamming" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_link_spamming"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>External link spamming</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-External_link_spamming-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle External link spamming subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-External_link_spamming-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Citation_spam" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Citation_spam"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Citation spam</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Citation_spam-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Source_soliciting" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Source_soliciting"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Source soliciting</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Source_soliciting-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_link_spamming_with_bots" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_link_spamming_with_bots"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>External link spamming with bots</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_link_spamming_with_bots-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Inclusion_of_one_spam_link_is_not_a_reason_to_include_another" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Inclusion_of_one_spam_link_is_not_a_reason_to_include_another"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.4</span> <span>Inclusion of one spam link is not a reason to include another</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Inclusion_of_one_spam_link_is_not_a_reason_to_include_another-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Affiliate_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Affiliate_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.5</span> <span>Affiliate links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Affiliate_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Videos" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Videos"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.6</span> <span>Videos</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Videos-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Bookspam" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Bookspam"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.7</span> <span>Bookspam</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Bookspam-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Avoiding_giving_an_opportunity_to_spammers" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Avoiding_giving_an_opportunity_to_spammers"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Avoiding giving an opportunity to spammers</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Avoiding_giving_an_opportunity_to_spammers-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-How_not_to_be_a_spammer" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#How_not_to_be_a_spammer"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>How not to be a spammer</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-How_not_to_be_a_spammer-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Warning_spammers" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Warning_spammers"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Warning spammers</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Warning_spammers-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Dealing_with_spam" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Dealing_with_spam"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Dealing with spam</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Dealing_with_spam-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Spambots" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Spambots"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Spambots</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Spambots-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-namespace">Wikipedia</span><span class="mw-page-title-separator">:</span><span class="mw-page-title-main">Spam</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 31 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-31" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">31 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-az mw-list-item"><a href="https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikipediya:Spam" title="Vikipediya:Spam – Azerbaijani" lang="az" hreflang="az" data-title="Vikipediya:Spam" data-language-autonym="Azərbaycanca" data-language-local-name="Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Azərbaycanca</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedie:Spam" title="Wikipedie:Spam – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Wikipedie:Spam" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%92%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%B9%CF%80%CE%B1%CE%AF%CE%B4%CE%B5%CE%B9%CE%B1:Spam" title="Βικιπαίδεια:Spam – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Βικιπαίδεια:Spam" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam" title="Wikipedia:Spam – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Wikipedia:Spam" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%DB%8C%DA%A9%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D9%BE%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%A7:%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87" title="ویکی‌پدیا:هرزنامه – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="ویکی‌پدیا:هرزنامه" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:Spam" title="Wikipédia:Spam – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Wikipédia:Spam" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam" title="Wikipedia:Spam – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Wikipedia:Spam" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Galego</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE:%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%88%E0%A4%AE" title="विकिपीडिया:स्पैम – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="विकिपीडिया:स्पैम" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam" title="Wikipedia:Spam – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Wikipedia:Spam" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam" title="Wikipedia:Spam – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Wikipedia:Spam" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ka mw-list-item"><a href="https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%95%E1%83%98%E1%83%99%E1%83%98%E1%83%9E%E1%83%94%E1%83%93%E1%83%98%E1%83%90:%E1%83%A1%E1%83%9E%E1%83%90%E1%83%9B%E1%83%98" title="ვიკიპედია:სპამი – Georgian" lang="ka" hreflang="ka" data-title="ვიკიპედია:სპამი" data-language-autonym="ქართული" data-language-local-name="Georgian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ქართული</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kk mw-list-item"><a href="https://kk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%8F:%D0%A1%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BC" title="Уикипедия:Спам – Kazakh" lang="kk" hreflang="kk" data-title="Уикипедия:Спам" data-language-autonym="Қазақша" data-language-local-name="Kazakh" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Қазақша</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-la mw-list-item"><a href="https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicipaedia:Spam" title="Vicipaedia:Spam – Latin" lang="la" hreflang="la" data-title="Vicipaedia:Spam" data-language-autonym="Latina" data-language-local-name="Latin" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mr mw-list-item"><a href="https://mr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE:%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE_%E0%A4%86%E0%A4%A3%E0%A4%BF_%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4/%E0%A4%89%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A4_%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%AA" title="विकिपीडिया:पहारा आणि गस्त/उत्पात स्वरूप – Marathi" lang="mr" hreflang="mr" data-title="विकिपीडिया:पहारा आणि गस्त/उत्पात स्वरूप" data-language-autonym="मराठी" data-language-local-name="Marathi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>मराठी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam" title="Wikipedia:Spam – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Wikipedia:Spam" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uz mw-list-item"><a href="https://uz.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikipediya:Spam" title="Vikipediya:Spam – Uzbek" lang="uz" hreflang="uz" data-title="Vikipediya:Spam" data-language-autonym="Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча" data-language-local-name="Uzbek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam" title="Wikipedia:Spam – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Wikipedia:Spam" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:Spam" title="Wikipédia:Spam – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Wikipédia:Spam" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam" title="Wikipedia:Spam – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Wikipedia:Spam" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%8F:%D0%A1%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BC" title="Википедия:Спам – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Википедия:Спам" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-si mw-list-item"><a href="https://si.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B7%80%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%93%E0%B6%A9%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%BA%E0%B7%8F:Spam" title="විකිපීඩියා:Spam – Sinhala" lang="si" hreflang="si" data-title="විකිපීඩියා:Spam" data-language-autonym="සිංහල" data-language-local-name="Sinhala" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>සිංහල</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam" title="Wikipedia:Spam – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Wikipedia:Spam" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sl mw-list-item"><a href="https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedija:Smetenje" title="Wikipedija:Smetenje – Slovenian" lang="sl" hreflang="sl" data-title="Wikipedija:Smetenje" data-language-autonym="Slovenščina" data-language-local-name="Slovenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenščina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ckb mw-list-item"><a href="https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%DB%8C%DA%A9%DB%8C%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%A7:%D8%B3%D9%BE%D8%A7%D9%85" title="ویکیپیدیا:سپام – Central Kurdish" lang="ckb" hreflang="ckb" data-title="ویکیپیدیا:سپام" data-language-autonym="کوردی" data-language-local-name="Central Kurdish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>کوردی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0:%D0%A1%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BC" title="Википедија:Спам – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Википедија:Спам" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-su mw-list-item"><a href="https://su.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam" title="Wikipedia:Spam – Sundanese" lang="su" hreflang="su" data-title="Wikipedia:Spam" data-language-autonym="Sunda" data-language-local-name="Sundanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Sunda</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reklaml%C3%A4nkar" title="Wikipedia:Reklamlänkar – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Wikipedia:Reklamlänkar" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikipedi:Reklam" title="Vikipedi:Reklam – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Vikipedi:Reklam" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ur mw-list-item"><a href="https://ur.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%DB%8C%DA%A9%DB%8C%D9%BE%DB%8C%DA%88%DB%8C%D8%A7:%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B6%D9%84_%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C" title="ویکیپیڈیا:فاضل کاری – Urdu" lang="ur" hreflang="ur" data-title="ویکیپیڈیا:فاضل کاری" data-language-autonym="اردو" data-language-local-name="Urdu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>اردو</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam" title="Wikipedia:Spam – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Wikipedia:Spam" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:%E5%9E%83%E5%9C%BE%E5%86%85%E5%AE%B9" title="Wikipedia:垃圾内容 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="Wikipedia:垃圾内容" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q8915865#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-project" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam" title="View the project page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Project page</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Spam" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-viewsource" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Spam&action=edit" title="This page is protected.
You can view its source [e]" accesskey="e"><span>View source</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Spam&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-viewsource" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Spam&action=edit"><span>View source</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Spam&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Wikipedia:Spam" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Wikipedia:Spam" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Spam&oldid=1250075166" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Spam&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FWikipedia%3ASpam"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FWikipedia%3ASpam"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Wikipedia%3ASpam&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Spam&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-meta mw-list-item"><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/External_links_policy" hreflang="en"><span>Meta-Wiki</span></a></li><li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wiktionary mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Spam" hreflang="en"><span>Wiktionary</span></a></li><li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q8915865" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> <div id="mw-indicator-pp-default" class="mw-indicator"><div class="mw-parser-output"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Protection_policy#semi" title="This page is semi-protected."><img alt="Page semi-protected" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1b/Semi-protection-shackle.svg/20px-Semi-protection-shackle.svg.png" decoding="async" width="20" height="20" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1b/Semi-protection-shackle.svg/30px-Semi-protection-shackle.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1b/Semi-protection-shackle.svg/40px-Semi-protection-shackle.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512" /></a></span></div></div> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"><span class="mw-redirectedfrom">(Redirected from <a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:SPAM&redirect=no" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:SPAM">Wikipedia:SPAM</a>)</span></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Wikipedia guideline</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">This page is about different types of spam on Wikipedia. For other pages about advertising and promotion, see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Advertising" class="mw-disambig" title="Wikipedia:Advertising">Wikipedia:Advertising</a>. For Internet spam other than on Wikipedia, see <a href="/wiki/Spamming" title="Spamming">Spamming</a>. For WikiProject Spam, see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WPSPAM" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:WPSPAM">WP:WPSPAM</a>.</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For inappropriate "spamming" of editors to take part in discussions, see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Canvassing" title="Wikipedia:Canvassing">Wikipedia:Canvassing</a>.</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238436933">.mw-parser-output .ombox{margin:4px 0;border-collapse:collapse;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;background-color:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa);box-sizing:border-box;color:var(--color-base,#202122)}.mw-parser-output .ombox.mbox-small{font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{border:2px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ombox-delete{border:2px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ombox-content{border:1px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ombox-style{border:1px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ombox-move{border:1px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ombox-protection{border:2px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.9em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-invalid-type{text-align:center}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ombox{margin:4px 10%}.mw-parser-output .ombox.mbox-small{clear:right;float:right;margin:4px 0 4px 1em;width:238px}}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output table.ombox img{max-width:none!important}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{background-color:#310402}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{background-color:#310402}}</style><table class="plainlinks ombox ombox-notice" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="Blue tick" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Blue_check.svg/30px-Blue_check.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="30" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Blue_check.svg/45px-Blue_check.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Blue_check.svg/60px-Blue_check.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="600"/></span></span></td><td class="mbox-text"><b>This page documents an English Wikipedia <a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_content_guidelines" title="Category:Wikipedia content guidelines">content guideline</a>.</b><br/><div style="font-size: 90%;">Editors should generally follow it, though <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Ignore_all_rules" title="Wikipedia:Ignore all rules">exceptions</a> may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:PGCHANGE" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:PGCHANGE">consensus</a>. When in doubt, discuss first on <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Spam" title="Wikipedia talk:Spam">this guideline's talk page</a>.</div></td><td class="mbox-imageright"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1252059228">.mw-parser-output .module-shortcutboxplain{float:right;margin:0 0 0 1em;border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);background-color:var(--background-color-base,#fff);padding:0.3em 0.6em 0.2em 0.6em;text-align:center;font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .module-shortcutboxleft{float:left;margin:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .module-shortcutlist{display:inline-block;border-bottom:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);margin-bottom:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .module-shortcutboxplain ul{font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .module-shortcutanchordiv{position:relative;top:-3em}.mw-parser-output li .module-shortcutanchordiv{float:right}.mw-parser-output .mbox-imageright .module-shortcutboxplain{padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 1em;line-height:1.3;margin:0}</style><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="WP:ADS"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcut</a></div><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:ADS&redirect=no">WP:ADS</a></span></li></ul></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238436933"><table class="plainlinks ombox ombox-notice nutshell" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Walnut.png/30px-Walnut.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="30" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Walnut.png/45px-Walnut.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Walnut.png/60px-Walnut.png 2x" data-file-width="192" data-file-height="192"/></span></span></td><td class="mbox-text"><b>This page in a nutshell:</b> Spam is the inappropriate addition of content to Wikipedia with the intention of promoting or publicizing an outside organization, individual or idea, and is considered harmful to the encyclopedia. Do not <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Disruptive_editing" title="Wikipedia:Disruptive editing">disrupt Wikipedia</a> with spam. If you find spam, please remove or rewrite the content.</td></tr></tbody></table> <p>There are three main types of <b>spam</b> on Wikipedia: </p> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink-fragment" href="#Advertisements_masquerading_as_articles">Advertisements masquerading as articles</a>: Sometimes editors add content that seems more like an advertisement than an encyclopedia article. Even when the promotional material is added in a good-faith effort to improve Wikipedia, it is not appropriate for an encyclopedia article.</li> <li><a class="mw-selflink-fragment" href="#External_link_spamming">External link spamming</a>: Sometimes editors add inappropriate links to external websites. Adding the same website to multiple articles usually causes other editors to suspect that a spammer is trying to promote the website.</li> <li><a class="mw-selflink-fragment" href="#Citation_spam">Reference spamming</a>: Sometimes editors add citations to sources in contexts or volumes that make other editors suspect that the main goal is promoting the author or the work being cited, rather than impartially providing a relevant citation.</li></ul> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc"/> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Advertisements_masquerading_as_articles" data-mw-thread-id="h-Advertisements_masquerading_as_articles"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Advertisements_masquerading_as_articles"></span>Advertisements masquerading as articles<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Advertisements_masquerading_as_articles"></span></h2></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="WP:BROCHURE"></span><span id="WP:ADMASQ"></span><span id="WP:SPAMPAGE"></span><span id="WP:ARTSPAM"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcuts</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:BROCHURE&redirect=no">WP:BROCHURE</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:ADMASQ&redirect=no">WP:ADMASQ</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:SPAMPAGE&redirect=no">WP:SPAMPAGE</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:ARTSPAM&redirect=no">WP:ARTSPAM</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not#Wikipedia_is_not_a_soapbox_or_means_of_promotion" title="Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not">Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not § Wikipedia is not a soapbox or means of promotion</a></div> <p>Articles considered advertisements include those that are solicitations for a business, product or service, or are <a href="/wiki/Public_relations" title="Public relations">public relations</a> pieces designed to promote a company, organisation, or individual. Wikispam articles are usually noted for sales-oriented language and external links to a commercial website. However, a differentiation should be made between spam articles and legitimate articles about commercial entities or other organisations. </p> <table class="wikitable" style="width: 24em; float: right"> <caption>Examples of promotional wording </caption> <tbody><tr> <td> <ul><li>He has dedicated his life to humanitarian efforts.</li> <li>The company transformed into a comprehensive ecosystem to monetize content.</li> <li>They have a goal of fostering community to leverage resources.</li> <li>They were there to support everyone during this unprecedented time.</li> <li>He is an experienced entrepreneur who values synergy between mission-critical projects.</li> <li>They engage in blue-sky thinking to help companies pivot from pain points to the new normal.</li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <th>Remove or replace these with concrete, specific facts. </th></tr></tbody></table> <p><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Identifying_blatant_advertising" title="Wikipedia:Identifying blatant advertising">Blatant examples of advertising</a> masquerading as encyclopedia articles can be tagged for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:CSD" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:CSD">speedy deletion</a> with the template <span class="nowrap">{{</span><a href="/wiki/Template:Db-spam" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:Db-spam">db-spam</a><span class="nowrap">}}</span>. The same applies to pages in <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:UP#PROMO" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:UP">userspace</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Drafts#Deleting_a_draft" title="Wikipedia:Drafts">draft namespace</a>, or any other namespace. Other advertisements posted on Wikipedia can be dealt with by either <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:PROD" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:PROD">proposed deletion</a> or listing them on <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion" title="Wikipedia:Articles for deletion">Wikipedia:Articles for deletion</a>. On some occasions, the content can be removed temporarily on the basis of a suspected <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:COPYVIO" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:COPYVIO">copyright violation</a>, since the text is often copied from another website and posted anonymously. Before trying to get an advertisement masquerading as an article deleted, please check the article's history to see if an acceptable revision exists there. If so, please revert to the latest acceptable version of the article. </p><p>When an article on an otherwise encyclopedic topic has the tone of an advertisement, the article can often be salvaged by rewriting it in a <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view" title="Wikipedia:Neutral point of view">neutral point of view</a>. Elements of articles about products or services with brand names can also be combined under a common topic or category to facilitate unbiased and collaborative information by including information about the competition and about different alternatives. </p><p>Spam may also occur by <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_hijack" title="Wikipedia:Article hijack">hijacking articles</a>. In this case, information is changed to the subject being promoted, and the article is "hijacked", or changed, to promote an entirely different subject. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Tagging_articles_with_spam_or_prone_to_spam" data-mw-thread-id="h-Tagging_articles_with_spam_or_prone_to_spam"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Tagging_articles_with_spam_or_prone_to_spam"></span>Tagging articles with spam or prone to spam<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Tagging_articles_with_spam_or_prone_to_spam"></span></h2></div> <p>Some articles, especially those pertaining to Internet topics, are prone to aggressive spamming from multiple websites. </p><p>If articles have spam, and you haven't got the time or ability to remove it, you can tag them with <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Advert" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:Advert">Advert</a>}}</code>. This template expands to the following: </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-Promotional plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Advert" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/40px-Ambox_important.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/60px-Ambox_important.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/80px-Ambox_important.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="40" data-file-height="40"/></span></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article <b>contains <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not#Wikipedia_is_not_a_soapbox_or_means_of_promotion" title="Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not">promotional content</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Spam&action=edit">improve it</a> by removing <a class="mw-selflink selflink">promotional language</a> and inappropriate <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links#Advertising_and_conflicts_of_interest" title="Wikipedia:External links">external links</a>, and by adding encyclopedic text written from a <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view" title="Wikipedia:Neutral point of view">neutral point of view</a>.</span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Another possible tag to use is <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:External_links" title="Template:External links">External links</a>}}</code>, which expands to the following: </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-External_links plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-style ambox-external_links" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/40px-Edit-clear.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/60px-Edit-clear.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/80px-Edit-clear.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="48" data-file-height="48"/></span></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article's <b>use of <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links" title="Wikipedia:External links">external links</a> may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines</b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please <a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Spam&action=edit">improve this article</a> by removing <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not#Wikipedia_is_not_a_mirror_or_a_repository_of_links,_images,_or_media_files" title="Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not">excessive</a> or <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links" title="Wikipedia:External links">inappropriate</a> external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">footnote references</a>.</span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The third useful template is a <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_substitution" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Template substitution">substituted template</a> {{<a href="/wiki/Template:No_more_links" title="Template:No more links">subst:No more links</a>}}, visible only while the page is being edited. After spam links have been removed from a Wikipedia article, this template can be substituted into the top of the external links section of the frequently spammed article as a pre-emptive measure. </p> <pre> </pre> <p>A fourth template, used for citation spam, is <span class="nowrap">{{</span><a href="/wiki/Template:Refimprove-spam" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:Refimprove-spam">refimprove-spam</a><span class="nowrap">}}</span>, which looks like this: </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-Refimprove-spam plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399"/></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article contains references that <b><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not#Wikipedia_is_not_a_soapbox_or_means_of_promotion" title="Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not">appear to be spam</a></b>. Wikipedia is not a collection of links and should not be used for advertising.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Spam&action=edit">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction_to_referencing_with_Wiki_Markup/1" title="Help:Introduction to referencing with Wiki Markup/1">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. See <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links" title="Wikipedia:External links">Wikipedia:External links</a> and <a class="mw-selflink selflink">Wikipedia:Spam</a> for details.</span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Finally to advise the Wikipedia community to watch an article for abuse you can add to the talk page (under the project banners and other page headers, but before any discussions) <span class="nowrap">{{</span><a href="/wiki/Template:Prone_to_spam" title="Template:Prone to spam">Prone to spam</a><span class="nowrap">}}</span> which looks like this: </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237879475">.mw-parser-output .tmbox{margin:4px 0;border-collapse:collapse;border:1px solid #c0c090;background-color:#f8eaba;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .tmbox.mbox-small{font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .tmbox-speedy{border:2px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .tmbox-delete{border:2px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .tmbox-content{border:2px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .tmbox-style{border:2px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .tmbox-move{border:2px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .tmbox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.9em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .tmbox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .tmbox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .tmbox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .tmbox .mbox-invalid-type{text-align:center}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .tmbox{margin:4px 10%}.mw-parser-output .tmbox.mbox-small{clear:right;float:right;margin:4px 0 4px 1em;width:238px}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .tmbox{background-color:#2e2505}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .tmbox-speedy{background-color:#310402}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .tmbox{background-color:#2e2505}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .tmbox-speedy{background-color:#310402}}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output table.tmbox img{max-width:none!important}</style><table class="plainlinks tmbox tmbox-content" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Ambox_important.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Notice"><img alt="Notice" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/40px-Ambox_important.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/60px-Ambox_important.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg/80px-Ambox_important.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="40" data-file-height="40"/></a></span></td><td class="mbox-text">This article is prone to <b><a class="mw-selflink selflink">spam</a></b>. Please monitor the <a href="/wiki/Spam#References" class="mw-disambig" title="Spam">References</a> and <a href="/wiki/Spam#External_links" class="mw-disambig" title="Spam">External links</a> sections.</td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="External_link_spamming" data-mw-thread-id="h-External_link_spamming"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-External_link_spamming"></span><span id="LINK"></span><span id="LINKS"></span>External link spamming<span data-mw-comment-end="h-External_link_spamming"></span></h2></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="WP:LINKSPAM"></span><span id="WP:SPAM#LINK"></span><span id="WP:SPAMLINK"></span><span id="WP:SPAMLINKS"></span><span id="WP:EXTPROMO"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcuts</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:LINKSPAM&redirect=no">WP:LINKSPAM</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:SPAM&redirect=no#LINK">WP:SPAM#LINK</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:SPAMLINK&redirect=no">WP:SPAMLINK</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:SPAMLINKS&redirect=no">WP:SPAMLINKS</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:EXTPROMO&redirect=no">WP:EXTPROMO</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main pages: <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links#Links_normally_to_be_avoided" title="Wikipedia:External links">Links normally to be avoided</a> and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Conflict_of_interest" title="Wikipedia:Conflict of interest">Wikipedia:Conflict of interest</a></div> <p>Adding external links to an article or user page for the purpose of promoting a website or a product is not allowed, and is considered to be spam. Although the specific links may be allowed under some circumstances, repeatedly adding links will in most cases result in all of them being removed. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Citation_spam" data-mw-thread-id="h-Citation_spam-External_link_spamming"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Citation_spam-External_link_spamming"></span>Citation spam<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Citation_spam-External_link_spamming"></span></h3></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="WP:REFSPAM"></span><span id="WP:CITESPAM"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcuts</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:REFSPAM&redirect=no">WP:REFSPAM</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:CITESPAM&redirect=no">WP:CITESPAM</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:MEDCOI" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:MEDCOI">WP:MEDCOI</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:EXPERT" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:EXPERT">WP:EXPERT</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Expert_retention#Ease_up_on_conflict_of_interest_rule" title="Wikipedia:Expert retention">WP:Expert retention § Ease up on conflict of interest rule</a></div> <p>Citation spamming is the illegitimate or improper use of <a href="/wiki/Citations" class="mw-redirect" title="Citations">citations</a>, <a href="/wiki/Footnotes" class="mw-redirect" title="Footnotes">footnotes</a>, or <a href="/wiki/References" class="mw-redirect" title="References">references</a>. Citation spamming is a form of <a href="/wiki/Search_engine_optimization" title="Search engine optimization">search engine optimization</a> or <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:SOAP" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:SOAP">promotion</a> that typically involves the repeated insertion of a particular citation or reference in multiple articles by a single contributor. Often these are added <b>not</b> to verify article content, but rather to populate numerous articles with a particular citation. Variations of citation spamming include academics and scientists using their editing privileges primarily to add citations to their own work, and people replacing live or dead URLs with links to commercial sites or their own blogs. Citation spamming is a subtle form of spam and <b>should not be confused with</b> legitimate good-faith additions intended to verify article content and help build the encyclopedia. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Source_soliciting" data-mw-thread-id="h-Source_soliciting-External_link_spamming"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Source_soliciting-External_link_spamming"></span>Source soliciting<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Source_soliciting-External_link_spamming"></span></h3></div> <p>Source solicitations are messages on article talk pages that explicitly solicit editors to use a specific external source to expand an article. Editors with a <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Conflict_of_interest" title="Wikipedia:Conflict of interest">conflict of interest</a> should follow Wikipedia policies and best practices scrupulously when soliciting editors to use a specific external source to expand an article. Every article on Wikipedia can be expanded as a matter of course, but the question is in the details on a per-article basis. It is not possible to simply say "all articles of X type can be expanded using Y source". </p><p>There is no hard rule on when this crosses over from being a legitimate attempt to improve the article into being internal spam, but some guidelines and questions to consider: </p> <ul><li>Is the source commercial?</li> <li>Does the source meet the requirements of <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources" title="Wikipedia:Reliable sources">Wikipedia:Reliable sources</a>?</li> <li>Is the suggestion being made anonymously through the use of a template or category?</li> <li>Was the suggestion duplicated across a number of articles at the same time, particularly articles relating to different topics?</li> <li>Has there been any discussion (of a specific and substantive nature) on why the source should be used in each article?</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="External_link_spamming_with_bots" data-mw-thread-id="h-External_link_spamming_with_bots-External_link_spamming"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-External_link_spamming_with_bots-External_link_spamming"></span>External link spamming with bots<span data-mw-comment-end="h-External_link_spamming_with_bots-External_link_spamming"></span></h3></div> <p>A few parties now appear to have a spambot capable of spamming wikis from several wiki engines, analogous to the submitter scripts for guestbooks and blogs. They have a database of a few hundred wikis. Typically they insert external links. Like <a href="/wiki/Blog_spam" class="mw-redirect" title="Blog spam">blog spam</a>, their aim is to improve the <a href="/wiki/Search_engine_optimization" title="Search engine optimization">search engine rankings</a> of the external sites, not to directly advertise their product. (This does not work on Wikimedia wikis because of the use of the <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/nofollow" class="extiw" title="meta:nofollow">nofollow</a> directive.) </p><p>If you see a bot inserting external links, please consider checking the other language wikis to see if the attack is widespread. If it is, please contact a <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meta:Administrators" class="extiw" title="m:Meta:Administrators">sysop</a> on the <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page" class="extiw" title="m:Main Page">Meta-Wiki</a>; they can put in a Wikimedia-wide text filter. Any Meta sysop can edit the <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Spam_blacklist" class="extiw" title="m:Spam blacklist">Wikimedia-wide spam blacklist</a> to add or remove the patterns that are recognized by the filter, with the changes taking effect immediately. New links can also be added to the list if a new spammer should start making the rounds. </p><p>Sysops are authorised to <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocking_policy" title="Wikipedia:Blocking policy">block</a> unauthorised <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Bots" title="Wikipedia:Bots">bots</a> on sight. Spambots should be treated as vandal bots. Edits by spambots constitute unauthorised defacement of websites, which is against the law in many countries, and may result in complaints to ISPs and (ultimately) prosecution. </p><p>The link spam problem extends far beyond Wikimedia projects, and is generally worse on smaller wikis where the community struggles to keep it clean. <a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Combating_spam" class="extiw" title="mw:Manual:Combating spam">mw:Manual:Combating spam</a> describes features available in MediaWiki (for administrators running this software). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Inclusion_of_one_spam_link_is_not_a_reason_to_include_another" data-mw-thread-id="h-Inclusion_of_one_spam_link_is_not_a_reason_to_include_another-External_link_spamming"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Inclusion_of_one_spam_link_is_not_a_reason_to_include_another-External_link_spamming"></span>Inclusion of one spam link is not a reason to include another<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Inclusion_of_one_spam_link_is_not_a_reason_to_include_another-External_link_spamming"></span></h3></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="WP:OTHERSPAMEXISTS"></span><span id="WP:OTHERSPAM"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcuts</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:OTHERSPAMEXISTS&redirect=no">WP:OTHERSPAMEXISTS</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:OTHERSPAM&redirect=no">WP:OTHERSPAM</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <p>Many times, users can be confused by the removal of spam links because other links that could be construed as spam have been added to the article and not yet removed. The inclusion of a spam link should not be construed as an endorsement of the spam link, <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:OTHERCONTENT" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:OTHERCONTENT">nor should it be taken as a reason or excuse to include another</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Affiliate_links" data-mw-thread-id="h-Affiliate_links-External_link_spamming"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Affiliate_links-External_link_spamming"></span>Affiliate links<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Affiliate_links-External_link_spamming"></span></h3></div> <p>Even if they are related to the subject or are an official page for the subject, external links containing <a href="/wiki/Affiliate_marketing" title="Affiliate marketing">affiliate</a> or <a href="/wiki/Referral_marketing" title="Referral marketing">referral</a> codes are considered spam. If the linked webpage is otherwise appropriate, please remove all referral codes from the URL. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Videos" data-mw-thread-id="h-Videos-External_link_spamming"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Videos-External_link_spamming"></span>Videos<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Videos-External_link_spamming"></span></h3></div> <p>Adding links to <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gratis#English" class="extiw" title="wikt:gratis">gratis</a> online videos that promote a site or product is not allowed [see exception below]. Often these videos have been uploaded in violation of their copyright, which adds an additional reason for not linking to them. A video might be a spamming video if: </p> <ul><li>It has a banner plastered across the video giving you a website address to go to.</li> <li>It has text at this video page that would lead readers to a specific commercial site. For example, "book available at xyzBooks dot net" <i>— [see exception below]</i></li></ul> <p>Exception: Generally, a video is not a spamming video if it refers to the official site associated with the Wikipedia article. For example, if the Wikipedia article is on a movie named "xyzMovie" and the official site for the movie is "xyzMovie.com" then links or references to "xyzMovie.com" are legitimate for a video at a video sharing page. Although all other links at that video page should also be legitimate, some judgement is needed. If the posted video just advertises a bunch of products associated with the movie, then it is a spamming video even though it refers to the official site. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Bookspam" data-mw-thread-id="h-Bookspam-External_link_spamming"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Bookspam-External_link_spamming"></span>Bookspam<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Bookspam-External_link_spamming"></span></h3></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="WP:BOOKSPAM"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcut</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:BOOKSPAM&redirect=no">WP:BOOKSPAM</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <p>Sometimes Wikipedia sees <b>bookspam</b>, which is the insertion of text mentioning books to call attention to the books, rather than to contribute to the article. This often takes the form of inserting book listings into reference sections although the book is not used as the source of any information in the article. Bookspam is also seen as the addition of books to "external links", "<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:FURTHER" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:FURTHER">further reading</a>" or similar sections, although the books added do not add any useful and relevant information. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Avoiding_giving_an_opportunity_to_spammers" data-mw-thread-id="h-Avoiding_giving_an_opportunity_to_spammers"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Avoiding_giving_an_opportunity_to_spammers"></span>Avoiding giving an opportunity to spammers<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Avoiding_giving_an_opportunity_to_spammers"></span></h2></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="WP:SPAMBAIT"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcut</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:SPAMBAIT&redirect=no">WP:SPAMBAIT</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <p>Examples in articles tend to attract spam, as in these sentences: </p> <ul><li><i>For example, <a href="/wiki/Chevron_Corporation" title="Chevron Corporation">Chevron Corporation</a> has ...</i></li> <li><i>Social networking has flourished with websites such as <a href="/wiki/Friendster" title="Friendster">Friendster</a> and <a href="/wiki/MySpace" class="mw-redirect" title="MySpace">MySpace</a>, ...</i></li> <li><i>Examples of detergents include <a href="/wiki/Tide_(detergent)" class="mw-redirect" title="Tide (detergent)">Tide</a>, ...</i></li> <li><i>The most notable multi-level marketing companies are <a href="/wiki/Amway" title="Amway">Amway</a>, ...</i></li> <li><i>Many people feel <a href="/wiki/Dr_Pepper" title="Dr Pepper">Dr Pepper</a> is the best tasting soft drink ...</i> (this is also <a href="/wiki/Weasel_word" title="Weasel word">weasel wording</a>)</li> <li><i>Many blogs arose discussing this (see e.g. <a href="/wiki/Blog" title="Blog">Some blog</a>); ...</i></li></ul> <p>Such sentences tend to attract editors to add more examples because it is far easier to add a link to the end of this kind of sentence than to add encyclopedic content. Examples should only be given if they are highly relevant to the article topic, and should always be sourced with <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:IS" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:IS">independent</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:RS" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:RS">reliable sources</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="How_not_to_be_a_spammer" data-mw-thread-id="h-How_not_to_be_a_spammer"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-How_not_to_be_a_spammer"></span>How not to be a spammer<span data-mw-comment-end="h-How_not_to_be_a_spammer"></span></h2></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1252059228"><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="WP:SPAMMER"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcut</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:SPAMMER&redirect=no">WP:SPAMMER</a></span></li></ul></div></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Raising_awareness" title="Wikipedia:Raising awareness">Wikipedia:Raising awareness</a></div> <p>Sometimes, people come to Wikipedia with the intention of <a class="mw-selflink selflink">spamming</a>—creating articles which are mere advertisements or <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:COI" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:COI">self-promotion</a>, or adding external links to a web site over many articles. </p><p>Some people spam Wikipedia without meaning to. That is, they do things which <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedians" title="Wikipedia:Wikipedians">Wikipedians</a> consider to be spamming, without realizing that their actions are not in line with building an encyclopedia. A new editor who owns a business may see that there are articles about other businesses on Wikipedia, and conclude that it would be appropriate to create their own such article. A web site operator may see many places in Wikipedia where their site would be relevant, and quickly add several dozen links to it. </p><p>The following guidelines are intended to suggest <b>how not to be a spammer</b>—that is, how to mention a web site, product, business, or other resource without appearing to the Wikipedia community that you are trying to abuse Wikipedia for self-promotion. </p> <ol><li><span class="anchor" id="1"></span><b>Review your intentions.</b> <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not#Wikipedia_is_not_a_soapbox_or_means_of_promotion" title="Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not">Wikipedia is not a space for personal <i>promotion</i> or the promotion of products, services, web sites, fandoms, ideologies, or memes</a>. If you are here to tell readers how great something is, or to get exposure for an idea or product that nobody has heard of yet, you are in the wrong place. Likewise, if you are here to make sure that the famous Wikipedia cites <i>you</i> as the authority on something (and possibly to pull up your sagging <a href="/wiki/PageRank" title="PageRank">PageRank</a>) you will probably be disappointed, because Wikipedia uses <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/nofollow" class="extiw" title="meta:nofollow">nofollow</a> on all external links, thereby causing search engines to effectively ignore them.</li> <li><span class="anchor" id="2"></span><b>Contribute cited text, not bare links.</b> Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:NOTLINK" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:NOTLINK">not a link farm</a>. If you have a source to contribute, first contribute some facts that you learned from that source, then <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:CITE" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:CITE">cite the source</a>. Do not simply direct readers to another site for the useful facts; add useful facts to the article, then cite the site where you found them. You are here to improve Wikipedia—not just to funnel readers off Wikipedia and onto some other site, right? (If not, see No. 1 above.)</li> <li><span class="anchor" id="3"></span><b>The <i>References</i> section is for references.</b> A <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:REF" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:REF">reference</a> directs the reader to a work that the writer(s) <i>referred to</i> while writing the article. The <i>References</i> section of a Wikipedia article is not just a list of <i>related</i> works; it is specifically the list of works used as sources. Therefore, it can never be correct to add a link or reference to <i>References</i> sections if nobody editing the text of the article has actually referred to it.</li> <li><span class="anchor" id="4"></span><b>Do not make a new article for your own product or web site.</b> Most often, when a person creates a new article describing their own work, it is because the work is not yet well-known enough to have attracted anyone else's attention, much less <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Independent_sources" title="Wikipedia:Independent sources">independent</a> and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources" title="Wikipedia:Reliable sources">reliable</a> sources against which the content can be <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verified</a>. Articles of this sort are usually deleted. Wikipedia does indeed have articles about popular products and web sites, but it is not acceptable to use Wikipedia to <i>popularize</i> them.</li> <li><span class="anchor" id="5"></span><span class="anchor" id="How_not_to_be_a_spammer_talk_page"></span><b>If your product is truly relevant to an article, others will agree—try the talk page.</b> We usually recommend that editors <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:BOLD" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:BOLD">be bold</a> in adding directly to articles. But if the above advice makes you concerned that others will regard your contribution as spam, you can find out without taking that risk: describe your work on the article's talk page, asking other editors if it is relevant.</li> <li><span class="anchor" id="6"></span><b>Do not add an external link to your signature.</b> However, external links to Wikimedia projects are exempt from this rule. For example, <a class="external text" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/">Wikimedia Meta-Wiki</a>. (Although <a href="/wiki/Help:Interwiki_link" class="mw-redirect" title="Help:Interwiki link">Interwiki links</a> are preferable to external links for that purpose.)</li></ol> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Warning_spammers" data-mw-thread-id="h-Warning_spammers"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Warning_spammers"></span>Warning spammers<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Warning_spammers"></span></h2></div> <p>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Uw-spam1" title="Template:Uw-spam1">subst:uw-spam1</a>}} is a useful "first warning" to put on the <a href="/wiki/Talk_page" class="mw-redirect" title="Talk page">Talk page</a> of a spammer. For new users, an alternative, {{<a href="/wiki/Template:Welcomespam" title="Template:Welcomespam">subst:welcomespam</a>}}, may be used for users who may have added spam or inappropriate external links in good faith. </p><p>Subsequent offenses can be tagged with {{<a href="/wiki/Template:Uw-spam2" title="Template:Uw-spam2">subst:uw-spam2</a>}}, or more strongly, {{<a href="/wiki/Template:Uw-spam3" title="Template:Uw-spam3">subst:uw-spam3</a>}} (warning of possible block) and {{<a href="/wiki/Template:Uw-spam4" title="Template:Uw-spam4">subst:uw-spam4</a>}} (final warning). If an editor spams numerous articles in a systematic fashion, they may be warned with {{<a href="/wiki/Template:Uw-spam4im" title="Template:Uw-spam4im">subst:uw-spam4im</a>}} as the only warning that they will receive before they are blocked. The template {{<a href="/wiki/Template:Uw-sblock" title="Template:Uw-sblock">subst:uw-sblock</a>}} indicates that the spammer has been blocked. </p><p>If you have tagged an article for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:CSD#G11" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:CSD">speedy deletion</a> with <span class="nowrap">{{</span><a href="/wiki/Template:Db-spam" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:Db-spam">db-spam</a><span class="nowrap">}}</span> because it is blatant spam, you may add {{<a href="/wiki/Template:Spam-warn" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:Spam-warn">subst:spam-warn</a>}} to the originating editor's talk page to warn them of the impending deletion, and to allow them to possibly edit the article so it is no longer spam. </p><p>Please remember to <a href="/wiki/Help:Substitution" title="Help:Substitution">substitute</a> these templates using for example <code>{{subst:uw-spam1}}</code> instead of <code>{{uw-spam1}}</code>. </p><p>Editors who have enabled <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Twinkle" title="Wikipedia:Twinkle">the Twinkle feature</a> can use the <i>warn</i> tab to insert these templates. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Dealing_with_spam" data-mw-thread-id="h-Dealing_with_spam"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Dealing_with_spam"></span>Dealing with spam<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Dealing_with_spam"></span></h2></div> <p>Sometimes an article attracts so many improper external links that it "crosses the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam_event_horizon" title="Wikipedia:Spam event horizon">spam event horizon</a>". Links should be removed and editors should be advised of <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:PROMOTION" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:PROMOTION">our policy against promotion</a>. Editors who continually add inappropriate links should receive escalating warnings, and if it continues, should be reported to <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:AIV" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:AIV">AIV</a> or <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:3RR" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:3RR">3RR</a>, which may result in them being blocked from editing. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Spambots" data-mw-thread-id="h-Spambots"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Spambots"></span>Spambots<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Spambots"></span></h2></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Spambot" title="Spambot">Spambot</a>, <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Vandalbot#Spambots" class="extiw" title="meta:Vandalbot">meta:Vandalbot § Spambots</a>, and <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/NTSAMR" class="extiw" title="meta:NTSAMR">meta:NTSAMR</a></div> <p>A spambot is an automated process that will vandalize a wiki by adding spam links to user pages and articles, or by creating a mass of spam pages. </p><p>Operating spambots on the English Wikipedia (or any Wikimedia project) is <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_use#4._Refraining_from_Certain_Activities" class="extiw" title="wmf:Terms of use">prohibited</a> by the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_use" class="extiw" title="wmf:Terms of use">Terms of Use</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="See_also" data-mw-thread-id="h-See_also"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-See_also"></span>See also<span data-mw-comment-end="h-See_also"></span></h2></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Template:Advert" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:Advert">Template:Advert</a> – add to salvageable articles written like an advertisement</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Example_farm" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:Example farm">Template:Example farm</a> – add when an article has poor or irrelevant examples</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Prone_to_spam" title="Template:Prone to spam">Template:Prone to spam</a> – add when an article attracts too many spam links in its external links section</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Spam" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Spam">Wikipedia:WikiProject Spam</a> – to report spammers</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam_blacklist" title="Wikipedia:Spam blacklist">Wikipedia:Spam blacklist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Replies_to_common_objections#Advertisers" title="Wikipedia:Replies to common objections">Wikipedia:Replies to common objections#Advertisers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links" title="Wikipedia:External links">Wikipedia:External links</a> – more guidance and policy on which external links should be included and which should not</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Linking_to_external_harassment" title="Wikipedia:Linking to external harassment">Wikipedia:Linking to external harassment</a> – even more guidance on which links should be included and which should not</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability_(organizations_and_companies)" title="Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies)">Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies)</a> – determining whether an organization is notable enough for inclusion</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Spam_event_horizon" title="Wikipedia:Spam event horizon">Wikipedia:Spam event horizon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_(trademarks)" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style (trademarks)">Wikipedia:Manual of Style (trademarks)</a> – spam content often violates this guideline for formatting trademarks within articles</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Funding_Wikipedia_through_advertisements" title="Wikipedia:Funding Wikipedia through advertisements">Wikipedia:Funding Wikipedia through advertisements</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Vanispamcruftisement" title="Wikipedia:Vanispamcruftisement">Wikipedia:Vanispamcruftisement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2013-09-25/Op-ed" title="Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2013-09-25/Op-ed">Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2013-09-25/Op-ed</a> – "Q&A on Public Relations and Wikipedia," includes discussion regarding the legal implications of anonymous promotional editing</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Spam/Dead_link_spamming" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Spam/Dead link spamming">Wikipedia:WikiProject Spam/Dead link spamming</a> – combatting efforts to disguise the addition of spam links as replacements for dead link templates</li></ul> <dl><dt>Also relevant</dt> <dd></dd></dl> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Advocacy" title="Wikipedia:Advocacy">Wikipedia:Advocacy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Advocacy_articles" 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rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1038841319"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Wikipedia_key_policies_and_guidelines_(?)" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Wikipedia_policies_and_guidelines" title="Template:Wikipedia policies and guidelines"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Wikipedia_policies_and_guidelines" title="Template talk:Wikipedia policies and guidelines"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Wikipedia_policies_and_guidelines" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Wikipedia policies and guidelines"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Wikipedia_key_policies_and_guidelines_(?)" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Wikipedia key <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Policies_and_guidelines" title="Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines">policies and guidelines</a> <span class="rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted" title="Wikipedia's policies and guidelines are developed by the community to describe best practices, clarify principles, resolve conflicts, and otherwise further our goal.">(?)</span></div></th></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><div> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Five_pillars" title="Wikipedia:Five pillars">Five pillars</a></b> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Ignore_all_rules" title="Wikipedia:Ignore all rules">Ignore all rules</a></b></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:6.9em;text-align:left;">Content <span class="rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted" title="defines the scope of the encyclopedia and the material that is suitable for it">(?)</span></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="color:#118811;"><abbr title="Policies"><span style="font-size:120%">P</span></abbr></span></b></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">Verifiability</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research" title="Wikipedia:No original research">No original research</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view" title="Wikipedia:Neutral point of view">Neutral point of view</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not" title="Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not">What Wikipedia is not</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons" title="Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons">Biographies of living persons</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights" title="Wikipedia:Copyrights">Copyright</a> (<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyright_violations" title="Wikipedia:Copyright violations">Copyright violations</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Image_use_policy" title="Wikipedia:Image use policy">Image use</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_titles" title="Wikipedia:Article titles">Article titles</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="color:#0077A4;"><abbr title="Guidelines"><span style="font-size:120%">G</span></abbr></span></b></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability" title="Wikipedia:Notability">Notability</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Autobiography" title="Wikipedia:Autobiography">Autobiography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">Citing sources</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources" title="Wikipedia:Reliable sources">Reliable sources</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Identifying_reliable_sources_(medicine)" title="Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources (medicine)">Medicine</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Do_not_include_the_full_text_of_lengthy_primary_sources" title="Wikipedia:Do not include the full text of lengthy primary sources">Do not include copies of lengthy primary sources</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Plagiarism" title="Wikipedia:Plagiarism">Plagiarism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Do_not_create_hoaxes" title="Wikipedia:Do not create hoaxes">Don't create hoaxes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Fringe_theories" title="Wikipedia:Fringe theories">Fringe theories</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Patent_nonsense" title="Wikipedia:Patent nonsense">Patent nonsense</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links" title="Wikipedia:External links">External links</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:6.9em;text-align:left;">Conduct <span class="rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted" title="describes how editors can successfully collaborate and what behavior is acceptable">(?)</span></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="color:#118811;"><abbr title="Policies"><span style="font-size:120%">P</span></abbr></span></b></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Civility" title="Wikipedia:Civility">Civility</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Consensus" title="Wikipedia:Consensus">Consensus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Harassment" title="Wikipedia:Harassment">Harassment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Vandalism" title="Wikipedia:Vandalism">Vandalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Ignore_all_rules" title="Wikipedia:Ignore all rules">Ignore all rules</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:No_personal_attacks" title="Wikipedia:No personal attacks">No personal attacks</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Ownership_of_content" title="Wikipedia:Ownership of content">Ownership of content</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Edit_warring" title="Wikipedia:Edit warring">Edit warring</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Dispute_resolution" title="Wikipedia:Dispute resolution">Dispute resolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Sockpuppetry" title="Wikipedia:Sockpuppetry">Sockpuppetry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:No_legal_threats" title="Wikipedia:No legal threats">No legal threats</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Child_protection" title="Wikipedia:Child protection">Child protection</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Paid-contribution_disclosure" title="Wikipedia:Paid-contribution disclosure">Paid-contribution disclosure</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="color:#0077A4;"><abbr title="Guidelines"><span style="font-size:120%">G</span></abbr></span></b></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Assume_good_faith" title="Wikipedia:Assume good faith">Assume good faith</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Conflict_of_interest" title="Wikipedia:Conflict of interest">Conflict of interest</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Disruptive_editing" title="Wikipedia:Disruptive editing">Disruptive editing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Do_not_disrupt_Wikipedia_to_illustrate_a_point" title="Wikipedia:Do not disrupt Wikipedia to illustrate a point">Do not disrupt Wikipedia to illustrate a point</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Etiquette" title="Wikipedia:Etiquette">Etiquette</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Gaming_the_system" title="Wikipedia:Gaming the system">Gaming the system</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_do_not_bite_the_newcomers" title="Wikipedia:Please do not bite the newcomers">Please do not bite the newcomers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Courtesy_vanishing" title="Wikipedia:Courtesy vanishing">Courtesy vanishing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Responding_to_threats_of_harm" title="Wikipedia:Responding to threats of harm">Responding to threats of harm</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Talk_page_guidelines" title="Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines">Talk page guidelines</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Signatures" title="Wikipedia:Signatures">Signatures</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:6.9em;text-align:left;">Deletion <span class="rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted" title="explains the processes by which pages, revisions, and logs may be deleted">(?)</span></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th id="P" scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="color:#118811;"><abbr title="Policies"><span style="font-size:120%">P</span></abbr></span></b></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Deletion_policy" title="Wikipedia:Deletion policy">Deletion policy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Proposed_deletion" title="Wikipedia:Proposed deletion">Proposed deletion</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Proposed_deletion_of_biographies_of_living_people" title="Wikipedia:Proposed deletion of biographies of living people">Biographies</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Criteria_for_speedy_deletion" title="Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion">Criteria for speedy deletion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Attack_page" title="Wikipedia:Attack page">Attack page</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Oversight" title="Wikipedia:Oversight">Oversight</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Revision_deletion" title="Wikipedia:Revision deletion">Revision deletion</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:6.9em;text-align:left;">Enforcement <span class="rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted" title="explains the various means by which standards may be enforced">(?)</span></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th id="P" scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="color:#118811;"><abbr title="Policies"><span style="font-size:120%">P</span></abbr></span></b></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators" title="Wikipedia:Administrators">Administrators</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Banning_policy" title="Wikipedia:Banning policy">Banning</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocking_policy" title="Wikipedia:Blocking policy">Blocking</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Protection_policy" title="Wikipedia:Protection policy">Page protection</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:6.9em;text-align:left;">Editing <span class="rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted" title="documents the various protocols about style and grouping">(?)</span></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="color:#118811;"><abbr title="Policies"><span style="font-size:120%">P</span></abbr></span></b></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Editing_policy" title="Wikipedia:Editing policy">Editing policy</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="color:#0077A4;"><abbr title="Guidelines"><span style="font-size:120%">G</span></abbr></span></b></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_size" title="Wikipedia:Article size">Article size</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Summary_style" title="Wikipedia:Summary style">Summary style</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Be_bold" title="Wikipedia:Be bold">Be bold</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Disambiguation" title="Wikipedia:Disambiguation">Disambiguation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Hatnote" title="Wikipedia:Hatnote">Hatnotes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Broad-concept_article" title="Wikipedia:Broad-concept article">Broad-concept article</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Make_technical_articles_understandable" title="Wikipedia:Make technical articles understandable">Understandability</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; font-weight: normal;">Style</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style">Manual of Style</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Contents" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Contents">Contents</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Accessibility" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility">Accessibility</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers">Dates and numbers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Images" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Images">Images</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Layout" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Layout">Layout</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Lead_section" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section">Lead section</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Linking" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Linking">Linking</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Lists" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lists">Lists</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; font-weight: normal;">Classification</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categories,_lists,_and_navigation_templates" title="Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates">Categories, lists, and navigation templates</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Categorization" title="Wikipedia:Categorization">Categorization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_namespace" title="Wikipedia:Template namespace">Template namespace</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:6.9em;text-align:left;">Project content <span class="rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted" title="protocols related to administration">(?)</span></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th id="G" scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="color:#0077A4;"><abbr title="Guidelines"><span style="font-size:120%">G</span></abbr></span></b></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Project_namespace" title="Wikipedia:Project namespace">Project namespace</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Council/Guide" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Guide">WikiProjects</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:User_pages" title="Wikipedia:User pages">User pages</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Userboxes" title="Wikipedia:Userboxes">User boxes</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcuts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Subpages" title="Wikipedia:Subpages">Subpages</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:6.9em;text-align:left;;background: #dddddd;color:inherit;"><abbr title="Wikimedia Foundation">WMF</abbr> <abbr title="official policies and statements of the Wikimedia Foundation">(?)</abbr></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th id="P" scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; font-weight: normal; background: #e6e6e6;color:inherit;"><b><span style="color:#118811;"><abbr title="Policies"><span style="font-size:120%">P</span></abbr></span></b></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct" class="extiw" title="wmf:Policy:Universal Code of Conduct">Universal Code of Conduct</a></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="wmf:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policies" class="extiw" title="wmf:Policies">List of policies</a></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Friendly_space_policy" class="extiw" title="wmf:Friendly space policy">Friendly space policy</a></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Licensing_policy" class="extiw" title="wmf:Resolution:Licensing policy">Licensing and copyright</a></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="wmf:Privacy policy">Privacy policy</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;;font-weight: normal;"><div> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_policies_and_guidelines" title="Wikipedia:List of policies and guidelines">List of all policies and guidelines</a></b> <ul><li><b><span style="color:#118811;"><span style="font-size:120%">P</span></span></b>: <b><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_policies" title="Wikipedia:List of policies">List of policies</a></b></li> <li><b><span style="color:#0077A4;"><span style="font-size:120%">G</span></span></b>: <b><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_guidelines" title="Wikipedia:List of guidelines">List of guidelines</a></b></li></ul></li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Principles" title="Wikipedia:Principles">Summaries of values and principles</a></b></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Spam&oldid=1250075166">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Spam&oldid=1250075166</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_content_guidelines" title="Category:Wikipedia content guidelines">Wikipedia content guidelines</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_spam" 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