Wikipedia:Refactoring talk pages

This help page is a how-to guide. It explains concepts or processes used by the Wikipedia community. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, and may reflect varying levels of consensus.

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Refactoring is a redrafting process in which talk page content is moved, removed, revised, restructured, hidden, or otherwise changed. It applies only in contexts where editors make signed statements (such as in the Talk and User talk namespaces).

Refactoring has a number of uses, including:

• Improving the clarity and readability of a page
• Removing off-topic, uncivil, unclear, or otherwise distracting material
• Restructuring of discussions for clarity
• Relocating material to different sections or pages where it is more appropriate

Refactoring is more assertive than copy editing, but less substantive than archiving. Like copy editing, it always preserves the original editor's meaning and intent. Like archiving, it may hide material from immediate visibility. It should be used as a tool to separate unnecessary material from a discussion on the fly, without waiting for formal archiving of the entire discussion.

The term "refactoring" is adapted from code refactoring in computing, where code is restructured (to improve its quality) in a way that does not change the operation of the program.

Good refactoring practices are an important part of maintaining a productive talk page. Discussion pages that are confused, hostile, overly complex, poorly structured, or congested with cross-talk can discourage potential contributors, and create misunderstandings that undermine fruitful discussions.

Refactoring should only be done when there is an assumption of good faith by editors who have contributed to the talk page. If there are recent heated discussions on the talk page, good faith may be lacking. If another editor objects to any refactoring that was performed, those changes should be reverted. Nevertheless, if the page is larger than the recommended size, then archiving of the talk page, or sections within it, without refactoring can still be done.