When I just read about admins getting scolded for
deleting an image
that was long past its "due date", I thought about the nature of the
templates and the message they convey.
Currently, they say something like "this image needs more source info"
etc., and give the date the template was added. If nothing changes,
the image *may* be deleted after, what, a month? This would be the
equivalent of "best before" - in reality, it might last a lot longer
than that.
What if the attitude of the templates were changed? "This image lacks
this and that. It will be deleted on XXXX-YY-ZZ unless this
information is provided." My tool [2] can be used to find images that
have reached their final use-by date, and could be deleted with good
reason.
Theoretically, one could write a bot which could do the deletions, so
no admins get scolded. The idea of a deletion-bot with admin rights (a
virtual equivalent of [2];-) might sound scary, but setting it for "no
edits for a month since addition of the template", combined with the
image resurrection capability, should calm this.
Magnus
[1]
http://tools.wikimedia.de/~magnus/bad_old_ones.php
[2]
http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/samsung_develops_machine_gun_sentry_rob…
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