[WikiEN-l] Merge vs. Keep/Delete (was: Dispute resolution attempt in the Ashida Kim case)

[Michael Snow]

Tony Sidaway wrote:

>I wonder if we could agree to change policy to permit an administrator to
>"speedy redirect" a merge candidate and close an AfD where notability is the
>sole or principal reason given for deletion, or no reason is given. This
>would be a good way of ensuring that the possibility of merging articles was
>not unreasonably neglected. An article could always be renominated if good
>faith attempts to merge had failed.
>  
>
I endorse that, although I don't see why the authority to 
merge-and-redirect should be limited to administrators. I've always 
found the resistance to merges puzzling. It's almost as bad as the 
polarizing notion that deletion debates orbit the twin suns of Keep and 
Delete, which are the only possible outcomes, and a "vote" to merge is 
in reality to be reinterpreted as a vote for one of these binary stars 
(which one depends on who's arguing). An argument for a merge is just 
that, and in these cases it's often by far the best solution.

--Michael Snow