So I have figured out how to take advantage of time limits to take care of incomplete pages. Basically the template will automatically change after x # of months has passed. I proposed doing the following.
We start with the regular incomplete tag. Then, after 3 months, if no edits are made to the page, that switches to a "warning, this will be a candidate for deletion soon" (An "incomplete level 2" if you will). After an additional 3 months, this will change to a new No Effort/Nuke type category which will mark it for deletion by an admin. Since this is not a "one size fits all", these pages will need to be reviewed. A page that has been marked as incomplete for even a year, may not need to be deleted. It could be 95% done but just need someone to come along and finish it up. If that is the case, an admin can reset the timer. On the other hand, a page that is severely lacking, should be deleted.
There is one thing to consider. There are two ways that I can do this. I can either base it on the date of the last revision, or I can base it on the date that the incomplete tag was applied. Here are the pros and cons:
Based of last revision:
Pros:- Requires no additional code other than {{incomplete}}
- All pages currently marked as incomplete will automatically work, nothing needs to be changed.
Cons:
- If ANY edit is made to the page, even if just fixing a typo, the timer will reset. This means that even pages that are severely lacking will still fall through the cracks.
Based on date that template applied:
Pros:- Allows for minor edits to be made without resetting the counter which helps to ensure actual quality.
Cons:- Will require slightly extra code. Instead of just {{incomplete}}. You will have to add the date: {{incomplete|mm|dd|yy}}.
- Will require retroactively doing the 400 or so pages marked as incomplete. (This is actually a pro because it means that we will have to go through each of the pages marked as incomplete).
Let's hear some feedback and I will work on this later this week.
-Zack