User:The Bushranger/Don't move articles at AfD
 | This is an essay on the deletion policy. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: An article listed at AfD might need a better title than it currently has – but it can wait. |
A lot of times, when an article appears at Articles for Deletion, it's at a title that might not be the best title for the article. Therefore, being bold, a well-meaning editor decides to go ahead and move the article to a more appropriate title, while the AfD is still in progress. If you're that well-meaning editor: please don't. It creates considerable extra work for the closing admin. They either have to move the AfD and update the links to and from it (of which there are quite a few buried in the AfD template code), or has to go manually to the page and remove the AfD tag, as the automated closing script only looks at the title on the AfD itself...which means the {{oldafdfull}} template goes on the now-redirect's talk page instead of the talk page of the actual article itself, too.
Better to let the AfD play out before moving; if the article is deleted, there was no point in moving in the first place; if it's kept, it can be moved then, there is no deadline and a Wikipedian's work is never done!
Corollary[edit]
Similarly, do not move an article which is the subject of an ongoing requested move discussion. At a minimum, this makes it more difficult to tell what the request is. It can also be disruptive and shows a lack of respect for the process of building consensus.