Wikipedia:Don't overload your watchlist!

Watching pages is a capability provided by Wikipedia that allows users to efficiently see if any changes have been made to any articles to the user's interest. It is easily possible for any registered user to watch any page, and to remove a page from one's watchlist at any time when logged in.

Why watch a page?

That is a good question. Why do you want to know if any changes have been made to any particular page?

The following are some possible reasons:

1. You created the page, and you want others to expand it
2. The page has the potential for more information to be added in the future, and you would like to know more about the subject from someone else
3. The subject may require updating, and you want to see if updates are made
4. The page is at risk for vandalism, and you want to be alert to catch the vandalism early

What it is recommended to watch

• Pages you have created (unless the creation was only for technical reasons, and you otherwise have no interest)
• Pages on which you have made a lot of the contribution
• Pages you have never edited, but would like to learn more about the subject one day than is currently provided

What it is not recommended to watch

• Pages on which you have made extremely minor edits only, but otherwise have no interest in the subject
• Additions of categories, navboxes, or other small details that are included on many pages
• Closed deletion discussions, unless they are currently under deletion review. These are never supposed to be modified.

Pitfalls of an overloaded watchist

The human mind has limits to what can be read and comprehended in any given period of time. This varies for each person, but everyone has some limit.

The more pages that are on one's watchlist, the longer it'll take to read the watchlist.