Wikipedia:Arguments to avoid in source reliability discussions

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This is an essay on the reliability of sources.

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: When discussing source reliability at the reliable sources noticeboard, article talk pages, and elsewhere, arguments should be grounded in the reliable sources guideline; this page highlights some arguments to avoid.

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WP:ATARS

Citations on Wikipedia

Generally reliable: It's cited over 1,000 times on Wikipedia
Generally unreliable: It's not cited anywhere on Wikipedia

Popularity

Generally reliable: The website's Facebook page has over 1 million likes
Generally reliable: The author has over 20 million Instagram followers
Generally unreliable: The book sold less than 100 copies

Notability/having a Wikipedia article

Generally reliable since it's notable with its own Wikipedia article

Opinions about content

Generally unreliable: That site mostly spews trivial information

v t e Arguments to avoid
Arguments to avoid	On discussion pages in adminship discussions in source reliability discussions in edit wars in feature discussions in deletion discussions in deletion reviews in file deletion discussions in place and transportation related deletion discussions
Good arguments	List of policies and guidelines to cite in deletion debates Arguments to make in deletion discussions How to save an article nominated for deletion