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 | This page in a nutshell: Adding multiple tags without explaining the reason is disruptive. |
Tag bombing is the unjustified addition of numerous tags to pages or unjustified addition of one tag to multiple pages. Tag bombing is a form of disruptive editing. Editors who engage in tag bombing after being asked to stop may be blocked from editing Wikipedia. While some tag bombing may be a well-intended request for clarification, tag bombing can be used as a way to promote a point of view.
Adding tags to articles should be accompanied by sufficient reasoning on the tagged article's talk page (or in a "reason" parameter where one exists) to explain why the tags are needed. However, tag bombing does not apply to the moderate use of tags that are self-explanatory because having the same information on the talk page is a redundancy. For example, the tag {{unreferenced}} says "This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed." There is nothing more to say about an unreferenced article. The article either has sources or it does not have sources. There is no need to add {{citation needed}} tags to numerous unreferenced statements in an article when {{unreferenced}} or {{refimprove}} would state equivalent information. Tags like {{cleanup}}, on the other hand, say only a little more than "This may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards" and direct an editor to the Manual of Style, which contains myriad possible issues. The use of these tags may be enhanced by the use of an argument of what points in the Manual of Style need to be addressed.