User:Joe Roe/Notability and new articles

This is a draft RfC on what the community expects of a) new page patrollers and b) article creators when it comes to establishing the notability of new articles.

Background
Main points:


 * New page patrollers disagree on to what extent its their job to check notability
 * Existing guidelines are unclear/contradictory on this point
 * Expectations of article creators must also be considered

Should new page patrollers check the notability of the topics of new articles?

 * Option 1: New page patrollers should always check if the subject of a new article is notable.
 * Option 2: New page patrollers should check if the subject of a new article if its content suggests a lack of notability.
 * Option 3: New page patrollers do not need to check if the subject of a new article is notable.

In all three options, "check if the subject of a new article is notable" means that the patroller makes a reasonable effort to assess the level of coverage in reliable sources and/or whether the subject meets an WP:SNG, along the lines of WP:BEFORE.

Should editors establish the notability of the topic when creating an article?

 * Option 1: Article creators should provide citations to reliable sources establishing notability in the article itself.
 * Option 2: Article creators should provide citations to reliable sources establishing notability on the article's talk page or in an edit summary.
 * Option 3: Article creators do not need to establish notability.

TODO: does this wording sufficiently capture SNGs?