Misplaced Pages

:Policies and guidelines: Difference between revisions - Misplaced Pages

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 21:15, 1 October 2007 view sourceThe Transhumanist (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers302,803 edits →Differences between policies, guidelines, essays, etc.: Move essays to same order as in subheading← Previous edit Revision as of 00:33, 2 October 2007 view source COGDEN (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users13,050 edits →How are policies started?: Implement proposal as per talk page.Next edit →
Line 31: Line 31:


==Procedural questions== ==Procedural questions==
===Sources of Misplaced Pages policy===
=== How are policies started? ===
Policy change now comes from three sources:
* The codification of current convention and common practice which already have wide consensus. These are proposals that ''document'' the way Misplaced Pages works. Of course, a single user cannot dictate what common practice is, but writing down the common results of a well-used process is a good way of making policy. The easiest way to change policy is to change common practice first.
* A policy being adopted after having first been proposed on a wiki page, without first being applied in practice. (See ]). However, such proposals had a ~90% likelihood of failure, and this method is now mostly of historical interest.
*: Currently proposed and previously rejected policies can be found in these categories:
** ]: ideas for new policies.
** ]: rejected or abandoned ideas for policies.
* Declarations from ], ], or ], particularly for copyright, legal issues, or server load.


Misplaced Pages policy come from a number of sources. The most fundamental policy principles are the Wikimedia ], which form the core of policy in all Wikimedia Foundation projects, including Misplaced Pages. These basic issues, such as ], are generally considered to be beyond debate. Most other policies derive from consensus, of which there are two levels:
#Wikimedia-wide ] that have been established among all the Wikimedia projects.
#Current conventions, practices, and standards, established over time by ] among Misplaced Pages editors. Wikimedia policy conventions take precence over policies specific only to Misplaced Pages.


In rare cases, a consensus policy may be disregarded or construed in a binding way by:
*The Wikimedia Foundation ], who has the ultimate say in any decision affecting Misplaced Pages. The Board may alter policy by adopting ] or ]. Some overriding authority has been maintained by ], the founder and Chairman Emeritus.
*] and ], through altering the MediaWiki software code or server operation.
*] by Wikimedia officers, ], and attorneys. office actions concern legal issues such as ]s, ], and ].
*Adjudications by the ], which are considered binding.

Misplaced Pages policy and guideline pages are not in themselves the ''source'' of Misplaced Pages policy; they ''document'' Misplaced Pages policy derived from each of the above sources. The purpose of a written policy or guideline is to record clearly what has evolved as communal consensus in actual practice, rather than to be prescriptive to change our behavior. By convention, the most significant and stable policies are documented in ] such as this one. Policies that require more judgment and common sense by the editor are documented in ].

Misplaced Pages polices may change as consensus changes, but policy pages must reflect the present consensus and practice, rather than attempting to lead editors toward a given result. In other words, policy pages do not create Misplaced Pages policy by decree; rather, they ''document'' the way Misplaced Pages currently works. The easiest way to change policy is to change common practice first.


{{Guideline list}} {{Guideline list}}

Revision as of 00:33, 2 October 2007

This page documents an English Misplaced Pages policy.It describes a widely accepted standard that editors should normally follow, though exceptions may apply. Changes made to it should reflect consensus.Shortcuts
Policies and guidelines (list)
Principles
Content policies
Conduct policies
Other policy categories
Directories

Misplaced Pages has developed a body of policies and guidelines which have helped us over the years to work toward our goal of creating a (successful) 💕.

While we strive to build consensus, Misplaced Pages is not a democracy, and its governance can be inconsistent. Hence there is disagreement between those who believe rules should be explicitly stated and those who feel that written rules are inherently inadequate to cover every possible variation of problematic or disruptive behavior. In either case, a user who acts against the spirit of our written policies may be reprimanded, even if technically no rule has been violated.

However those who edit in good faith, show civility, seek consensus, and work towards the goal of creating a great encyclopedia should find a welcoming environment. Misplaced Pages greatly appreciates additions that help all people.

Key policies

You don't need to read any Misplaced Pages policies before you contribute. However, the following policies are particularly important to the project, and the sooner you understand and use them, the better:

  1. Misplaced Pages works by building consensus. Consensus is an inherent part of the wiki process. (See Misplaced Pages:Consensus)
  2. Misplaced Pages is an encyclopedia. Its goals go no further, and material that does not fit this goal may be moved to another Wikimedia project or removed altogether. (See What Misplaced Pages is not.)
  3. Respect other contributors. Misplaced Pages contributors come from many different countries and cultures, and have widely different views. Treating others with respect is key to collaborating effectively in building an encyclopedia. (See Misplaced Pages:Civility, Misplaced Pages:Etiquette, Misplaced Pages:Dispute resolution.)
  4. Respect copyrights. Misplaced Pages is a 💕 licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Submitting work which infringes copyrights threatens our objective to build a truly 💕 that anyone can redistribute, and could lead to legal problems. (See Misplaced Pages:Copyright.)
  5. Avoid bias. Articles should be written from a neutral point of view, representing views fairly, proportionately and without bias.
  6. Include only verifiable information. If the information in an article is controversial or likely to be challenged, a reliable source must be cited so that the reader can verify the information. (See Misplaced Pages:Verifiability.)

Other concise summaries of key policies

One of these concise versions of the Misplaced Pages guidelines should get you familiar with the important policies.

Here's the recommended reading order:

  1. The five pillars of Misplaced Pages: a quick rundown of the 5 key rules you should read to start editing. Don't worry, it's easy.
  2. Simplified ruleset: 15 rules of thumb to help you avoid problems.
  3. List of policies: A comprehensive list of the 40 official policies with very quick summaries.

Every policy and guideline is listed in one of the following categories:

Procedural questions

Sources of Misplaced Pages policy

Misplaced Pages policy come from a number of sources. The most fundamental policy principles are the Wikimedia Foundation issues, which form the core of policy in all Wikimedia Foundation projects, including Misplaced Pages. These basic issues, such as NPOV, are generally considered to be beyond debate. Most other policies derive from consensus, of which there are two levels:

  1. Wikimedia-wide policy conventions that have been established among all the Wikimedia projects.
  2. Current conventions, practices, and standards, established over time by consensus among Misplaced Pages editors. Wikimedia policy conventions take precence over policies specific only to Misplaced Pages.

In rare cases, a consensus policy may be disregarded or construed in a binding way by:

Misplaced Pages policy and guideline pages are not in themselves the source of Misplaced Pages policy; they document Misplaced Pages policy derived from each of the above sources. The purpose of a written policy or guideline is to record clearly what has evolved as communal consensus in actual practice, rather than to be prescriptive to change our behavior. By convention, the most significant and stable policies are documented in official policy pages such as this one. Policies that require more judgment and common sense by the editor are documented in guidelines.

Misplaced Pages polices may change as consensus changes, but policy pages must reflect the present consensus and practice, rather than attempting to lead editors toward a given result. In other words, policy pages do not create Misplaced Pages policy by decree; rather, they document the way Misplaced Pages currently works. The easiest way to change policy is to change common practice first.

Misplaced Pages guidelines
Behavioral
Discussions
Content
Editing
Categorization
Style
Deletion
Project content
Other
Search

Differences between policies, guidelines, essays, etc.

Many pages in the Misplaced Pages namespace fall in one of the following groups. However, this is not a strict classification; it is not problematic if a page is not in any of these groups, and indeed many pages in the namespace are not. It is important to note that this classification does not form a hierarchy between which pages can be "promoted" or "demoted". For instance, there exists no process by which you can "turn" a guideline into an essay.

See Template messages/Project namespace for the templates associated with each type.

Policies

  • A policy is similar to a guideline, only more official and less likely to have exceptions. As with guidelines, amendments should generally be discussed on their talk pages, but are sometimes forked out if large in scope. One should not generally make significant changes to policy without seeking consensus first.

Guidelines

A guideline is any page that: (1) recommends actions that editors should either take or avoid; and (2) reflects consensus. Guidelines are not set in stone and should be treated with common sense and the occasional exception. Amendments to a guideline should be discussed on its talk page, not on a new page — although it is generally acceptable to edit a guideline to improve it. Disputes over the wording of a guideline are resolved by considering and discussing objections and counter-proposals and coming to agreement, often using compromise language; such a dispute does not "suspend" the guideline or "turn it into" something other than a guideline. People are sometimes tempted to call a vote on a guideline, but this is a bad idea because it polarizes the issue.

  • A naming convention or Manual of Style entry is a specific kind of guideline, related to proper naming, or the way articles should be written. Note that guidelines are subcategorized merely for convenience, and that there is no practical difference between several "kinds" of guidelines.

Essays

Essays are opinion pages reflecting the views of an editor or a group of editors.

  • The term essay is used for many opinion pages that do not fall in the above categories.
  • Essays are neither policies or guidelines regardless of whether these represent a consensus.
  • Essays need not be proposed or advertised; you can simply write them, as long as you understand that you do not necessarily speak for the entire community. If you do not want other people to reword your essay, put it in your userspace.

Processes

A process is a central and organized way of doing things, generally following certain policies or guidelines (e.g. the "deletion policy" tells us how the "deletion process" works)

  • A proposal is any suggested guideline, policy or process for which the status of consensus is not yet clear, as long as discussion is ongoing. Amendments to a proposal should be discussed on its talk page (not on a new page) but it generally is acceptable to edit a proposal to improve it. Proposals should be advertised to solicit feedback and to reach a consensus. A proposal's status is not determined by counting votes. Polling is not a substitute for discussion, nor is a poll's numerical outcome tantamount to consensus.
  • A historical page includes any process which is no longer in use, or any non-recent log of any process. Historical pages can be revived by advertising them.
  • A rejected page is any proposal for which consensus for acceptance is not present after a reasonable time period, for which consensus is unclear after a reasonable time period for discussion regardless of whether there is active discussion or not, or where discussion has substantially died out without reaching consensus. Consensus need not be fully opposed; if consensus is neutral on the issue and unlikely to improve, the proposal is likewise rejected. It is considered bad form to hide this fact, e.g. by removing the tag. Making small changes will not change this fact, nor will repetitive arguments. Generally it is wiser to rewrite a rejected proposal from scratch and start in a different direction.

Wikiprojects

Wikiprojects often have subpages that explain how that project works, or gives best practices or recommendations for the articles within that project's scope. Since it is clear from their name that these are part of a project, these fall outside the classification of policy/guideline/essay/and so forth.

Feature request

A feature request is anything that requires a change to the Misplaced Pages software. These should be filed on Bugzilla. One should never assume the developers will implement something without asking them first. Thus, if you propose something that requires a feature request to work, discuss with the developers first before asking community opinion on an issue that may turn out to be moot.

"How to" or help page

A how-to or help page is any instructive page that tells people how to do things. These will of course be edited by people who have suggestions on how to do things differently. A how-to differs from a guideline in that the former explains how to perform a certain action, and the latter explains when or why certain actions are recommended.

How are policies enforced?

You are a Misplaced Pages editor. Since Misplaced Pages has no editor-in-chief or top-down article approval mechanism, active participants make copyedits and corrections to the format and content problems they see. So the participants are both writers and editors.

Individual users thus enforce most policies and guidelines by editing pages, and discussing matters with each other. Some policies, such as Vandalism, are enforced by Administrators by blocking users. In extreme cases the Arbitration Committee has the power to deal with highly disruptive situations, as part of the general dispute resolution procedure.

Some features of the software which could potentially be misused, such as deleting pages and locking pages from editing, are restricted to Administrators, who are experienced and trusted members of the community. See Misplaced Pages:Administrators' reading list for further information.

Other essays and discussions about Misplaced Pages

See also

Categories: