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* ]: ideas for new policies * ]: ideas for new policies
* ]: rejected or abandoned ideas for policies * ]: rejected or abandoned ideas for policies

=== The difference between policy / guideline / essay / etc ===
*A '''guideline''' is something that is (1) actionable and (2) consensual. 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's generally acceptable to edit a guideline to improve it.
*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 its talk page, but are sometimes forked out if large in scope. One should not generally edit policy without seeking consensus first.
*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 or policy that is not yet consensual, or any process not yet in use, as long as discussion is ongoing. Proposals should generally be advertised to get feedback and reach consensus. '''Proposals are NOT decided upon by voting on them.'''
*A '''historical''' page is any proposal that for which consensus is unclear, where discussion has died out for whatever reason. Historical pages also include any process 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 is opposed, regardless of whether there's active discussion or not. Making small changes will not change this fact, nor will repetitive arguments. Generally it is wiser to rewrite a rejected proposal from scratch and starting in a different direction.
*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.
*An '''essay''' is any page that is not actionable or instructive, regardless of whether it's consensual. Essays tend to be opinionated. Essays need not be proposed or advertised, one can simply write them, as long as one understands the fact that one does not generally speak for the entire community. If you do not want other people to reword your essay, put it in your userspace.


===How are policies enforced? === ===How are policies enforced? ===

Revision as of 01:42, 27 January 2006

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.Shortcut
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Misplaced Pages has developed a body of policies and guidelines which have helped us over the years to work toward our singular common goal:

Our goal with Misplaced Pages is to create a 💕--indeed, the largest encyclopedia in history, in both breadth and depth. We also want Misplaced Pages to become a reliable resource.

Our policies keep changing, and their interpretation as well. Hence it is common on Misplaced Pages for policy itself to be debated —on talk pages, on Misplaced Pages: namespace pages, on the mailing lists, on Meta Wikimedia, and on IRC chat. Everyone is welcome to participate.

While we try to respect consensus, Misplaced Pages is not a democracy, and its governance can be inconsistent. Hence there is disagreement between those who believe rules should be explictly 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 no rule has technically been violated. 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.

Key policies

Misplaced Pages policies and guidelines
Article standards
Working with others

Misplaced Pages has developed a large number of policies which even longtime editors may not be familiar with. Hence the following policies are key to a productive Misplaced Pages experience:

  1. Misplaced Pages is an encyclopedia. — Its goals go no further, and material which does not fit this goal must be removed to another Wikimedia project, or else altogether. (See What Misplaced Pages is not)
  2. Avoid bias. — Articles should be written from a neutral point of view, representing all differing views on a subject, factually and objectively, in an order which is agreeable to a common consensus.
  3. Don't infringe 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 copyrights)
  4. 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:Writers' rules of engagement, Dispute resolution.

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 wikipedia: a quick rundown of the key rules you need to edit. Don't worry, it's easy.
  2. Simplified ruleset: 15 rules of thumb to help you avoid problems
  3. List of policies and guidelines: A comprehensive list (there are roughly 40 policies) with very quick summaries.

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

Procedural questions

How are policies decided?

Much Misplaced Pages policy dates from before 2002. Policy change now comes from three sources:

  • A proposed policy being adopted by consensus. (See Misplaced Pages:How to create policy)
  • A slow evolution of convention and common practice eventually codified as a policy.
  • Jimbo, the Board, or the Developers, particularly for copyright, legal issues, or server load.

Currently proposed and previously rejected policies can be found in these categories:

The difference between policy / guideline / essay / etc

  • A guideline is something that is (1) actionable and (2) consensual. 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's generally acceptable to edit a guideline to improve it.
  • 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 its talk page, but are sometimes forked out if large in scope. One should not generally edit policy without seeking consensus first.
  • 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 or policy that is not yet consensual, or any process not yet in use, as long as discussion is ongoing. Proposals should generally be advertised to get feedback and reach consensus. Proposals are NOT decided upon by voting on them.
  • A historical page is any proposal that for which consensus is unclear, where discussion has died out for whatever reason. Historical pages also include any process 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 is opposed, regardless of whether there's active discussion or not. Making small changes will not change this fact, nor will repetitive arguments. Generally it is wiser to rewrite a rejected proposal from scratch and starting in a different direction.
  • 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.
  • An essay is any page that is not actionable or instructive, regardless of whether it's consensual. Essays tend to be opinionated. Essays need not be proposed or advertised, one can simply write them, as long as one understands the fact that one does not generally speak for the entire community. If you do not want other people to reword your essay, put it in your userspace.

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.

Restricted features

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. Policies particularly relevant to Administrators include:

Types of guidelines

It has been suggested that this page be merged into List of policies and guidelines. (Discuss)

In addition to the generally accepted policies listed above, the following guidelines have been suggested by various participants. Items in bold are official policies. The others are guidelines. There is as yet no consensus on the meaning of this distinction.

General guidelines

For other useful tips, see avoiding common mistakes.

Behavior guidelines

Content guidelines


Style guidelines

Guidelines regarding grouping techniques for articles

Other essays and discussions about Misplaced Pages

  • The Meta-Misplaced Pages site contains many articles about Misplaced Pages and related topics in a more editorial style.
  • Creating how-to articles in Misplaced Pages.
  • Misplaced Pages:Centralized discussion has a number of discussions to establish consensus on whether some groups of articles should or should not be included in Misplaced Pages.

See also

Categories: