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Revision as of 21:07, 6 October 2014 view sourceVoidxor (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers37,822 editsm →{{anchor|Try to fix problems: preserve information|Preserve content}} Try to fix problems: Sentence case is the more common capitalization of bulleted lists on Misplaced Pages← Previous edit Latest revision as of 07:03, 10 December 2024 view source Nardog (talk | contribs)Edit filter helpers, Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers, Template editors81,072 edits →Try to fix problems: not about formatting 
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{{redirects here|Misplaced Pages:Editing guidelines|editing guidelines that are not part of this policy|Category:Misplaced Pages editing guidelines}} {{redirects here|Misplaced Pages:Editing guidelines|editing guidelines that are not part of this policy|Misplaced Pages:List of guidelines#Editing}}
{{redirects here|WP:EP|the education program|Misplaced Pages:Education program}} {{Short description|Misplaced Pages policy}}
{{redirects here|Misplaced Pages:Editing|basic information about how to edit Misplaced Pages|Help:Editing}}
{{redirects here|WP:EP|the education program|Misplaced Pages:Education program|extended confirmed protection|WP:ECP}}

{{pp-semi|small=yes}} {{pp-semi|small=yes}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{policy|WP:EP|WP:EDIT|WP:IMPROVE|WP:EDITING|WP:EG}} {{policy|WP:E|WP:EP|WP:EDIT|WP:EDITING}}
{{policy in a nutshell|Improve pages wherever you can, and do not worry about leaving them imperfect. Preserve the value that others add, even if they "did it wrong" (try to fix it rather than ]).}} {{policy in a nutshell|Improve pages wherever you can, and do not worry about leaving them imperfect. Preserve the value that others add, even if they "did it wrong" (try to fix it rather than remove it).}}
{{notice|For help on editing, see ].}}
{{Conduct policy list}} {{Conduct policy list}}
] is the product of thousands of '''editors' contributions''', each one bringing something different to the table, whether it be: researching skills, technical expertise, writing prowess or tidbits of information, but most importantly a willingness to help. Even the ] articles should not be considered complete, as each new editor can offer new insights on how to enhance the content in it anytime. ] is the product of millions of ''']''', each one bringing something different to the table, whether it be: researching skills, technical expertise, writing prowess or tidbits of information, but most importantly, a willingness to help. Even the ] should not be considered complete, as each new editor can offer new insights on how to enhance and improve the content in it at any time.


== Adding information to Misplaced Pages == ==Adding information to Misplaced Pages==
{{See also|Misplaced Pages:Plagiarism#Copying material from free sources}}
Misplaced Pages is here to provide information to people; generally speaking, the more information it can provide (subject to certain defined ] on its scope), the better it is. Please ] add information to Misplaced Pages, either by creating new articles or adding to existing articles, and exercise particular caution when considering removing information. However, it is Misplaced Pages policy that information in Misplaced Pages should be ] and must not be ]. You are invited to show that information is verifiable by referencing ]. Unsourced information may be challenged and ], because on Misplaced Pages a lack of information is better than misleading or false information—Misplaced Pages's reputation as an encyclopedia depends on the information in articles being verifiable and reliable. To avoid such challenges, the best practice is to provide an "]" at the time the information is added (see: ] for instructions on how to do this, or ask for assistance on the article talk page).
Misplaced Pages '']'' accepted knowledge. As a rule, the more accepted knowledge it contains, the better. Please ] and add content summarizing accepted knowledge, but be particularly cautious about removing sourced content. Information in Misplaced Pages must be ] and cannot be ]. Show that content is verifiable by citing ]. Because a lack of content is better than misleading or false content, unsourced content may be challenged and ]. To avoid such challenges, the best practice is to provide an ] when adding content (see: ] for instructions on how to do this, or ask for help at the ]).


Although reliable sources are required, when developing articles on the basis of sources, ] or ] a copyrighted source. Misplaced Pages respects others' copyright. You should read the source, understand it, and then express what it says in your own words. Misplaced Pages respects others' copyright. Although content must be backed by reliable sources, ] or ] a copyrighted source. You should read the source, understand it, and then express what it says ]. An exception exists for the often necessary use of short quotations; they must be enclosed in quotations marks, accompanied by an inline reference to the source, and usually attributed to the author. (See the ] which allows limited quoting without permission.)


Another way editors can improve an article is by finding a source for existing unsourced material. This is especially true if you come across statements that are potentially controversial. You do not need to be the person who added the information to add a source and citation for it. Another way you can improve an article is by finding a source for existing unsourced content. This is especially true if you come across statements that are potentially controversial. You do not need to be the person who added the content to add a source and citation for it.


==Creating articles==
⚫ == {{anchor|Perfection is not required}} Misplaced Pages is a work in progress: perfection is not required ==
The guideline ] describes what is needed to support the creation of a new article.
⚫ <!-- This Anchor tag serves to provide a permanent target for incoming section links. Please do not move it out of the section heading, even though it disrupts edit summary generation (you can manually fix the edit summary before saving your changes). Please do not modify it, even if you modify the section title. It is always best to anchor an old section header that has been changed so that links to it won't be broken. See ] for details. (This text: ]) -->

⚫ {{policy shortcut|WP:IMPERFECT|WP:PERFECTION}}
=== Mass page creation ===
{{Shortcut|WP:MASSCREATE}}
{{See also|Misplaced Pages:Bot-created articles}}
Any large-scale automated or semi-automated content page creation task must be approved by the community.<ref>This requirement ] but has since been expanded to ], ] pages designed to be viewed by ] through the ]. These include ], most visible ], ] hosted on Misplaced Pages, mainspace ], and ].</ref><ref>While no specific definition of "large-scale" was decided, a suggestion of "anything more than 25 or 50" ].</ref> Community input may be solicited at ] and the talk pages of any relevant WikiProjects. Creators must ensure that all creations are strictly within the terms of their approval. All mass-created articles (except those not required to meet ]) must cite at least one source which would plausibly contribute to GNG, that is, which constitutes significant coverage in an independent, reliable, secondary source.<ref>{{section link|Misplaced Pages:Arbitration Committee/Requests for comment/Article creation at scale/Closing statement#Question 2: Should we require (a) source(s) that plausibly contribute(s) to WP:GNG?}}</ref>

Alternatives to simply creating mass quantities of content pages include creating the pages in small batches or creating the content pages as subpages of a relevant WikiProject to be individually ] to public-facing space after each has been reviewed by human editors. While use of these alternatives does not remove the need for approval, it may garner more support from the community at large.


Mass creation by automated means may additionally require approval as specified by ]. Approval of a bot for mass creation does not override the need for community consensus for the creation itself, nor does community consensus for a creation override the need for approval of the bot itself.
⚫ ''Perfection is not required'': ]. Collaborative editing means that incomplete or poorly written first drafts can evolve over time into excellent articles. Even poor articles, if they can be improved, are welcome. For instance, one person may start an article with an overview of a subject or a few random facts. Another may help standardize the article's formatting, or have additional facts and figures or a graphic to add. Yet another may bring better ] to the views represented in the article, and perform fact-checking and ] to existing content. At any point during this process, the article may become disorganized or contain substandard writing.


Note that while creation of ''non''-content pages (such as redirects from systematic names, or maintenance categories) is not covered by this mass creation policy, other policies, such as ], still apply.
⚫ Although perfection is not required in an article, any contentious material about living persons (or ]) in any article, that is unsourced or poorly sourced—whether the material is negative, positive, neutral, or just questionable—should be removed immediately and without waiting for discussion (see the Misplaced Pages policy ] for more on this issue). If contentious material about a living person (or a recently deceased person) is verified with one or more reliable sources, the material must be presented in a ] without ].


⚫ =={{anchor|Perfection is not required}} Misplaced Pages is a work in progress: perfection is not required==
⚫ == {{Anchor|Try to fix problems: preserve information|Preserve content}} Try to fix problems ==
<!-- This Anchor tag serves to provide a permanent target for incoming section links. Please do not move it out of the section heading, even though it disrupts edit summary generation (you can manually fix the edit summary before saving your changes). Please do not modify it, even if you modify the section title. It is always best to anchor an old section header that has been changed so that links to it won't be broken. See ] for details. (This text: ]) --> <!-- This Anchor tag serves to provide a permanent target for incoming section links. Please do not move it out of the section heading, even though it disrupts edit summary generation (you can manually fix the edit summary before saving your changes). Please do not modify it, even if you modify the section title. It is always best to anchor an old section header that has been changed so that links to it won't be broken. See ] for details. (This text: ]) -->
⚫ {{policy shortcut|WP:IMPERFECT|WP:PERFECTION|WP:NOTPERFECT}}

⚫ ''Perfection is not required'': ]. Collaborative editing means that incomplete or poorly written first drafts can evolve over time into ]. Even poor articles, if they can be improved, are welcome. For instance, one person may start an article with an overview of a subject or a few random facts. Another may help standardize the article's formatting or have additional facts and figures or a graphic to add. Yet another may bring better ] to the views represented in the article and perform fact-checking and ] to existing content. At any point during this process, the article may become disorganized or contain substandard writing.

=== Neutrality in articles of living or recently deceased persons ===
{{further|Misplaced Pages:Biographies of living persons}}
⚫ Although ''perfection is not required'', extra care should be taken on articles that mention living persons. Contentious material about living or recently deceased persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced—whether the material is negative, positive, neutral, or just questionable—should either be verified immediately, with one or more reliable sources and presented in a ] without ], or be removed immediately, without waiting for discussion.

⚫ =={{Anchor|Try to fix problems: preserve information|Preserve content}} Try to fix problems==
⚫ <!-- This Anchor tag provides a permanent target for incoming section links. Please do not move it out of the section heading, even though it disrupts edit summary generation (you can manually fix the edit summary before saving your changes). Please do not modify it, even if you modify the section title. It is always best to anchor an old section header that has been changed so that links to it won't be broken. See ] for details. (This text: ]) -->
{{Anchor|How to handle problematic material|Handling problematic material|Fix problems: preserve information|Remove libel, nonsense, and copyright violations|Handling material that violates policy}} {{Anchor|How to handle problematic material|Handling problematic material|Fix problems: preserve information|Remove libel, nonsense, and copyright violations|Handling material that violates policy}}
{{Policy shortcut|WP:PRESERVE|WP:HANDLE|WP:FIXTHEPROBLEM|WP:PRESERVED}} {{Policy shortcut|WP:PRESERVE|WP:HANDLE|WP:FIXTHEPROBLEM}}
{{redirect|WP:PRESERVE|the Manual of Style section on varieties of English|MOS:RETAIN}}
''Fix problems if you can, flag or remove them if you can't.'' Preserve appropriate content. As long as any of the facts or ideas added to the article would belong in a "finished" article, they should be retained if they meet the requirements of the three core content policies: ] (which doesn't mean ]), ] and ]. Either clean up the writing, formatting or sourcing on the spot, or ] it as necessary. If you think a page needs to be rewritten or changed substantially, go ahead and do so, but preserve any reasonable content on the article's ], along with a comment about why you made the change. Do not remove information solely because it is poorly presented; instead, improve the presentation by rewriting the passage. The ] tends to guide articles through ever-higher ] over time. ''Great Misplaced Pages articles can come from a succession of editors' efforts.''


Great Misplaced Pages articles come from a succession of editors' efforts. Rather than remove imperfect content outright, '''fix problems if you can, ] or excise them if you can't'''.
Instead of removing text, consider:

⚫ * Rephrasing or copyediting to improve grammar, more accurately represent the sources, or balance the article's contents
As explained ], Misplaced Pages is a work in progress and perfection is not required. Any facts or ideas that ] in the "finished" article ] if they meet the three ]: ] (which does not mean no point of view), ], and ].
⚫ * Correcting inaccuracy, while keeping the rest of the content intact

* Moving the information to another existing article or ] the information to a new article
If you think an article needs to be rewritten or changed substantially, ], but it is best to ] about why you made the changes on the ].
* ] of what you think is important to make an article more point-of-view balanced

⚫ * Requesting a citation by adding the {{tl|citation needed}} tag, or adding any other ] as appropriate
Instead of removing content from an article or ] a new contribution, consider:
⚫ * Doing a quick ] and adding a citation yourself
⚫ * ] or ]ing to improve grammar or more accurately represent the sources
* Adding ] to sections you cannot fix yourself
* ]
⚫ * ] if a new ] for the page or an ] of the old one can be located
* ] it as necessary
⚫ * Correcting ], while keeping the rest of the content intact
* ] or moving the content to a more relevant existing article, or ] the content to ]
* ] to the existing points of view to make the article more balanced
⚫ * Requesting a citation by adding the {{tl|citation needed}} tag, or adding any other ] to content you cannot fix yourself
⚫ * Doing a quick ] and adding a citation yourself
⚫ * ] if a new ] for the page or an ] of the old one can be located
* Merging the entire article into another article with the original article turned into a ] as described at ] * Merging the entire article into another article with the original article turned into a ] as described at ]
* Fixing errors in wikitext code or formatting * Fixing errors in ] or formatting

Otherwise, if you think the content could provide the seed of a new sub-article, or if you are just unsure about removing it from the English Misplaced Pages entirely, consider copying the information to the article's talk page for further discussion. If you think the content might find a better home elsewhere, consider moving the content to a talk page of any article you think might be more relevant, so that editors there can decide how it might be properly included in our encyclopedia.


===Problems that may justify removal=== ===Problems that may justify removal===
{{Policy shortcut|WP:CANTFIX|WP:WONTWORK}} {{Policy shortcut|WP:CANTFIX|WP:WONTWORK|WP:DON'T PRESERVE}}
{{Anchor|REMOVE}}Several of our core policies discuss situations when it ''might'' be more appropriate to remove information from an article rather than preserve it. ] discusses handling unsourced and contentious material; ] discusses the need to remove original research; ] describes material that is fundamentally inappropriate for Misplaced Pages; and ] discusses how to balance material that gives undue weight to a particular viewpoint, which might include removal of trivia, tiny minority viewpoints, or material that cannot be supported with high-quality sources. Also, redundancy within an article should be kept to a minimum (excepting the ], which is meant to be a summary of the entire article, and so is intentionally duplicative). {{Anchor|REMOVE}}Several of our core policies discuss situations when it ''might'' be more appropriate to remove information from an article rather than preserve it.
*] discusses handling unsourced and contentious material
*] discusses the need to remove original research
*] describes material that is fundamentally inappropriate for Misplaced Pages
*] discusses how to balance material that gives undue weight to a particular viewpoint, which might include removal of trivia, tiny minority viewpoints, or material that cannot be supported with high-quality sources
Also, redundancy within an article should be kept to a minimum (except in the ], which is meant to be a summary of the entire article, and so is intentionally duplicative).


Libel, nonsense, hoaxes, and vandalism should be completely removed, as should material that ] and material for which no reliable source that supports it has ever been ]. ], ], and ] should be completely removed, as should material that ] and material for which no reliable source that supports it has ever been ].


Special care needs to be taken with biographies of living people, especially when it comes to handling unsourced or poorly sourced claims about the subject. Editors working on such articles need to know and understand the extra restrictions that are laid out at ]. Special care needs to be taken with ], especially when it comes to handling unsourced or poorly sourced claims about the subject. Such claims should generally be removed immediately.


== Talking and editing == ==Talking and editing==
{{policy shortcut|WP:EPTALK}}
''], especially for minor changes and fixing problems''. Previous authors do not need to be consulted before making changes. ]. If you see a problem that you can fix, do so. Discussion is, however, called for if you think the edit might be controversial or if someone indicates disagreement with your edit (either by reverting your edit and/or raising an issue on the talk page). A ] is used on many pages where changes might often be contentious.
{{seealso|WP:PGCHANGE|label 1 = Policies and guidelines § Content changes}}


''], especially for ], fixing problems, and changes that you believe are ].'' Previous authors do not need to be consulted before making changes. ], so if you see an improvement you can make, make it.
⚫ Boldness should not mean trying to impose edits against ] or in violation of core policies, such as ] and ]. ] actions, where actions are justified by their having already been carried out, are inappropriate.

⚫ If you think the edit might be controversial, then a better course of action may be to first ]. Bold editing does not excuse edits against ], edits in violation of core policies, such as ] and ], or edits designed to create a ], where actions are justified by the fact they have already been carried out.

If someone indicates disagreement with your bold edit by reverting it or contesting it in a talk page discussion, ] and respond appropriately.


===Be helpful: explain=== ===Be helpful: explain===
{{policy shortcut|WP:UNRESPONSIVE}} {{policy shortcut|WP:UNRESPONSIVE}}
''Be helpful: explain your changes''. When you edit an article, the more radical or controversial the change, the greater the need to explain it. Be sure to leave a comment about ''why'' you made the change. Try to use an appropriate ]. For larger or more significant changes, the edit summary may not give you enough space to fully explain the edit; in this case, you may leave a note on the ] as well. Remember too that notes on the talk page are more visible, make misunderstandings less likely and encourage discussion rather than ]. ''Be helpful: explain your changes''. When you edit an article, the more radical or controversial the change, the greater the need to explain it. Be sure to leave a comment about ''why'' you made the change. Try to use an appropriate ]. For larger or more significant changes, the edit summary may not give you enough space to fully explain the edit; in this case, you may leave a note on the ] as well. Remember too that notes on the talk page are more visible, make misunderstandings less likely, and encourage discussion rather than ].


===Be cautious with major changes: discuss=== ===Be cautious with major changes: discuss===
{{policy shortcut|WP:CAUTIOUS}} {{policy shortcut|WP:CAUTIOUS}}
''Be cautious about making a major change to an article.'' Prevent ] by discussing such edits first on the article's talk page. One editor's idea of an improvement may be another editor's idea of a desecration. If you choose to be ], try to justify your change in detail on the article talk page, so as to avoid an edit war. Before making a major change, consider first creating a new draft on a ] and then link to it on the article's talk page so as to facilitate a new discussion. ''Be cautious about making a major change to an article.'' Prevent ] by discussing such edits first on the ]. An edit that one editor thinks is minor or clearly warranted might be seen as major or unwarranted by others. If you choose to ], provide the rationale for any change in the edit summary or on the article talk page. If your change is lengthy or complex, consider first creating a new draft on a ] and start a discussion that includes a link to it on the article's talk page.


===But&nbsp;– Misplaced Pages is not a discussion forum=== ===But&nbsp;– Misplaced Pages is not a discussion forum===
⚫ {{further|Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not#Misplaced Pages is not a publisher of original thought}}
{{main|WP:NOTFORUM}}
Whether you decide to edit very boldly or discuss carefully on the talk page first, please bear in mind that Misplaced Pages is not a discussion forum. Misplaced Pages can be a very energetic place, and it is best for the project as a whole if we concentrate our energies on improving articles rather than debating our personal ideas and beliefs. This is discussed further at ]. Whether you decide to edit very boldly or discuss carefully on the talk page first, please bear in mind that Misplaced Pages is not a discussion forum. It is best to concentrate our energies on improving articles rather than debating our personal ideas and beliefs. This is discussed further at ].


===If you need help===
==Editing policies and guidelines==
The ] processes are available if you need help reaching an agreement with other editors.
{{seemain|Misplaced Pages:Policies and guidelines#Content changes}}{{policy shortcut|WP:WPEDIT}}

Policies and guidelines are supposed to state what most Wikipedians agree upon, and should be phrased to reflect the present consensus on a subject. In general, more caution should be exercised in editing policies and guidelines than in editing articles. Minor edits to existing pages, such as formatting changes, grammatical improvement and uncontentious clarification, may be made by any editor at any time. However, changes that would alter the substance of policy or guidelines should normally be announced on the appropriate talk page first. The change may be implemented if no objection is made to it or if discussion shows that there is consensus for the change. Major changes should also be publicized to the community in general, as should proposals for new policy pages (see also ]).


==Editing and refactoring talk pages== ==Editing and refactoring talk pages==
For guidance on how to edit talk pages see: For guidance on how to edit talk pages see:
* ] * ]
⚫ * ]
* ] * ]
⚫ * ]


==See also== ==See also==
* ] - explains how and where you can help Misplaced Pages. * ]: how and where you can help Misplaced Pages
* ]: how not to edit Misplaced Pages
* ] - explains how to deal with an edit conflict.
* ] - various points of view on what this lack of a deadline means. * ]: how to deal with an edit conflict
* ]: various points of view on what this lack of a deadline means
* ] (warning templates)
⚫ * ] - there are certain things that Misplaced Pages is not.

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}


{{Misplaced Pages principles}} {{Misplaced Pages principles}}
Line 88: Line 129:
] ]
] ]

]

Latest revision as of 07:03, 10 December 2024

"Misplaced Pages:Editing guidelines" redirects here. For editing guidelines that are not part of this policy, see Misplaced Pages:List of guidelines § Editing. Misplaced Pages policy "Misplaced Pages:Editing" redirects here. For basic information about how to edit Misplaced Pages, see Help:Editing. "WP:EP" redirects here. For the education program, see Misplaced Pages:Education program. For extended confirmed protection, see WP:ECP.

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
This page in a nutshell: Improve pages wherever you can, and do not worry about leaving them imperfect. Preserve the value that others add, even if they "did it wrong" (try to fix it rather than remove it).
Conduct policies

Misplaced Pages is the product of millions of editors' contributions, each one bringing something different to the table, whether it be: researching skills, technical expertise, writing prowess or tidbits of information, but most importantly, a willingness to help. Even the best articles should not be considered complete, as each new editor can offer new insights on how to enhance and improve the content in it at any time.

Adding information to Misplaced Pages

See also: Misplaced Pages:Plagiarism § Copying material from free sources

Misplaced Pages summarizes accepted knowledge. As a rule, the more accepted knowledge it contains, the better. Please be bold and add content summarizing accepted knowledge, but be particularly cautious about removing sourced content. Information in Misplaced Pages must be verifiable and cannot be original research. Show that content is verifiable by citing reliable sources. Because a lack of content is better than misleading or false content, unsourced content may be challenged and removed. To avoid such challenges, the best practice is to provide an inline citation when adding content (see: WP:Citing sources for instructions on how to do this, or ask for help at the Help desk).

Misplaced Pages respects others' copyright. Although content must be backed by reliable sources, avoid copying or closely paraphrasing a copyrighted source. You should read the source, understand it, and then express what it says in your own words. An exception exists for the often necessary use of short quotations; they must be enclosed in quotations marks, accompanied by an inline reference to the source, and usually attributed to the author. (See the fair use doctrine which allows limited quoting without permission.)

Another way you can improve an article is by finding a source for existing unsourced content. This is especially true if you come across statements that are potentially controversial. You do not need to be the person who added the content to add a source and citation for it.

Creating articles

The guideline Misplaced Pages:Notability describes what is needed to support the creation of a new article.

Mass page creation

Shortcut See also: Misplaced Pages:Bot-created articles

Any large-scale automated or semi-automated content page creation task must be approved by the community. Community input may be solicited at WP:Village pump (proposals) and the talk pages of any relevant WikiProjects. Creators must ensure that all creations are strictly within the terms of their approval. All mass-created articles (except those not required to meet WP:GNG) must cite at least one source which would plausibly contribute to GNG, that is, which constitutes significant coverage in an independent, reliable, secondary source.

Alternatives to simply creating mass quantities of content pages include creating the pages in small batches or creating the content pages as subpages of a relevant WikiProject to be individually moved to public-facing space after each has been reviewed by human editors. While use of these alternatives does not remove the need for approval, it may garner more support from the community at large.

Mass creation by automated means may additionally require approval as specified by Misplaced Pages:Bot policy. Approval of a bot for mass creation does not override the need for community consensus for the creation itself, nor does community consensus for a creation override the need for approval of the bot itself.

Note that while creation of non-content pages (such as redirects from systematic names, or maintenance categories) is not covered by this mass creation policy, other policies, such as Misplaced Pages:Bot policy, still apply.

Misplaced Pages is a work in progress: perfection is not required

Shortcuts

Perfection is not required: Misplaced Pages is a work in progress. Collaborative editing means that incomplete or poorly written first drafts can evolve over time into excellent articles. Even poor articles, if they can be improved, are welcome. For instance, one person may start an article with an overview of a subject or a few random facts. Another may help standardize the article's formatting or have additional facts and figures or a graphic to add. Yet another may bring better balance to the views represented in the article and perform fact-checking and sourcing to existing content. At any point during this process, the article may become disorganized or contain substandard writing.

Neutrality in articles of living or recently deceased persons

Further information: Misplaced Pages:Biographies of living persons

Although perfection is not required, extra care should be taken on articles that mention living persons. Contentious material about living or recently deceased persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced—whether the material is negative, positive, neutral, or just questionable—should either be verified immediately, with one or more reliable sources and presented in a neutral manner without undue weight, or be removed immediately, without waiting for discussion.

Try to fix problems

Shortcuts "WP:PRESERVE" redirects here. For the Manual of Style section on varieties of English, see MOS:RETAIN.

Great Misplaced Pages articles come from a succession of editors' efforts. Rather than remove imperfect content outright, fix problems if you can, tag or excise them if you can't.

As explained above, Misplaced Pages is a work in progress and perfection is not required. Any facts or ideas that would belong in the "finished" article should be retained if they meet the three core content policies: Neutral point of view (which does not mean no point of view), Verifiability, and No original research.

If you think an article needs to be rewritten or changed substantially, go ahead and do so, but it is best to leave a comment about why you made the changes on the article's talk page.

Instead of removing content from an article or reverting a new contribution, consider:

Otherwise, if you think the content could provide the seed of a new sub-article, or if you are just unsure about removing it from the English Misplaced Pages entirely, consider copying the information to the article's talk page for further discussion. If you think the content might find a better home elsewhere, consider moving the content to a talk page of any article you think might be more relevant, so that editors there can decide how it might be properly included in our encyclopedia.

Problems that may justify removal

Shortcuts

Several of our core policies discuss situations when it might be more appropriate to remove information from an article rather than preserve it.

  • Verifiability discusses handling unsourced and contentious material
  • No original research discusses the need to remove original research
  • What Misplaced Pages is not describes material that is fundamentally inappropriate for Misplaced Pages
  • Undue weight discusses how to balance material that gives undue weight to a particular viewpoint, which might include removal of trivia, tiny minority viewpoints, or material that cannot be supported with high-quality sources

Also, redundancy within an article should be kept to a minimum (except in the lead, which is meant to be a summary of the entire article, and so is intentionally duplicative).

Libel, nonsense, and vandalism should be completely removed, as should material that violates copyright and material for which no reliable source that supports it has ever been published.

Special care needs to be taken with biographies of living people, especially when it comes to handling unsourced or poorly sourced claims about the subject. Such claims should generally be removed immediately.

Talking and editing

Shortcut See also: Policies and guidelines § Content changes

Be bold in updating articles, especially for minor changes, fixing problems, and changes that you believe are unlikely to be controversial. Previous authors do not need to be consulted before making changes. Nobody owns articles, so if you see an improvement you can make, make it.

If you think the edit might be controversial, then a better course of action may be to first make a proposal on the talk page. Bold editing does not excuse edits against existing consensus, edits in violation of core policies, such as Neutral point of view and Verifiability, or edits designed to create a fait accompli, where actions are justified by the fact they have already been carried out.

If someone indicates disagreement with your bold edit by reverting it or contesting it in a talk page discussion, consider your options and respond appropriately.

Be helpful: explain

Shortcut

Be helpful: explain your changes. When you edit an article, the more radical or controversial the change, the greater the need to explain it. Be sure to leave a comment about why you made the change. Try to use an appropriate edit summary. For larger or more significant changes, the edit summary may not give you enough space to fully explain the edit; in this case, you may leave a note on the article's talk page as well. Remember too that notes on the talk page are more visible, make misunderstandings less likely, and encourage discussion rather than edit warring.

Be cautious with major changes: discuss

Shortcut

Be cautious about making a major change to an article. Prevent edit warring by discussing such edits first on the article's talk page. An edit that one editor thinks is minor or clearly warranted might be seen as major or unwarranted by others. If you choose to be bold, provide the rationale for any change in the edit summary or on the article talk page. If your change is lengthy or complex, consider first creating a new draft on a subpage of your own user page and start a discussion that includes a link to it on the article's talk page.

But – Misplaced Pages is not a discussion forum

Further information: Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not § Misplaced Pages is not a publisher of original thought

Whether you decide to edit very boldly or discuss carefully on the talk page first, please bear in mind that Misplaced Pages is not a discussion forum. It is best to concentrate our energies on improving articles rather than debating our personal ideas and beliefs. This is discussed further at Misplaced Pages:Etiquette.

If you need help

The Misplaced Pages:Dispute resolution processes are available if you need help reaching an agreement with other editors.

Editing and refactoring talk pages

For guidance on how to edit talk pages see:

See also

Notes

  1. This requirement initially applied to articles but has since been expanded to include all "content pages", broadly meaning pages designed to be viewed by readers through the mainspace. These include articles, most visible categories, files hosted on Misplaced Pages, mainspace editnotices, and portals.
  2. While no specific definition of "large-scale" was decided, a suggestion of "anything more than 25 or 50" was not opposed.
  3. Misplaced Pages:Arbitration Committee/Requests for comment/Article creation at scale/Closing statement § Question 2: Should we require (a) source(s) that plausibly contribute(s) to WP:GNG?
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