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Welcome to the reference desk. There are a few minor guidelines that we request questioners and responders to adhere to. They insure that the desk remains useful to the community at large.
Purpose of the desk
The reference desk is designed to point individuals to answers to specific questions.
Instructions for questioners
Questions should be seeking information. As such, we have some basic guidelines to the form of your question:
- You may not seek opinions. We don't have opinions, so don't ask for them. We will give you the facts, and allow you to form your own conclusions.
- We don't do novel research. While we may check things, we will not test your experiment, your theory, or your thoughts. We can point you to other people's work, however. We will not answer your homework question. We will, however, direct you to sources that will help you answer your homework question.
- We're an encyclopedia reference desk. While you might find some of our responses humorous, your question should not be silly, or a joke.
Instructions for answerers
Questions are seeking information. As such, we must provide them information, not other things.
- Humor for humor's sake is not acceptable. If your response does not seek clarificaton or answer the question, save it for somewhere else.
- This is not a chat room. Don't chat.
- Provide wikipedia articles or WP:Reliable Sources for your answers. Your personal knowledge is not acceptable except to the extent it guides your selection of sources.
- Do not provide answers to homework questions or opinions, no matter what the questioner wishes.