Help:Guidelines
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This list of SM-201 guidelines is a summary of guidelines that are in use and have the current consensus of SM-201 editors. Unlike policies, guidelines are usually more flexible and more likely to have exceptions and could be changed and improved more easily.
SM-201 has a whole lot of guidelines. Consult them whenever you are in doubt about what to do on SM-201: in all likelihood they contain relevant suggestions.
Guidelines
General
- Article size
- Article size is limited by technical issues and considerations of readability and organization. It's useful to split long articles and combine small pages. (Try to keep page size to under 30 kilobytes.)
- Be bold in updating pages
- Wikis develop faster when people fix problems, correct grammar, add facts, make sure the language is precise, and so on. We expect everyone to be bold. It's okay.
- Build the web
- Connect relevant topics throughout an article since all articles in the encyclopedia are nodes in a hypertext system.
- Provide an edit summary
- Providing an edit summary, even if the edit is minor, makes SM-201 work better by quickly explaining to other users what your change was about.
Content
- |3D Illustrations
- 3D Illustrations which use a method or technique to simulate depth such as Anaglyph images and Stereograms should not be used as general inline illustrations in articles.
- Autobiography
- Avoid writing or editing articles about yourself, since most of us find objectivity especially difficult when we ourselves are concerned (however it is not impossible.). Contribute on the talk page instead. Feel free to correct mistaken or out-of-date facts about yourself.
- Notability
- Subjects should have significant outside attention to warrant being included on SM-201.
- Disambiguation
- If an article's name is very similar to another, make a note at the top. If many articles share a name, create a disambiguation page.
- Don't include copies of primary sources
- Don't copy lengthy poems, speeches or other source text into SM-201.
- Guide to writing better articles (on Wikipedia)
- Patent nonsense
- Patent nonsense (Text or random characters that have no assignable meaning at all and completely and irredeemably confused texts) should be dealt with appropriately.
- Citing sources
- point the reader to authoritative references (and list them properly), so that facts can be verified.
- Avoid statements that will date quickly
- Spoiler
- SM-201 contains spoilers. There is generally no need to warn readers of this.
- Check your facts
- Guidelines for using Talk pages (on Wikipedia)
- Avoid inappropriate expressions (on Wikipedia)
Place reserved for future expansion!!
Classification
- Subpages
- Creation of subpages in SM-201 namespace is not allowed. Subpages may be created in other namespaces using the slash (/) character.
- Choosing appropriate grouping technique(s)
- Categories, lists, and series boxes
- By grouping technique
- Lists
- Categories, and other articles in Category:SM-201 categorization
Editing
- Build the web
- Link articles sideways to neighbors, and upwards to categories and contexts to create a useful web of information.
- Edit summary
- Always type at least a brief summary of the change that you made in the Edit Summary box. Avoid misleading summaries.
Discussion
- Talk page guidelines
- Sign your posts on talk pages
- Sign all your posts on SM-201 talk pages by typing ~~~~ to be accountable and to help others understand the conversation.
- Discuss and draft graphical layout overhauls
- When redesigning a few select pages, such as the Community Portal, take your time and get consensus before implementing a new design.
Behavior
- Assume good faith
- Unless there is strong evidence to the contrary, assume that people who work on this project are trying to help it, not hurt it.
- Don't disrupt SM-201 to illustrate a point
- By all means state your point. But don't spam SM-201, disingenuously nominate articles for deletion, push rules to their limits or otherwise create work for other people just to "prove your point".
- Etiquette
- Contributors have different views, perspectives, and backgrounds, sometimes varying widely. Treating others with respect is key to collaborating effectively in building an encyclopedia.
- Please do not bite the newcomers
- Many new contributors lack knowledge about SM-201 policies. But always understand that new contributors are prospective "members" and are therefore our most valuable resource.
- Profanity
- Words and images that might be considered offensive, profane, or obscene by other SM-201 readers should be used if and only if their omission would cause the article to be less informative, relevant, or accurate, and no equally suitable alternatives are available.
- User page
- You can use your user page to add a little information about yourself or to help you to use SM-201 more effectively. But remember that SM-201 is not a blog, webspace provider, or social networking site.
Style guidelines (on Wikipedia)
- Manual of style (on Wikipedia)
- Manual of style (disambiguation pages) (on Wikipedia)
- Guide to writing better articles (on Wikipedia)
See also
Chat rooms • What links here • Copyright info • Contact information • Category:Root