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{{Redirect|WP:POL|the WikiProject about politics|Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Politics|notability criteria for politicians|Misplaced Pages:Notability (people)#Politicians and judges|the WikiProject about the Republic of Poland|Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Poland}}
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{{short description|Wikimedia procedural policy}}
|{{policy}}
|{{Shortcut|]<br>]}} {{procedural policy|WP:PG|WP:P&G|WP:RULES|WP:POLICY|WP:GUIDELINE}}
<noinclude>
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{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes}}{{pp-move-indef}}</noinclude>
{{nutshell|Misplaced Pages's policies and guidelines are pages that serve to document the good practices accepted in the Misplaced Pages community. This policy describes how our policies and guidelines should normally be developed and maintained.}}
{{Policy list}}


Misplaced Pages's '''policies and guidelines''' are developed by the community to describe best practices, clarify principles, resolve conflicts, and otherwise further our goal of creating a free, reliable encyclopedia. There is no need to read any policy or guideline pages to start editing. The ] are a popular summary of the most pertinent principles.
== What to read if you don't want to read ==


Although Misplaced Pages generally ], policies and guidelines are standards all users should normally follow, with guidelines providing guidance in specific contexts. Policies and guidelines should be applied using reason and ]. Technically, the policy and guideline ''pages'' are not the policy and guidelines in and of themselves. The actual policies and guidelines are behaviors practiced by most editors.
There exist 3 summaries of the[REDACTED] guidelines, which can be useful in different circumstances. If you just want to do a quick readthrough and get on with editing, you can get away with reading one of these pages to start with. Later on you can always look further.


This policy page specifies the community standards related to the organization, life cycle, maintenance of, and adherence to policies, guidelines, and related pages of the ]. It does not cover other editions of Misplaced Pages.
* ]; A quick rundown of the key rules you need to edit. Don't worry, it's easy.
* ]; 15 rules of thumb that'll keep you out of trouble and will help you gain adminship.
* ]; The hardest set. The rules to follow even when there are no rules. Even trusted editors sometimes have trouble with these. If you stick to them, you'll go far.


==Derivation==


{{See|Misplaced Pages:Administration#Human and legal administration}}
<!-- Commented out until tfd concludes {{Policylist}}-->


Misplaced Pages is operated by the not-for-profit ], which reserves certain legal rights—see ] for a list of its policies. See also ]. Nevertheless, normally Misplaced Pages is a self-governing project run by its community. Its policies and guidelines are intended to reflect the ] of the community.
== Misplaced Pages is ==
Misplaced Pages is a collaborative project and its founders and contributors have a common goal:


==Role==
:''Our goal with Misplaced Pages is to create a reliable and 💕: The largest encyclopedia in history, in both breadth and depth.''


{{See|Misplaced Pages:The difference between policies, guidelines and essays}}
Misplaced Pages has some '''policies and guidelines''' that help us to work toward that common goal. Some of these policies are still evolving, while others are long settled and largely uncontroversial.
{{Shortcut|WP:POLICIES|WP:GUIDES}}{{anchor|Policies|policies}}


'''Policies''' have wide acceptance among editors and describe standards all users should ] follow. All policy pages are in ] and ]. For summaries of key policies, {{crossref|see ]}}.
While our policies continue to evolve, many ] feel that written rules are inherently inadequate to cover every possible variation of disruptive or malevolent behavior. For example, a user who acts against the spirit of our written policies might be reprimanded even if the letter of the rules has not been violated. Those who edit in ], show ], seek ], and work towards the goal of creating an ] ], should find a ].


{{anchor|Guidelines|guides|guide}}'''Guidelines''' are sets of best practices supported by consensus. Editors should attempt to follow guidelines, though they are best treated with common sense, and occasional exceptions may apply. Guideline pages can be found in ] and ]. For summaries of key guidelines, {{crossref|see ]}}.


{{anchor|Essays}}''']''' are the opinion or advice of an editor or group of editors. They may not be supported by a widespread consensus. They do not necessarily speak for the entire community and may be created and written without approval. Essays the author does not want others to edit, or that overtly contradict consensus, belong in the ].
== Key policies==
You don't need to read every Misplaced Pages policy before you contribute! However, the following policies are key to a productive Misplaced Pages experience, and the sooner you get to grips with them, the better.


Other ] in the ] include:
# '''Misplaced Pages is an encyclopedia.''' Its goals go no further. See ] for more info.
* Process pages, which facilitate the application of the policies and guidelines (e.g. ]),
# '''Avoid bias.''' Articles should be written from a ], representing differing views on a subject factually and objectively.
* ] pages, including ] about their areas of interest,
# '''Don't infringe copyrights.''' Misplaced Pages is a 💕 licensed under the terms of the ]. Submitting work which ]s threatens our objective to build a truly 💕 that anyone can redistribute, and could lead to legal problems. See ] for more information.
* ] or help pages (also found in the ]), which provide mainly technical information,
# '''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. For some guidelines, see ], ], ], ].
* ], which generally provide factual information,
* ] to guidelines and policies, which explain advice in greater detail,
* ] and ] for communication between editors, and
* Historical pages, which are outdated.<ref>Many historical essays can still be found within ]. The Wikimedia Foundation's ] was envisioned as the original place for editors to comment on and discuss Misplaced Pages, although the "Misplaced Pages" project space has since taken over most of that role.</ref>


==Adherence==
==Other policies and guidelines==
Links to various policies can be found in the following ]:
* ] - policies that are widely accepted and that everyone is expected to follow
* ] - less rigid rules of thumb that are generally accepted by consensus to apply in many cases


{{shortcut|WP:ADHERENCE}}
==Procedural questions==
] in interpreting and applying policies and guidelines; rules have ]. However, those who violate the spirit of a rule may be reprimanded or sanctioned even if they do not technically break the rule.
=== How are policies decided? ===
Most Misplaced Pages policy was formulated in the early days of the project, generally prior to the end of 2002. Changes and additions are made by ], though in practice consensus on policy changes is extremely difficult to achieve. In many cases policy has developed informally; written policies usually codify longstanding tradition. A select few important policies are not decided by community consensus, but imposed by Jimbo, the Board, or the Developers - in particular, anything related to copyright, legal issues, or server load. Policies are only rarely established (or amended) through voting. Discussion is preferred.


Whether a policy or guideline is an accurate description of best practice is determined through ].
Proposed and rejected policies are in these categories:
* ] - ideas being proposed as possible new policies
* ] - policy ideas that have been rejected or abandoned


On discussion pages and in edit summaries, ] are often used to refer to policies and guidelines; for example, {{no redirect|WP:NOR}} (no original research), {{no redirect|WP:NPOV}} (neutral point of view) and {{no redirect|WP:BLP}} (biographies of living persons). Similar shortcuts are also used for other types of project pages like essays and how-to guides. Thus a shortcut does not necessarily imply the linked page has policy or guideline status or has been widely accepted by the community.
See also ].


When referencing shortcuts or policy pages, verify they support the points you're making. The names of the policy and guideline pages and ] can be misleading.
===How are policies enforced? ===
'''''You''''' are a ] editor. Misplaced Pages lacks an editor-in-chief or a central, top-down mechanism whereby the day-to-day progress on the encyclopedia is monitored and approved. Instead, active participants make ] and corrections to the content and format problems they see. So ] are both writers ''and'' editors.


==Enforcement==
Most policies and guidelines are thus enforced by individual users editing pages, and discussing matters with each other. Some policies are also enforced by temporary blocks (notably as a mechanism for ]) by Administrators. In extreme cases the ] may make a ruling to deal with highly disruptive situations, as part of the general ] procedure.


{{further|Misplaced Pages:Enforcement policies|Misplaced Pages:Active sanctions|Misplaced Pages:Arbitration enforcement}}
=== Restricted features ===
{{Shortcut|WP:ENFORCEMENT|WP:ENFORCE}}
Some features of the software which could potentially be misused, such as deleting pages and locking pages from editing, are restricted to ], who are experienced and trusted members of the community. Policies particularly relevant to Administrators include:
* ] (When and why to protect a page)
* ] (Blocking users to deal with vandalism or to enforce decisions of the arbitration committee)


If an editor violates the community standards described in policies and guidelines, other editors will warn the person to adhere to ], though editors will resort to more forceful means if the behavior continues, such as ] and ] actions. Gross violations are met with harder enforcement. Going against the principles set out on these pages, particularly policy pages, is unlikely to prove acceptable, although it may be possible to convince others ]. This means individual editors (including ''you'') enforce and apply policies and guidelines.
== Types of guidelines ==
In addition to the generally accepted policies listed above, the following guidelines have been suggested by various participants:
=== General guidelines ===
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
For other useful tips, see ].


In cases where it is clear a user is acting against policy (or against a guideline in a way that conflicts with policy), especially if they are doing so intentionally and persistently, that user may be temporarily or indefinitely ] from editing by an administrator. In cases where the ] procedure has been ineffective, the ] deals with highly disruptive or sensitive situations.
=== Behavior guidelines ===
* ]
* ]
* ] (and move personal debates to email)
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] (Revert wars are considered harmful)
* ]
* ]
* ]


=== Content guidelines === =={{anchor|Content}}­Content==
* ]
* ]
* Deal appropriately with ]
* ]
* ]: point the reader to authoritative references (and list them properly)
* ]: ensure information cited is verifiable if needed (this does not mean it is "official", rather it refers to others' ability to confirm it exists and is as stated)
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] (and consider the audience in writing)
* ]
* Guidelines for using ]
* ]
* ] (disputed)
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


{{See also|Misplaced Pages:Avoid instruction creep}}
=== Style guidelines ===
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* For a complete listing, see ]


Policy and guideline pages should:
=== Guidelines regarding grouping techniques for articles ===
* '''Be clear'''. Avoid esoteric or quasi-legal terms or dumbed-down language. Be plain, direct, unambiguous, and specific. Avoid platitudes and generalities. Even in guidelines, help pages, and other non-policy pages, do not be afraid to tell editors they ''must'' or ''should'' do something.
* Choosing appropriate grouping technique(s): ]
* '''Be as concise as possible—but no more concise.''' Verbosity is not a good defense against misinterpretation. Omit needless words. Direct, concise writing is clearer than rambling examples. Footnotes and links to other pages may be used for clarification.
* By ''grouping technique'':
* '''Emphasize the spirit of the rule.''' Expect editors to use common sense. If the spirit of the rule is clear, say no more.
** ]
* '''Maintain scope and avoid redundancy.''' Identify the purpose and scope early, as many readers will just look at the beginning. Content should be within the scope of its policy. When the scope of one advice page overlaps with the scope of another, minimize redundancy. When one policy refers to another policy, it should do so briefly, clearly, and explicitly.
** ], and other articles in ]
* '''Avoid ].''' Policies and guidelines may contain links to any type of page, including essays and articles. Such links should only appear when clarification or context is needed. Links to other advice pages may unintentionally or intentionally defer "authority" to them. Make it clear when such links defer, and when they do not.
** ] (or: ''navigational templates'')
* '''Not contradict each other.''' The community's view cannot simultaneously be "A" and "not A". When apparent discrepancies arise between pages, editors at all the affected pages should discuss how they can correct the contradictory pages to reflect the community's view. This discussion should be on <u>one</u> talk page, with invitations to that page at the talk pages of the various affected pages.


==Not part of the encyclopedia==
== Other essays and discussions about Misplaced Pages ==
{{Shortcut|WP:NOTPART}}
* The site contains many articles about Misplaced Pages and related topics in a more editorial style.
{{see|Misplaced Pages:Project namespace#Content}}
* Creating ] articles in Misplaced Pages.
Misplaced Pages has many policies and guidelines about encyclopedic ]. These standards require verifiability, neutrality, ], and more.
*] lists many policy, editing, behavior, and other resources.

*] has a number of discussions to establish consensus on whether some groups of articles should or should not be included in Misplaced Pages.
The policies, guidelines, and process pages themselves are not part of the encyclopedia. They do not generally need to conform to the same ] or ] as articles. It is not necessary to provide ] to ] administrative pages, or to phrase procedures or principles in a ] manner, or to ] in determining editorial practices. Instead, the content of these pages is controlled by ], and the style should emphasize clarity, directness, and usefulness.<ref>There is no prohibition against including appropriate external references to support and explain our policies or guidelines, but such sources are not authoritative with respect to Misplaced Pages.</ref>

These pages do, however, need to comply with Misplaced Pages's legal and behavioral policies, as well as policies applicable to non-content pages. For example, editors may not violate copyrights anywhere on Misplaced Pages, and edit warring is prohibited everywhere, not merely in encyclopedia articles.

==Life cycle==

{{anchor|#Life cycle}}
{{Shortcut|WP:PGLIFE}}

Many of the most well-established policies and guidelines have developed from principles that have been accepted as fundamental since Misplaced Pages's inception. Others developed as solutions to common problems and disruptive editing. Policy and guideline pages are seldom established without precedent<ref>] may establish unprecedented policies to avoid copyright, legal, or technical problems, though they are rare.</ref> and require strong community support. Policies and guidelines may be established through new proposals, promotion of essays or guidelines, and reorganization of existing policies and guidelines through splitting and merging.

Essays and information pages may be established by writing them and adding {{tl|essay}}, {{tl|Information page}}, {{tl|Misplaced Pages how-to}}, or ] to the page.

Current policy and guideline proposals can be found in ], and failed ones at ]. All editors are welcome to comment.

===Proposals===

{{anchor|proposal}}
{{Shortcut|WP:PROPOSAL}}
{{further|Misplaced Pages:How to contribute to Misplaced Pages guidance}}
{{redirect|WP:PROPOSAL|propose for deletion page|Misplaced Pages:Proposed deletion|and|Misplaced Pages:Deletion requests}}

Proposals for new guideline and policy pages require discussion and a ] from the entire community for promotion to guideline or policy status. Adding the {{tl|policy}} template to a page without the required consensus does not mean the page is policy, even if the page summarizes or copies policy. Most commonly, a new policy or guideline documents existing practices, rather than proposing a change to what experienced editors already choose to do.

{{anchor|Good practice for proposals}}One path for proposals is developing them through steps of
#{{tl|brainstorming}}
#{{tl|draft proposal}}
#{{tl|proposal}}
#{{tl|policy}} or {{tl|guideline}}

==== Brainstorming ====
The first step is to write the best initial proposal you can. Authors can request early-stage feedback at ] and from any relevant WikiProjects. Amendments to a proposal can be discussed on its talk page. It is crucial to improve a proposal in response to feedback received from outside editors. Consensus is built through a process of listening to and discussing the proposal with many other editors.

==== Creating a request for comment ====
Once you think the initial proposal is well written, and the issues involved have been sufficiently discussed among early participants to create a proposal that has a solid chance of success with the broader community, start a ] (RfC) about your policy or guideline proposal in a new section on the proposal's talk page. Include the {{tlx|rfc|policy}} tag, along with a brief, time-stamped explanation of the proposal. Then, if you want, you can provide a detailed explanation of what the page does and why you think it should be a policy or guideline. The {{tl|Proposal}} template should be placed at the top of the proposed page; this tag will get the proposal properly categorized.

The RfC should typically be announced at the ] and/or ] village pumps, and you should notify other potentially interested groups. If your proposal affects a specific content area, then related WikiProjects can be found at the ]. If your proposal relates to an existing policy or guideline, then leave a note on the talk page of the related policy or guideline. For example, proposed style guidelines should be announced at ], which is the main guideline for style issues. Try to identify the subcategory of guideline or policy (see {{tl|Subcat guideline}} template). Proposals involving contentious subjects or wide-ranging effects should normally be listed on ] for the duration of the RfC. Rarely, a particularly important proposal may be advertised via a ]; sitenotices (which are displayed to all readers, not just to active editors) are not used for proposals. RfCs for policy and guideline proposals are normally left open for at least a week or sometimes a couple of months.

To avoid later complaints about insufficient notice, it may be helpful to provide a complete list of the groups or pages you used to advertise the proposal on the talk page. Be careful not to ], and avoid non-neutral wording.

Editors should respond to proposals in a way that helps identify and build consensus. Explain your thoughts, ask questions, and raise concerns. Many editors begin their responses with bold-font 'vote' of support or opposition to make evaluation easier.

==== Closing the request for comment ====
Closing a discussion requires careful evaluation of the responses to determine the consensus. This does not require the intervention of an administrator; it may be done by any sufficiently experienced impartial editor, not involved in the discussion, who is familiar with all policies and guidelines related to the proposal. The following points are important in evaluating consensus:
* ] for guidelines and policies should be reasonably strong, though unanimity is not required.
* There must be exposure to the community beyond just the authors of the proposal.
* Consider the strength of the proposed page:
** Have major concerns raised during the community discussion been addressed?
** Does the proposal contradict any existing guidelines or policies?
** Can the new proposed guideline or policy be merged into an existing one?
** Is the proposed guideline or policy, or some part of it, redundant with an existing guideline or policy?
* A proposal's status is not determined by counting votes. ], nor is a poll's numerical outcome tantamount to consensus.
* {{anchor|failed}}If consensus for broad community support has not developed after a reasonable time, the proposal has failed. If consensus is neutral or unclear on the issue and unlikely to improve, the proposal has likewise failed.

Discussion may be closed as one of: '''Promote''', '''No consensus''', or '''Failed'''. Please leave a short note about the conclusion you came to. Update the proposal to reflect the consensus. Remove the {{tl|Proposal}} template and replace it with another appropriate template, such as {{tl|Subcat guideline}}, {{tl|Policy}}, {{tl|Supplement}}, {{tl|essay}}, or {{tl|Failed proposal}}. See ] for a listing of banners.

If a proposal fails, the failed tag should not usually be removed. It is typically more productive to rewrite a failed proposal from scratch to address problems or seek consensus to integrate uncontroversial aspects of it into existing pages, rather than to re-nominate a proposal.

==={{anchor|historical}}Demotion===

{{Shortcut|WP:HISTORICAL}}
{{See also|Misplaced Pages:Project namespace#Deletion of project pages|Misplaced Pages:Project namespace#Historical pages}}

An accepted policy or guideline may become obsolete because of changes in editorial practice or community standards, may become redundant because of improvements to other pages, or may represent unwarranted ]. In such situations editors may propose that a policy be demoted to a guideline, or that a policy or guideline be demoted to a ], ], ] or ] page. In certain cases, a policy or guideline may be ], in which case the old page is marked and retained for historical interest.

The process for demotion is similar to promotion. A talk page discussion is typically started, the {{tlx|Under discussion|status|''Discussion Title''}} template is added to the top of the project page, and community input is solicited. After a reasonable amount of time for comments, an independent editor should close the discussion and evaluate the discussion and determine whether a consensus has formed to change the status.

The {{tl|Disputed tag}} template is typically used instead of {{tl|Under discussion}} for claims that a page was recently assigned guideline or policy status without proper or sufficient consensus being established.

Essays, information pages, and other informal pages that are supported by only a small minority of the community are typically moved to the primary author's userspace. These discussions typically happen on the page's talk page, sometimes with an RfC, but they have at times also been conducted at ] (despite the MFD guidelines explicitly discouraging this practice). Other pages are retained for historical reference and are marked as such.

===Content changes===
{{Shortcut|WP:PGCHANGE}}
{{See also|WP:Editing policy|label 1 = Editing policy|Misplaced Pages:Policy writing is hard}}

Policies and guidelines can be edited like any other page. It is ''not'' strictly necessary to discuss changes or to obtain consensus in advance. However, because policies and guidelines are sensitive and complex, users should take care over any edits, to be sure they reflect the community's view and do not accidentally introduce confusion.

The purpose of policies and guidelines is to state what most agree upon, and should be phrased to reflect the present ]. Editing a policy/guideline/essay page does not in itself imply an immediate change to accepted practice. It is bad practice to recommend a rejected practice on a policy or guideline page.

As explained below, update best practices by ] or by working toward widespread consensus for the change through discussion.

====Substantive changes====

{{See|Misplaced Pages:Be bold#Misplaced Pages namespace}}
{{seealso|Misplaced Pages:Don't revert without explanation}}

'''Implement.''' Before making substantive changes to policy and guideline pages, it is sometimes useful to try to establish a reasonable exception to the existing practice. To try to update the existing best practices this way, you may directly deviate from the established practice following the ] and ] principles and make the change to ] pages. After some time, if there are no objections to the change and/or if a widespread consensus for your change or implementation is reached through discussion, you can then edit policy and guideline pages describing the practice to reflect the new situation.

{{Shortcut|WP:TALKFIRST}}
'''Talk first.''' Talk page discussion typically precedes substantive changes to a policy. Changes may be made if there are no objections or if the discussion shows there is consensus for the change. Minor edits for grammar and clarity can be made at any time.

If the result of discussions is unclear, then it should be evaluated by an administrator or other independent editor, as in the proposal process. Major changes should also be publicized to the community in general; announcements may be appropriate.

If wider input on a proposed change is desired, it may be useful to mark the section with the tag {{tlx|Under discussion|section|talk<nowiki>=</nowiki>''Discussion Title''}}. (If the proposal relates to a single statement, use {{tlx|Under discussion inline|''Discussion Title''}} immediately after it.)

{{Shortcut|WP:PGBOLD}}{{anchor|Bold}}

'''Or be bold.''' Although most editors find discussions helpful, especially at well-developed pages, ]. Consequently, you should not remove any change ''solely'' because there was no discussion indicating consensus for the change before it was made. Instead, give a substantive reason for challenging it either in your ] or on the talk page.

] editors of policy and guideline pages are strongly encouraged to follow ] or ] standards. Editing a policy to support your own argument in an active discussion may be seen as ], especially if you do not disclose it when making the edits.

===Conflicts between advice pages===

{{Shortcut|WP:POLCON}}
{{See also|Misplaced Pages:Content forking/Internal#Policy forks}}

If policy and/or guideline pages conflict, one or more pages need to be revised to resolve the conflict so all the conflicting pages accurately reflect the community's actual practices and best advice. As a temporary measure, if a guideline appears to conflict with a policy, editors may assume the policy takes precedence.

More commonly, advice pages do not directly conflict, but provide multiple options. For example, ] says newspaper articles are generally considered to be reliable sources, and ] recommends against newspaper articles for certain technical purposes. Editors must use their judgement to decide which advice is most appropriate and relevant to the situation at hand.

==Naming==

The page names of policies and guidelines usually do not include the words "policy" or "guideline", unless required to distinguish the page from another.

==Finding policies and guidelines==
{{main| Misplaced Pages:List of policies|Misplaced Pages:List of guidelines|Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Contents}}
] and ] can be navigated via the ], ], the ] or by ] (as seen below).
<inputbox>
id = style-searchbox
type=fulltext
width=35
break=no
searchfilter=incategory:"Misplaced Pages policies"
namespaces=Misplaced Pages**
searchbuttonlabel = Search policies
</inputbox>
<br>
<inputbox>
id = style-searchbox
type=fulltext
width=35
break=no
searchfilter=deepcat:"Misplaced Pages guidelines"
namespaces=Misplaced Pages**
searchbuttonlabel = Search guidelines
</inputbox>
<br>
<inputbox>
id = style-searchbox
type=fulltext
width=35
break=no
searchfilter=incategory:"Misplaced Pages Manual of Style"
namespaces=Misplaced Pages**
searchbuttonlabel = Search the MOS
</inputbox>


==See also== ==See also==


* {{section link|Criticism of Misplaced Pages#Excessive rule-making}}
* ], discussion of existing and proposed policies
* ], discussion of new ideas and proposals not policy related * ] – a listing of policy and guideline proposals advertised through ]
** ], that come up very often on the proposals * ] – a centralized list of ongoing policy discussions
* ] – proposals that come up very often
* ] – the place of policies in Misplaced Pages
* ] – major policies and guidelines for very new users
* ] – an index of essays about the community's principles and values
* ] – an explanatory supplement of key policies and guidelines
* ] – links to proposals at the wiki for Wikimedia


==Notes==
]
]


<references />
]

]
==Further reading==
]
* ] – The Wikimedia Foundation
]
* ] – The six values of the Wikimedia Foundation
]
* ] – Principles generally supported by all the Wikimedia communities
]

]
{{Misplaced Pages policies and guidelines|state=plain}}
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{{Misplaced Pages accounts|state=collapsed}}
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Latest revision as of 15:24, 16 December 2024

"WP:POL" redirects here. For the WikiProject about politics, see Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Politics. For notability criteria for politicians, see Misplaced Pages:Notability (people) § Politicians and judges. For the WikiProject about the Republic of Poland, see Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Poland. Wikimedia procedural policy
This page documents a procedural policy of Misplaced Pages.
It documents various processes by which the English Misplaced Pages operates.		Shortcuts

This page in a nutshell: Misplaced Pages's policies and guidelines are pages that serve to document the good practices accepted in the Misplaced Pages community. This policy describes how our policies and guidelines should normally be developed and maintained.
Policies and guidelines (list)
Principles
Content policies
Conduct policies
Other policy categories
Directories

Misplaced Pages's policies and guidelines are developed by the community to describe best practices, clarify principles, resolve conflicts, and otherwise further our goal of creating a free, reliable encyclopedia. There is no need to read any policy or guideline pages to start editing. The five pillars are a popular summary of the most pertinent principles.

Although Misplaced Pages generally does not have hard-and-fast rules, policies and guidelines are standards all users should normally follow, with guidelines providing guidance in specific contexts. Policies and guidelines should be applied using reason and common sense. Technically, the policy and guideline pages are not the policy and guidelines in and of themselves. The actual policies and guidelines are behaviors practiced by most editors.

This policy page specifies the community standards related to the organization, life cycle, maintenance of, and adherence to policies, guidelines, and related pages of the English Misplaced Pages. It does not cover other editions of Misplaced Pages.

Derivation

Further information: Misplaced Pages:Administration § Human and legal administration

Misplaced Pages is operated by the not-for-profit Wikimedia Foundation, which reserves certain legal rights—see the Wikimedia Foundation's Policies page for a list of its policies. See also Role of Jimmy Wales. Nevertheless, normally Misplaced Pages is a self-governing project run by its community. Its policies and guidelines are intended to reflect the consensus of the community.

Role

Further information: Misplaced Pages:The difference between policies, guidelines and essays Shortcuts

Policies have wide acceptance among editors and describe standards all users should normally follow. All policy pages are in Misplaced Pages:List of policies and guidelines and Category:Misplaced Pages policies. For summaries of key policies, see List of policies.

Guidelines are sets of best practices supported by consensus. Editors should attempt to follow guidelines, though they are best treated with common sense, and occasional exceptions may apply. Guideline pages can be found in Misplaced Pages:List of policies and guidelines and Category:Misplaced Pages guidelines. For summaries of key guidelines, see List of guidelines.

Essays are the opinion or advice of an editor or group of editors. They may not be supported by a widespread consensus. They do not necessarily speak for the entire community and may be created and written without approval. Essays the author does not want others to edit, or that overtly contradict consensus, belong in the user namespace.

Other administration pages in the project namespace include:

Adherence

Shortcut

Use common sense in interpreting and applying policies and guidelines; rules have occasional exceptions. However, those who violate the spirit of a rule may be reprimanded or sanctioned even if they do not technically break the rule.

Whether a policy or guideline is an accurate description of best practice is determined through consensus.

On discussion pages and in edit summaries, shortcuts are often used to refer to policies and guidelines; for example, WP:NOR (no original research), WP:NPOV (neutral point of view) and WP:BLP (biographies of living persons). Similar shortcuts are also used for other types of project pages like essays and how-to guides. Thus a shortcut does not necessarily imply the linked page has policy or guideline status or has been widely accepted by the community.

When referencing shortcuts or policy pages, verify they support the points you're making. The names of the policy and guideline pages and shortcuts can be misleading.

Enforcement

Further information: Misplaced Pages:Enforcement policies, Misplaced Pages:Active sanctions, and Misplaced Pages:Arbitration enforcement Shortcuts

If an editor violates the community standards described in policies and guidelines, other editors will warn the person to adhere to acceptable norms of conduct, though editors will resort to more forceful means if the behavior continues, such as administrator and steward actions. Gross violations are met with harder enforcement. Going against the principles set out on these pages, particularly policy pages, is unlikely to prove acceptable, although it may be possible to convince others an exception ought to be made. This means individual editors (including you) enforce and apply policies and guidelines.

In cases where it is clear a user is acting against policy (or against a guideline in a way that conflicts with policy), especially if they are doing so intentionally and persistently, that user may be temporarily or indefinitely blocked from editing by an administrator. In cases where the dispute resolution procedure has been ineffective, the Arbitration Committee deals with highly disruptive or sensitive situations.

­Content

See also: Misplaced Pages:Avoid instruction creep

Policy and guideline pages should:

  • Be clear. Avoid esoteric or quasi-legal terms or dumbed-down language. Be plain, direct, unambiguous, and specific. Avoid platitudes and generalities. Even in guidelines, help pages, and other non-policy pages, do not be afraid to tell editors they must or should do something.
  • Be as concise as possible—but no more concise. Verbosity is not a good defense against misinterpretation. Omit needless words. Direct, concise writing is clearer than rambling examples. Footnotes and links to other pages may be used for clarification.
  • Emphasize the spirit of the rule. Expect editors to use common sense. If the spirit of the rule is clear, say no more.
  • Maintain scope and avoid redundancy. Identify the purpose and scope early, as many readers will just look at the beginning. Content should be within the scope of its policy. When the scope of one advice page overlaps with the scope of another, minimize redundancy. When one policy refers to another policy, it should do so briefly, clearly, and explicitly.
  • Avoid overlinking. Policies and guidelines may contain links to any type of page, including essays and articles. Such links should only appear when clarification or context is needed. Links to other advice pages may unintentionally or intentionally defer "authority" to them. Make it clear when such links defer, and when they do not.
  • Not contradict each other. The community's view cannot simultaneously be "A" and "not A". When apparent discrepancies arise between pages, editors at all the affected pages should discuss how they can correct the contradictory pages to reflect the community's view. This discussion should be on one talk page, with invitations to that page at the talk pages of the various affected pages.

Not part of the encyclopedia

Shortcut Further information: Misplaced Pages:Project namespace § Content

Misplaced Pages has many policies and guidelines about encyclopedic content. These standards require verifiability, neutrality, respect for living people, and more.

The policies, guidelines, and process pages themselves are not part of the encyclopedia. They do not generally need to conform to the same content standards or style conventions as articles. It is not necessary to provide reliable sources to verify administrative pages, or to phrase procedures or principles in a neutral manner, or to cite an outside authority in determining editorial practices. Instead, the content of these pages is controlled by community-wide consensus, and the style should emphasize clarity, directness, and usefulness.

These pages do, however, need to comply with Misplaced Pages's legal and behavioral policies, as well as policies applicable to non-content pages. For example, editors may not violate copyrights anywhere on Misplaced Pages, and edit warring is prohibited everywhere, not merely in encyclopedia articles.

Life cycle

Shortcut

Many of the most well-established policies and guidelines have developed from principles that have been accepted as fundamental since Misplaced Pages's inception. Others developed as solutions to common problems and disruptive editing. Policy and guideline pages are seldom established without precedent and require strong community support. Policies and guidelines may be established through new proposals, promotion of essays or guidelines, and reorganization of existing policies and guidelines through splitting and merging.

Essays and information pages may be established by writing them and adding {{essay}}, {{Information page}}, {{Misplaced Pages how-to}}, or a similar template to the page.

Current policy and guideline proposals can be found in Category:Misplaced Pages proposals, and failed ones at Category:Misplaced Pages failed proposals. All editors are welcome to comment.

Proposals

Shortcut Further information: Misplaced Pages:How to contribute to Misplaced Pages guidance "WP:PROPOSAL" redirects here. For propose for deletion page, see Misplaced Pages:Proposed deletion and Misplaced Pages:Deletion requests.

Proposals for new guideline and policy pages require discussion and a high level of consensus from the entire community for promotion to guideline or policy status. Adding the {{policy}} template to a page without the required consensus does not mean the page is policy, even if the page summarizes or copies policy. Most commonly, a new policy or guideline documents existing practices, rather than proposing a change to what experienced editors already choose to do.

One path for proposals is developing them through steps of

  1. {{brainstorming}}
  2. {{draft proposal}}
  3. {{proposal}}
  4. {{policy}} or {{guideline}}

Brainstorming

The first step is to write the best initial proposal you can. Authors can request early-stage feedback at Misplaced Pages's village pump for idea incubation and from any relevant WikiProjects. Amendments to a proposal can be discussed on its talk page. It is crucial to improve a proposal in response to feedback received from outside editors. Consensus is built through a process of listening to and discussing the proposal with many other editors.

Creating a request for comment

Once you think the initial proposal is well written, and the issues involved have been sufficiently discussed among early participants to create a proposal that has a solid chance of success with the broader community, start a request for comment (RfC) about your policy or guideline proposal in a new section on the proposal's talk page. Include the {{rfc|policy}} tag, along with a brief, time-stamped explanation of the proposal. Then, if you want, you can provide a detailed explanation of what the page does and why you think it should be a policy or guideline. The {{Proposal}} template should be placed at the top of the proposed page; this tag will get the proposal properly categorized.

The RfC should typically be announced at the policy and/or proposals village pumps, and you should notify other potentially interested groups. If your proposal affects a specific content area, then related WikiProjects can be found at the WikiProject directory. If your proposal relates to an existing policy or guideline, then leave a note on the talk page of the related policy or guideline. For example, proposed style guidelines should be announced at Misplaced Pages talk:Manual of Style, which is the main guideline for style issues. Try to identify the subcategory of guideline or policy (see {{Subcat guideline}} template). Proposals involving contentious subjects or wide-ranging effects should normally be listed on Misplaced Pages:Centralized discussion for the duration of the RfC. Rarely, a particularly important proposal may be advertised via a watchlist notice; sitenotices (which are displayed to all readers, not just to active editors) are not used for proposals. RfCs for policy and guideline proposals are normally left open for at least a week or sometimes a couple of months.

To avoid later complaints about insufficient notice, it may be helpful to provide a complete list of the groups or pages you used to advertise the proposal on the talk page. Be careful not to canvass, and avoid non-neutral wording.

Editors should respond to proposals in a way that helps identify and build consensus. Explain your thoughts, ask questions, and raise concerns. Many editors begin their responses with bold-font 'vote' of support or opposition to make evaluation easier.

Closing the request for comment

Closing a discussion requires careful evaluation of the responses to determine the consensus. This does not require the intervention of an administrator; it may be done by any sufficiently experienced impartial editor, not involved in the discussion, who is familiar with all policies and guidelines related to the proposal. The following points are important in evaluating consensus:

  • Consensus for guidelines and policies should be reasonably strong, though unanimity is not required.
  • There must be exposure to the community beyond just the authors of the proposal.
  • Consider the strength of the proposed page:
    • Have major concerns raised during the community discussion been addressed?
    • Does the proposal contradict any existing guidelines or policies?
    • Can the new proposed guideline or policy be merged into an existing one?
    • Is the proposed guideline or policy, or some part of it, redundant with an existing guideline or policy?
  • 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.
  • If consensus for broad community support has not developed after a reasonable time, the proposal has failed. If consensus is neutral or unclear on the issue and unlikely to improve, the proposal has likewise failed.

Discussion may be closed as one of: Promote, No consensus, or Failed. Please leave a short note about the conclusion you came to. Update the proposal to reflect the consensus. Remove the {{Proposal}} template and replace it with another appropriate template, such as {{Subcat guideline}}, {{Policy}}, {{Supplement}}, {{essay}}, or {{Failed proposal}}. See Misplaced Pages namespace templates for a listing of banners.

If a proposal fails, the failed tag should not usually be removed. It is typically more productive to rewrite a failed proposal from scratch to address problems or seek consensus to integrate uncontroversial aspects of it into existing pages, rather than to re-nominate a proposal.

Demotion

Shortcut See also: Misplaced Pages:Project namespace § Deletion of project pages, and Misplaced Pages:Project namespace § Historical pages

An accepted policy or guideline may become obsolete because of changes in editorial practice or community standards, may become redundant because of improvements to other pages, or may represent unwarranted instruction creep. In such situations editors may propose that a policy be demoted to a guideline, or that a policy or guideline be demoted to a supplement, informational page, essay or historical page. In certain cases, a policy or guideline may be superseded, in which case the old page is marked and retained for historical interest.

The process for demotion is similar to promotion. A talk page discussion is typically started, the {{Under discussion|status|Discussion Title}} template is added to the top of the project page, and community input is solicited. After a reasonable amount of time for comments, an independent editor should close the discussion and evaluate the discussion and determine whether a consensus has formed to change the status.

The {{Disputed tag}} template is typically used instead of {{Under discussion}} for claims that a page was recently assigned guideline or policy status without proper or sufficient consensus being established.

Essays, information pages, and other informal pages that are supported by only a small minority of the community are typically moved to the primary author's userspace. These discussions typically happen on the page's talk page, sometimes with an RfC, but they have at times also been conducted at Miscellany for deletion (despite the MFD guidelines explicitly discouraging this practice). Other pages are retained for historical reference and are marked as such.

Content changes

Shortcut See also: Editing policy and Misplaced Pages:Policy writing is hard

Policies and guidelines can be edited like any other page. It is not strictly necessary to discuss changes or to obtain consensus in advance. However, because policies and guidelines are sensitive and complex, users should take care over any edits, to be sure they reflect the community's view and do not accidentally introduce confusion.

The purpose of policies and guidelines is to state what most agree upon, and should be phrased to reflect the present consensus. Editing a policy/guideline/essay page does not in itself imply an immediate change to accepted practice. It is bad practice to recommend a rejected practice on a policy or guideline page.

As explained below, update best practices by editing boldly or by working toward widespread consensus for the change through discussion.

Substantive changes

Further information: Misplaced Pages:Be bold § Misplaced Pages namespace See also: Misplaced Pages:Don't revert without explanation

Implement. Before making substantive changes to policy and guideline pages, it is sometimes useful to try to establish a reasonable exception to the existing practice. To try to update the existing best practices this way, you may directly deviate from the established practice following the WP:IGNORE and WP:BOLD principles and make the change to mainspace pages. After some time, if there are no objections to the change and/or if a widespread consensus for your change or implementation is reached through discussion, you can then edit policy and guideline pages describing the practice to reflect the new situation.

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Talk first. Talk page discussion typically precedes substantive changes to a policy. Changes may be made if there are no objections or if the discussion shows there is consensus for the change. Minor edits for grammar and clarity can be made at any time.

If the result of discussions is unclear, then it should be evaluated by an administrator or other independent editor, as in the proposal process. Major changes should also be publicized to the community in general; announcements may be appropriate.

If wider input on a proposed change is desired, it may be useful to mark the section with the tag {{Under discussion|section|talk=Discussion Title}}. (If the proposal relates to a single statement, use {{Under discussion inline|Discussion Title}} immediately after it.)

Shortcut

Or be bold. Although most editors find discussions helpful, especially at well-developed pages, directly editing these pages is permitted by Misplaced Pages's policies. Consequently, you should not remove any change solely because there was no discussion indicating consensus for the change before it was made. Instead, give a substantive reason for challenging it either in your edit summary or on the talk page.

Bold editors of policy and guideline pages are strongly encouraged to follow WP:1RR or WP:0RR standards. Editing a policy to support your own argument in an active discussion may be seen as gaming the system, especially if you do not disclose it when making the edits.

Conflicts between advice pages

Shortcut See also: Misplaced Pages:Content forking/Internal § Policy forks

If policy and/or guideline pages conflict, one or more pages need to be revised to resolve the conflict so all the conflicting pages accurately reflect the community's actual practices and best advice. As a temporary measure, if a guideline appears to conflict with a policy, editors may assume the policy takes precedence.

More commonly, advice pages do not directly conflict, but provide multiple options. For example, Misplaced Pages:Reliable sources says newspaper articles are generally considered to be reliable sources, and Misplaced Pages:Identifying reliable sources (medicine) recommends against newspaper articles for certain technical purposes. Editors must use their judgement to decide which advice is most appropriate and relevant to the situation at hand.

Naming

The page names of policies and guidelines usually do not include the words "policy" or "guideline", unless required to distinguish the page from another.

Finding policies and guidelines

Main pages: Misplaced Pages:List of policies, Misplaced Pages:List of guidelines, and Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Contents

Policies and guidelines can be navigated via the directory, categories, the navigation template or by custom search boxes (as seen below).



See also

Notes

  1. Many historical essays can still be found within Meta's essay category. The Wikimedia Foundation's Meta-Wiki was envisioned as the original place for editors to comment on and discuss Misplaced Pages, although the "Misplaced Pages" project space has since taken over most of that role.
  2. There is no prohibition against including appropriate external references to support and explain our policies or guidelines, but such sources are not authoritative with respect to Misplaced Pages.
  3. Office declarations may establish unprecedented policies to avoid copyright, legal, or technical problems, though they are rare.

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