User:Zocky/Wikiquette in various namespaces

This is a draft of a draft of a possible future proposal for a convention.

Wikipedia pages reside in various namespaces. Each namespace is used for a different purposes, so different types of behaviour may be considered appropriate in each of them.

Articles, categories and templates

Articles are what Wikipedia is about. They are visible to every editor and every chance visitor. Wikipedia:Wikipedia is an Encyclopedia and it strives for Neutral point of view.

• Strive for NPOV and completeness.
• Follow the Manual of Style and Naming conventions. Consider using the news style.
• Research thoroughly.
• Avoid or qualify unproven or unprovable statements.
• Consider qualifying or NPOVing additions by other users, rather then removing them.
• Bracket editorial comments with <!-- and -->
• Do not mention Wikipedia editors or internal workings of Wikipedia.

• If an article is about a controversial topic, consider proposing changes on the talk page and waiting for comments before changing the article text.

Image pages

Add copyright info and such

Article, category, template and image talk

The article talk pages are used for discussion about articles. They are the primary channel of co-operation between wikipedia editors. You can use them to propose changes to the article, to ask and answer questions about the article, to raise or discuss issues with the article, etc.

• Discuss, don't debate. The goal is to make the articles better, not prove your point.
• Adopt business-like attitude. Pettiness, grand-standing and snide remarks are more likely to reflect on your reputation than to help you achieve your goals.
• Assume good faith when dealing with other editors. When reading and quoting their comments, especially if their English is not good, make an effort to understand what they're saying.
• Be friendly, but avoid inside jokes. Newbies and a large majority of editors do not know you, and they are likely to perceive it as cliquishness or bullying, especially when they're on the other side of a conflict. When in doubt, err on the side of formality. But compliments are in order, and perhaps need not be so formal.
• Remember that written text doesn't cary the full emotional spectrum of live conversation. Hyperboles, irony and sarcasm are likely to be misunderstood.
• No personal attacks. If you see somebody else make a personal attack, you may consider removing it, and leaving a link to the diff showing what you deleted. Some people consider this controversial for reasons having to do with completeness, concern that editing may change meaning, or censorship.
• If the scope of a discussion is wider than the article, consider moving it to the talk page of a more general article or places like the Wikipedia:Village pump and leaving a link to it.
• If you have issues with a particular user, rather then with the article, take it to the that user's talk page.

Wikipedia: policy, convention and guideline pages

Should be formal and clearly worded

Wikipedia: conflict resolution pages

Should be formal and friendly.

Wikipedia talk

Like article talk, but since these are pages visited mostly by the community, somewhat more relaxed atomsphere is to be expected

User pages

Generally whatever the user wants, but no copyvios, ads, personal attacks

• It's considered exceptionally rude to edit other people's user pages, except in the above cases and when adding to the user's Talk page.

User talk

• When talking to people you do not know well, keep to the guidelines for article talk.
• User talk pages are not public in the sense that article talk and wikipedia talk are. Discussions can therefore be expected to be more relaxed, both in friendliness and in quarrels, but they can still be presented as evidence in conflict resolution procedures.
• Deletion from another user's Talk page should almost never be done. A user's Talk page is like his mailbox; deleting messages from it (or even editing messages not your own, or your own that have already been replied to) is intercepting his mail.