Wiki Editorial Policies

Please note: This is a policy page. It should only be edited by those who are sure of what the official policies on the wiki are or should be. Suggestions and debate about the policies should take place on the discussion page for Wiki Editorial Policies or on the EPAC mailing list. Thanks!

Write anything ...

• ... it can all be fixed up later.
• It is OK to draft articles on the wiki. You may wish to use the {{draft}} tag on your new article as it is taking shape.
• We learned to talk by talking badly, to walk by walking badly, and to write by writing badly. Once something--anything--is in an article, it can be revised.
• The best is the enemy of the good. An article doesn't have to be perfect to be good.

Back up your assertions

• Provide references for your claims.
• If you are an authority because of your training or personal participation in fieldwork, you may tell what you know.
  • Please provide some indications of your credentials on your User page so that readers can evaluate your authority.

Use discussion pages to discuss controversial claims

• Rather than revising the meaning of what someone else wrote, explain the problem you have with what they said on the discussion page for the article.
• See whether you can sort out facts that are not in dispute from interpretations that are.
• A good article should have room in it for expressions and explanations of alternative views. An author can and should argue for a point of view when in that author's judgment the facts in evidence support the view. At the same time, reasonable people of good will often see the same things differently.

Authors may sign articles; significant contributors may co-sign them.

• Feel free to sign a whole article or sections of articles so that readers may evaluate the text in view of what they know of the author.
• You may also use the discussion page to indicate where you made changes and explain why.

Propose discussion of controversies

• You may use the {{controversy}} tag on an article:

There is controversial material in this article. See the discussion page for specific comments and suggestions about how to improve Wiki Editorial Policies. Thanks!

• Please do not neglect to make the specific comments on the discussion page promised in the tag.
• Please sign your comments on discussion page. For starters, use the standard signature provided in the edit toolbar: ~~~~. This signature clearly denotes who you are, how to reach you via your User and User:Talk pages, and gives the date and time of the comment.

Moleski 03:21, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

Please fix what is broken

• We all mkae mstikaes. It is a great service to all to clean up spelling mistakes, grammar, syntax, punctuation, paragraphing, links, headlines, and the like.
• We may develop articles on Spelling help and Suggestions for good style as time goes on.

Classify edits and give summaries

• When you are editing your own article, there is no need to worry about whether the change is major or minor nor do you need to provide a summary of what you've done to the article.
• When you edit an article begun by someone else or one that has attracted many collaborators, you should classify the edit and provide a short summary of the changes you've made. Then when the other author or authors look at the Recent changes link, they can see at a glance how your edits have modified their work.

Presume good will

• All of the people who have been invited to work on the wiki want to put their best foot forward both for themselves and for TIGHAR.
• Each one of you is an editor because other people judged that you have the talent and experience necessary to improve the wiki.
• "We can work it out."

Don't take it personally ...

• ... and don't make it personal.
• We strive for objectivity. It is a high standard and a great accomplishment when we approach the ideal.

Sin bravely

• It is easier to get forgiveness than permission. Make some changes, let people know about them, and don't take it personally if folks revert to a version that they prefer. We can work out methods for Dispute resolution as time goes on. There is more than one way to skin a cat (if you like to skin cats).
• We learn from mistakes. Make some mistakes to learn from!

Have fun

• Most of us are involved in TIGHAR and in the wiki because we enjoy contributing to a team effort.
• If necessary, the management will see to it that the beatings continue until morale improves.