Appropedia:Ruleset: Difference between revisions

Besides the non-negotiable principle of Neutral point of view, this is not a strict set of rules, but rather a set of voluntary guidelines which you can choose to follow. You might see people do things that are plainly not in accordance with these guidelines, but which may or may not still be well within the actual Appropedia policies. The be graceful guideline applies in those situations. :-)

Ruleset

These guidelines are adapted from Wikipedia's Ruleset. Note that the main differences come from wikipedia being solely an encyclopedia, whereas Appropedia is a living library serving as encyclopedia, textbook, how-to manual and project repository.

1. BE BOLD! in updating pages. Go ahead, it's a wiki!
   Encourage others, including those who disagree with you, likewise to BE BOLD!
2. Be civil to other users at all times.
3. Ignore all rules. Don't worry! If you just want to add some useful information to an article in a commonsense way, DO SO. On the other hand, if someone suggests that there is an established and sensible way to do something, please ignore this rule and listen to that person.
4. Neutral point of view (NPOV). Write from a neutral point of view. This is a non-negotiable principal of Appropedia, which allows us to make fair representations of, and to build tools to work on, the world around us.
   1. Special Lemma: Appropedia is not a site for soap boxing (a truly slippery act). If you think that the current administration should be admonished for their policy on alternative pest control, use Appropedia to describe alternative pest control. Use some other site for dissin' da man.
5. (But) When in doubt, take it to the talk page. We have all the time in the world. Mutual respect is the guiding behavioral principle of Appropedia and, although everyone knows that their writing may be edited mercilessly, it is easier to accept changes if the reasons for them are understood. If you discuss changes on the article's talk (or discussion) page before you make them, you should reach consensus faster and happier.
6. Respect copyright.
7. Decent edit summaries and clear and transparent explanations are universally appreciated. Other editors need to understand your process, and it also helps you yourself to understand what you did after a long leave of absence from an article. Please state what you changed and why. If the explanation is too long, elucidate on the discussion page. It is a current policy of Appropedia that anyone may edit articles without registering, so there may be a lot of changes to watch; edit summaries simplify this.
8. Assume good faith; in other words, try to consider the person on the other end of the discussion is a thinking, rational being who is trying to positively contribute to Appropedia — unless, and only unless, you have firm, solid, and objective proof to the contrary. Merely disagreeing with you is no such proof.
9. Particularly, don't revert good faith edits. Reverting is a little too powerful sometimes, hence the three-revert rule. Don't succumb to the temptation, unless you're reverting very obvious vandalism (like "LALALALAL*&*@#@THIS_SUXX0RZ", or someone changing "6+5*2=16" to "6+5*2=17"). If you really can't stand something, revert once, with an edit summary something like "(rv) I disagree strongly, I'll explain why in talk." and immediately take it to talk.
10. No personal attacks. Don't write that user such and so is an idiot, or insult him/her (even if (s)he is an idiot). Instead, explain what they did wrong, why it is wrong, and how to fix it. If possible, fix it yourself (but see above).
11. Be graceful: Be liberal in what you accept, be conservative in what you do. Try to accommodate other people's quirks as best you can, but try to be as polite, solid and straightforward as possible yourself.
12. Use the preview button, it prevents edit conflicts.

See also