Xeno Series Wiki:Talk pages

This is a policy, a standard that all users should be aware of and follow. Do not edit this page unless you have consensus about it on the talk page.

Talk pages are the main means of communicating on the wiki. While we do have a Discord server, it is not reasonable to force users to go there to discuss on-wiki matters, and it is more convenient for such discussion to be archived locally.

All pages (except for special pages) have a talk page, accessed through the "Discussion" tab. This page outlines how to use such pages.

Correct talk page usage

Talk pages are for discussing the subject of the corresponding page.

Content talk pages (articles, templates, etc.)

• Discussing whether a page should be merged, split, deleted, etc.
• Discussing whether a particular piece of information should be on the page
• Discussing whether a certain fact is true or not
• Discussing major edits that may come across as disruption or vandalism if done without warning (e.g. deciding to remove a section)
• Attempting to come to resolution over conflicting edits (instead of just reverting back and forth constantly)

User talk pages

• Discussing a user's contributions
• Informing a user that their edit has been reverted
• Warning users about rule violations
• Minor outside conversations

Policy talk pages

• Discussing changes to the policy
• Bringing up concerns with a policy

Incorrect talk page usage

Talk pages are not for anything that doesn't lead to improving the wiki.

Content talk pages (articles, templates, etc.)

• Posting opinions, arguments, or similar that happen to be about the subject but have no encyclopedic value
• Complaining that an article is bad

User talk pages

• Chatting as if this is a social site

Policy talk pages

• Complaining about rules without constructive feedback

Posting on a talk page

On any talk page, the following rules apply.

• All new posts are placed at the bottom of the section; all new sections are placed at the bottom of the page.
• New sections should always be a == level 2 header ==, and have a useful and specific name that preferably isn't duplicated by a previous section.
• Keep your comments readable. No ALLCAPS, no enlarged or coloured text, no excessive punctuation!!!, and no embedded images.
• Always sign your comments by adding ~~~~ (4 tildes) to the end. Not 3 (this leaves out the timestamp), and not 5 (this puts only the timestamp).
• Use colons (these things: :) to indent direct replies, increasing the indent by one for every reply. If the indent of a long comment chain gets too large, go back to zero.
• Don't reply to old conversations or reopen closed discussions. Even if you have something substantially new to add, you should probably start a new conversation on the same topic instead.

Changing existing talk page content

• You may edit your own comments to fix spelling/grammar errors, or sign if you forgot, but don't change the actual content.
• You may not edit others' comments, unless you are moving them to a more appropriate location.
  • You should not edit a comment after someone has responded to it (unless you are retracting it as below).
• You may not delete comments, yours or others'. You may retract your own comments with <s>strikethrough</s> formatting.
  • There is some allowance for deleting comments that are purely spammy, vulgar, or similar.

Archiving

Once a talk page gets full of many concluded discussions, it should be archived so it doesn't grow too large and unwieldy. 32KB (32,000 bytes) is a good yardstick for when a talk page should be archived. To archive a talk page, first ensure that no discussion is actively happening, and move it to "Talk:Name/Archive 1". (Or /Archive 2, /Archive 3, and so on.) Then, re-create the "root" talk page and link to its archives.

Users are expected to archive their own talk pages, rather than others doing it for them. Remind them if necessary, but do not badger.

Other notes

• For conversations on a user talk page, do not go back-and-forth leaving messages on each others' talk pages. Keep conversations on a single page so anyone can follow them at a glance.