FamilySearch Wiki:Talk Page Guidelines: Difference between revisions

*<span id="communicate" />'''Communicate''': If in doubt, make the extra effort so that other people understand you. It is equally important for you to understand the viewpoint of others. Being friendly is a great help. It is always good to give an explanation of your views. It is less helpful for you to voice an opinion without explaining how you came to have that viewpoint. Explaining an opinion and listening to the opinion of others helps all to reach consensus.  

*<span id="topic" />'''Keep on topic''': Talk pages are for discussing the specific&nbsp;''article'', not for general conversation about the article's subject or more periforal topics. Keep discussions focused on the improvment of the associated article. Irrelevant discussions are subject to removal.  

*<span id="positive" />'''Be positive''': Article Talk pages should be used to discuss ways to improve an article. The Talk page is not a venue used to criticize, pick apart, or vent about the current status of an article or its subject. If you feel something is wrong, but are not sure how to fix it, then by all means feel free to draw attention to this and ask for suggestions from others.&nbsp;  

*<span id="objective" />'''Stay objective''': Talk pages are not a forum for editors to argue their '''personal point of view''' about a controversial issue. They are a forum to discuss how the different '''points of view obtained from secondary sources''' should be included in the article, so that the end result is [[FamilySearch Wiki:NPOV|neutral and objective]] (which may mean including conflicting viewpoints). The best way to present a case is to find properly referenced material.  

*<span id="factual" />'''Deal with facts''': The Talk page is the ideal place for all issues relating to [[FamilySearch Wiki:Verifiable|verification]]. This includes asking for help to find sources, comparing contradictory facts from different sources, and examining the reliability of references. <u>Asking for a verifiable reference to support a statement is often better than arguing against it.</u>  

*<span id="sharing" />'''Share material''': The Talk page can be used to store material from the article which has been removed because it is not verified, so that time can be given for references to be found. New material can sometimes be prepared on the Talk page until it is ready to be put into the article.  

*<span id="discussion" />'''Discuss edits''': The Talk page is particularly useful to talk about edits. If one of your edits has been reverted, and you change it back again, it is good practice to leave an explanation on the Talk page and a note in the edit summary explaining your actions. The Talk page is also the place to ask about another editor's changes. If someone queries one of your edits, make sure you reply with a complete, helpful rationale.  

*<span id="propose" />'''Make proposals''': New proposals for the article can be put forward for discussion by other editors if you wish. Proposals might include changes to specific details, page moves, merges or turning a section of a long article into a separate article.

*<span id="signature" />'''[[FamilySearch Wiki:Signatures|Sign your posts]]''': To sign a post, type four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>), and they will be replaced with your username and time stamp, like this: [[User:Example|Example]] 13:21, 9 May 2008 (UTC). Please note that it is impossible to leave an anonymous comment because your user name or IP address is recorded in the page history.  

*<span id="markup" />'''Avoid excessive markup''': Well-reasoned arguments are undermined with the appearance of force through ''Italic text'', '''Bolded text''', and especially CAPITAL LETTERS, which are considered '''''SHOUTING''''', and '''''RANTING!!!!!''''' Italics, however, can be usefully employed for a ''key'' word, to distinguish quoted text from new text and, of course, book titles etc.  

*<span id="concise" />'''Be concise''': If your post is longer than 100 words, consider shortening it. Long, rambling messages are difficult to understand, and are frequently either ignored or misunderstood. If you need to make a detailed, point by point discussion, see [[FamilySearch Wiki:Talk page guidelines#Layout|below]] for how to lay this out.  

*<span id="layout" />'''Keep the layout clear''': Keep the talk page attractively and clearly laid out. Avoid repetition, muddled writing, and unnecessary digressions. Talk pages with a good signal-to-noise ratio<ref>Signal-to-noise ratio is a measure used in science and engineering to quantify how much a signal has been corrupted by noise</ref> are more likely to attract continued participation. See {{wpd|WP:Talk_page_layout}}  

*<span />'''Keep discussions focused''': Discussions naturally should finalize by consensus versus fatigue.  

*<span id="archives" />'''{{wpd|WP:RTFA|Read the archives}}''': Many article talk pages contain links to archives, which contain earlier discussions. If you are a new editor to an article, be sure to read them, as they often deal with common content disputes and resolutions to them. You may well find your questions and/or objections have already been answered.  

*<span id="english" />'''Use English''': No matter to whom you address a comment, it is preferred that you use English on Talk pages in the English version of the wiki. This is so that comments may be comprehensible to the community at large. If the use of another language is unavoidable, try to also provide a translation of the comments. If you are requested to do so and cannot, you should either find a third party to translate or use an internet translator.  

*<span id="multi" />'''Centralized discussion:''' Avoid posting the same thread in multiple forums. This fragments discussion of the idea. Instead, start the discussion in one location, and, if needed, advertise that in other locations using a link. If you find a fragmented discussion, it may be desirable to move all posts to one location, and linking to it. Make sure you state clearly in edit summaries and on Talk pages what you have done and why.  

*<span id="welcoming" />'''Be welcoming to newcomers:''' People new to wiki may be unfamiliar with policy and conventions. [[FamilySearch Wiki:Be kind to newcomers|Be kind to newcomers]]. If someone does something against custom, [[FamilySearch Wiki:Assume good faith|assume it was an unwitting mistake]]. [[FamilySearch Wiki:Civility and Polite Discourse|Politely]] and gently point out their mistake, reference the relevant policy/guideline/help pages, and suggest a better approach.  

*<span id="contentnotcontrib" />'''[[FamilySearch Wiki:No personal attacks|Comment on content, not on the contributor]]''': Keep the discussions focused upon the topic of the Talk page, rather than on the personalities of the editors contributing to the Talk page.