User:Cuddlyable3/EDITABLE

= EDITABLE response = A response "signed" as EDITABLElink to a question at a Reference Desk allows anyone to edit it. The purpose of giving this freedom is to allow us to try to compose good answers by consensus instead of only by individually signed posts.

How to edit

 * Click on Edit for the section at the Ref. desk and look for the EDITABLE post in the editing window.
 * You may edit ONLY material in the EDITABLE post
 * The EDITABLE signature does not give you permission to edit any other posts in the section

Why to edit

 * Read the response as you would a mainspace article. Can it be improved by better wording or more reliable references? Does it respond well to the questioner's need?
 * Do not add your signature to an EDITABLE post. It is essentially an impersonal collective response (individual posters can still be traced in the desk history)

What not to edit

 * Do not duplicate material that can be seen clearly in a reference that is given.
 * If you think material is misleading or otherwise should be deleted, post a note about it at Wikipedia talk:Reference desk.
 * Wikipedia articles are good to cite as references when responding at the Ref. desks.

History
Below is the original proposal by cuddlyable3 with thanks to WikiDao for format improvements. WHEREAS raising the quality of mainspace articles in Wikipedia is a shared goal of volunteers who edit in consensus;

AND constructive editing proceeds by critically reviewing what has been posted and making corrections and additions concerned with factual content, its relevance, English prose form, politeness and grammar;

AND questioners at the Ref. Desks can reasonably expect response(s) whose quality exemplifies the quality of Wikipedia as a whole;

I PROPOSE THAT

1. When an editor posts a response and can tolerate that it be reviewed by others then he or she may use the word EDITABLE instead of a regular signature at the end;

2. The posting may then be edited by others in the same way as a mainspace article.

PROVIDING

3. Posting an EDITABLE post is optional for anyone;

4. Only EDITABLE posts are freely open to changes, deletions or additions by anyone;

RATIONALISING THAT

5. An EDITABLE response is no more or less anonymous than an ordinarily signed post, because its poster(s) can be located in the page history, but they do serve to depersonalise what an OP is likely to read;

6. Giving an EDITABLE response can shield the OP from subsequent discussion that often arises between editors, and that may still be done collegially on this page or on an individual talk page;

7. An EDITABLE response provides an avenue for editing facts and grammar without causing embarassment or offence to another editor.

Note: this link EDITABLElink is provided as a convenient alternative to typing EDITABLE. It is created by code that can be copied from here and pasted in place of a signature.