User:Mmddyy28/Adoption Course/Lesson 3 -Policies and Guide lines

The following is ''Lesson: 3 of Mmddyy28's adoption course. Please DO NOT edit the contents of this page without the consent of Mmddyy28.' Thank you.''

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Wikipedia policies and guidelines are developed by the community to describe best practice, clarify principles, resolve conflicts, and otherwise further our goal of creating a free, reliable encyclopedia. It isn't mandatory to read any page on policies and guidelines prior to editing an article, although it will help you better understand how this site works

Guidelines are sets of best practices that are supported by consensus.

Policies have wide acceptance among editors and are considered standards that all editors should follow.

Although Wikipedia does not employ hard-and-fast rules, Wikipedia policy and guideline pages describe its principles and best-known practices. Policies explain and describe standards that all users should normally follow, while guidelines are meant to outline best practices for following those standards in specific contexts. Policies and guidelines should always be applied using reason and common sense.

This lesson will specify the community standards related to the organization, life cycle, maintenance of, and adherence to policies, guidelines, and related pages.

Note:
 * Wikipedia is operated by the not-for-profit Wikimedia Foundation, which reserves certain legal rights.

Policies:

There are six policy categories


 * Content, which defines the scope of the encyclopedia and the material that is suitable for it
 * Conduct, which describes how editors can successfully collaborate and what behavior is acceptable
 * Deletion, which explains the processes by which pages, revisions, and logs may be deleted
 * Enforcement, which accounts for various means by which standards may be enforced
 * Legal, which includes rules influenced by legal considerations, and remedies for their misuse
 * Procedural, which documents various processes by which the English Wikipedia operates
 * Ignore all rules
 * "If a rule prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia, ignore it."

Content
The ideal title for a Wikipedia article is recognizable to English speakers, easy to find, precise, concise, and consistent with other titles. Articles about living persons, which require a degree of sensitivity, must adhere strictly to Wikipedia's content policies. Be very firm about high-quality references, particularly about details of personal lives. "Unsourced or poorly sourced contentious material—whether negative, positive, or just questionable—about living persons should be removed immediately and without discussion from Wikipedia articles, talk pages, user pages, and project space." Generally avoid uploading non-free images; fully describe images' sources and copyright details on their description pages, and try to make images as useful and reusable as possible. Everything that our readers can see, including articles, templates, categories and portals, must be written neutrally and without bias. Articles may not contain any unpublished theories, data, statements, concepts, arguments, or ideas; or any new interpretation, analysis, or synthesis of published data, statements, concepts, arguments, or ideas that, in the words of Wikipedia's co-founder Jimbo Wales, would amount to a "novel narrative or historical interpretation." Articles should cite sources whenever possible. While we cannot check the accuracy of cited sources, we can check whether they have been published by a reputable publication and whether independent sources have supported them on review. Any unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia. Please avoid the temptation to use Wikipedia for other purposes. Wikipedia is not a dictionary Wikipedia is not a dictionary or a slang, jargon or usage guide.
 * Article titles
 * Biographies of living persons
 * Image use policy
 * Neutral point of view
 * No original research
 * Verifiability
 * What Wikipedia is not

Conduct
Rudeness or insensitivity, whether intentional or not, can distract from and interfere with our work. Dispute resolution forums are available when civil, reasoned discussion breaks down. Any user who is not subject to editing sanctions may abandon his or her account and start fresh under a new one, as long as the new account is not used in an improper manner. Consensus among equals is our only tool for resolving content disputes, and our main tool for resolving all other disputes. The first step to resolving any dispute is to talk to those who disagree with you. If that fails, there are more structured forms of discussion available. If someone challenges your edits, discuss it with them and seek a compromise, or seek dispute resolution. Do not start fights over competing views and versions. Reverting any part of any single page more than three times in twenty-four hours, or even once if long-term edit-warring is apparent, can result in a block on your account. Improve pages wherever you can, and don't worry about leaving them imperfect. It is advisable to explain major changes. Do not stop other editors from enjoying Wikipedia by making threats, nitpicking good-faith edits to different articles, repeated annoying and unwanted contacts, repeated personal attacks or posting personal information. Do not make personal attacks anywhere in Wikipedia. Comment on the content, not on the contributor. Personal attacks damage the community and deter editors. Although you retain some rights under Wikipedia's copyright provisions, pages that you create and edit belong to the community. Others can and often do mercilessly edit "your" material. Do not use multiple accounts to create the illusion of greater support for an issue, to mislead others, or to circumvent a block. Do not ask your friends to create accounts to support you or anyone. Choose a neutral username with which you will be happy. You can usually change your name if you need to by asking, but you cannot delete it. Vandalism is any addition, deletion, or change to content made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of the encyclopedia. It is inappropriate behavior for an online encyclopedia.
 * Civility
 * Clean start
 * Consensus
 * Dispute resolution
 * Edit warring
 * Editing policy
 * Harassment
 * No personal attacks
 * Ownership of articles
 * Sock puppetry
 * Username policy
 * Vandalism

Deletion
A Wikipedia article, page, category, redirect or image that exists primarily to disparage its subject is an "attack page". These pages are subject to being deleted by any administrator at any time. Articles, images, categories etc. may be "speedily deleted" if they clearly fall within certain categories, which generally boil down to pages lacking content, or disruptive pages. Anything potentially controversial should go through the deletion process instead. Deleting articles requires an administrator and generally follows a consensus-forming process. Most potentially controversial deletions require a three-step process and a waiting period of a week. Page revisions can be deleted for legal reasons. As a shortcut around the Articles for Deletion ("AfD") process, for uncontroversial deletions an article can be proposed for deletion, but only once. If no one contests the proposed deletion within seven days, an administrator may delete the article. As a shortcut around the Miscellany for Deletion ("MfD") process, for uncontroversial deletions a Wikipedia-Book can be proposed for deletion, but only once. If no one contests the proposed deletion within seven days, an administrator may delete the book. Articles which are unsourced biographies of living persons can be proposed for deletion through a special process if they were created after March 18, 2010. If no one contests the proposed deletion within ten days, an administrator may delete the article. In order to contest the proposed deletion, at least one reliable source supporting at least one statement in the article must be added. Administrators may choose to "incubate" articles rather than deleting them outright. A function available to administrators to eliminate grossly improper posts and log entries
 * Attack page
 * Criteria for speedy deletion
 * Deletion policy
 * Oversight
 * Proposed deletion
 * Proposed deletion (books)
 * Proposed deletion of biographies of living people
 * Revision deletion

Enforcement
Administrators, like all editors, are not perfect beings. However, in general, they are expected to act as role models within the community, and a good general standard of civility, fairness, and general conduct both to editors and in content matters, is expected. When acting as administrators, they are also expected to be fair, exercise good judgment, and give explanations and be communicative as necessary. Extremely disruptive editors may be banned from Wikipedia. Please respect these bans, do not bait banned users, and do not help them out. Bans can be appealed to Jimbo Wales or the Arbitration Committee, depending on the nature of the ban. Disruptive editors can be blocked from editing for short or long periods of time. Pages can be protected against vandals or during fierce content disputes. Protected pages can, but in general should not, be edited by administrators. In addition, pages undergoing frequent vandalism can be semi-protected to block edits by very new or unregistered editors.
 * Administrators
 * Banning policy
 * Blocking policy
 * Page protection policy

Legal
Editors who advocate or attempt to pursue or facilitate inappropriate adult-child relationships or who identify themselves as paedophiles are to be blocked indefinitely. Wikipedia has no tolerance for copyright violations in our encyclopedia, and we actively strive to find and remove any violations. Material which infringes other copyrights must not be added. The legalities of copyright and "fair use" are quite complex. It is Wikipedia policy to delete libelous revisions from the page history. If you believe you have been defamed, please contact us. Use dispute resolution rather than legal threats, for everyone's sake. We respond quickly to complaints of defamation or copyright infringement. If you do take legal action, please refrain from editing until it is resolved. The Exemption Doctrine Policy for the English Wikipedia. The cases in which you can declare an image, audio clip, or video clip "fair use" are quite narrow. You must specify the exact use, and only use the image or clip in that one context. Most of Wikipedia's material may be freely used under the CC-BY-SA and GFDL, which means you must credit authors, relicense the material under CC-BY-SA or GFDL and allow free access to it. The terms of use are established by the Wikimedia Foundation.
 * Child Protection
 * Copyright violations
 * Copyrights
 * Libel
 * No legal threats
 * Non-free content criteria
 * Reusing Wikipedia content
 * Terms of use

Procedural
Programs that update pages automatically in a useful and harmless way may be welcome, as long as their owners seek approval first and are careful to keep them from running amok or being a drain on resources. CheckUser is a tool allowed to be used by a small number of editors who are permitted to examine user IP information and other server log data under certain circumstances, for the purposes of protecting Wikipedia against actual and potential disruption and abuse. English Wikipedia restrictions on users who have global rights on all foundation sites Editors in good standing whose editing is disrupted by unrelated blocks or firewalls may request IP block exemption, which allows editing on an otherwise-blocked IP address. Mediation is a process that creates valid consensus with the aid of a neutral third party skilled in dispute resolution. Editors may request formal mediation from the Mediation Committee or informal mediation from any Wikipedia contributor. Mediation Committee/Policy Rules for how the Mediation Committee conducts formal mediation. The Wikimedia Foundation office reserves the right to speedily delete an article temporarily in cases of exceptional controversy. Open proxies may be blocked from editing for any period at any time to deal with editing abuse. Understanding and changing policies and guidelines If you disagree with an edit that was made referencing a volunteer response ticket number as a reason, or in the edit summary, please follow the steps listed at "Wikipedia:Volunteer response team#Dispute resolution". A list of Wikimedia policy links of interest to Wikipedians, along with links to the texts of the CC-BY-SA and GFDL licenses
 * Bot policy
 * CheckUser
 * Global rights policy
 * IP block exemption
 * Mediation
 * Office actions
 * Open proxies
 * Policies and guidelines
 * Volunteer response team
 * Wikimedia policy

Guidelines:

Since there are many guidelines, they have been placed into 7 categories.


 * Behavioral guidelines outline ways for editors to behave and interact with each other on talk pages and elsewhere at Wikipedia.
 * Content guidelines apply only to the article namespace (unless otherwise specified in the guideline), and offer advice on identifying and including encyclopedic information in articles.
 * Deletion guidelines explain criteria and procedures for deleting unwanted pages.
 * Editing guidelines usually provide non-content advice about categorization, navigation or other how-to-edit advice.
 * Naming conventions detail the correct ways to name articles on particular topics.
 * Notability guidelines outline the criteria that a subject must meet to merit a Wikipedia article.
 * Style guidelines contain extensive advice on writing style, formatting, grammar, and more.

Behavioral Guidelines
Unless there is strong evidence to the contrary, assume that people who work on the project are trying to help it, not hurt it. Do not use Wikipedia to promote yourself, your website, or your organization. Participants with a pattern of edits that has the effect of disrupting progress toward improving an article or the fundamental project of building an encyclopedia may be blocked or banned indefinitely. State your point. However, do not spam Wikipedia, disingenuously nominate articles for deletion, push rules to their limits, or otherwise create work for other people just to prove your point. Contributors have different views, perspectives, and backgrounds, sometimes varying widely. Treating others with respect is key to collaborating effectively in building an encyclopedia. Many new contributors lack knowledge about Wikipedia policies. Nevertheless, always understand that new contributors are prospective "members" and are therefore our most valuable resource. Sign all of your posts on Wikipedia talk pages by typing ~ to be accountable and to help others understand the conversation, but do not sign in articles. Talk pages are for polite discussion serving to improve the encyclopedia, and should not be used to express personal opinions on a subject. You can use your user page to add a little information about yourself or to help you to use Wikipedia more effectively. However, remember that Wikipedia is not a blog, webspace provider, or social networking site.
 * Assume good faith
 * Conflict of interest
 * Disruptive editing
 * Do not disrupt Wikipedia to illustrate a point
 * Etiquette
 * Please do not bite the newcomers
 * Signatures
 * Talk page guidelines
 * User pages

Content Guidelines
Avoid writing or editing an article about yourself, other than to correct unambiguous errors of fact. For writing and formatting references using different citation styles. Articles should not be split into multiple articles just so each can advocate a different stance on the subject. External links should be kept minimal, meritable, and directly relevant to the article. Wikipedia is not an advertising opportunity. Images must be relevant to the article that they appear in, properly referenced, and large enough to reveal relevant details without overwhelming the text. Wikipedia contains spoilers, potentially objectionable material, and more. There is generally no need to warn readers of this. Non-free content—including all copyrighted content—can only be used in specific cases and must be employed judiciously. Duplicating the work of others without proper attribution is unethical and can bring the project into disrepute. Give credit where it's due. Information about identifying and using appropriate sources to comply with Wikipedia's Verifiability policy. It is not acceptable to delete information on the basis that it might "spoil" a reader's experience of a narrative work. Resist the temptation to write about the new, great thing you or your friends just thought up.
 * Autobiography
 * Citing sources
 * Content forking
 * External links
 * Images
 * No disclaimers in articles
 * Non-free content
 * Plagiarism
 * Reliable sources
 * Spoiler
 * Wikipedia is not for things made up one day

Deletion Guidelines
An overview of the processes by which articles get deleted.
 * Deletion process

Editing Guidelines
Wikis develop faster when people fix problems, correct grammar, add facts, make sure the language is precise, and so on. We expect everyone to be bold. It is okay. This guideline helps editors choose appropriate grouping techniques. Link articles upwards to create categories. Overcategorization makes categories more crowded and less useful. Creation of subpages in main namespace is not allowed. Subpages may be created in other namespaces using the slash (/) character.
 * Be bold
 * Categories, lists, and navigation templates
 * Categorization
 * Overcategorization
 * Subpages

Naming Guidelines
Category names should be specific, neutral, inclusive, and follow certain conventions. Image files should have readable file names. Always lowercase any words following the first in a page title, unless they are part of a proper noun. The title of an article should generally use the version of the name of the subject that is most common in the English language, as found in reliable sources. This makes it easy to find, and easy to compare information with other sources.
 * Category names
 * Image file names
 * Naming conventions (capitalization)
 * Naming conventions (use English)

Notability Guidelines
Only subjects that have received significant outside attention warrant being included on Wikipedia.
 * Notability