User:TerryE/Requests for comment/Documentation/Using the Rcftag

This article describes how to use the to create an automatic RfC. It assumes that the reader has already read and is familiar with the overall RfC process and has decided to adopt the recommended method of using this tag.

Key Points and Checklist

 * If you do intend to raise an RfC, then we strongly suggest that all parties discuss and agree an appropriate synopsis for the body of the request to be posted in the RfC queue. Keep it short and don't use sub-section headings within the request itself.  If you can't agree then ask the assistance of an independent third party in framing the wording or move the contentious points below the RfC.


 * The RFC bot which processes rfctags uses the section heading that precedes the RfC as the RfC title, so ensure that this preceding section heading is a meaningful non-controversial title for the RfC. A good way to do this is to create a new section to contain the RfC immediately before the tag and at the bottom of the desputed article's talk page.


 * Decide which category codes are appropriate to the tag. You can can choose 1-3 from the list below.  More that three will result in an error.


 * Place this tag immediately following the section heading used as the RfC title and include the appropriate codes. Hence if the RfC related to the biography of a doctor then the tag might be:


 * Follow this by the content of the request and then you as author should sign it with a standard ~ signature.  Note that by default the bot uses the date and time stamp in this signature as an end marker for the RfC.


 * If you need to include dates within your RfC text then a good trick to avoid including the (UTC) qualifier which the bot looks for in the end marker. Another alternative is to use a special HTML Comment in the section containing the RfC to mark the end of the RfC. If the bot finds this, then it will ignore any DTS that it finds.


 * Remember that the clearer you present the arguments on both side the better the feedback will be from any commenting editors. A good way to structure the RfC is to follow the RfC itself using level four ("====") headings:
 * Summary by X, Y, ... where are X, Y, ... one party in the dispute
 * Summary by P, Q, ... where are P, Q, ... one party in the dispute
 * Comments by independent editors
 * Further Comments


 * The parties involved in the dispute may have already engaged in a protracted discussion that the editor might not want to read, so allowing both parties to provide a crisp summary of each case (with diff links to any previous points and posts) is a good way to precis the discussion and avoid POV conflicts in framing wording.


 * Do not use subst: within the rfctag as the RfC bot looks for the tag itself and substituting the tag content will frustrate the working of the bot.

Valid topic area codes

 *  bio (Biographies)
 *  econ (Economy, trade, and companies)
 *  hist (History and geography)
 *  lang (Language and linguistics)
 *  sci (Maths, science, and technology)
 *  media (Art, architecture, literature, and media)
 *  pol (Politics, government, and law)
 *  reli (Religion and philosophy)
 *  soc (Society, sports, and culture)
 *  style (Wikipedia style and naming)
 *  policy (Wikipedia policies and guidelines)
 *  proj (WikiProjects and collaborations)
 *  unsorted (Unsorted RFCs)
 * silent. This is not an topic area per se, but if this is included as the first parameter then the RfC banner is not displayed.
 * == Some RfC headings ==

Rfctag errors
The bot scans all articles which link to the Rfctag template every half hour to process the tags and update the RfC summaries. If it finds an error in the tag or the layout of the section then it will replace the tag by an tag which generates an error notice in the article. Please read this notice and follow the guidance in the Errors section below. Note that you will not have your RfC included in the RfC lists until you resolve the error.

Invalid topic area code or parameter
The include an topic area code which is not in the above list, or it includes more that 3 such codes or it includes an unknown optional parameter. Limit your RfC selection so that the tag includes no more than 3 valid code from the above list.

The RcF text is malformed
The RCF bot cannot parse the between the tag and ending DTS delimiter. This may be because you have introduced section headings or another before your delimiting date-time stamp.

The RfC text has no terminating DTS
The bot also has a character count limit for the content of the RcF. If you exceed this limit, the bot will not process the RfC. It is in your own advantage to keep this synopsis short. Précis the content and introduce supplementary sub-sections below the terminating DTS to contain the full details from both parties as described above.