Wikipedia:Barnstar and award proposals/Intro/Draft

Barnstar and Award Proposals (BAP) is where Wikipedians offer and discuss ideas regarding the "standard" Barnstars, WikiProject awards, Other Related Awards and Personal User Awards, which may include, but are not limited to: creation of a new barnstar, altering or changing an existing barnstar or award, or delisting an award entirely.

Ideas and their discussions take the following guidelines into account. Please note that these guidelines are not strict rules, chiseled in stone. Rather, they are guidelines agreed upon by the community as a way to standardize our approach to barnstars and awards. If you have questions, WikiProject Wikipedia Awards is a group of volunteers who help guide these pages. {| style="clear:both; background:none; color:black;"
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How to use this page

Creating awards

 * Any person or any group can have an award and add it to the Personal User Awards page straight away, as long as the award meets the guidelines in the opposite panel. In this state, your award can be used by others as they wish, but it is not an 'official' award, and should not be added to any other award pages.
 * If your award is a Barnstar, an award for a WikiProject, or some other related award, then you must propose it to the Community by following the steps below.

How to propose a new award

 * 1) Read the guidelines in the opposite panel to make sure your proposal agrees with them.
 * 2) At the bottom of the 'New Proposals' section, add a clear header separating it from other proposals. Use ===Barnstar Name===.
 * 3) Specify the type of award you are proposing. Is it for a WikiProject, a new Barnstar, or some other award?
 * 4) Give some details about the award. Is it a general award, or is it for special circumstances? Is it a topic-related award?
 * 5) Post your proposed design for the award. If you don't have one, describe one and someone might make a mock-up for you.
 * 6) Describe the award, and give some reasons why it should be an award.
 * Remember, there must be clear consensus during the discussion!
 * 1) Don't forget to sign your name with four tildes: ~

Modifications or deletion of existing awards

 * 1) At the bottom of the 'Changing existing awards proposals' or 'Delisting an award' section, add a clear header separating it from other proposals. Use ===Editing/Delisting Barnstar Name===.
 * 2) Give some clear reasons as to why you think the award should be changed. These must be proper reasons, not just because you don't like it!
 * 3) Remember to sign your name with four tildes: ~

What to do if your award is accepted
Guidelines
 * Make sure you add the Category:Wikipedia awards category to any images used in your award.
 * Consider making a template for your award to make it easier to use. Look at some other templates to see what other award templates look like, and try to use the same style.
 * Make sure to categorize the template with Category:Award templates.
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General

 * All awards must encourage WikiLove, WikiCivility, and the other constructive aspects of the Wikipedia community, and may not award or promote the destructive (trolling, flaming or flamebaiting, vandalism, etc.). They shouldn't just be for insulting others!
 * Awards should not, in purpose or image, concern any nation, race or creed over any other.

Creation of an Award

 * For how to propose an award, read the How To panel opposite.
 * General awards may be created and placed on the main award page by anybody as they see fit, so long as they do not violate the basic guidelines below.
 * You should explicitly spell out in the description of the award what it is for.
 * Barnstars are meant to be unique and exceptional. If you wish to propose a new Barnstar, it should be reviewed by the community, and be added to the Barnstars list only when the community reaches consensus on a page specifically designated for Barnstar and award discussion.

Images

 * If you want to use and image for your award it must not, obviously, violate any of the existing guidelines governing the use of images in Wikipedia.
 * The "Barnstar" image should be generally reserved for Barnstars, and rarely (if ever) incorporated into other awards.
 * Medals or commendations awarded by any nations or organizations, past or present, may not be used.
 * If your new award uses an image, please categorize the image with Category:Wikipedia awards.

Templates

 * If your new award uses a template, please categorize the template with Category:Award templates

Guidelines for Barnstars only

 * Barnstars should not be redundant, with the general guideline being "one barnstar, one WikiVirtue".
 * Barnstars should be general and broad in their scope.

Finalizing Proposals

 * General consensus must be reached in order for a proposal to be accepted.
 * If enough time passes without objections being resolved, the idea will be removed from this page and archived.
 * If more than a week has passed, the idea has not gained a consensus, and the discussion has been inactive, the proposal is eligible to be rejected and archived.
 * Proposals should be allowed to mature, so it is suggested that an idea be left in proposal format for at least two weeks for comment before being finalized.
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