Wikipedia Main Page/Policy 3

Wikipedia has developed a body of policies, guidelines and decrees. So many that we have had to create a second page to contain the further embellishments on these rules. These rules and laws are merely in place to make Wikipedia a better place for all, and not for any other reason.

Policies, guidelines and decrees express standards that have King consensus, though to differing degrees: policies are considered a standard that all users should follow, whereas guidelines are more advisory in nature. Decrees, however, should be followed otherwise you could be hanged until infinibanned. All three need to be approached with common sense and Wikipedia at heart. A user who acts against the spirit of them will be hanged or placed in 42 day detention without trial, even if technically no rule has been violated. Those who edit in good faith, are civil, seek consensus, and work towards the goal of creating a great encyclopedia should find a welcoming environment.

This policy page focuses mainly on content, style and deletion issues.

Policies

A list of key policies and guidelines can be found here.

Attack pages

A Wikipedia article, page, category, redirect or image created for the sole purpose of disparaging its subject is an attack page. These pages are subject to being deleted by any WikiWorker (police, secret police etc.) at any time.

Biographies of living persons

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."

Naming conventions

Generally, article naming should give priority to what the majority of English speakers worldwide would most easily recognize, with a reasonable minimum of ambiguity, while at the same time making linking to those articles easy and second nature.

Neutral point of view

Articles, including reader-facing templates, categories and portals, should be written in accordance with the Church Of NPOV's teachings.

No original research

Articles may not contain any unpublished theories, data, statements, concepts, arguments, or ideas; or any new interpretation, analysis, or synthesis of published data, statements, concepts,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."

Verifiability

We cannot check the accuracy of claims, but we can check whether the claims have been published by a reputable publication. Articles should therefore cite sources whenever possible. Any unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

What Wikipedia is not

Every day thousands of Wikipedia articles are edited, and every day millions of people search and read Wikipedia articles. Wikipedia is first and foremost an satirical encyclopedia internet-empire. Please avoid the temptation to use Wikipedia for other purposes.

Category deletion policy

Deleting categories follows roughly the same process as articles, except that it is described on a different page. Categories that don't conform to naming conventions can be "speedily renamed".

Criteria for speedy deletion

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.

Deletion policy

Deleting articles requires a member of the WikiPolice, Wikipedia Secret Police, Wikipedia Special Squadron or the WikiArmy, and generally follows a consensus-forming process. Most potentially controversial deletions require a three-step process and a waiting period of a week. Only members of the government or of a Wiki organisation may vote.

Office actions

The Wikimedia Foundation office reserves the right to speedily delete an article temporarily in cases of exceptional controversy or if goes against Wikipedia teachings.

Oversight

Page revisions can be deleted for legal reasons.

Proposed deletion

As a shortcut around the Articles for Deletion ("AfD") process, for uncontroversial deletions an article can be proposed for deletion, though once only. If no one contests the proposed deletion within five days, the article may be deleted by a member of the WikiPolice, Wikipedia Secret Police or the Wikipedia Special Squadron.