Help:Minor edit
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Checking the minor edit box indicates minor changes such as fixing typos, adjusting formatting, or rearranging text without altering content. A minor edit doesn't require review and shouldn't lead to disputes. It's denoted by a lowercase, m in the edit history.
A major edit requires review to ensure consensus among all editors involved. Thus, any change impacting the article's meaning, even if it's a single word alteration such as adding or removing "not," is not considered minor. This change can significantly alter the sentence, paragraph, section, or entire article.
Differentiating major and minor edits matters because editors may overlook minor changes when reviewing recent changes. Some logged-in users might configure their preferences not to display minor edits. To avoid potential disputes from other editors, it's advisable not to classify an edit as minor if there's a chance it might be contested.
When to label an edit as minor
- Correct spelling errors.
- Apply basic formatting, such as capitalization, punctuation, and italicization.
- Make non-contentious formatting adjustments, like adding horizontal lines or splitting paragraphs.
- Rectify obvious factual inaccuracies, such as changing "Nixon resigned in 1874" to "Nixon resigned in 1974."
- Fix layout issues, such as adjusting the spacing between paragraphs.
- Add and fix wiki links, like linking "Joe Biden" to his Wikipedia page.
- Remove vandalism or graffiti, such as deleting inappropriate comments.
Things you should remember
- Any modification to the Wikitext, regardless of its impact on HTML presentation, will be considered a change in the database.
- Downplaying a significant change, particularly when it involves deleting text, is impolite.
- Reverting a page is generally not considered minor, especially during disputes or potential edit wars. It's best to avoid marking any edits as minor in such situations. An exception is when reverting a blatant vandalism.
- If you mistakenly label an edit as minor when it was major, make a second edit or dummy edit, noting in the edit summary that the previous one was major. Simply opening the edit box and saving won't suffice, nor will adding a blank space or line at the end. Instead, add an extra space between words or a line break to ensure the edit is preserved.
- Consider discussing disagreements regarding what constitutes a minor change through Talk or messaging the contributor directly. Be cautious to prevent conflicts ("Your change seems major to me—could I be overreacting?"). This helps address the grey area, and contributors often value feedback on accuracy.
User exceptions
Administrators and authorized users can semi-automatically undo the edits made by the last editor of a page. These rollback reversions are marked as minor by the wiki software because they have no overall effect. The rollback feature is primarily intended for swiftly addressing vandalism, where reverting any vandalism should be considered minor and can be ignored in the recent changes list. As a result, if someone hides minor edits in their preferences and an undesirable edit hasn't been marked as minor, they may miss the potential semi-automatic reversion in Recent Changes and Enhanced Recent Changes.