Wikipedia:Policies an guidelines

Wikipedia is a jynt projeck an its foonders an contreibutors hae a commoun aim:

Oor aim wi Wikipedia is ti mak a trustie an free encyclopaedia—atweill, the greatest encyclopaedia in history, in baith breadth an depth.

Wikipedia haes some policies an guidelines that help us ti wirk for that commoun aim. Some o thir policies are aye chyngin, whiles ithers are lang settled an maistly uncontroversial.

While oor policies continue tae evolve, monie Wikipedians jalouse that written rules canna cover ilka possible kin o disruptive or malevolent behaviour. For exemplar, a uiser that acks agin the speirit o oor written policies micht be caaed ower een gin the letter o the rules haesna been violated. Them that edit in guid faith, shaw civeility, leuk for consensus, an wirk for the aim o makin an impartial encyclopaedia, shuid find a walcoming environment.

Key policies

Further information: Wikipedia:Five pillars

Ye dinna hae ti read ilka Wikipedia policy afore ye contreibute! Houaniver, the follaeing policies are key til a productive Wikipedia experience, an the suiner ye get ti grips wi them, the better.

1. Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia. Its aims gang nae further. See Whit Wikipedia isna for mair wittins.
2. Evyte bias. Airticles shuid be screivan frae a neutral pynt o view, explainin differin views on a subjeck fairly an sympathetically.
3. Dinna infringe copyrichts. Wikipedia is a free encyclopaedia licensed unner the terms o the GNU Free Documentation Licence. Submittin wirk that infringes copyrichts threatens oor objective ti big a richt free encyclopaedia that oniebodie can redistribute, an micht lead ti legal trouble. See Wikipedia copyrichts for mair information.
4. Respeck ither contreibutors. Wikipedia contreibutors come frae monie deifferent kintras an culturs, an hae gey deifferent views. Traitin ithers wi respeck is key ti workin thegither weel in biggin an encyclopaedia. For some guidelines, see Wikipedia Mainers, Wikipedia:Makars rules o engagement, Wikipedia:Civeility, Dispute resolution.

Ither policies an guidelines

Airtins ti various policies can be foond in the follaeing categories:

• Category:Wikipedia offeicial policy – policies that are widely accepit an that aabody maistly follaes
• Category:Wikipedia guidelines – informal rules o thoomb that are maistly accepit bi consensus ti apply in monie cases

Conventions

Bi follaeing thir we can mak a mair consistent an mair uisable encyclopaedia:

• Editin policy (Whit wey ti edit airticles)
• Namin conventions (Whit wey ti title airticles)
• Disambiguation (Wit wey ti resolve title conflicts)
• Eimage uise policy (Handlin uploads)
• Deletion policy (Whit wey ti nominate pages for deletion an, (restrickit) whit wey ti dae the deletion)

Procedural questions

Whit wey are policies decided?

Maist Wikipedia policy wis set in the early days o the projeck, maistly afore the end o 2002. Chynges an addeitions are made bi consensus, altho in practice consensus on policy chynges is unco deifficult tae win. In monie cases policy haes grown informally; written policies uisually codify the tradeetion o langsyne.

Proponed an rejeckit policies are in thir categories:

• Category:Wikipedia proposals – ideas bein proponed as possible new policies
• Category:Wikipedia rejected policies – policy ideas that haev bin rejeckit or abandoned

See forbye Wikipedia:Whit wey ti mak policy.

Whit wey are policies enforced?

You are a Wikipedia editor. Wikipedia disnae hae a heid editor or a central, top-doon seistem whaurby the dailiday wirk on the encyclopaedia is watchit an appruivit. Instead, workin contreibutors mak copyedits an corrections ti the content an leyoot problems thay see. Sae the contreibutors are baith writers an editors.

Maist policies an guidelines are thus enforced bi individual users editin pages, an discussin maiters wi ane anither. Forbye some policies are enforced bi temporary blocks (abuin aa as a wey o dealin wi vandalism) bi admeinistrators. In the waur cases the Arbitration Committee micht mak a rulin ti deal wi disruptive situations, as pairt o the general dispute resolution procedure.

Restrickit features

Some features o the saftware that micht be turned til ill, sic as deletin pages an lockin pages frae editin, are restrickit til Admeinistrators, that are experienced, trustie members o the community. Policies gey relevant tae admeinistrators include:

• Protection policy (Whan an whit wey ti proteck a page)
• Blockin policy (Blockin uisers ti deal wi vandalism)
• Wikipedia:Partial block (Blockin uisers ti frae anely a few places)

Types of guidelines

Ower an abuin the accepit policies leeted abuin, the follaein guidelines hae bin suggestit bi ae chiel or anither:

General guidelines

• Contreibute whit ye ken or are willin ti lairn aboot
• Be bauld in updatin pages
• Mak omeissions explicit
• Big the wab
• Evyte uisin bots
• Gie an edit summary

For ither uisefu tips, see evyting commoun mistaks.

Behaviour guidelines

• Uisin tauk pages
  • Sign yer posts on collogue pages
• Dinna sweir
• Nae personal attacks (an muive personal debates ti email)
• Nae legal thraits
• Log in afore makking drastic chynges ti existin airticles
• Nae offensive uisernames
• Dinna bite the newcomers
• Dinna mak airticles aboot yersel
• Aye expleen yer reverts
  • Uisin rowback
  • Three revert rule (Revert wars conseidered harmfu)
• Dealin wi admeinistration issues
• Whin tae uise th' flood flag

Content guidelines

• Wikipedia:Guide ti screivin brawer articles
• Expleen jargon
• Deal wi havers the richt wey
• State the obvious
• Cite soorces: pynt the reader til authoritative references (an leet them richt)
• Verifiability: mak shuir wittins cited is verifiable gin ye maun. (This disna ettle that it is "offeicial" -- it juist refers tae ithers' abeility ti confirm that it exists an that it is as stated)
• Evyte statements that will date snell
• Stay on topic
• Warn readers aboot spylers
• Mak airticles uisefu for readers (an conseider the audience whiles ye're writin)
• Check yer facts
• Summarise colleaguin (aifter a whilie)
• Evyte peacock terms
• Evyte weasel terms
• Evyte self-references
• Avoid POV phrases
• Algorithms on Wikipedia
• Evyte "Spuin feedin"

Style guidelines

• tyle Haundbeuk
• Dinna pit in copies o primary soorces
• Aye full in the summary field
• Follae heichlichtin conventions
• Conseider the context whan makking airtins
• Uise subheads sparingly
• Uise cutty sentences an leets
• Dinna uise line breaks
• Evyte ae-sentence paragraphs
• Dinna uise subpages

Guideines regardin groupin techniques for airticles

• Chuising the richt groupin technique(s): Wikipedia:Categories, leets, an series boxes
• Bi groupin wey:
  • leets
  • categories, an ither airticles in Category:Wikipedia categorisation
  • series boxes (or: navigational templates)

Ither essays an discussions aboot Wikipedia

• The Meta-Wikipedia steid hauds monie airticles aboot Wikipedia an relatit topics in a mair editorial style.
• Makkin whit-wey-til airticles in Wikipedia.
• Wikipedia:Topical index leets monie policy, editin, behaviour, an ither resoorces.
• Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/Policy consensus haes a nummer o discussions establishin consensus gif some groups o airticles shuid or shuidna be in Wikipedia.