The Conduct policy governs the conduct between and among users on the Ratchet & Clank Wiki, as well as policies concerning user pages. A basic level of common decency (such as NPA) is expected of all users and is not spelled out here. However, there are some specific procedures and rules of thumb in place to avoid or alleviate content disputes and other conflicts, and they are as follows.
User conduct[]
- Above everything, use common sense. Do not argue on a technicality, or give to improper behavior simply because the are no firm rules.
- Abide by existing consensus and respect its process. Understanding the "how" and "why" behind the concept of consensus is key to avoiding frustration, developing collaboratively, and having your voice heard.
- Especially in the mist of conflict, remain civil and remember the Golden Rule.
- Assume good faith on the part of your fellow editors. Remember that the only (valid) goal among editors on the Ratchet & Clank Wiki is to improve it—assume that is the motive of every opponent in a debate. Likewise, make it your only motive as well.
- Do not make a point. This includes but is not limited to retaliatory nitpicking, policy lawyering, gaming the system, etc.
- Do not under any circumstances engage in edit warring. Edit reverts should be given with an explanation in the edit summary; if the editor who is reverted disagrees with the reversion, take it to a talk page. Take no further action until an agreement is reached. Edit warring carries serious penalties.
- Follow the BRD process: Bold edit → Revert → Discuss (repeat as needed).
- Concede when it is time. Do not beat a dead horse or stonewall for the status quo. A critical part of consensus is understanding when there is no more argument. When the length of a debate outweighs the importance of the issue in question, drop it.
- Don't bite the newcomers. Rigid enforcement of policies or guidelines, or impersonal notices can lead to an unwelcoming and unfun environment.
- In general, leave the enforcement of policy to administrators or content moderators. Because of the nature of our "rules", it is important that they are not overly enforced or policed.
Talk page etiquette[]
When conversing on talk pages (including User talk pages):
- Abide by the above code of conduct.
- Always sign and date your posts and replies.
- Keep the subject of conversation relevant to the corresponding article, not its topic (for article talk pages).
- Keep all conversation organized under headers, with descriptive but concise titles.
- For readability, indent replies, and outdent lengthy threads as appropriate.
Concerning the maintenance and preservation of talk pages:
- Conversations that are old but maintain relevance should be preserved on a subpage archive using {{archives}}.
- Conversations with little or no relevance to the current state of the page or topic in question may be outright removed.
- Except for maintenance, messages are not to be removed under any circumstances except by the author of the message. If the message is critical to preserving the public record, it is not to be removed by the author either.
- Messages may be moved, corrected for grammar, punctuation, organization, or formatting, so long as such actions do not alter the intended meaning of the author.
- All users reserve the right to maintain their own talk page as they see fit, so long as they do not tamper with the intended meaning of another user.
User pages[]
Each user has a corresponding page that they own in the User namespace (see Special:MyPage), used to introduce themselves and establish an identity within the community. User subpages (e.g. Special:MyPage/sandbox) are the recommended way of test editing and submitting article drafts.
For the most part, each user owns their page and can do with it as they please. However, there are certain maintenance courtesies we ask all users to understand and abide by:
- It is preferred that files used in the mainspace of the wiki do not be used on user pages. A maximum of one user-specific image is allowed on active users' pages, though we ask that this image is not the same as the user's avatar.
- Keep all subpages organized, un-orphaned (i.e. linked from somewhere else), and only as many in number as needed. If you are certain you will no longer be needing a subpage, we encourage you to request its removal.