PathfinderWiki:Talk page guidelines

This page is a guideline on the PathfinderWiki.

It has wide acceptance among editors and is considered a standard that all users should follow but is not policy.

The "Discussion" pages on PathfinderWiki are for discussing the editing process of a given page; they are not a soapbox for personal opinions on the matter. Long discussions on personal point of view get in the way of the editing process.

Basic rules for all talk pages

Sign your comments - You can use four tildes (like this ~~~~), which are automatically converted to your signature.
Use coherent formatting.
- Copy formatting from others.
- Indent with colons (:), not with tabs.
- Break up very large paragraphs.
Be civil at all times.
- Don't make personal attacks
- Don't SHOUT

Using different talk pages

Article talk pages are used to discuss changes to the particular article.
User talk pages are used to leave messages for particular users. A message box stating "You have new messages" is automatically displayed to a user at the top of any PathfinderWiki page, until they view their user talk page.
PathfinderWiki talk pages are used to discuss existing and developing policies, guidelines, and proposals.

Talk page header info box

On many popular talk pages it may be useful to place the {{Talkheader}} tag at the top of the original talk page. It results in the following banner:

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the PathfinderWiki:Talk page guidelines article.
Please sign and date your posts by typing four tildes (`~~~~`). Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic. If you're new to the wiki, please take a look at our Talk page guidelines.	Be polite Assume good faith Be welcoming

For more information, see the template's documentation.

Analysis of the topic on separate pages

We do grant some leeway; if you want to discuss the topic in-depth rather than how to edit the page, you can create a sub page of the talk page, e.g. Talk:Talk page guidelines/Analysis and discuss there. To point out that this page exists, place the {{Talkheader|analysis=on}} tag at the top of the original talk page. It results in the following banner:

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the PathfinderWiki:Talk page guidelines article.
Please sign and date your posts by typing four tildes (`~~~~`). Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic. If you're new to the wiki, please take a look at our Talk page guidelines.	Be polite Assume good faith Be welcoming
If you wish to discuss the subject itself, please use Talk:Talk page guidelines/Analysis. Non-editorial comments made here should be moved to the Analysis page.

Formatting

Because the wiki software platform provides for a wide range of formatting styles, proper or at least consistent formatting is essential to maintaining readable talk pages.

The depth of a message is determined by the number of colons (':') in front of the message. For example:

Hi! I'm starting the discussion. -~~~~
: I'm continuing it! -~~~~
:: I'm replying to the continuation! -~~~~
: I'm making a different reply to the start of the discussion! -~~~~

I really think you should not use exclamation marks that way. This is a related subject that doesn't need a separate heading. -~~~~
: Good point? Let's use question marks instead? -~~~~

results in:

Hi! I'm starting the discussion. -Oznogon (talk) 21:38, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

I'm continuing it! -Oznogon (talk) 21:38, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

I'm replying to the continuation! -Oznogon (talk) 21:38, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

I'm making a different reply to the start of the discussion! -Oznogon (talk) 21:38, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

I really think you should not use exclamation marks that way. This is a related subject that doesn't need a separate heading. -Oznogon (talk) 21:38, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

Good point? Let's use question marks instead? -Oznogon (talk) 21:38, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

For very long conversations, it is appropriate to "reset" indenting because it is too deep. In some situations, you can emphasize a new point by posting without indenting. However, if the post is a tangent or something completely new, you should start a new topic with the == Topic == style.

Archiving old talk page content

Talk page contents are never deleted outright (unless they violate a policy, obviously). You can archive old discussions to sub-pages of the talk page. The {{Archives}} template provides an easy way to make consistent sets of archive pages.

Etiquette

Can I do whatever I want to my own user talk page?

Most users treat their user talk pages like regular talk pages and archive the contents periodically to a personal subpage, either when the page gets too large, on a regular schedule, or when they take a wikivacation. Others delete comments after they have responded to them.

Feel free to decorate your personal pages as you see fit, but keep in mind that your user talk page has the important function of allowing other editors to communicate with you. People will get upset if they cannot use it for that purpose.

Note: New additions to your own talk page will alert you with a "You have new messages" banner at the top of any PathfinderWiki page you visit.

What can I say?

As long as you stay on-topic, pretty much anything, within reason. :)

However, PathfinderWiki is a wiki for everyone. Unjustified ad hominem (personal) attacks are not tolerated, nor do we tolerate discrimination based upon social status, age, sex, gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Insinuating or stating that a user is racist, homophobic, etc., without good reason is also classed as ad hominem.

How to keep a two-way conversation readable

If you are writing messages back and forth between user talk pages, the resulting text can be hard to follow. Here are two systems for making what would otherwise be disjointed comments easier to follow:

Copy the text you are replying to from your user talk page to the other person's user talk page. Put your reply right underneath it, but indent the reply section so it stands out. (Just like a regular talk page.)
Or: Put a notice on your user talk page that you will reply there unless they ask otherwise. Do this for conversations that other people start.
Watchlist the other person's user talk page and tell them they can reply there. Do this for conversations you start.

Other points

When discussing the name of the page or discussing merging it with another page, always specify the current page's name. After renaming or moving a page with its talk page, references to "this page name" might not make sense.
The practice of "spamming" — posting similar messages to more than a few users' talk pages, often for the purpose of soliciting a certain action — is discouraged.