CNUpedia:Wiki Etiquette and Guidelines

From CNUpedia, an IEEE Innovation.

These guidelines are unofficial suggestions. Feel free to revise them.

Consider the Audience

When editing, one should keep in mind every possible audience that might read their article, and so bear in mind the need for a clear context, good accessibility, and possibly some kind of statement regarding the extent to which the article reflects the CNU community. In particular, the following audiences should be kept in mind:

1. People objectively interested in CNU. They would want clearly stated information, without exaggeration or writings that may be creative but are hard to interpret.
2. People who wish to get a feel of the campus. For these then, we must strive to provide emotion, creativity, and, no doubt, some eccentricity. However, even they are subject to confusion if they have no prior knowledge of a feature of the campus, such as the home-grown religion of Glebe (as a matter of fact, even long-timer residents may be somewhat clueless as to what this is). Your writing should not just stand as stylistically good, but be explained, or it may sound like babble (or propaganda).
3. People who live on campus and wish to learn about something they haven't investigated yet. For example, someone may wish to do research on the Biology department. They will want a structure between the articles, not just within them. So think about the other articles that exist around you.
4. People interested, for one reason or another, about publishing the information found in our articles in a wider context. Some of these may be neutral; others may be interested in trying to misuse or abuse our information. Don't ever write anything you don't want out in the open. Even if this site were closed off to non-residents (which it is apparently not), a resident could still forward it to someone else with ignoble intentions.

Examples of articles in their historical revisions that inspired these comments:

• [1]: No context... why is this here?
• [2]: It has fun language, but the exaggeration is almost overwhelming. For being "the greatest intramural team ever assembled", TwoFlowers at least can not claim to have heard of it before now. The Tri Pi article itself is fine, however.
• [3]: ANYONE might see the man of underwear. If he doesn't care, then it's not a problem.

Consider the Editors

It is important not to consider only the readers of an article. One should think of the other writers. There may already be an editor or a community involved. There may have been a previous editor, and there will probably be future editors. Visions may clash. Ideas about proper wording, writing style, or other technical (but seemingly essential) details may be at odds. Even when people are in agreement, communication may help prevent misunderstanding and stimulate new ideas. Here are some suggestions:

1. When making posts, place concise descriptions in your edit Summary, so that others can see what you did. This saves them time looking over your edit to see what you did (they may have a vested interest in the article), prepares them for what they'll see, and might clarify your intention.
2. Avoid back-and-forth editing, in which you and others constantly undo each others' work. If you find yourself for some reason wanting to undo someone's work for a second time, discuss it instead in the Discussion tab. Try to come up with a compromise, or failing that, consider letting the issue slide until a later date. Think long-term about the article- you will have time to make your suggestion again. However, if you believe the other party is playing unfair (not trying to talk with you, targeting you, etc.), you should contact one of the administrators.
3. When you think a post might introduce contention, or if you wish to make a significant post, check the discussion tab to see what plans already exist. It is good etiquette to be up to date on what others are doing with an article. It might also in some cases be worth explaining your posts on the discussion tab, so others have the opportunity to know what you are doing.
4. When removing something by another writer, consider placing it in the discussion tab with a comment as to why you did so. This courtesy shows to others you aren't making a one-(wo)man decision but want them to have the opportunity to consider your removal, possibly rewrite the removed text, and add it back in if they really do belive it to have worth.
5. If you move text to some other article, you might want to put a link to the new location.

See Also

• Wikipedia's Guide to Writing Better Articles: Thoughtful tips for improving the quality of articles.