Wikipedia:List of guidelines

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This list of Wikipedia guidelines is a summary of guidelines that are in use and have the current consensus of Wikipedia editors. Unlike policies, guidelines are usually more flexible and more likely to have exceptions and could be changed and improved more easily.

See Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines for a general overview of what policies and guidelines are about, how they are made, and why we have them.

Wikipedia has more than 200 guidelines. Consult them whenever you are in doubt about what to do on Wikipedia: in all likelihood they contain relevant suggestions. This list attempts to provide notes about the most important guidelines. An alphabetical list of all of Wikipedia's guidelines, without descriptions, in the subcategories of Category:Wikipedia guidelines. Feel free to describe important guidelines on this page.

Contents

[edit] Categorization

Because the list of guidelines is extensive, guidelines are now categorized, using the {{subcat guideline}} template, according to their purpose:

  • Behavioral guidelines outline ways for editors to behave and interact with each other on talk pages and elsewhere at Wikipedia.
  • Content guidelines apply only to the article namespace (unless otherwise specified in the guideline), and offer advice on identifying and including encyclopedic information in articles.
  • Deletion guidelines explain criteria and procedures for deleting unwanted pages.
  • Editing guidelines usually provide non-content advice about categorization, navigation or other how-to-edit advice for editors.
  • Naming conventions apply only to the article namespace and detail the correct ways to refer to many people, places, things, and events.
  • Notability guidelines apply only to the article namespace; they outline the criteria that a subject must meet to merit an article at Wikipedia.
  • Style guidelines apply only to the article namespace and detail extensive advice on writing style, formatting, grammar, and more.

[edit] Guidelines

[edit] Behavioral

Assume good faith
Unless there is strong evidence to the contrary, assume that people who work on the project are trying to help it, not hurt it.
Conflicts of interest 
Do not use Wikipedia to promote yourself, your website, or your organization.
Don't disrupt Wikipedia to illustrate a point
By all means state your point. But don't spam Wikipedia, disingenuously nominate articles for deletion, push rules to their limits or otherwise create work for other people just to "prove your point".
Etiquette
Contributors have different views, perspectives, and backgrounds, sometimes varying widely. Treating others with respect is key to collaborating effectively in building an encyclopedia.
Please do not bite the newcomers
Many new contributors lack knowledge about Wikipedia policies. But always understand that new contributors are prospective "members" and are therefore our most valuable resource.
Profanity
Words and images that might be considered offensive, profane, or obscene by other Wikipedia readers should be used if and only if their omission would cause the article to be less informative, relevant, or accurate, and no equally suitable alternatives are available.
Sign your posts on talk pages
Sign all your posts on Wikipedia talk pages by typing ~~~~ to be accountable and to help others understand the conversation, but don't sign in articles.
Talk page guidelines
User page
You can use your user page to add a little information about yourself or to help you to use Wikipedia more effectively. But remember that Wikipedia is not a blog, webspace provider, or social networking site.

See also:

[edit] Content

Check your facts
External links 
Wikipedia is not an advertising opportunity.
Images
No disclaimers in articles
Wikipedia contains spoilers, potentially objectionable material, and more. There is generally no need to warn readers of this.
Notability
Subjects should have received significant outside attention to warrant being included on Wikipedia.
Reliable sources
Information about identifying and using appropriate sources to comply with Wikipedia's Verifiability policy

See also:

[edit] Deletion

Deletion process 
An overview of the processes by which articles get deleted
Patent nonsense
Text or random characters that have no assignable meaning or are irredeemably confused are usually deleted.

See also:

[edit] Editing

Be bold in updating pages
Wikis develop faster when people fix problems, correct grammar, add facts, make sure the language is precise, and so on. We expect everyone to be bold. It's okay.
Build the web
Link articles sideways to neighbours, and upwards to categories and contexts to create a useful web of information.
Overcategorization
Overcategorization makes categories more crowded but less useful.
Subpages
Creation of subpages in main namespace is not allowed. Subpages may be created in other namespaces using the slash (/) character.
Categories, lists, and series boxes 
This guideline helps editors choose appropriate grouping technique(s).

See also:

[edit] Naming conventions

Naming conventions
This policy and its many subordinate guidelines explain naming conventions on Wikipedia.
Wikipedia:Image file names
Image file names should have readable file names.

See also:

[edit] Notability

Notability
This guideline explains the minimum requirements for a subject to merit an article at Wikipedia. Specific guidelines have been written for a variety of specific topics, such as organizations and music.

See also:

[edit] Style guidelines

Manual of style 
This is the most important style guideline, and the "parent" of all the other style guidelines.
Guide to writing better articles
Citing sources 
for writing and formatting references using different citation styles
Layout 
for formatting the overall article
Accessibility 
for making articles accessible to disabled or otherwise disadvantaged users

See also:

[edit] See also


Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_guidelines"
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