Essay:Cosmikdebris' editor's guide

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Essay.svg This essay is an original work by cosmikdebris.
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Taboo4-f.jpg
Viva evolucion.jpg

Here are some loosely defined things to consider when considering whether or not to hit that "Save changes" button on RationalWiki:

  • Assume good will. Not everyone is a vandal or troll.
  • Don't make outrageous or controversial claims or statements in articles, unless you back them up with credible references.
  • When examining existing articles, or creating new ones, consult the manual of style. It's very good.
  • Remember to patrol spam pages before vaporizing or moving, so that they don't clog up the list of un-patrolled recent changes.
  • Just block the /64.[1]
  • All kinds of boxes and widgets are found on the template list.
  • Subtle snark is good. Too much snark makes the article look stupid.
  • If referencing a book, include its ISBN numberWikipedia in the reference. The wiki software automagically creates a nifty search link. This is broken since the last upgrade. As an alternative, use the isbn template.[2]
  • Use the rp template in conjunction with a reference name to reference a specific page in a book.[2]:32
  • Separate notes from references.[note 1] There is also a nifty template that does this.
  • If a single reference applies to more than one part of an article, group them together.[2]
  • If totally lost, look for all the pages in the Help namespace.
  • If an external link in an article has gone 404, check to see if it's been archived on archive.org or archive.is.
  • Fragile links are nicely encapsulated using the archive template.[3]
  • When considering articles for deletion, always check to see what links to them to get an idea what the impact might be.
  • Don't vandal-bin nasty BONs, instead, apply the banhammer gracefully.
  • To archive YouTube videos directly on the Internet Archive, use https://web.archive.org/save/{url}
  • Censor content as appropriate. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
  • Don't use the phrase "it should be noted that" or any of its variants.[4]

Notes

  1. Like this, see?

References

  1. Just block the /64. TonyBallioni on Wikipedia.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Moebius, "Eyes of the Cat (Les Yeux du Chat)," in Taboo 4, Spiderbaby Grafix and Publications, 1990. ISBN 0922003033
  3. For example, Deleted Tweets From POTUS[a w] from projects.propublica.org.
  4. WP:NOTED

This essay is an original work by signed users. The original author has freed it for editing by other editors.