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| <noinclude>{{pp-move-indef}}</noinclude> | |||
| {{redirect|WP:BOLD|the Manual of Style guideline on the use of boldface in Misplaced Pages text formatting|MOS:BOLD}} | |||
| {{redirect|WP:BB|Misplaced Pages Bounty Board|WP:BOUNTY}} | |||
| {{subcat guideline|editing guideline|Be bold|WP:BB|WP:BOLD|WP:BEBOLD|WP:FIXIT|WP:SOFIXIT}} | |||
| {{nutshell|<big>'''Go for it!'''</big>}} | |||
| {{TOCRight}} | |||
| {{Guideline list}} | |||
| '''Misplaced Pages:Be bold''' (WP:BOLD) can be explained in three words: "Go for it". The Misplaced Pages community encourages users to '''be bold when updating the encyclopedia'''. ]s like ours develop faster when everybody helps to fix problems, correct grammar, add facts, make sure wording is accurate, etc. We would like ''everyone'' to be bold and help make Misplaced Pages a better encyclopedia. How many times have you read something and thought – ''Why aren't these pages ]?'' Misplaced Pages not only allows you to add, revise, and edit articles: it ''wants'' you to do it. This does require some amount of ], but it works. You'll see. Of course, others here will edit what you write. ]! They, like all of us, just wish to make Misplaced Pages as good an encyclopedia as it can possibly be. Also, when you see a conflict in a talk page, do not be just a "mute spectator": be bold and drop your opinion there! | |||
| <big>'''Don't get upset if your bold edits get reverted.'''</big> The early advocate of ] followed by ] to ], ], said, "For if absurdity be the subject of laughter, doubt you not but great boldness is seldom without some absurdity."<ref>{{cite book|last=Bacon|first=Francis|title=]|year=1625}}</ref> Instead of getting upset, read ] and ], and be bold again, but after a reversion of a bold edit, you might want to be bold in an edit on the ]s so as not to start an ]. | |||
| <div id=".E2.80.A6but_don.27t_be_reckless.21"/> | |||
| == {{anchor|...but don't be reckless!}}... but please be careful! == | |||
| ] | |||
| {{shortcut|WP:CAREFUL|WP:RECKLESS}} | |||
| Though the boldness of contributors like you is one of Misplaced Pages's greatest assets, it is important that you take care of the common good and not ] or recklessly. Of course, any changes you make that turn out badly can be reverted easily, usually painlessly, and it is important not to be insulted if your changes are reverted or edited further. But some significant changes can be long-lasting and harder to fix. If you're unsure of anything, just ask for advice. | |||
| Also, changes to articles on ] with long histories, such as the Israeli–Palestinian conflict or abortion, or to ] and ], should be done with extra care. In many cases, the text as you find it has come into being after long and arduous negotiations between Wikipedians of diverse backgrounds and points of view. A careless edit to such an article might stir up a latent conflict, and other users who are involved in the page may become defensive. If you would like to make a significant edit—not just a simple ]—to an article on a controversial subject, it is a useful idea to first read the article in its entirety and skim the comments on the ]. On controversial articles, the safest course is to ] and find ] before making changes, but there are situations when bold edits can safely be made to contentious articles. Always use your very best editorial judgment in these cases and be sure to read the talk page. | |||
| Often it is easier to see that something is not right rather than to know exactly what ''would'' be right. We do not require that everyone be bold. After all, commenting that something in an article is incorrect can be the first step to getting it fixed. It is true, though, that problems are more certain to be fixed, and will probably be fixed faster, if you are bold enough to do it yourself. | |||
| == Non-article namespaces == | |||
| Although editors are encouraged to be bold in updating ''articles'', more caution is sometimes required when editing pages in non-article namespaces. Such pages are identified by a ] prefix. For example, this page, ''Misplaced Pages:Be bold'', has the "Misplaced Pages:" prefix; if it were called simply ''Be bold'' (with no prefix) it would be an article. | |||
| Problems may arise for a variety of reasons in different contexts in non-article namespaces. These problems should be taken into account in deciding whether to be bold, and how bold to be. | |||
| === Misplaced Pages namespace === | |||
| {{Main|Misplaced Pages:Policies and guidelines#Content changes}} | |||
| Misplaced Pages does not "enshrine" old practices: bold changes to its ] are sometimes the best way to allow the encyclopedia to adapt and improve. In this case, “bold” refers to boldness of idea; such ideas are most commonly ] to best formulate their implementation. | |||
| The admonition "but please be careful" is especially important in relation to ], where key parts may be phrased in a particular way to reflect a very hard-won, knife-edge ] – which may not be obvious to those unfamiliar with the background. In these cases, it is also often better to ]. However, spelling and grammatical errors can and should be fixed as soon as they are noticed. | |||
| Discussing changes to other Misplaced Pages-space pages on the talk page is also a good idea. If nothing else, it will provide an explanation of the changes for later editors. Most such pages are collections of arguments placed in Misplaced Pages space for later reference, so the same arguments don't need to be made over and over again. | |||
| === Template namespace === | |||
| One must be especially careful when being bold with ]: updating them can have far reaching consequences. This is because template changes can affect a large number of pages with a single edit. Moreover, some templates also form part of wide-ranging, uniform systems of templates across Misplaced Pages, such as ] and ] templates. Templates may also have complex source code that can easily be broken by untested changes (although they can fortunately be corrected with a single revert). | |||
| Because of these concerns, many ] are ] from editing. Before editing templates, consider proposing any changes on the associated talk pages and announcing the proposed change on pages of appropriate ]. Templates often have associated ]; respectively these are a place for the proposed modified template, and a place where the proposal may be trialed in comparison with the existing version. | |||
| === Category namespace === | |||
| Creating new categories or reorganizing the category structure may come to affect many pages. Consider the guidelines on ] and ], and if what you're doing might be considered controversial (especially if it concerns ]), propose changes at ], also mentioning them on pages of appropriate ]. | |||
| === File namespace === | |||
| Be bold in adding information to the description of an existing image. However, new images should be uploaded with new names rather than overwriting old ones. Doing otherwise risks having the old image confused with the new one. Therefore you must always be careful. | |||
| === User namespace === | |||
| It is generally recommended that you do not edit another Wikipedian's '']'' or comments left on '']'' (other than your own, and even then do not be reckless). Fixing ] is nearly always welcome, even on user pages. Specific users will let you know if they find your changes inappropriate or if you have given incorrect information. | |||
| === Portal namespace === | |||
| Regarding changes to graphical layout? See the next section. Note that the ] used for ] is not necessarily arbitrary. For example, most portals related to countries use the colors of the nation's flag. It is a good idea to propose design changes on the talk page first. | |||
| == Graphical layout changes == | |||
| {{shortcut|WP:GLC}} | |||
| Making major changes to the graphical layout of certain pages that are not articles requires caution (examples below). It is often best to test changes first (in a sandbox page in your userspace, or a ] of the page in question), and to discuss the proposed change with other editors before making it live. When many users edit pages for layout, different plans can conflict, and the page may get worse rather than better. | |||
| This is particularly true of highly visible pages, such as those linked to from the navigation boxes on the left of the screen. These often use intricate formatting to convey their information, and a lot of work has gone into making them as user-friendly as possible. Moreover some pages form groups whose formatting is intended to be uniform. ''You should not make unapproved design edits to these types of pages.'' Examples include the ] (which in any case is permanently ]), the ], the ] group of pages, and the group consisting of ] and its subpages, as well as ]. This does not apply to articles or normal portals. | |||
| == See also == | |||
| {{Spoken Misplaced Pages|Misplaced Pages-Be bold in updating pages.ogg|{{Start date|2007|02|01}} }} | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * {{tl|Uw-sofixit}} | |||
| == References == | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| {{Misplaced Pages policies and guidelines}} | |||
| ] | |||