| Revision as of 05:20, 31 August 2006 editLuna Santin (talk | contribs)65,325 editsm JS: Reverted edits by TheTruth2 to last version by Jahiegel← Previous edit | Revision as of 05:21, 31 August 2006 edit undoTheTruth2 (talk | contribs)559 edits →Don't sign what you don't ownNext edit → | ||
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| ==Don't sign what you don't own== | ==Don't sign what you don't own== | ||
| Since no one "owns" any part of any article, if you create or edit an article, you should not sign it. As for credit, the exact contributions of all editors are seen with their names on the "History" pages. This is the Misplaced Pages equivalent of a ]. | Since no one "owns" any part of any article, if you create or edit an article, you should not sign it. This also includes User talk pages. As for credit, the exact contributions of all editors are seen with their names on the "History" pages. This is the Misplaced Pages equivalent of a ]. | ||
| On the other hand, when adding comments, questions, or votes to "talk" pages, it is good to "own" your text, so the best practice is to ] it by suffixing your entry with <nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>. For more editing "do"s and "don't"s, you might want to go through the brief ]. At least with existing pages, you can get an idea of where it's appropriate to add your signature by noting what previous contributors have done. | On the other hand, when adding comments, questions, or votes to "talk" pages, it is good to "own" your text, so the best practice is to ] it by suffixing your entry with <nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>. For more editing "do"s and "don't"s, you might want to go through the brief ]. At least with existing pages, you can get an idea of where it's appropriate to add your signature by noting what previous contributors have done. | ||
Revision as of 05:21, 31 August 2006
 | This page documents an English Misplaced Pages policy.It describes a widely accepted standard that editors should normally follow, though exceptions may apply. Changes made to it should reflect consensus. | Shortcut
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 | This page in a nutshell: Anything submitted to Misplaced Pages may be modified by others. No one has to clear any changes with any previous editors |
This article is about the control of content, not the ownership of copyright for content, which is addressed elsewhere.
Template:Associations/Wikipedia Bad Things Some contributors feel very possessive about material (be it categories, templates, articles, images or portals) they have donated to this project. Some go so far as to defend them against all intruders. It's one thing to take an interest in an article that you maintain on your watchlist. Maybe you really are an expert or you just care about the topic a lot. But when this watchfulness crosses a certain line, then you're overdoing it. Believing that an article has an owner of this sort is a common mistake people make on Misplaced Pages.
You can't stop everyone in the world from editing "your" stuff, once you've posted it to Misplaced Pages. As each edit page clearly states:
- If you don't want your material to be edited mercilessly or redistributed by others, do not submit it.
If you find yourself warring with other contributors over deletions, reversions and so on, why not take some time off from the editing process? Taking yourself out of the equation can cool things off considerably. Take a fresh look a week or two later. Or if someone else is claiming "ownership" of a page, you can bring it up on the associated talk page. Appeal to other contributors, or consider the dispute resolution process.
Although working on an article does not entitle one to "own" the article, it is still important to respect the work of your fellow contributors. When making large scale removals of content, particularly content contributed by one editor, it is important to consider whether a desirable result could be obtained by working with the editor, instead of against him or her - regardless of whether he or she "owns" the article or not. See also Misplaced Pages:Civility, Misplaced Pages:Etiquette and Misplaced Pages:Assume good faith.
Don't sign what you don't own
Since no one "owns" any part of any article, if you create or edit an article, you should not sign it. This also includes User talk pages. As for credit, the exact contributions of all editors are seen with their names on the "History" pages. This is the Misplaced Pages equivalent of a byline.
On the other hand, when adding comments, questions, or votes to "talk" pages, it is good to "own" your text, so the best practice is to sign it by suffixing your entry with --~~~~. For more editing "do"s and "don't"s, you might want to go through the brief Tutorial. At least with existing pages, you can get an idea of where it's appropriate to add your signature by noting what previous contributors have done.
See also
External link
- AuthorshipModel - a discussion of authorship of Wiki pages on the CommunityWiki