Help:Tutorial (Keep in mind)
From The Black Vault Encyclopedia Project
Frontpage, 1: Editing, 2: Formatting, 3: Wikipedia links, 4: Related site links, 5: External links, 6: Talk pages, 7: Keep in mind, 8: Registration, 9: Namespaces, 10: Wrap-up
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There are some things to keep in mind when editing.
Contents |
Conduct
The Black Vault Encyclopedia Project encourages an atmosphere of friendliness and openness. Of course, in practice there are sometimes disagreements and even the occasional fight, but members of the community are expected to behave in a generally civil manner.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that you should always assume good faith on the part of other editors. Don't assume that someone is acting out of spite or malice. If someone does something that upsets you, leave a polite message on the relevant article's talk page or on the user's talk page, and ask why. You may find that you've avoided a misunderstanding and saved yourself some embarrassment.
Editorial policies
Neutral Point of View
The Black Vault Encyclopedia Project's editorial policy is the "neutral point of view," often abbreviated "NPOV." This policy says that we accept all the significant viewpoints on an issue. Instead of simply stating one perspective, we try to present all relevant viewpoints without judging which is correct. Our aim is to be informative, not persuasive. Our policy does NOT mean that our articles are expected to be 100% objective since in any dispute both sides believe their view to be "true."
It's OK to state opinions in articles, but they must be presented as opinions, not as fact. Also, it's a good idea to attribute these opinions, for example "Supporters of this say that..." or "Notable commentator X believes that..."
Subject matter
The Black Vault Encyclopedia Project is an encyclopedia. Hence, articles should be encyclopedic information about "notable" subjects. What exactly constitutes notability is the subject of constant debate on Wikipedia, but few of us believe that there should be articles about every person on Earth, every company that sells anything, or each street in every town in the world.
This is also not the place for "original research"—that is, new theories, etc., that haven't been supported by peer review.
Citing sources
The Black Vault Encyclopedia Project doesn't require that you cite sources for the information you contribute, but we do prefer that you do so whenever possible. If you're using a book (or books) to write the article, list them in a section called "References". If you're using a website, make an "External links" section and link to it. This helps our readers verify what you've written and find more information.
Copyrights
Do not submit copyrighted material without permission. The best articles are usually written from either personal knowledge, or through the synthesis of research from multiple sources.
Renaming articles
If you find an article that you believe is mis-named, please do not cut & paste the contents of the old article into a new article--among other things, it separates the previous contributions from their edit history. The preferred method is to move the page to the new name. If it's your first move, please read the warnings on the move page carefully, as there are a number of issues to consider before moving a page. For a more detailed discussion, see Help:How to rename (move) a page.
Continue with the tutorial.
Frontpage, 1: Editing, 2: Formatting, 3: Wikipedia links, 4: Related site links, 5: External links, 6: Talk pages, 7: Keep in mind, 8: Registration, 9: Namespaces, 10: Wrap-up
