Help:Wiki/Talk Pages
Talk Pages are a special type of namespace page, used to discuss changes on the corresponding "main" article or page and are linked to from the "discussion" tab in the top menu.
- Article talk pages are used to discuss changes to the particular article.
- User talk pages are used to leave messages for particular users. A message box stating "You have new messages" is automatically displayed to a user at the top of any page, until they view their user talk page.
- Project talk pages are used to discuss existing and developing projects and policies.
The "discussion" link references a page in the same namespace as the article, userpage, or template with an additional "talk" before the colon separator.
The "Post a comment" feature allows convenient appending of a section with the section header the same as the edit summary, and typed only once.
Usage
The purpose of a talk page is to help to improve the contents of the main page/article. Questions, challenges, excised text, arguments relevant to changing the text, and commentary on the main page are all acceptable. It's entirely natural that disputes take place on talk pages. It is the purpose of talk pages that such disputes be resolved on the talk page rather than in the article itself.
Talk pages are solely to be used to talk about the article however, not about the subject. If you wish to discuss the subject of an article the forums are the place for it. On some pages (particularly those about artists you will already find a link to a discussion thread in the forums.
The practice of "spamming" - posting similar messages to more than a few users' talk pages, often for the purpose of soliciting a certain action - is discouraged.
Basic rules for talk pages
- Sign your comments - Use four tildes (like this ~~~~), which are automatically converted to your username and the date and time of your post. Also see signatures in our help section.
- Use coherent formatting - Indent with colons (:), not with tabs. Break up very large paragraphs. Copy formatting from others if unsure.
- Be civil at all times - remember our site rules apply here too. Don't make personal attacks. If you do expect to be warned or banned just like you would in our forums.
Formatting
Because the wiki software platform provides for a wide range of formatting styles, proper or at least consistent formatting is essential to maintaining readable talk pages.
The depth of a message is determined by the number of colons (':') in front of the message. Each colon represents a tab, and are commonly used in discussions on user and article talk pages. If a reply is made to a statement, one adds a colon to the number of colons used in the statement being replied to. This style of conversation is easier to read.
Example:
|
What do you think of the article? ~~~~ |
The above will produce this:
|
What do you think of the article? --baka_neko3
I think we should also include screencaps. --DeliriumZer0
|
Note: 4 tildes (~~~~) also stamps your message with the time and date which is not shown above but appears like this:
FFW 23:35, 17 March 2009 (UTC)
User talk pages
Each user page also has a corresponding talk page. New additions to your own talk page will alert you with a "You have new messages" banner at the top of any page.
To leave a message for another user on their talk page, click the discussion link on the top of the page when you view the user page . On the list of recent changes and on your watchlist, you can directly access a user's talk page by following the (Talk) link behind the user's name. Some users will put a link to their talk page directly into their signature, as well.
If you feel that your user talk page is getting too large and is taking a long time to load, you may archive it. You may then remove comments from your talk page, but please make sure that those comments are readily accessible on another page. The best way to do this is to transfer them to a user subpage.
Feel free to decorate your personal pages as you see fit, but keep in mind that your user talk page has the important function of allowing other editors to communicate with you. People will get upset if they cannot use it for that purpose.
