Talk: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 02:37, 30 October 2005


Summary: How to use Talk

At the top of every page there is a link titled "discussion" which links to the Talk page for that article. Talk pages allow you to discuss the content of articles without cluttering up the article itself.

Examples of things to mention on Talk pages:

  • Needed information.
  • Problems you have with the current content of the page.
  • Possible solutions to edit wars.

Please note that it is generally considered bad ettiquette to delete or alter the comments of another user. While this is perfectly fine on the rest of the wiki, doing so on a talk page disrupts the conversation.

Remember to sign and date your comments. Typing "~~~~" will do this automatically.

A talk page is a special Wikipedia page containing discussion about the contents of its associated "subject" page. To view the talk page of an article, click on the "Discuss this page" link in the sidebar or at the bottom of the screen. When you are in the talk page, clicking on "View article" will take you back to the main article.

Inevitably, there will arise situations in which collaborators on an article can benefit mutually from discussing the article--thus we have designated a namespace specifically for such discussion.

What is it used for?

The purpose of a talk page is to help to improve the contents of the main page, from an encyclopedic point of view. Questions, challenges, excised text (due to truly egregious confusion or bias, for example), arguments relevant to changing the text, and commentary on the main page is all fair play. In other words, talk about the article, not about the subject.

That said, we are all fallible creatures, so it's entirely natural that a bit of partisan wrangling takes place on talk pages - and occasionally this even leads to improvements in the article! So there's a fair degree of tolerance, and most editors succumb to a bit of wrangling from time to time.

User talk pages

Your user page has a talk page as well, and that one has some special features. For one thing, there is a link to it in the header next to your name (if you use a "skin" other than the default it may be somewhere else). Also, if edits are made to it by others, the text You have new messages will appear at the top of the page. These pages can be used for occasional personal communication among users; but note that these pages are public. If you want to communicate privately, use e-mail.

To write in another user's talk page, click the Discuss this page link on your sidebar when you view the user page (which you can do by clicking on a user's nickname). 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 / IP address.

"Post a comment" feature

For editing a talk page, one can optionally use the "Post a comment" feature, but only for a new thread and for a reply to be put at the bottom of the last thread.

  • For a reply to be put at the bottom of the last thread, do not fill in the "Subject/headline" box. In this case it is not possible to supply an edit summary. Instead, edit the previous thread.

When using "Post a comment", an edit conflict is impossible. However, in the case that you are not starting a new thread but replying to an existing one, your response may be appended to a newly created post that was added while you wrote yours. It is therefore generally recommended to use section editing to respond, and "Post a comment" to start new threads. If your comment is accidentally misplaced, just edit the page and move it.

Example

This article is great. Adam Conover 18:20 Jan 30, 2003 (UTC)

No it isn't! --hao2lian
Yes it is! --Heroist
I was talking to Adam Conover! --hao2lian

I like wojahowicz better. Adam Conover

Now, now. hao2lian