NPOWiki:Policies

This is a living draft of policies that apply to the wiki as a whole. Please post suggestions on the talk page or in Discord.

Definitions

"Article" refers to a page in the main namespace (aka mainspace) - the primary information content of the wiki.
"Page" refers to any page on the wiki in any namespace.
A "namespace" is a type of page, usually indicated in the URL with a prefix (e.g. "User:"). There is no prefix for the main namespace.
"Subpage" refers to a page that is a child of another page, denoted by one or more / in the page name. Using a / that does not denote a subpage can be tricky with MediaWiki.
"Redlink" refers to a link to a page that does not exist (typically displayed in a red font color).

Content

Do not create "stub" pages with very little content.

Any text or code that is heavily copied or used around the wiki can be made a template for consistency and easier editing. Common styling should be added to the site CSS.

General

All pages should be in English by default. Any spelling convention can be used, so long as it is consistent within the page. For example, if a player is from the UK, it may make sense to use British English on that page.

Page names should consist of standard, natural phrases rather than using subpages or parenthetical classifications, whenever possible and practical (typically shortcut templates will have an abbreviated name).

Page names (primarily categories) should eliminate any unnecessary redundancy. For example, this is the NPO Wiki, so categories don't need to be named "NPO Wiki pages", just "Pages".

Formatting

All quotes and apostrophes should be standard "straight quotes". If you need to use a symbol that can't be typed on a keyboard (e.g. an em dash), other than accented alphabetical characters, use the HTML character encoding (e.g. —).

When a multi-line template is used, such as an infobox, the closing }} should be on its own line, with no empty lines surrounding it.

Headings should have exactly one empty line above them and no empty lines below them, and no spaces surrounding the = signs.

Categories should be placed at the end of a page on a new line, optionally preceded by a blank line.

Articles

The "lead section" of an article, the first section before any headings, should be a maximum of one paragraph giving an overview of the subject.

Sensible use of redlinks is encouraged. This helps editors see what pages are highly linked to and create them as necessary.

Files

Files must be given a descriptive (though not verbose), accurate name in proper English. If the source, author, or license are known, they must be included on the file page. At the least, there should be a link to where the file was found. Files which you do not have permission to share should not be uploaded. The maximum allowable resolution should be used (up to 1920x1080); vector files (e.g. SVG) are preferred when available.

Templates

Every template should use {{documentation}} along with a /doc subpage (using {{documentation subpage}}) to display information about its purpose and usage. Template categories should be placed on the /doc page using includeonly.

User pages

Anything that does not belong in the main content namespace, template space, etc. can be placed in the user namespace to be worked on. You can find your own user page here and may create any number of subpages. However, these pages must be related to the wiki and remain subject to its guidelines. Users are encouraged to personalize their user page and use it to introduce themselves.

Your talk page can be found here. Any user may leave a message there. Talk page messages must be signed by typing four tildes (if a user neglects to sign, anyone can place {{unsigned}} with the username, date, and time, which can be found in the page history). Messages may only be removed from a talk page if they are vandalism, contain sensitive personal information, or if they are being moved to a designated archive page.

Behavior

Be sure to assume good faith from editors and not bite the newcomers. Be respectful and polite to other users and their work.

Hate speech, harassment, "doxxing", and other intimidating behavior will not be tolerated. "Sockpuppetry", especially to evade a block, is not allowed and those accounts will receive an instant permanent ban.

Enforcement and interpretation of the wiki's rules is at the discretion of the administrators. The punishment for rule infraction is as follows. Breaking of clearly distinct rules will follow the schedule independently. For severe behavior, steps after the first may be skipped one at a time and not consecutively.

First offense: talk page warning.
Second offense: one day block.
Third offense: seven day block.
Fourth offense: one month block.
Fifth offense: one year block.
Sixth offense: permanent block.