Xeno Series Wiki:Talk pages

Talk pages are the main means of communicating on the wiki. While we do have a Discord server, it is not reasonable to force users to go there to discuss on-wiki matters, and it is more convenient for such discussion to be archived locally.

All pages (except for special pages) have a talk page, accessed through the "Discussion" tab. This page outlines how to use such pages.

Correct talk page usage
Talk pages are for discussing the subject of the corresponding page.
 * Content talk pages (articles, templates, etc.)
 * Discussing whether a page should be merged, split, deleted, etc.
 * Discussing whether a particular piece of information should be on the page
 * Discussing whether a certain fact is true or not
 * Discussing major edits that may come across as disruption or vandalism if done without warning (e.g. deciding to remove a section)
 * Attempting to come to resolution over conflicting edits (instead of just reverting back and forth constantly)
 * User talk pages
 * Discussing a user's contributions
 * Informing a user that their edit has been reverted
 * Warning users about rule violations
 * Minor outside conversations
 * Policy talk pages
 * Discussing changes to the policy
 * Bringing up concerns with a policy

Incorrect talk page usage
Talk pages are not for anything that doesn't lead to improving the wiki.
 * Content talk pages (articles, templates, etc.)
 * Posting opinions, arguments, or similar that happen to be about the subject but have no encyclopedic value
 * Complaining that an article is bad
 * User talk pages
 * Chatting as if this is a social site
 * Policy talk pages
 * Complaining about rules without constructive feedback

Posting on a talk page
On any talk page, the following rules apply.
 * All new posts are placed at the bottom of the section; all new sections are placed at the bottom of the page.
 * New sections should always be a, and have a useful and specific name that preferably isn't duplicated by a previous section.
 * Keep your comments readable. No ALLCAPS, no enlarged or coloured text, no excessive punctuation!!!, and no embedded images.
 * Always sign your comments by adding ~ (4 tildes) to the end. Not 3 (this leaves out the timestamp), and not 5 (this puts only the timestamp).
 * Use colons (these things: ) to indent direct replies. If the indent of a long comment chain gets too large, go back to zero.
 * Don't reply to old conversations or reopen closed discussions. Even if you have something substantially new to add, you should probably start a new conversation on the same topic instead.

Changing existing talk page content

 * You may edit your own comments to fix spelling/grammar errors, or sign if you forgot, but don't change the actual content.
 * You may not edit others' comments, unless you are moving them to a more appropriate location.
 * You should not edit a comment after someone has responded to it (unless you are retracting it as below).
 * You may not delete comments, yours or others'. You may retract your own comments with &lt;s> strikethrough &lt;/s> formatting.
 * There is some allowance for deleting comments that are purely spammy, vulgar, or similar.

Other notes

 * For conversations on a user talk page, do not go back-and-forth leaving messages on each others' talk pages. Keep conversations on a single page so anyone can follow them at a glance.