Thread: Wiki Guidelines

The following was discussed and approved in this forum thread:

Wiki Guidelines
(Some of the text and many of the following links are from http://www.wikipedia.org. Though we are not affiliated with Wikipedia, our Wiki shares many of its principles and structures.)

Assuming good faith is a fundamental principle of our Wiki. If and when disagreements occur, explain the general concern in this forum or by using the discussion pages in the Wiki, and give others the opportunity to do the same. If it is personal, always contact the other party first. If something needs to be reported to a moderator, please do so. Consider whether a dispute stems from different perspectives and look for ways to reach consensus. We want a civil and gentlemanly atmosphere to be as evident in the Wiki as it is already here in the forums.

Plagiarism

PLEASE do not include copies of primary sources (specifically: text, maps, artworks and other useful images) in the Wiki. If it is a large source, consider uploading it as a whole separate file into the Wiki.

Avoid including entire texts of articles, press releases, speeches or lengthy quotations, etc. In an outside article of someone's honing review, for example, summarize the review and then provide an external link to the actual review. Samples and short sources are fine.

Please don't simply copy and paste huge chunks of material from internet websites. Free online tools are becoming available to help identify plagiarism, and plagiarism that involves copyright violation may be addressed by the rightful content owners sending a DMCA removal notice to the offending site-owner, or to the ISP that is hosting the offending site.

Plagiarism is not the mere copying of text, but the presentation of another's ideas as one's own, regardless of the specific words or constructs used to express that idea. You must respect the wishes of authors. Respect copyrighted work: get permission and/or references when necessary - if you are in doubt, contact the source author first.

More information on plagiarism, copyrights, and free licenses can be found at the following web locations:
Wikipedia:Copyrights - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
United States - Creative Commons
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States
Plagiarism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

When you find something here on the SRP forums you want to place in the SRP Wiki that is author-specific, please contact the member first and ask permission to add their work to the Wiki or encourage the member to contribute their helpful information themselves.

Conflict of Interest:

Editing that involves contributing to the Wiki in order to promote your own interests or those of other individuals, companies, or groups is conflicting interests. When advancing outside interests is more important than advancing the purpose of the Wiki, that editor stands in a conflict of interest. Don't do it please! If you see it being done, please contact dwessell the Wiki administrator or simply remove the offending text of the Wiki and relate what happened in that article's discussion page.

Etiquette:

Be civil and respectful. Your contributions to the Wiki should be neutral regarding fairness and bias and should be based on reliable, verifiable information that members on SRP can use and can attest to having used successfully.

Use the Wiki! Link to it, talk about it, add to it, edit it, make it a better reference. Use plenty of cross-references when you edit the Wiki so that it works together well with itself. Wikipedia has some good guidelines for how to do this: Wikipedia:Build the web - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Be aware that other users can and probably will edit your Wiki content from time to time. Don't be offended, it is simply part of growing the Wiki. SRP Wiki content is free to use and freely used unless otherwise specified by previously existing copyright or author's wishes (which should be clearly noted in the Wiki.)

These guidelines are not comprehensive, but try to cover the basic things to remember when using the SRP Wiki. Please use it responsibly! And as Lynn has said, "I would hope that all of us here continue to assist in bringing new people into the art of straight razor shaving along with growing and perpetuating that art which we have learned to enjoy so much."