PvXwiki:Editing User and Talk Pages

Editing User Pages
A user, to an extent, has sovereignty on his user page. While that sovereignty is limited, violating it is considered a policy violation. This means that, with a few exceptions, no user should edit another user's page. The exceptions to this rule are minor edits where consensus with that user can be assumed, for example:
 * fixing links
 * category tags
 * typos
 * reverting vandalism

A user's right to edit their own user space is nearly unlimited; however, it does have a few restrictions. Adding Build category tags to the user space is forbidden. While this is not a punishable policy violation, such category tags will be removed if found on a user page. Furthermore, user pages may not violate existing policies that regulate what kinds of information users may disseminate. For example, violating NPA by making inflammatory or offensive remarks on your user page is not allowed.

Finally, while users may choose to archive their user talk pages at a time of their choosing, they may not edit, strike, censor, or blank statements made by other users. The only exception to this rule is a violation of NPA. However, in order to document the offense, in most cases, the offending text should merely be stricken or archived, and not blanked. See here for more information.

Only Edit Your Own Comments
There is a simple, all-encompassing rule that should be followed when editing Discussion pages. Never, ever edit, delete, or strike out another user's comments. While all users are free to edit or retract their statements, censoring another's comments in any manner is considered a policy violation.

Users who, for any reason, wish to retract a statement of their own should not blank that statement but rather strike it by enclosing the text with ...., because the edit will appear as vandalism on both Recent Changes and Watchlists.

Furthermore, while users may make minor edits to their comments, they should avoid entirely changing their core statement so as not to mislead readers trying to follow a thread.

Don't Blank Discussion Pages
In the same way as editing another user's comment, blanking a discussion page is considered a policy violation. Instead, if a discussion page has grown too long or the threads have become stagnant, those threads should be archived. Archiving not only provides a valuable means of documentation (if for nothing other than reference purposes), it also logically follows from existing precedent. Additionally, there may be something genuinely valuable on the page.

Please note that not even the original author of a page may choose to blank its corresponding talk page. This includes using delete tags on a page and actually deleting it.

For the case of User Talk Pages, please see PvXwiki:Editing User Pages.

A Single Exception
In only one instance is it acceptable to strike or even remove another user's text - when it violates no personal attacks and poses a continuing threat to a user (i.e., if personal information is revealed). As per the exception labeled "Removal of text," in some instances, with the approval of an Administrator, it may be acceptable to strike, archive, or blank (it depends on the circumstances) offending text.

Indenting
On this wiki and many other wiki's, Indenting is common and helps the flow of discussion on talk pages. Indenting is done by simply using 1 more colon then the comment you are responding, the colons go at the beginning of your comment, so if the comment you are responding to has 3 colons before it, you should use 4. If you are having trouble understanding this, look here for a thorough explanation of how indenting works.

When to Archive
Threads are usually archived when the Discussion page has become burdensomely long and hard to navigate. However, threads that remain current (i.e. they are still relevant or there are continued posts) should not be archived. While any user may, if they deem it prudent, choose to archive parts of a discussion page, there is not always consensus. If another user deems the archived threads to still be pertinent, the archive should be reverted and left as such until an official decision can be reached. Generally, by the time a page needs to be archived, multiple people should already have said as much somewhere on the page, but this need not be the case.

How to Archive
To archive a talk page, move all content into a subpage, such as PvXwiki talk:Community Portal/Archive 1. Then, remove the redirect from the page and add the link to the subpage to the top of the talk page. If there's an archive box, make sure to cut and paste it back to the relevant page.

Useful templates for managing talk page archives you may want to look into are:
 * Template:Archive: Simple archive box to place links to the archives in.
 * Template:Archive box: A prettier but slightly more complicated archive box.
 * Template:Talkarchive: A notice to be placed on top of a discussion archive.

For a more detailed explanation of how to archive a talk page, please see this page.

Leaving PvXwiki
Users that wish to leave PvX or who have already left the community may want to have their userspace pages deleted for privacy reasons. Since PvX has little need to hold onto these archives (inactive users don't need to be moderated) these users may request userspace deletion via one of the following methods:
 * Contacting an admin directly to have their userspace pages deleted
 * Placing the delete / delete talk template on the pages they wish to have removed.
 * A single template: can be placed on the main userpage if the user wishes to remove their entire userspace.
 * The user may also request to be permanently blocked from PvXwiki (but this is not mandatory).

'''Do not simply blank your pages when leaving PvXwiki, as the information on the user pages is still visible in the page history. Please make sure an admin is notified to delete the page(s).'''

This type of deletion request is restricted to users that truly intend to become and remain inactive. Any user wishing to remain active will be denied deletion of their talk archives as they are relevant to moderation. Sockpuppeting to get around this is not allowed. In particular, users may not jump names to attempt to hide previous policy violations or consequences.

No user should request deletion for a userspace that is not theirs. In cases where a user cannot reclaim a pre-migration account to request the deletion unambiguously, they should contact an admin with the details of their situation. Users that have already been banned may request this deletion by emailing an admin.

Non-permabanned users returning from inactivity may have their deleted archives restored if they are deemed relevant by an admin. This is not automatic, the admins should only restore if the behavior of the user warrants viewing their archives.

Related Links

 * PvXwiki:You are valuable
 * PvXwiki:No personal attacks
 * A useful, but not official, guide to User Pages may be found on Wikipedia here