DoveArchives:Simplified ruleset

This page on DoveArchives policy is ready for use, but may still be edited or changed.

DoveArchives is a free, volunteer-created encyclopedia, consisting of articles written in a particular style. DoveArchives is a continuous process with no end. If you write something good, it could be around for weeks, months, or even years and read all over the world. It might also be improved or incorporated into new revisions by other editors. Part of the fun and challenge of editing here is watching what happens to your contributions over time.

The DoveArchives community continues to evolve as well. Over time, policies and customs have developed as editors learn from each other how to create balanced, well-sourced, informative articles, and how to work together and resolve conflicts. This page offers essentials to help you write well and avoid needless fights.

The bedrock of DoveArchives is allowing anyone to write articles about anything they want without being subjected to a manual of style. However, we still recommend that articles maintain checkable citations and links to their sources.

Don't worry if you don't understand everything at first. And don't hesitate to ask questions. As time goes on, you'll learn how to be a great contributor on DoveArchives!

Site purpose

The general purpose of the DoveArchives can be simplified down to three core principles.

1. Freedom for editors: Everyone on the DoveArchives is encouraged to expresss their creativity through writing articles. Editors are allowed to the manual of style, protect and delete their own pages.
2. Civility and neutrality: Editors are only asked to use their common sense, to be polite and understand other users and assume good faith. When editing, we also ask you to not use our platform for advocating any biases you may have for the sake of furthering arguments.
3. Accountability and Justice: The administrators on site are also bound to use only neutral perspectives when demonstrating their site privileges; Only act in the best interests for the site at large.

Creating and editing articles

Further information: DoveArchives:Policies

1. Neutral point of view: Write from a neutral point of view. Make a fair representation of the world as reliable sources describe it. All articles should be balanced to convey an impression of the various points of view on a subject. Some views may get more attention than others, depending on the attention they receive in reliable sources. DoveArchives has no "opinion" of its own; it just accurately summarizes reliable sources.
2. Verifiability: Articles should contain material that has been published by reliable sources. These are sources with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy, like newspapers, academic journals, and books. Even if something is true our standards require it be published in a reliable source before it can be included. Editors should cite reliable sources for any material that is controversial or challenged, otherwise it may be removed by any editor. The obligation to provide a reliable source is on whoever wants to include material.
3. Be bold in updating pages! Go ahead, it's a wiki! No mistake can break DoveArchives, because any edit can be undone. Encourage others, including those who disagree with you, to likewise be bold! If you find yourself disagreeing with someone's boldness, or they with yours, discuss it on the talk page. That's it.

Getting along with other editors

Further information: DoveArchives:Content and behaviour

1. Be civil to other users at all times. If you have a criticism, comment about content and specific edits—don't make negative remarks about other editors as people.
2. Assume good faith: Please try to consider the person on the other end of the discussion as a thinking, rational being who is trying to positively contribute to DoveArchives. Even if you're convinced that they're an [insert insult of your choice], still pretend that they're acting in good faith. Ninety percent of the time you'll find that they actually are acting in good faith (and the other ten percent of the time a negative attitude won't help anyway). Be gracious. Be liberal in what you accept, be conservative in what you do. Try to accommodate other people's quirks as best you can, while trying to be as polite and straightforward as possible.
3. Discuss contentious changes on a talk page: Mutual respect is the guiding behavioral principle of DoveArchives. Although everyone knows that their contributions may be edited by others, it is easier to accept changes when you understand the reasons for them. Discussing changes on the article's talk page before you make them can help reach consensus even faster, especially on controversial subjects. There is no deadline, so always make an effort to explain changes to other editors, and feel free to ask them to do the same.
4. Undo others' edits with care: Undoing someone's work is a powerful tool, hence the three-revert rule that an editor should never undo the same content more than three times in twenty-four hours (ideally, even less). Try not to revert changes which are not obvious vandalism. If you really can't stand something, revert once, with an edit summary like "I disagree, I'll explain why on Talk", and immediately open a discussion on the accompanying talk page to discuss. If someone reverts your edits, do not just add them back without attempting discussion.
5. Try to understand why your article or edit was deleted: If your article(s) were deleted you and don't know why, you can ask site admins for the reasons as to why if you haven't already been notified. We will only outright delete articles as a last resort or if the entire page violates our policies. It's imperative that you remain understanding of their decision and polite.
6. DoveArchives:Dispute resolution: Disagreements are common but they need not be confrontational. Find out what others think about an issue and try to address it, and reach agreement with them. If you still disagree, seek input from other editors informally, or through a third opinion, mediation, or requests for an open request for comment.

Working efficiently together

1. Use clear edit summaries to allow others to understand your thinking—and even you may need a reminder months later. Please state what you changed and why. If the explanation is too long, use the Talk page.
2. Sign your posts on talk pages (using ~~~~, which changes to your username plus a timestamp when you hit "publish changes"). But don't sign in articles themselves.
3. Preview your changes with the show preview button before saving. Follow-on edits fixing errors in earlier edits clutter the page's history, which makes it hard for others to see what, overall, you changed.
4. Ask for help: You are almost surely not the first person to have a particular question, idea or problem. You can ask for help anytime by using talk pages or by contacting site administrators directly.

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Wikipedia:Simplified Ruleset. The list of authors can be seen in the page history.