VassarWiki:Policies: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 21:26, 30 May 2026

📝

This page is a proposal under discussion.

Policies are foundational principles of the site that contributors should always follow. Like everything on VassarWiki, they are established by community consensus.

Build consensus

Disputes over content should be discussed on the respective talk page and resolved through consensus-building. While voting can be utilized, it should not act as a replacement for discussion.

If you disagree with the outcome of a dispute, please respect the community's decision and move on. At the same time, consensus can change. Discussions can be reopened if the facts have changed or if sufficient time has passed to shift community opinion.

When there is a dispute and a consensus hasn't yet formed or cannot form, the page should remain at the status quo ante bellum.^[1] If waiting for community discussion is especially untenable (e.g. the page presents a legal issue), please report the page and it will be dealt with by an administrator. Reverting back and forth, known as edit warring, is not tolerated (even if you're right).

Leave a trail

Please sign all messages on talk pages. The Visual Editor should do this for you automatically on talk pages. When in the Source Editor, you can add your signature with four tildes (~).

To help page histories be navigable, please write a short edit summary for each of your contributions.

To tether the project to reality and help readers find external resources, content should be sourced with inline references^[2] whenever possible. You can use reliable external publications, public statements from groups, or firsthand accounts from community members (including yourself) as sources. Citations can be brief, and they don't have to be in any citation style. If possible, hyperlink the sources to the relevant VassarWiki page or external website.

To produce references with the Visual Editor, click the "Cite" button. On the Source Editor, click the book with a ribbon or write the reference content between <ref> and </ref>.

Don't steal

All content on VassarWiki must be original or in the public domain. If you want to include a resource that is copyrighted, please link to it in an "External links" section. By contributing to VassarWiki, you agree to release your contribution under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Don't censor others

VassarWiki is not censored. As a result of this principle, negativity towards any subject is allowed. On main pages, negative content should be sourced and written from a neutral point of view.

Information about living people is held to a higher standard than content about other subjects. Please consider other people's privacy when including information about them.

Conduct

Please be respectful and civil. Harassment, defamation, and privacy violations are not tolerated. Deliberately nonconstructive edits will be removed, and editors responsible may be permanently or temporarily suspended from editing VassarWiki.

Unless there is clear evidence to the contrary, assume that your fellow contributors are here in good faith to improve the project.

Notes

↑ Latin for "status quo before the conflict"
↑ Like this one!

[1] Latin for "status quo before the conflict"

[2] Like this one!

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-== List of policies ==
+{{Proposal}}
-=== Be bold! ===
-Contributions do not require prior approval. So be bold! If someone finds an issue with your edit, it may be reverted and discussed on a talk page. Though not required, it's encouraged that you understand VassarWiki policy and any relevant guidelines before editing.
-=== Sourcing ===
+'''Policies''' are foundational principles of the site that contributors should always follow. Like everything on VassarWiki, they are established by community consensus.
-All content on encyclopedia pages must be sourced. Sources fall into three categories, listed in decreasing order of authority:
-# Reliable publications like external newspapers/journals, The Miscellany News, and official Vassar websites
+== Build consensus ==
-# Public statements by VSA-recognized student organizations
+Disputes over content should be discussed on the respective talk page and resolved through consensus-building. While voting can be utilized, it should not act as a replacement for discussion.
-# Current or past Vassar individuals (including you!)
-=== Don't steal ===
+If you disagree with the outcome of a dispute, please respect the community's decision and move on. At the same time, consensus can change. Discussions can be reopened if the facts have changed or if sufficient time has passed to shift community opinion.
-All content on VassarWiki must be original or in the public domain. If you want to include a resource that is copyrighted, please include it in an "External links" section. All contributions made on VassarWiki are under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.
-=== VassarWiki is not censored ===
+When there is a dispute and a consensus hasn't yet formed or cannot form, the page should remain at the ''status quo ante bellum''.<ref>Latin for "status quo before the conflict"</ref> If waiting for community discussion is especially untenable (e.g. the page presents a legal issue), please [[VassarWiki:Reports|report]] the page and it will be dealt with by an [[VassarWiki:About#Governance|administrator]]. Reverting back and forth, known as edit warring, is not tolerated (even if you're right).
-Content should generally not be removed but revised. VassarWiki is ''not censored''. Negative information about any subject is allowed, though it must be accompanied by sources of types 1 or 2. Content concerning living Vassar people are held to a higher standard than content about other subjects.
-=== Disputes and behavior ===
+== Leave a trail ==
-Disputes over content should be discussed on the respective talk page and ''resolved through consensus''. While voting can be utilized, it should not act as a replacement for discussion.
+Please sign all messages on talk pages. The Visual Editor should do this for you automatically on talk pages. When in the Source Editor, you can add your signature with four tildes (~).
-Where there is a dispute and a consensus hasn't yet formed or cannot form, the page should remain at the ''status quo ante bellum''. If this is for some reason especially untenable, please report the page and it will be dealt with by an administrator. Edit warring (reverting back and forth) is not tolerated (even if you're right).
+To help page histories be navigable, please write a short edit summary for each of your contributions.
-Please be respectful and civil. Harassment, defamation, and violations of privacy are not tolerated and will be promptly removed. Unconstructive edits will be reverted, and responsible editors may be permanently or temporarily suspended from editing.
+To tether the project to reality and help readers find external resources, content should be sourced with inline references<ref>Like this one!</ref> whenever possible. You can use reliable external publications, public statements from groups, or firsthand accounts from community members (including yourself) as sources. Citations can be brief, and they don't have to be in any citation style. If possible, hyperlink the sources to the relevant VassarWiki page or external website.
+To produce references with the Visual Editor, click the "Cite" button. On the Source Editor, click the book with a ribbon or write the reference content between <nowiki><ref></nowiki> and <nowiki></ref></nowiki>.
+== Don't steal ==
+{{See also|VassarWiki:Disclaimer}}
+All content on VassarWiki must be original or in the public domain. If you want to include a resource that is copyrighted, please link to it in an "External links" section. By contributing to VassarWiki, you agree to release your contribution under the [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License].
+== Don't censor others ==
+VassarWiki is not censored. As a result of this principle, negativity towards any subject is allowed. On main pages, negative content should be sourced and written from a neutral point of view.
+Information about living people is held to a higher standard than content about other subjects. Please consider other people's privacy when including information about them.
+== Conduct ==
+Please be respectful and civil. Harassment, defamation, and privacy violations are not tolerated. Deliberately nonconstructive edits will be removed, and editors responsible may be permanently or temporarily suspended from editing VassarWiki.
+Unless there is clear evidence to the contrary, assume that your fellow contributors are here in good faith to improve the project.
+== See also ==
+* [[VassarWiki:Guidelines]], best practices developed by consensus
+* [[VassarWiki:Privacy policy]]
+== Notes ==
+<references group="note" />