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Changes
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→Article Titles are a Promise . . .: added link to naming conv
* '''More general titles should name more general content.''' Thus [[Students with Skills]] is a page that covers general skills, as well as pointing to categories of skills, such as [[Students with Automotive Skills|automotive]] and [[Students with Body Skills|body]]. [[Pranks]] is and should always be an article about many pranks, not just one recent event.
* '''A title is the main idea of an article.''' Thus, an article simply titled [[Amherst]] should not go directly into a story about our rivalry, though it is likely to have a prominent section on it. If the rivalry topic became big enough, it could even become its own article, [[Rivalry with Amherst]].
*'''Willipedia has conventions for titling articles.''' Because it is so important to have a common system for choosing intuitive titles, Willipedia titles try to conform to [[Project:Naming conventions|a set of rules]].
=== Content of Enduring Interest ===
Imagine the world, and all there is to know about it. Some subset of all that is Williams-special: all there is to know about Williams, and all that is special to the Williams community. This subset is where Willipedia really thrives: it contains the topics we will write on best, the topics that an encyclopedia of ''Williams'' cries out to have (such as [[Trivia]] or [[Winter Study]]) and those that the readership that arrives here will be seeking.
Willipedia isn't ''really'' the place for an article on U.S. foreign policy, or similar topics that are of a general interest, but are not are a general ''Williams ''interest.'' Perhaps one of us can write an excellent article on such a topic, but
* Is there a reason it belongs on Williams' encyclopedia, Willipedia, and not the world's encyclopedia, [http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia]?
* Will Willipedia be the forum in which the editors best able to contribute to that article will find it?
== What makes Willipedia Sick ==
There are some paths that simply lead to no good for Willipedia. We've discovered them by stumbling a ways down them in the past; we hope to stay clear in the future. Below are prohibitions that the [[Wiki Willipedia board|Willipedia Board]] deems necessary to make for Willipedia's content. The board will take steps to guide articles away from this content, and occassionally we may delete it.
=== Advertising ===
=== Criticism of Professors ===
This is a unique policy. Opinions on professors is are very much of general interest, and is certainly a part of the Williams consciousnes. It is in all ways They would be fair game for Willipedia, but for a few reasons we make a special exception.
[http://wso.williams.edu/factrak Factrak] is a WSO service that is specially dedicated to researching and reviewing professors. It is older than Willipedia, and has gone through a history of revisions to be useful to students, fair to professors, and allowed by the administration. We must ask that you comment there on Williams professors, and not on Willipedia -- though you may certainly write here about [[departments]] and [[classes]] at Williams.
=== Naming Names ===
If you think that someone involved in the topic you're writing about would prefer to go unnamed, grant them that [[common courtesy|courtesy]]. Mindfulness of others' identities is necessary for Willipedia to have a strong base of contributors, and we must respect this both in how we write and in what we choose to write about.
The great majority of Willipedia topics are innocuous, and writers may cover these to the fullest extent of their knowledge. Other topics, that concern individuals of the Williams community who are likely not to want to be named in them (''eg.'' some [[Pranks]] and [[campus controversies|Campus Controversies]]), must either be written without naming the names or left to media other than Willipedia.
If you, with permission, include another person's name in a way that other editors may find questionable, note that you had the person's permission in your edit summary or on the talk page.
=== Things That Will Get Us Sued or Shut Down ===
# '''Culling truth from opinion.''' You'll find that most of the things that people take the time to write on Willipedia have at least some grains of usefulness in them. Seek these, preserve, and enhance them with your additions.
# '''Moving less pertinent,content''' either lower on a page, into a subsection, or into another (perhaps new) page. This is very frequently needed, as people often start a page on, say, [[Mills]] out of the desire to write about their own suite. Such information may belong in the article, and should not be deleted, but it does not belong not at the top.
# '''Deleting useless or offending content.''' This will come naturally and is often the best course, but remember to always look for the above alternatives first.
# '''Choosing a new title for an article.''' This is a major upset when it happens to a large article, but a great thing when it happens early. To do this, use the "Move this page" link at the bottom of the page. Before you do this, skim the first part of the check out our [http[Project://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions Wikipedia Naming conventions|naming conventions]].
=== 2. Discussing an Article ===
* Any edit with explanation too long to be comfortably put in the "Edit Summary" box.
=== 3. Protecting an Article (admins only) === Certain "metapages" -- pages that discuss or perform official functions on Willipedia itself -- are permanently locked from edit by non-admin users. This Policies page is one, because its content is meant to reflect Willipedia board consensus. Though it has not been done yet, the board may protect any article, preventing edit for a length of time. This could be used if a page was receiving frequent editing abuse, such as [[#Advertising|Advertising]] for an upcoming event, for which a temporary protect until after the event date might solve the problem. === 4. Deleting an Article (admins only) ===
Members of the Wiki Board are empowered to delete an article. This is distinct from simply deleting all of the text on a page, which still leaves behind a record (and is pretty much never the best way to make an edit). Only articles with no potential at all should be deleted, so it is a rare event.
If you believe an article should be deleted, contact the Wiki Board at <email>wiki@wso.williams.edu</email>.
=== 45. Banning a User (admin admins only) ===
This option has been used almost exclusively for spammers -- IPs that used to delete content and flood articles with links to ad and porn sites. It, however, is a recourse available to be used against any repeatedly hostile editor. We cannot imagine any situation in which an editor making contributions in good faith would be banned.
