GuildWiki:Policy

This article is designed to act as a portal to the various other policy pages, as well as describe the method of adding and changing GuildWiki policy.

It should be noted that the GuildWiki has only recently started writing policy articles, and thus this may be incomplete. If there are any longstanding GuildWiki traditions/procedures that remain undocumented, please write up an article and link it appropriately.

Editing policies
These policies guide editing a page.


 * Check the style and formatting guide for the article type you're working on.
 * Emphasize content over presentation whenever possible.
 * Before adding an image, check the image use policy.
 * Note the special policy for builds.
 * Know when and when not to use a redirect.
 * The article on retention states which information is kept in the wiki.
 * Please sign your comments on article talk pages with non-disruptive signatures.
 * Finally, recognize that we are not Wikipedia. If you're a Wikipedian, the differences between the GuildWiki and Wikipedia might be useful.

Conflict policies
These policies govern how to act when you disagree with another user.


 * Always assume good faith in the edits of others.
 * Except for vandalism, only revert once. After that, discuss any disagreements on the talk page and come to a compromise.
 * You are valuable, regardless of how new you are here or how trivial your edits seem to be. There is no concept of seniority among editors.
 * When engaging in a conflict, no personal attacks are acceptable. Discuss the edit, not the editor.
 * We are not ArenaNet. We, as an organization, do not punish for behavior that violates the Guild Wars Terms of Use.

Administrative policies
These policies govern how admins (aka sysops) differ from normal editors, as well as how administrators are to apply their powers.


 * View the currently active administrators and their duties.
 * View current requests for adminship.
 * Sysops administrate users, not content. Admins have no more say in editing disputes than normal users do.

Changing policies
It is perfectly acceptable to disagree with a policy. There are two steps necessary to change a policy:


 * 1) Add a new subarticle to the policy in question fully rewriting all sections of the policy you'd like to see change.
 * 2) Add a message to the talk page of the policy article advertising the change, and why that change is good for the GuildWiki.
 * 3) Add an entry to the top of the list in the section below linking to the policy in question as well as a brief summary of the suggested change. Please sign and date the entry!

It is very likely that your proposal will need to be edited during the proposal period. It is also likely that other GuildWikians might produce counter-proposals (each with their own subarticle). All discussions about editing individual proposals should stay within each individual subarticle's talk page. The main article's talk page should contain only a summary of each proposal (1-2 lines) and links to each proposal.

If consensus to change the policy is reached in the talk page, edit the policy in question. If consensus is not reached, no change can be made. While a vote can be called to assess community feelings about a change, no vote can ever be considered binding nor, unless unanimous, indication of consensus.

In any case, once the proposal is concluded, move it from the list of policies being revisited to the top of the recently revisited list, along with the date and outcome (success or failure). Failed policy changes on the recently revisited list should not be reproposed for some time.

Policies currently being revisited

 * None at this time

Recently revisited policies

 * Policy (proposed change: Policy/Proposal1): A proposed change on proposing changes. :) &mdash;Tanaric 07:45, 14 October 2006 (CDT)
 * Implemented by LordBiro, 1st Dec 2006, no opposition.
 * Redirect: Redirects for capitalization and plurals. &mdash;Tanaric 17:57, 5 August 2006 (CDT)
 * Proposed revision can be viewed at Redirect/p1. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 13:48, 11 December 2006 (CST)
 * Implemented by Barek, 15th Dec 2006, no unresolved opposition posted.

Proposing new GuildWiki policies
Proposing a new GuildWiki policy is a three-step process:


 * 1) Create a new article, in the GuildWiki namespace, describing your new policy. The article title should be similar in style to existing policy articles, if possible. Do not add the new article to the policy category.
 * 2) Add the new article to the list below, along with a brief summary of why the policy would be helpful. Please sign and date the entry!
 * 3) Include any additional arguments as to why the propsed policy is good for the GuildWiki in the talk page of the new policy article.

If consensus to adopt the proposed policy is reached in the talk page, add the policy to the policy category. If consensus is not reached, mark the article for deletion. While a vote can be called to assess community feelings about a proposed policy, no vote can ever be considered binding nor, unless unanimous, indication of consensus.

In any case, once the proposal is concluded, remove it from the list of policies being proposed. If the policy proposal failed, add it to the top of the recently failed list, along with the date. Failed policy proposals should not be reproposed for some time.

Current proposed policies
Overall site proposals:
 * Pop culture - Pop culture references and what to do with them. --Nog64
 * Editing bots - Wiki editing bots and a system for bot edit requests. -- Gordon Ecker

Build space proposals:
 * No original builds ~ GuildWiki should simply document the commonplace builds, instead of acting as a development bed. &mdash; Skuld 11:39, 9 April 2007 (CDT)
 * Profession guides -- An policy that would cause a switch from a build based system to a guide based system for PvE documentation. Defiant Elements  (talk ~ contribs) 23:01, 25 March 2007 (CDT)
 * Publish your build - A policy to organize original builds in the User namespace. --Vazze 19:30, 9 April 2007 (CDT)
 * Advertise your build - A proposed policy for handling advertisement of user-generated builds. --Auntmousie 06:12, 2 May 2007 (CDT)

Recently accepted proposals

 * Sign your comments/P1: Converted to policy Jan 15, 2006 - no outstanding opposition on talk page. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 22:02, 14 January 2007 (CST)
 * We are not ArenaNet: Converted to policy Feb 1, 2007 - no outstanding opposition on talk page. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 14:56, 1 February 2007 (CST)
 * No personal attacks: Converted to policy Feb 6, 2007 by User:Gares Redstorm - no outstanding opposition on talk page. &mdash;Tanaric 07:11, 6 February 2007 (CST)

Recently failed proposals

 * Penalties for abuse: no admin was interested in implementation. &mdash;Tanaric 17:57, 5 August 2006 (CDT)
 * Personal sites - Suggests guildwiki is not for personal use. The Short policy recommends we delete ridiculously huge user sites, of which there are hundreds.
 * Was decided user sites would not harm the wiki under any circumstances.Spayced 21:31, 17 December 2006 (CST)


 * Explain Yourself ~ Gathered no interest &mdash; Skuld 11:40, 9 April 2007 (CDT)
 * Build split - Gathered little interest, obsolete after builds wipe. &mdash;Tanaric 17:07, 2 May 2007 (CDT)