Editing Last Outlaws Wiki:Guidelines

{{shortcut|S:GUIDELINES|S:GUIDES|S:RULES}}{{redirect|S:GUIDELINES|the community guidelines|Guidelines}}
When editing articles and participating in discussions, all users should follow these guidelines '''at all times.'''

== What the Last Outlaws Wiki is ''not'' ==

===A forum===
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Articles do not work like forum topics; if you make an article saying "I will help you, just comment on my profile!" or something similar, it will be deleted.

[[Help:Talk Page|Talk pages]] are not to be treated as forum pages, either. Please only keep discussion related to the well-being of an article on its talk page.

{{note|This guideline does not apply to user talk pages as they are related to the user rather than any article.|Exception}}

=== A blog===
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Articles are not blog pages; do not show your events or chat on articles. Use correct spelling, punctuation, and follow the [[Last Outlaws Wiki:Style Guide|Style Guide]].

Talk pages are only about that page. Do not play tricks, pranks, fools, or acts of drama. Pay attention to what you are writing and use the "show preview" button to make sure that you did not make any mistakes. Make sure that readers will understand your point.

{{note|User talk pages are an exception as they are related to a user instead of an article.|Exception}}

===An advertising hub===
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{{nutshell|title=This section|With a few exceptions, never create pages about users or user-generated content.}}
{{redirect|S:USER|the rules about userspace|S:USERSPACE|the guide to user pages|S:USERPAGE|users on Last Outlaws|Last Outlawser|users on the Wiki|Last Outlaws Wiki:Users}}
Almost all articles about users and user-generated content will be deleted. The wiki is not the place for advertisements or biographies; these pages may end up being targets for vandalism (e.g. "this user was mean!"). For more information and the exceptions, see [[Last Outlaws Wiki:New Page Policies#Last Outlawsers and Projects|the page creation policies]].

If a username is mentioned (e.g. the creator of a Last Outlaws Modification) do '''not''' make a link to that user's Last Outlaws profile or Wiki user page.

===Wikipedia===
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Although Wikipedia is a template to our wiki and some of our rules may be based on theirs, do not cite Wikipedia or any of its sister projects for any rules or to justify actions. You ''may'' propose a rule that is also used on Wikipedia, but you may ''not'' propose a rule merely ''because'' it is used on Wikipedia. Additionally, you may ''not'' warn another user for breaking a rule that only exists on Wikipedia.
{{----}}

===Yours===
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All content on this wiki belongs to every user. Do not sign your username in articles to say that you were the one who edited the page. Your content may be potentially modified or deleted completely. If you do not want this to happen, do not contribute your content here. {{note|[[Last Outlaws Wiki:Userspace|Userspace]] rules state that content put on your userpage or one of its subpages ''does'' belong to you, although they can be edited by other users under limited circumstances.|Exception}}<br>

==What the Last Outlaws Wiki ''is''==

===A professional encyclopedia for all things Last Outlaws===
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Treat all articles on the wiki as encyclopedia entries. Please:

* Use proper spelling, grammar, capitalization and phrasing.
** Capitalize "Last Outlaws" and "Last Outlawser" when they are used as proper nouns.
* Articles should be complete and accurate, but also concise and easy to read.
* Never use first person ("I", "we", "us") and avoid second person ("you", "your") as much as possible, unless the entire article is a tutorial, in which case it should still be used sparingly. Sound professional; these are not blogs or forum posts.
* Use correct Last Outlaws vocabulary and avoid jargon/colloquial language.
* Address all readers as opposed to just specific groups. If possible, make the article easy to understand at any age.
* Write from a neutral point of view.
* Only write articles that meet the criteria in [[Last Outlaws Wiki:New Page Policies]].
* Only include material that would be considered notable (i.e. a significant amount of users would know about it).

===A wiki about Last Outlaws run by Last Outlaws fans and Bikers===
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We are a wiki about Last Outlaws run by Last Outlaws fans and Bikers. Keep all content related to Last Outlaws, and follow the [[Community Guidelines]].

===A collaborative effort===
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This is perhaps the most important of all. Editing on the Last Outlaws Wiki is a privilege; if you repeatedly refuse to cooperate with other users, you may end up getting [[Last Outlaws Wiki:Blocking|blocked]] from editing. Please:

* Be nice to others, always. This should go without saying.
** If somebody does something wrong, especially a newer user, do not get angry; just revert their edit and leave a calm message on their talk page. Do not use caps lock or a condescending tone.
** If you have done something wrong and you get warned, do not worry. Nobody is perfect.
* Leave an edit summary, or explanation of what you changed and why, whenever you can. This is done in the text box that says "Summary:" below the editing box. Edit summaries make it easier to track edits without having to look at the actual diff, or comparison between two edits.
* Do not edit war. This is a dispute between two parties on what should be on a page. This results in each party reverting the other's edit, back and forth, repeatedly. In general, we use the '''[[Last Outlaws Wiki:Bold, Revert, Discuss|Bold, Revert, Discuss (BRD)]]''' rule to prevent this: One user makes a '''bold''' edit. Any other user then has the right to '''revert''' the first user's edit. Instead of reverting it back, which would most likely lead to an edit war, the first user brings it up on the talk page to '''discuss''' and clarify why they were reverted. Edit warring will usually result in a page being temporarily protected.
Please note that if you revert something without providing a reason, it will be reverted and this is ''not'' edit warring.
* Except for in the case of blatant vandalism, [[Last Outlaws Wiki:Assume Good Faith|'''assume good faith''']]. This means that when any user edits a page, even in the userspace, assume they are trying to help, not hurt.
* Do not discuss bans or any other topics that may cause unnecessary drama.
* Please make sure your edits are constructive. Do not make edits that add unnecessary content, remove important content, or interfere with the organization/operation of the Wiki.
* Never vandalize. Repeated attempts to break apart the wiki through meaninglessly changing pages in unacceptable ways will most likely end up in a block.
** If you witness a user vandalizing, please undo their edits right away and message an active [[Last Outlaws Wiki:Bureaucrats|bureaucrat]], [[Last Outlaws Wiki:Administrators|admin]] or [[Last Outlaws Wiki:Experienced Wikians|Experienced Wikian]]. A list of active users in those user groups can be found [http://lastoutlawsonline.com/wiki/Special:ActiveUsers?username=&groups%5B%5D=sysop&groups%5B%5D=bureaucrat&groups%5B%5D=Experienced_Wikians&wpFormIdentifier=specialactiveusers here]. <!-- The bureaucrat most ready to handle vandalism on the Last Outlaws Wiki is {{user|jvvg|name}}. The most active administrator is {{user|bigpuppy|name}}. The most active Experienced Wikians are {{user|Jammum|name}} and {{user|KangaCoder|name}}. --> 
[[Category:Last Outlaws Wiki Editing Guidelines]]