One Piece Wiki:Guidebook/Talk Pages and Forums

On this wiki, users utilize talk pages and forums to talk to each other about wiki matters. This page contains the explanations and guidelines for their use.

Overview

If you're active on different wikis, you may not be familiar with the way our discussion features are formatted. We have User Talk pages instead of Message Walls, Article Talk pages instead of Article Comments, and our Forums don't resemble Message Walls. This is due to established consensus among our user base to retain older wiki formatting. Additionally, it was deemed that Talk Pages are more conducive toward work discussions, while Article Comments prioritize general discussion.

User Talk is accessed from the tabs on the user page of yourself and all other users. Here you can speak directly to particular users.

Article Talk is the talk page corresponding to an article. Each mainspace article, image, and template has a dedicated talk page. These pages are intended for discussion regarding aspects of the article.

Forums are a space for broader discussion regarding the overall wiki and its users.

General Rules

The Editing Conduct guidelines are enforced very strictly on talk pages and forums. Civility is required in all discussions, with no exceptions.
When starting a new discussion topic, you must include a subject (which you will be given a field for if you click the "New Topic" button). This is to separate your discussion from previous ones.
In almost all circumstances, it is forbidden to alter or remove posts from talk pages and forums, including your own. The only exceptions are posts which are vandalism, completely off-topic, or violate our Spoiler Rules.

Signatures

On all talk pages and forums, a signature is required whenever a user makes a contribution. A signature is added at the end of a post that allows users to see who has written the posts and when they were posted. Signatures are added to posts by adding four ~ symbols in a row: ~~~~ There is also a button in the forum editor that adds the ~ symbols for you. After publishing an edit, a signature looks like this:

Sanji the Cook (talk 01:31, August 25, 2012 (UTC))

For more help with signatures, look here.

It is possible to change your signature into something more elaborate using wikicode. Here is an example of a unique user signature: JustSomeDude... Talk | 01:40, August 25, 2012 (UTC)

If you wish to create your own custom signature, do not use the Signature feature on Special:Preferences. Doing so will put the full code of your signature on the talk page whenever you post; since many custom signatures use a large amount of code, they will likely disrupt the talk page and make it more difficult to edit. Instead, you should create a user subpage (call it "User:<Your Username>/Signature"), create your signature in there, and then link to your subpage using double curly brackets {{. Thus, JustSomeDude... posts his custom signature as {{User:JustSomeDude.../Sig}} ~~~~~. All custom signatures must be accompanied by five tildes afterward, which are to post the date and time.

Additionally, custom signatures must not be overly large, disruptive, or conversely invisible or difficult to see; they must link to your user page and user talk.

User Talk Guidelines

User talk pages are for directly speaking to other users on a wide range of topics. These can include addressing editing conflicts, giving advice or warnings, asking questions, sharing updates on topics of interest, and even general non-work related greetings and small talk. The only things you may not post are content that violates our rules. As well, if the other person requests you to stop messaging them for any reason, you should respect their request.
Unlike Message Walls where all participants' contributions to the discussion are on a single page, for User Talk pages the best practice is for the sender to post their message on the recipient's talk page. If Editor A starts a new conversation on Editor B's talk, Editor B should post their response on Editor A's talk, rather than directly below Editor A's post on B's own talk. When sending a reply message, it is recommended make your topic the same as the original message's; you can add a "Re:" to the beginning to indicate you are replying.
As noted in the general rules, posts usually should not be removed from talk pages. However, it is recommended that you archive the posts on your talk page to prevent bloat, with 50-100 discussions being the usual magic number to make an archive. To make an archive, create a page titled "User talk:<Your Username>/Archive <Number>" and cut and paste your archived discussions there.
In most cases, temporarily banned users retain the ability to post on their own talk page. This is to help clear up potential misunderstandings, and allow other editors to work with the user to help them understand what to do better in the future. Banned users who abuse this ability to post personal attacks or other disruptive content will lose this privilege. Users who are banned due to a forum will typically not be given this privilege.

Article Talk and Forum Guidelines

These namespaces are for discussion on the One Piece Wiki and its content, not for general discussion on the subjects covered by the wiki. General discussion can be posted on the Discussions and Discord chat.
- Example: It should be discussed on a talk page whether a certain scene shows enough evidence for a character using Haki, but a talk page is not suitable for speculating on whether a character may use Haki in the future.
- The forum once had general discussion subforums, but these were removed due to lack of use. Now the forum is dedicated solely to wiki-related discussion.
If the discussion is intended to resolve an edit war or other dispute, the dispute must be clearly explained in the introductory post.
Keep the discussion on-topic and do not engage with off-topic posts and arguments.
"Bumping" discussions—that is, making posts whose purpose is only to remind users of the discussion's existence—is not allowed.
We welcome the input of all editors and try to weigh each contributor's opinion equally, giving no preference to veteran users or users with special rights except in select circumstances when their experience is relevant. However, we reserve the right to take action if it is found that a discussion is being "brigaded" by several new users who have not previously contributed to the wiki before.
- Using alternate accounts, or "sockpuppets", to support yourself in a discussion is not allowed; users found to be engaging in this activity will have their sockpuppets permanently banned and their main account will likely face a temporary ban.
A discussion is considered resolved once there is a clear majority of users on a particular side. There is no particular number needed to reach a majority, or a firm expiration date for discussions. However, once it is judged that a sufficient amount of time has passed and there are clearly more users on one side compared to the other, then that side can be taken into effect and the discussion ended, regardless of continued activity from the minority. If you post a discussion and get no negative responses over several days, then it is typically safe to enact your proposed change after a few days, unless the topic centers around altering longstanding policy.
Once a discussion is resolved, it should be understood that there is no point in continuing to discuss the topic, as nothing will change. Sufficient time must pass, or a relevant change must occur, before a topic should be discussed again. As people have come and gone from the wiki, each incarnation of the community may feel differently about a particular policy compared to the community that instituted it, and nothing is set in stone. However, continued litigating of resolved issues is considered disruptive editing. See: Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk!
If a talk page section or forum has not been edited in several months to years, it is considered archived and should normally not be revived; it is recommended to post a new section or forum to begin a fresh discussion instead. Large talk pages may have older posts archived in a similar vein to user talks; posting on officially archived talk pages is not allowed.
In rare instances, wiki leadership may agree that a certain topic has been discussed enough times such that there is no chance any further discussion can be considered productive. In these instances, new discussions on these topics will be removed.

How to Organize Discussions

Add titles to every new discussion so we know where the old discussions end and the new one starts. Without titles things get confusing. Sub titles for related discussions may also be placed under the title to separate related but different topics.

Make sure to sign your posts with ~~~~.

Replies to another editor should start with ":" in source mode and then the following message(s) you are leaving on the page. This is to let everyone know who you are replying to and to avoid messages from blurring together.

For example:

Like this.

Then This.

To reply to a separate trail of responses simply add less ":"s in source mode.

Poll Rules

When an discussion does not result in a majority (or the majority is slim or not clear when a large number of active editors respond to the forum), a poll will take place. Issues that are major changes to the rules or guidelines must be taken to a poll as well. This applies to both talk pages and forums.

The polls have many rules, which will be laid out clearly whenever one is posted.

A poll must be agreed upon before being implemented.
In order to vote, a user must have been on this wiki for 3 months and have at least 300 edits. Edits from previous accounts do not count towards these requirements.
Users are strongly encouraged to read all or most of the forum before voting.
All polls will closed two weeks (down to the hour) after they are opened. Polls are started and ended in UTC time, and UTC must be specified in the poll.
All poll options must be written in fair, unbiased and similar language. This is so that the poll options will not subconsciously affect the opinions of the voters.
For issues that have been settled with a poll, there is a time period of 3 months where the issue cannot be polled or discussed again without a substantial change taking place.

Discussing Polls in Other Places

When a poll is taking place, it is common for users to discuss the poll across the wiki. In order to preserve the integrity of the poll, several rules have been added to keep the voting ethical and to increase the number of people who read the forum. These discussions may occur on Discord, blogs, other forums, or talk pages.

Users are discouraged from telling other users who have not yet voted to vote for a specific poll option. This is so that the other users will go into the poll with an open mind. Users are however, encouraged to inform other users that the poll is open without conveying their opinion.
Users are forbidden from bribing or convincing other users to change or alter their vote in exchange for any reward or favor, whether they are serious or not. Examples of violations of this rule would be:
- Telling a person you will give them some sort of real or imaginary gift in exchange for their vote.
- Telling a person they should vote with you because you are friends or they owe you a favor.
- Telling a person they should vote with you because of any reason that is unrelated to the issue in the poll.

It should be noted that users are still allowed to discuss their opinions of polls around the wiki. They are still allowed to try and convince other users to change their vote, but only through legitimate argument, not in a way that violates the rules above, and not in order to change the opinions of those who have not yet voted.

Users who violate these rules can face several different consequences, depending on the severity of the violation and the previous violations.

First time offenders may just be warned for mild violations.
If a person violates the rules after already receiving a warning, then their vote will be retracted from the poll in question. Depending on the severity of the violations, this may occur in addition to more severe punishment.
Due to the fact that many of these violations take place within Discord, users who violate the rules there may be banned for the duration of the poll or longer.
Users may also be temporarily banned from voting on any polls.
If many violations occur, a ban forum may be opened in accordance with current banning rules.

Forum Categorization

It is required that forums are correctly categorized, so here is a description of all categories currently used in the forum:

Site Changes - This is for discussion of ideas, policies, and proposals that are brand new to the wiki and have no previous precedent. These include discussions on the website interface and the addition of new features.

Site Problems - This is for discussions about problems with the site. Common topics here are proposed changes to policies and forums for banning users. Topics here should be about things or problems that have existed before.

User Rights - This is for discussions related to user rights and elections.

Draft Pages - This is for pages that do not have enough information from One Piece to be an article yet.

Archive - This is for threads from subforums which no longer exist. The forums in this category exist solely for preservation; they should not be edited and new forums should not be posted here.

Ban Forum Rules

When users are accused of harming the wiki with their behavior or acts which no rules currently cover, a forum to decide if they are banned may be opened. Anyone can open a ban forum, but they must be able to provide enough evidence of improper behavior. Edit histories and other links are commonly used as evidence. If after a discussion on issues, it is determined that there is enough evidence to warrant a ban, a poll will be opened.

The subject of a ban forum is allowed to and encouraged to speak up for themselves in the discussion section. However, the subject of the forum is not allowed to vote in the poll.
Ban forum polls last two weeks, one week to decide whether or not to ban the user, and one week to decide the length of the ban.
- If the poll decides in the first week that the user is to be banned, the user is immediately banned for the duration of the second week of the poll. This is done in order to prevent vandalism.
- This week-long ban is not included in the length of the ban that is decided on. Therefore, any length that is decided on in the poll is additional time after this one week precautionary ban.
- If a user is up for ban for the first time, the option for a permanent ban will not be present in the length poll.
Users who have had less than 10 edits in the 30 days before the poll opens are not allowed to vote on ban forums. Blog and blog comment edits do not count towards the 10 edits. However, if they participate in the discussion before the poll opens they may vote without any restrictions. This restriction applies to the entire poll, not each section of the poll.

Changes to Wiki Policy through Forums

All major changes must be decided on through forums. Examples of things that must be decided in forums include:

Elections of new Administrators, Chat Moderators, and any other official position.
Substantial changes to rules and guidelines.
Substantial changes in page organization.
Substantial changes in image preference across many articles.

Limitations

Our wiki is hosted by the corporation FANDOM; while we are afforded a great deal of freedom in how we operate and present our content, there are certain corporate policies, namely these which we must follow and which cannot be challenged by talk page or forum. FANDOM helpers may participate in discussions here in rare instances if it is determined that the subject drifts into corporate policy, and while their word is final, the helpers do try to reach common ground with us first.