Help:Talk page
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This is a copy of the master help page at Meta. Do not edit this copy.
Edits will be lost in the next update from the master page. See below for more information.
- For some important guidelines on how to use a Talk Page, see Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines.
Inevitably, there will arise situations in which collaborators on an article can benefit mutually from discussing the article - thus we have talk pages, specifically for such discussion. trying to find help, concerns of vandalism There are two types of talk pages - standard talk pages are used to discuss an article, whilst user talk pages are used to communicate with other users or leave them messages. Every page has an associated talk page, except pages in the Special: namespace. If there is no discussion of a page, the link to its talk page will be red. You can still discuss the page - you will just be the first person to do so.
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Accessing a talk page
To access a talk page look for a link labelled Talk, Discussion or Discuss this page. These links will be found either at the top of the page or on the left hand side (near Edit this page).
A talk page adds Talk: to the beginning of the main page's title. If the main page has a prefix then talk is added after this prefix. For example, a talk page associated with the main article namespace simply has the prefix Talk:, while a talk page associated with the user namespace has the prefix User talk:. This article is in the Help: namespace, so the talk page for this article is Help talk:Talk page. The Main Page is in the main namespace (because it has no prefix), so its talk page is simply Talk:Main Page.
After someone else edits your user talk page, the alert "You have new messages" is automatically displayed on all pages you view, until you view your user page.
Using talk pages
You should sign your contributions by typing three or four tildes (~~~ = Username)
(~~~~ = Username 19:36, 10 January 2006 (UTC)). See Help:Automatic conversion of wikitext.
On a talk page, "this page" usually refers to the main page (i.e. the page the talk page is associated with). If the talk page itself is referred to, write "this talk page".
When debating the name of the page or discussing merging it with another page, always mention the current page name. Otherwise after renaming (moving) a page, references to "this page name" become ambiguous.
The "Post a comment" feature allows you to start a new section without needing to edit the whole page. The section header becomes the edit summary when you save the page, so it only needs to be typed once.
The practice of "spamming" - posting similar messages to more than a few users' talk pages, often for the purpose of soliciting a certain action - is discouraged.
Formatting
Because the wiki software platform provides for a wide range of formatting styles, proper or at least consistent formatting is essential to maintaining readable talk pages.
The reference of a comment is determined by the number of colons (':') in front of it. If a reply is made to a statement, one adds a colon to the number of colons used in the statement being replied to. This style of conversation is easy to read.
Example:
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How's the soup? --[[Bob]] |
The above will produce this:
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How's the soup? --Bob I think the soup-discussion should be moved to Talk:Soup.. --Lisa
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See also
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Wikipedia-specific help
All Wikipedia articles, personal user pages, policy pages, templates, etc. have an associated talk page (linked on the English Wikipedia as "discussion" in the top menu).
The purpose of a talk page is to help to improve the contents of the article in question. Questions, challenges, excised text (due to truly egregious confusion or bias, for example), arguments relevant to changing the text, and commentary on the main page are all fair play.
Wikipedians generally oppose the use of talk pages just for the purpose of partisan talk about the main subject. Wikipedia is not a soapbox; it's an encyclopedia. In other words, talk about the article, not about the subject, even though they may seem inextricably linked. It's only the habits we encourage that keep Wikipedia from turning into a slanging match. See also: Wikiquette
It's entirely natural that partisan disputes take place on talk pages. It is the purpose of talk pages that such disputes be resolved on the talk page rather than in the article itself.
Remember that all talk pages are public. If you want to communicate privately, try using e-mail (see Wikipedia:Emailing users).
Basic rules for all talk pages
- Sign your comments (see above)
- Log in. (Read why here.)
- Use coherent formatting.
- Copy formatting from others.
- Indent with colons (:), not with tabs.
- Break up very large paragraphs.
- Be civil at all times.
- Don't make personal attacks
- Don't SHOUT
- Do not edit other user's comments.
User talk pages
Each user page also has a corresponding talk page. New additions to your own talk page will alert you with a "You have new messages" banner at the top of any Wikipedia page.
To leave a message for another user on their talk page, click the discussion link on the top of the page when you view the user page (which you can do by clicking on a user's nickname; if you use a skin other than the default it may be somewhere else). On the list of recent changes and on your watchlist, you can directly access a user's talk page by following the (Talk) link behind the user's name / IP address. Many users have a link to their talk page built directly into their signature, as well.
Etiquette
Most users treat their user talk pages like regular talk pages, and archive the contents periodically to a personal subpage — either when the page gets too large, on a regular schedule, or when they take a wikivacation. Others delete comments after they have responded to them.
Actively erasing non-harassing personal messages without replying (if a reply would be appropriate or polite) will probably be interpreted as hostile. In the past, this kind of behavior has been viewed as uncivil, and this can become an issue in arbitration or other formal proceedings. Redirecting your user talk page to another page (whether meant as a joke or intended to be offensive or to send a "go away" message), except in the case of redirecting from one account to another when both are yours, can also be considered a hostile act. However, reverting such removals or redirects is not proper and may result in a block for edit warring. If someone removes your comments without answering, consider moving on or dispute resolution. This is especially true for vandalism warnings.
Feel free to decorate your personal pages as you see fit, but keep in mind that your user talk page has the important function of allowing other editors to communicate with you. People will get upset if they cannot use it for that purpose.
If you feel that your user talk page is getting too large and is taking a long time to load, you can create an archive and move the comments there.
If you'd like to use emoticons in talk page messages, take a look at {{emot}} for instructions.
How to keep a two-way conversation readable
If you are writing messages back and forth between user talk pages, the resulting text can be hard to follow. Here are two systems for making what would otherwise be disjointed comments easier to follow:
- Copy the text you are replying to from your user talk page to the other person's user talk page. Put your reply right underneath it, but indent the reply section so it stands out. (Just like a regular talk page.)
- Or: Put a notice on your user talk page that you will reply there unless they ask otherwise. Do this for conversations that other people start.
- Watchlist the other person's user talk page and tell them they can reply there. Do this for conversations you start.
See also
- Wikiquette
- Wikipedia:How to archive a talk page
- Wikipedia:Refactoring talk pages
- Maintenance of talk pages
This page is a copy of the master help page at Meta (for general help information all Wikimedia projects can use), with two Wikipedia-specific templates inserted. To update the main text, edit the master help page for all projects at m:Help:Talk page. For Wikipedia-specific issues, use Template:Ph:Talk page (the extra text at the bottom of this page) or Template:Phh:Talk page for a Wikipedia-specific lead (text appears at the top of this page). You are welcome to copy the exact wikitext from the master page at Meta and paste it into this page at any time. To view this page in other languages see the master page at Meta.
