Wikipedia talk:Policies and guidelines/essay

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Contents 1 Existing 2 Proposed 3 Compromise ? 4 Is this discussion in the right place?

[edit] Existing

An essay any page that is not actionable or instructive, regardless of whether it's authorized by consensus. Essays tend to be opinionated. Essays need not be proposed or advertised; you can simply write them, as long as you understand that you do not generally speak for the entire community. If you do not want other people to reword your essay, put it in your userspace. It does not follow that any page that is not a policy or a guideline is therefore an essay; there are plenty of pages in the Wikipedia namespace that are none of the three. For instance, a rejected proposal is not an essay.

[edit] Proposed

An essay is any page that is not enforceable, regardless of whether the page itself is supported by consensus. An essay represents the opinions of one or more editors. Essays do not carry any authority, and editors are not obliged to follow their advice (if any) except where they overlap existing policy. (Essays that represent a consensus view, however, will typically be upheld.) Essays need not be proposed or advertised; you can simply write them, as long as you understand that you do not generally speak for the entire community. If you do not want other people to reword your essay, put it in your userspace. It does not follow that any page that is not a policy or a guideline is therefore an essay; there are plenty of pages in the Wikipedia namespace that are none of the three. For instance, a rejected proposal is not an essay.

[edit] Compromise ?

Essays represent the opinions of one or more editors. Essays need not be proposed or advertised; you can simply write them, as long as you understand that you do not generally speak for the entire community. An essay is not enforceable or actionable, regardless of whether it has consensus support; however, it does not follow that any page that is not a policy or a guideline is therefore an essay. For example, a rejected proposal is not an essay. If you do not want other people to reword your essay, put it in your userspace.

[edit] Is this discussion in the right place?

I suggest moving this discussion back onto the talk page where it can be seen. Presently it's at Wikipedia_talk:Policies_and_guidelines#Problem_with_wording, where Radiant and others were already participating. ... Kenosis 20:24, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

• I don't dispute discussing it there, but we can use this as a test-bed for better text, without clogging the talk page, or reverting each other. --Kevin Murray 20:32, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Sure, NP. I'll reproduce the proposed compromise version on the active section on the talk page. ... Kenosis 20:39, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

I'd rather do it on the talk page, as we are discussing the policy page. That's what that talk page is for.--Father Goose 21:23, 5 September 2007 (UTC)