Wikipedia:Reference desk/guideline: Difference between revisions

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The following is a proposed Wikipedia policy, guideline, or process. The proposal may still be in development, under discussion, or in the process of gathering consensus for adoption.

Welcome to the reference desk. There are a few minor guidelines that we request questioners and responders to adhere to. They insure that the desk remains useful to the community at large.

Purpose of the desk

The reference desk is designed to point individuals to answers to specific questions.

Instructions for questioners

Questions should be seeking information. As such, we have some basic guidelines to the form of your question:

You may not seek opinions. We don't have opinions, so don't ask for them. We will give you the facts, and allow you to form your own conclusions.
We don't do novel research. While we may check things, we will not test your experiment, your theory, or your thoughts. We can point you to other people's work, however. We will not answer your homework question. We will, however, direct you to sources that will help you answer your homework question.
We're an encyclopedia reference desk. While you might find some of our responses humorous, your question should not be silly, or a joke.

Instructions for answerers

Questions are seeking information. As such, we must provide them information, not other things.

Humor for humor's sake is not acceptable. If your response does not seek clarificaton or answer the question, save it for somewhere else.
This is not a chat room. Don't chat.
Provide wikipedia articles or WP:Reliable Sources for your answers. Your personal knowledge is not acceptable except to the extent it guides your selection of sources.
Do not provide answers to homework questions or opinions, no matter what the questioner wishes.

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+{{proposed}}
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-<small>Some people claim the following are guidelines that have been decided based on consensus; others dispute this. Please don't make any changes here without discussion.</small>
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-Certain Wikipedia policies, but not all, apply to the Reference Desk. The Ref Desk is not an article, and is not subject to any policies specific to articles.  In general, the rules for talk pages apply at the Ref desk, although we strive to provide a level of quality matching that of Wikipedia articles.  Since the Ref Desk is unique, some Ref Desk interpretations of Wikipedia policies are unique, as well.
+Welcome to the reference desk. There are a few minor guidelines that we request questioners and responders to adhere to. They insure that the desk remains useful to the community at large.
-== Reference Desk Guidelines ==
+== Purpose of the desk ==
-*Are answers with references outside of Wikipedia allowed ? '''Yes.'''
+The reference desk is designed to point individuals to answers to specific questions.
-*Are references required for all statements of fact ? '''Required, no. Encouraged, yes.'''
+== Instructions for questioners ==
-*Are opinions allowed ? '''See below:'''
-:*Questions which contain an opinion ? '''Yes.'''
-:*Questions which solicit an opinion ? '''Yes.'''
-:*In responses to factual question ? '''Yes, but opinions should be identified as such, i.e., with "I think..." or "I believe...".'''
+Questions should be seeking information. As such, we have some basic guidelines to the form of your question:
-*Is original research allowed: '''Yes, but it should be clearly identified as such, i.e., "I've found that...".'''
+# You may not seek opinions. We don't have opinions, so don't ask for them. We will give you the facts, and allow you to form your own conclusions.
-*Is humor allowed ? '''Yes, in moderation, but only after at least one serious answer has been given.
+# We don't do novel research. While we may check things, we will not test your experiment, your theory, or your thoughts. We can point you to other people's work, however. We will not answer your homework question. We will, however, direct you to sources that will help you answer your homework question.
+# We're an encyclopedia reference desk. While you might find some of our responses humorous, your question should not be silly, or a joke.
+== Instructions for answerers ==
-*Is sexual content allowed ? '''Yes, but not prurient sexual content, and only in response to a sexual question.'''
+Questions are seeking information. As such, we must provide them information, not other things.
-*Are signatures required ? '''Yes.'''
+# Humor for humor's sake is not acceptable. If your response does not seek clarificaton or answer the question, save it for somewhere else.
-*May we edit the posts of others ?  '''See below:'''
+# This is not a chat room. Don't chat.
-:*The title ? '''Yes, but only add to the title, as the original title may be used as a search keyword.'''
+# Provide wikipedia articles or [[WP:Reliable Sources]] for your answers. Your personal knowledge is not acceptable except to the extent it guides your selection of sources.
-:*The original question ? '''Yes, but for format only, not to add links or fix spelling.'''
+# Do not provide answers to homework questions or opinions, no matter what the questioner wishes.
-:*The responses ? '''Yes, but for format only, not to add links or fix spelling.'''
-:*Should responses be edited for content? '''No, but they may be deleted (see section below).'''
-*Is "just Google it" a good response ?  '''No, you should do the search yourself, verify that it provides useful results, and provide a link to those search results, instead.'''
-*May the same people post both questions and answers ?  '''Yes.'''
-== Deletion ==
-Unnecessary escalation is both rude and nonproductive. The proper procedure should be followed:
-#First, mention the post on the author's talk page, politely list your objection, and request that they remove it.
-#If they refuse, and if the comment is so outrageous as to warrant further action, then bring it up at [[Wikipedia_talk:Reference_desk]], again politely.
-#If a consensus is reached there to remove it, then the author can again be given the opportunity to remove the comment. At this, point, however, once community consensus exists that it should be removed, other members of the community may delete the comment, if the author refuses.
-#If, and only if, the author replaces the comment four times, should an Admin be summoned, via a [[WP:3RR]] violation complaint.
-There are also grounds for a "speedy deletion" by anyone, such as death threats, etc., but only the most severe cases of disruption warrant such actions (see [[WP:DIS]]).  And, even in these cases, the author should still be notified of the deletion (on their talk page) and the reason (policy violations) given.  An exception exists for anonymous I/P users, where notification is not required.
-We should also discuss the reasons to do things according to the above procedure:
-:a) To be polite. Politeness goes a long way.
-:b) To avoid "revert wars". (If a comment is removed without consensus having been reached to do so, then the author is entirely justified to disagree with the opinion of the person who removed it and restore the comment.)
-:c) To avoid a POV bias in the removals. For example, a politically liberal editor might tend to delete any slightly off topic politically conservative comments, and vice-versa, even though they would leave such comments in if they were more in line with their political ideology. This could escalate to having all liberal statements removed by conservatives, and vice-versa, even if entirely on-topic.
-:d) To avoid personal vendettas in the removals. That is "you removed my post, so I'll remove yours". If a consensus is required for such removals, this type of petty behavior is unlikely.
-== See also ==
-*[[Wikipedia:Reference_desk/purpose]]