Talk pages are a special type of namespace pages, used to discuss changes on the corresponding "main" article or page. All SporeWiki articles, personal user pages, templates, etc. have an associated talk page
- Article talk pages are used to discuss changes to the particular article.
- User talk pages are used to leave messages for particular users. A message box stating "You have new messages" is automatically displayed to a user at the top of any SporeWiki page, until they view their user talk page.
- SporeWiki talk pages are used to discuss updated information regarding the process of editing articles.
- Template talk pages are used to discuss still pending changes to the template.
- Image talk pages are rarely used and are only in use for discussing whether to upload a new version of an image over an old one.
The "discussion" link references a page in the same namespace as the article, userpage, or template with an additional "talk" before the colon separator, for example: Talk:Foo, User talk:Foo, or Template talk:Foo (where foo is a placeholder).
Basic rules for all talk pages[]
- Sign your comments - You can use three or four tildes (like this ~~~ and ~~~~), which are automatically converted to your username or IP.
- Log in.
- 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
Usage[]
On SporeWiki, the purpose of a talk page is to help to improve the contents of the main page.
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 depth of a message is determined by the number of colons (':') in front of the message. Each colon represents a tab, and are commonly used in discussions on user and article talk pages. 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 makes it more comprehensive to read.
Example:
|
How's the milk? --[[Bob]] |
The above will produce this:
|
How 's the milk? --Bob
I think the milk-discussion should be moved to Talk:Milk.. --Lisa
|
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 SporeWiki 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[]
Can I do whatever I want to my own user talk page?[]
If you feel that your user talk page is getting too large and is taking a long time to load, you may archive it. You may then remove comments from your talk page, but please make sure that those comments are readily accessible on another page.
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.
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.
Other points[]
- Except for special pages, each namespace has an associated talk namespace. The talk namespaces are designated by adding talk: to the normal prefix. For example, the talk namespace associated with the main article namespace has the prefix Talk:, while the talk namespace associated with the user namespace has the prefix User talk:.
- When discussing the name of the page or discussing merging it with another page, always mention the current page name: after renaming (moving) a page with its talk page, references to "this page name" would not make sense.
- The "Post a comment" feature allows convenient appending of a section with the section header the same as the edit summary, and typed only once.