Cousins for Life:Article policy

The Cousins for Life Wiki has a set of **article/editing policies**, put in place to make sure editing on the wiki is done correctly, without disruption, and is in the best interest of the wiki, so we can deliver Austin & Ally information!

## Article/editing policies

### General editing policies

1. Please check to make sure that you are not creating a page that already exists or is identical, content wise, to another.
2. If you want to rename a page, please contact an administrator on the administrator noticeboard.
3. When editing a page, make sure to use proper grammar and punctuation- this means using standard English, properly placing commas and periods, using appropriate spacing, capitalizing the first letter of each sentence, etc.
4. Please refrain from using juvenile/immature language in any content you add. Be as mature and professional as possible when writing content.
5. If you see a page that violates the article rules and calls for deletion, please add the deletion template and/or notify an administrator.
6. Whenever necessary, please add a reference to back-up/verify the content added. Any claim that cannot be believed without a reliable source should have a reference.

### Unacceptable editing

1. Do not remove information unless you know it is false. Removing content for no valid reason is unacceptable. Please add an edit summary for all major content removal.
2. Do not add any inappropriate material (including offensive, sexual, and explicit material) to pages.
3. All pages and page edits must be relevant to Austin & Ally as well as deliver factual information. Do not make a page or add information that includes false information, centers around one's opinion, or is irrelevant.
4. Unnecessary editing is classified as making edits that make no contribution to the page whatsoever, often only done to gain edits, badges, and/or points. This is not allowed. These edits include:
	1. Rewording sentences for no reason
	2. Taking periods off pages and putting them back on
	3. Adding extra punctuations
	4. Taking off information then putting it back on
	5. Adding the same information in different ways

## Suggestions for editing

1. Always identify with yourself what exactly you are adding, whether your source is reliable or not, and whether or not the edit is necessary. Is what you're adding factual? Will it make the page more informative? Is it really necessary be added?
2. Does the content you're adding need a reference? By this, we mean to ask is the information you're adding something that would need a source for one to believe it? If so, make sure it is a reliable source and that you add a reference.
3. Be bold in editing! Don't be scared to edit a page. If you're not completely sure of what your adding, just go ahead and add it and ask some users about your edit on the forum! If your edit was okay, great! If not, you learn from your mistakes.
4. Include an edit summary. Edit summaries help inform users who check the history about the edit you made. Not only does this shape you into a more trustworthy user but it also helps users when they are trying to figure out a problem on the page.
5. Follow the layout guide! The layout guide is your guide to how the page should look. However, if you feel the layout guide should be at all altered to deliver information more sufficiently, don't be afraid to bring it up here.
6. Preview your edit! Always try and do this as much as possible so you can make sure your edit will turn out well. Preview before publish.
7. Try to keep your writing on pages neat, mature, and easy to understand. Keep away from juvenile or immature language. Additionally, be sure to always use proper English and punctuation in your edits.
8. Look for errors! When you are looking at pages to edit, try and find errors in edits that you can fix. Fixing errors can make a page ten times better.