User:Knife/Policy

''The following is for a proposal I am about to create. For now, disregard it.''

The Super Mario Wiki allows specialized pages aimed at editors called Writer Guidelines. Unlike policy pages, Writer Guidelines can be written by Autoconfirmed users and above. Writer Guidelines were established as a sub-category of Help pages back in July 2007. Until recently, Writer Guidelines had no clear method of being introduced and Super Mario Wiki only had a handful of these pages. These pages are beneficial to the development of the wiki and with more Writer Guidelines, consistency and clarity are improved.

What are Writer Guidelines?
Writer Guidelines are pages written by users with the intent to educate users about certain subjects and establish consistency. While not enforced policies, these pages should generally be adhered to. The main difference between Help pages and Writer Guidelines is that Help pages pertain to general editing tips and information while Writer Guidelines describe specific subjects on the Super Mario Wiki. While Writer Guidelines are considered specialized Help pages, Help pages are not necessarily Writer Guidelines.

What should or shouldn't be a Writer Guideline?
Any page regarding articles on the wiki can be a Writer Guideline. For example, the Writer Guideline for Minor NPCs pertains to certain articles on the wiki.

Pages that do not directly address articles on the wiki are not considered Writer Guidelines. For example, the page describing Autoconfirmed users does not address articles on the wiki and therefore is not a Writer Guideline.

Are Writer Guidelines considered policy?
Technically, no. While those pages are not considered enforceable policies, they should be adhered to as much as possible. The reason for this is to establish consistency throughout the wiki. Generally, what has been established through Writer Guidelines will win edit conflicts. The reason why Writer Guidelines aren't enforced is because it would put an enormous strain on the administrators to scrutinize and punish every single Writer Guideline violation.

How do you create/alter a Writer Guideline?
The process for creating a Writer Guideline is fairly simple. Follow these steps:


 * 1) Create a draft on your userspace for your proposed Writer Guideline. Once the draft is completed and you are fairly confident that you are ready to move on, go to the next step.
 * 2) Create a proposal under the Writer Guidelines section of the Proposals page. During the proposal, you have the right to edit your proposed Writer Guideline. It is important to note that Writer Guideline proposals are given two weeks as opposed to one so as to allow sufficient time to edit the document.
 * 3) If the proposal passes you are allowed to create the page, but with no major changes from the Writer Guideline in the proposal. If it fails, you must adhere to Rule 8 and wait 28 days before bringing it up again.

To make a major change to an existing Writer Guideline, you must also create a proposal under the Writer Guidelines section of the Proposals page. You must still go through the process of creating a draft on your userspace and presenting that as the change to the existing page.