Guideline:Talk pages

There are two types of talk pages - standard talk pages are used to discuss an article, while user talk pages are used to communicate with other users or leave them messages. Every page has an associated talk page, except pages in the Special: namespace. If there is no discussion of a page, the link to its talk page will be red. You can still discuss the page - you will just be the first person to do so.

Accessing a talk page

To access a talk page look for a link labelled Talk, Discussion or Discuss this page. These links will be found either at the top of the page or on the left hand side (near Edit this page).

A talk page adds Talk: to the beginning of the main page's title. If the main page has a prefix then talk is added after this prefix. For example, a talk page associated with the main article namespace simply has the prefix Talk:, while a talk page associated with the user namespace has the prefix User talk:. This article is in the Guideline namespace, so the talk page for this article is Guideline Talk:Talk pages. The Main Page is in the main namespace (because it has no prefix), so its talk page is simply Talk:Main Page.

After someone else edits your user talk page, the alert "You have new messages" is automatically displayed on all pages you view, until you view your user page.

Using talk pages

You should sign your contributions by typing four tildes (~~~~ = Username Timestamp) or clicking the sign button: .

On a talk page, "this page" usually refers to the main page (i.e. the page the talk page is associated with). If the talk page itself is referred to, write "this talk page".

When debating the name of the page or discussing merging it with another page, always mention the current page name. Otherwise after renaming (moving) a page, references to "this page name" become ambiguous.

The "Post a comment" feature allows you to start a new section without needing to edit the whole page. The section header becomes the edit summary when you save the page, so it only needs to be typed once.

The practice of "spamming" - posting similar messages to more than a few users' talk pages, often for the purpose of soliciting a certain action - is discouraged.

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 reference of a comment is determined by the number of colons (':') in front of it. 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 is easy to read.

Here's an example between User:Bob and User:Lisa:

How's the soup? --~~~~ :It's great!! --~~~~ ::Not too bad... --~~~~ :::I made it myself! --~~~~ I think the soup-discussion should be moved to [[Talk:Soup]]. --~~~~ :I tend to disagree. --~~~~

The above will produce this:

How's the soup? --Bob 18:21, 12 December 2024 (CST) It's great!! --Lisa 18:21, 12 December 2024 (CST) Not too bad.. --George 18:21, 12 December 2024 (CST) I made it myself! --Bob 18:21, 12 December 2024 (CST) I think the soup-discussion should be moved to Talk:Soup. --Lisa 18:21, 12 December 2024 (CST) I tend to disagree. --George 18:21, 12 December 2024 (CST)

Centralized talk pages

Often, there are a number of related pages that would benefit from one single talk page for discussions. For example, a list article may have grown too large and was split alphabetically. Or there may be a set of templates that are used together or interrelated MediaWiki interface pages.

Before implementing a centralized talk page, consider first gaining consensus for your proposal. The main discussion would usually be on the proposed centralized talk page with notices on the pages to be redirected. Notices may be placed on related pages as needed; for example, a relevant WikiProject page.

If consensus is gained, then:

1. Archive current discussions on all the talk pages to be centralized; see Help:Archiving a talk page
2. Check each talk page for subpages. These are usually archived discussions, but other subpages are sometimes created, such as drafts or reviews.
3. On the centralized talk page, list the redirected pages. {{Central}} is useful for this.
4. On the centralized talk page, list all of the archived talk pages. {{Archive banner}} is useful for this.
5. Redirect each talk page to the desired talk page; see BattleTechWiki:Redirect. It is recommended that an editnotice be created for the redirected talk pages.
6. It is recommended that an editnotice be created for the centralized talk page.
7. Ensure that involved editors realize that they need to add the centralized talk page to their watchlist.