Editing Guideline:Talk page guidelines

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 ''{{NAMESPACE}}'' namespace, so the talk page for this article is [[{{TALKPAGENAME}}]]. 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 <nowiki>(~~~~ = Username Timestamp)</nowiki> or clicking the sign button: [[Image:Signature icon.png]].

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 [[help:renaming (moving) a page|renaming (moving) a page]], references to "this page name" become ambiguous.

The "Post a comment" feature allows you to start a new [[Help:section|section]] without needing to edit the whole page. The section header becomes the [[Help:edit summary|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.

Example:
{| border="1" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"
|
<code class="block">
<nowiki>How's the soup? --[[User:Bob|]] ~~~~~</nowiki><br/>
<nowiki>:It's great!! --[[User:Lisa|]] ~~~~~</nowiki><br/>
<nowiki>::Not too bad.. --[[User:George|]] ~~~~~</nowiki><br/>
<nowiki>:::I made it myself! --[[User:Bob|]] ~~~~~</nowiki><br/>
<nowiki>I think the soup-discussion should be moved to [[Talk:Soup]].. --[[User:Lisa|]] ~~~~~</nowiki><br/>
<nowiki>:I tend to disagree. --[[User:George|]] ~~~~~</nowiki><br/>
</code>
|}

The above will produce this:
{| border="1" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" 
|
How's the soup? --[[User:Bob|Bob]] {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (CST)<br/>
:It's great!! --[[User:Lisa|Lisa]] {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (CST)<br/>
::Not too bad.. --[[User:George|George]] {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (CST)<br/>
:::I made it myself! --[[User:Bob|Bob]] {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (CST)<br/>
I think the soup-discussion should be moved to [[Talk:Soup]]. --[[User:Lisa|Lisa]] {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (CST)<br/>
:I tend to disagree. --[[User:George|George]] {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (CST)<br/>
|}

[[Category:Policies|{{PAGENAME}}]]
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Guideline|conduct guideline}}
-{{nutshell|Clarity on talk and discussion pages helps improve the articles being discussed.}}
 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.
@@ Line 27: / Line 24: @@
 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]]:
+Example:
 {| border="1" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"
 |
 <code class="block">
-<nowiki>How's the soup? --~~~~</nowiki><br/>
+<nowiki>How's the soup? --[[User:Bob|]] ~~~~~</nowiki><br/>
-<nowiki>:It's great!! --~~~~</nowiki><br/>
+<nowiki>:It's great!! --[[User:Lisa|]] ~~~~~</nowiki><br/>
-<nowiki>::Not too bad... --~~~~</nowiki><br/>
+<nowiki>::Not too bad.. --[[User:George|]] ~~~~~</nowiki><br/>
-<nowiki>:::I made it myself! --~~~~</nowiki><br/>
+<nowiki>:::I made it myself! --[[User:Bob|]] ~~~~~</nowiki><br/>
-<nowiki>I think the soup-discussion should be moved to [[Talk:Soup]]. --~~~~</nowiki><br/>
+<nowiki>I think the soup-discussion should be moved to [[Talk:Soup]].. --[[User:Lisa|]] ~~~~~</nowiki><br/>
-<nowiki>:I tend to disagree. --~~~~</nowiki><br/>
+<nowiki>:I tend to disagree. --[[User:George|]] ~~~~~</nowiki><br/>
 </code>
 |}
@@ Line 51: / Line 48: @@
 |}
-==See Also==
+[[Category:Policies|{{PAGENAME}}]]
-{{BattleTechWiki policies and guidelines|state=uncollapsed}}