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This page or section is an official policy on Wookieepedia.

It has wide acceptance among editors and is considered a standard that everyone must follow. Please use the Consensus track to propose changes to this policy.

Walnut

This page in a nutshell

Don't be afraid to edit articles. Be bold!

The Wookieepedia community encourages you to be bold in updating articles. Wikis develop faster when people fix problems, correct grammar, add facts, make sure the language is precise, and so on. Expect everyone to be bold. It's okay. It's what everyone expects.

How many times have you read something and thought, "Why are there so many grammar and spelling mistakes?" Wookieepedia not only allows but wants you to add, revise, and edit the article yourself. It does require some amount of politeness, but it works. You'll see. If someone writes an inferior article, an amusing article, an article stub, or outright nonsense, don't worry too much about hurting their feelings. Correct it, add to it, polish it—that's the nature of a wiki.

And, of course, others here will boldly and mercilessly edit what you write. Don't take it personally. They, like all of us, just want to make Wookieepedia as good as it can possibly be.

…but don't be reckless!

New users in particular are often entranced by the openness of Wookieepedia and dive right in. That's a good thing, but please note: "Be bold in updating pages" does not mean that you should make large changes or deletions to long articles on complex, controversial subjects with long histories, such as Palpatine or the Galactic Civil War. Changing the lead quote or the infobox image of a major subject without prior discussion often leads to back-and-forth reverting. In addition, making large-scale changes to Wookieepedia status articles—Featured, Good, and Comprehensive articles—which are recognized as Wookieepedia's best articles for their completeness, accuracy, and neutrality, is often a bad idea.

TakeHerAway-ANH

Darth Vader! Only you could be so bold.

In many such cases, the text as you find it has come into being after long and arduous negotiations between Wookieepedians of diverse backgrounds and points of view. An incautious edit to such an article can be likened to stirring up a hornet's nest, and other users who are involved in moderating the page may react angrily.

If you would like to edit an article on a controversial subject, it's a good idea to first read the article in its entirety, read the comments on the talk page, and view the page history to get a sense of how the article came into being and what its current status is. When making edits, remember to use descriptive edit summaries and follow our sourcing guidelines.

If you expect or see a disagreement with your version of the article, or want to change or delete anything substantial in the text, it's a good idea to list your objections one by one on the talk page, reasonably quoting the disputed phrases, explaining your reasoning, and providing solid references.

Then, wait for responses for at least a day: People edit Wookieepedia in their spare time and may not respond immediately. If no one objects, proceed, but make sure to include your reasoning either in the edit summary or on the talk page. No change on a wiki is irreversible, so don't worry about messing things up.

Don't let that scare you off!

With the vast majority of articles, feel free to dive right in and make broad changes as you see fit. It's only with a few very sensitive subjects that caution is better advised, and you'll recognize those right away. And even if you don't, as long as you have an appetite for debate, being bold is generally a defensible position. You won't be the first person to have made a change to a controversial article, and you won't be the last. That said, contributions that add new facts and information to an article are likely to be more welcome than contributions that just delete some of the content.

Actions and edits with widespread effects

Some caution is also advised if your changes affect many other pages, such as editing a widely used template or moving a high-profile page. While not required, it is recommended that before making this type of major change you familiarize yourself with the relevant policy or guideline (such as the Naming policy if contemplating a page move). Also, it is considered polite to be willing to fix any problems created (such as broken redirects or formatting problems) in the affected articles.

See also

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