Wikipedia:Be bold
 | This page documents an English Wikipediaediting guideline. Editors should generally follow it, thoughexceptionsmay apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflectconsensus.When in doubt, discuss first onthis guideline's talk page. |
 | This page in a nutshell:Go for it. |
We would likeeveryonetobe boldand help make Wikipedia a better encyclopedia. How many times have you read something and thought—Why doesn't this page havecorrect spelling, proper grammar, or a better layout?Wikislike ours develop faster when everybody helps to fix problems, correct grammar, add facts, make sure wording is accurate, etc.
Fix it yourself instead of just talking about it.In the time it takes to write about the problem, you could instead improve the encyclopedia. Wikipedia not only lets you add and edit articles: itwantsyou to do it.
Do not be upset if your bold edits get reverted.Of course, others here will edit what you write.Do not take it personally!They, like all of us, just wish to make Wikipedia as good an encyclopedia as it can possibly be. Also, when you see a conflict in atalk page,do not be just a "mute spectator"; be bold and drop your opinion there; seethe official policy on talking and editingfor more! On some of the less prominent articles on Wikipedia that have a lower editing rate, your bold edit might not be responded to immediately. Think about it this way: if you don't find one of your edits being reverted now and then, perhaps you're not being bold enough.
Be careful
Although the boldness of contributors like you is one of Wikipedia's greatest assets, it is important that you take care of the common good and notedit disruptivelyor recklessly. Of course, any changes you make that turn out badly can be reverted easily, usually painlessly, and it is important not to feel insulted if your changes are reverted or edited further. However, some significant changes can be long-lasting and harder to fix. If you're unsure of anything, justask for advice.
Also, changes to articles oncomplex, controversial subjectswith long histories oractive sanctions,or toFeatured ArticlesandGood Articles,should be done with extra care. In many cases, the text as you find it has come into being after long and arduous negotiations between Wikipedians of diverse backgrounds and points of view. A careless edit to such an article might stir up a latent conflict, and other users who are involved in the page may become defensive. If you would like to make a significant edit—not just a simplecopyedit—to an article on a controversial subject, it is a useful idea to first read the article in its entirety and skim the comments on thetalk page.On controversial articles, the safest course is tobe cautiousand findconsensusbefore making changes, but there are situations when bold edits can safely be made to contentious articles. Always use your very best editorial judgment in these cases and be sure to read the talk page.
Being bold is not an excuse to, even temporarily, violate the policy onmaterial about living persons.
Often it is easier to see that something is not right rather than to know exactly whatwouldbe right. We do not require anyone to be bold; after all, commenting that something is incorrect can be the first step to getting it fixed. It is true, though, that problems are more certain to be fixed, and will probably be fixed faster, if you are bold and do it yourself.
Non-article namespaces
Although editors are encouraged to be bold in updatingarticles,more caution is sometimes required when editing pages in non-article namespaces. Such pages are identified by anamespaceprefix. For example, this page,Wikipedia:Be bold,has the "Wikipedia:" prefix; if it were called simplyBe bold(with no prefix) it would be an article.
Problems may arise for a variety of reasons in different contexts in non-article namespaces. These problems should be taken into account in deciding whether to be bold, and how bold to be.
Wikipedia namespace
Wikipedia does not "enshrine" old practices: bold changes to itspolicies and guidelinesare sometimes the best way to adapt and improve the encyclopedia. In this case, "bold" refers to boldness of idea; such ideas are most commonlyraised and discussed firstto best formulate their implementation.
The admonition "be careful" is especially important in relation topolicies and guidelines,where key parts may be phrased in a particular way to reflect a very hard-won compromise—which may not be obvious to those unfamiliar with the background. In these cases, it is also often better todiscuss potential changes first.However, spelling and grammatical errors can and should be fixed as soon as they are noticed.
Discussing changes to other Wikipedia-space pages on the talk page is also a good idea. If nothing else, it will provide an explanation of the changes for later editors. Most such pages are collections of arguments placed in Wikipedia space for later reference, so the same arguments don't need to be made over and over again.
Template namespace
One must be especially careful when being bold withtemplates:updating them can have far-reaching consequences because one change can affect lots of pages at once. Moreover, some templates are part of a wide-ranging, uniformsystemof templatesacrossWikipedia, e.g.infoboxesandstubs.Remember, all source code is easily broken by untested changes (but always quite fixable).
Because of these concerns, manyheavily used templatesareindefinitely protectedfrom editing. Before editing templates, consider proposing any changes on the associated talk pages and announcing the proposed change on pages of appropriateWikiProjects.Templates often have associatedsandbox and testcases pages;respectively these are a place for the proposed modified template, and a place where the proposal may be trialed in comparison with the existing version.
Category namespace
Creating new categories or reorganizing the category structure may come to affect many pages. Consider the guidelines oncategorizationandovercategorization,and if what you're doing might be considered controversial (especially if it concernscategories for living people), propose changes atCategories for discussion,also mentioning them on pages of appropriateWikiProjects.
File namespace
Be bold in adding information to the description of an existing image. However, new images should be uploaded with new names rather than overwriting old ones. Doing otherwise risks having the old image confused with the new one. Therefore, you must always be careful.
User namespace
It is generally recommended that you do not edit another Wikipedian'suser pageor comments left ontalk pages(other than your own, and even then do not be reckless). Fixingvandalismis nearly always welcome, even on user pages. Specific users will let you know if they find your changes inappropriate or if you have given incorrect information.
Portal namespace
Regarding changes to graphical layout? See the next section. Note that thecolor schemeused forportalsis not necessarily arbitrary. For example, most portals related to countries use the colors of the nation's flag. It is a good idea to propose design changes on the talk page first.
Graphical layout changes
Making major changes to the graphical layout of certain pages that are not articles requires caution (examples below). It is often best to test changes first (in a sandbox page in your userspace, or asubpageof the page in question), and to discuss the proposed change with other editors before making it live. When many users edit pages for layout, different plans can conflict, and the page may get worse rather than better.
This is particularly true of highly visible pages, such as those linked from the navigation boxes on the left of the screen. These often use intricate formatting to convey their information, and a lot of work has gone into making them as user-friendly as possible. Moreover, some pages form groups whose formatting is intended to be uniform.You should establish consensusbeforemaking design edits to these types of pages.Examples include theMain Page(which in any case is permanentlyprotected), theCommunity Portal,theFeatured contentgroup of pages, and the group consisting ofWikipedia:Contentsand its subpages, as well asPortal:Current events.This does not apply to articles or normal portals.
See also
- BOLD, revert, discuss cycle(essay)
- Can't break it(essay)
- Introduction to contributing(tutorial)
- Edit this proposal(essay)
- Editing policy(policy)
- Ignore all rules(policy)
- Old dogs and new tricks(essay)
- {{Sofixit}}(template message encouraging bold editing)
- User:NotMe(humorous essay)