Thelemapedia:Editorial Policy

(Revision as of 05:05, 18 Sep 2004)

For the most part, Thelemapedia is edited by the community. This means that issues such as factual accuracy, spelling, proper formatting, and completeness are primarily left to everyone to monitor and correct.

Executive Editors

Thelemapedia does have an Executive Editor group. Their job is to:

1) Mediate and resolve content disputes

2) Protect certain pages from editing when appropriate

3) Ban abusers of the system

4) Help define and enforce needed policies

5) Keep Thelemapedia within its intended scope

6) Try to see that copyrights are protected (see our Disclaimers)

Editorial Guidelines

0) Read the Wikipedia Content Guidelines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Policies_and_guidelines#Content_guidelines).

0) No, really, read the Wikipedia Content Guidelines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Policies_and_guidelines#Content_guidelines).

1) Create Stubs responsibly. A stub is a new entry that has very little by way of content, like this Stub here. Please make stubs only when there is a good reason, such as a topic that you feel strongly should exist, but you are not prepared to write yourself.

2) Avoid profanity. This is not so much about offending others as it is about content. Profanity tends to be an expression of personal opinion, rather than fact or general consensus.

3) Make omissions explicit. While you should try to make articles as complete as possible, if you leave something out, let that be known. Two suggestions: leave an HTML comment in the page or make a note on the discussion page for that entry.

4) Respect others. Although entries should be made from a "Thelemic" point of view, this is not a platform for attacking people, tarnishing reputations, or insulting groups, religions, or ideas that do not conform to your own (e.g. we will not tolerate "the real OTO" fights). This principle is vigorously enforced. Persistent attacks will result in a ban.

5) Avoid reverting and deleting. Amend, edit, and discuss.

6) Do not sign your articles. But DO sign your posts on discussion pages by typing three tildes.

7) Learn good etiquette. For a complete discussion, we strongly recommend reading the Wikipedia Etiquette Page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiquette).

8) Try not to delete useful content. Just because something is written poorly doesn't mean it lacks a purpose. Consider what a sentence or paragraph tries to say. Clarify it instead of throwing it away. If the topic seems not to belong where it stands, consider moving the wayward material to another page, or creating a new page; otherwise, it's usually best to move it to the article's "Talk" page, which can be accessed using the "Discuss this page" button. Whoever wrote the text must have thought it valuable, so it's polite to preserve it somewhere.

9) Do not discuss items under seal. Because the world of Thelema includes initiatory orders, do not openly post information revealed within initiations or under oath, even if you feel you are justified to do so. However, with proper tact, you may discuss something that is considered secret if it is done completely out of context. Do so with great caution.

10) This is an OTO-friendly site. Thelemapedia is hosted by Scarlet Woman Lodge, an OTO body, and so naturally we discourage OTO-bashing (or the bashing of any order). However, we strongly encourage non-OTO contributors. Furthermore, we welcome contributions that might not be in line with standard OTO positions, as long as they are thoughtful, unbiased, and have a strong basis in fact or common consensus.

11) Did you read the Wikipedia Content Guidelines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Policies_and_guidelines#Content_guidelines) yet? If you don't, there is a very good chance that your article will be edited to shreds.