User:Pat Palmer/sandbox/test

Methods of communicating on Citizendium

Citizendium is not just a writing platform; it is a community where contributors need to "talk" to each other and, sometimes, debate about approaches. The manner of communications between or among contributors can be fun, playful, serious, argumentative, etc. A helpful thing to keep in mind when communicating with other contributors is whether the interaction is ON the record or OFF the record. The five different methods of talking to fellow wiki workers are listed below, in increasing urgency and importance, and noting which are "ON" and which "OFF" the record.

Private messaging (OFF the record)

The wiki will send an email to any user on your behalf, although there is no way of being sure that they saw the email unless they respond to you. For example, they might never have confirmed their email to the wiki after joining, or their messages might be landing in the Spam folder. When it works, private messaging is similar to a text, phone call, or private conversation in the hallway of a workplace, or to talking in an office with the door closed. There is no record of the communication within the wiki itself. This kind of communications can be helpful simply because it is "off the record". There is no legal consequence associated with it, and there can be no discipline issued as a result of it. If you (virtually) yell and rant, no one will be embarrassed except, perhaps, yourself. Someone might still have strong feelings about what is said, but they will not "lose face" like they might when things are said in public.

Post on a user's Talk page (ON the record)

The wiki will email the user to let them know someone posted on their Talk page. Other contributors can also see the post. This is kind of like leaving a note on the door outside a person's office at their workplace; anyone who chooses to walk by can see the post. This communication is directed specifically to one user, so even though other contributors may view the message, they would not usually post about it unless they have important information to add to the message. This is one of the very commonly used ways of talking to another contributor. People generally keep it very cordial, saying please and thank you. In fact, getting an unsolicited "thank you" from another contributor can make someone's day. If the message is about a specific article, it is polite to link to that article for the reader's convenience. Once you get to know people and develop trust, these messages can just be friendly things such as "Welcome back, we missed you in here". These posts are visible to anyone in the world, and so they are "on the record" and could have legal consequences or result in discipline.

Post on an article's Talk page (ON the record)

Here is where collaborators normally discuss how to do things on the article itself. It's supposed to be "on topic", kind of like putting a poster up in the lunchroom about what's for lunch at work. You would not want to put the lunch menu in, say, the auditorium. Other contributors interested in working on the article will usually read the Talk page before beginning to work on the article. They might also use the Talk page to ask if anyone objects to a planned change. Anyone interested in the article is welcome to leave a comment or question there, or to respond to existing comments and questions there, as long as it's about this article. There is one big caveat, which is, to be aware of how long a post is; people might become impatient at needing to read a very long-winded post full of personal anecdotes. The safer path might be to stick mostly to business. These posts are visible to anyone in the world, and so they are "on the record" and could have legal consequences or result in discipline.

Appeals to wiki management (OFF the record)

An Enquiry Email can be used to reach wiki managers if there is a dispute or problem about an article that is not getting resolved amicably on the Talk page. Then, wiki management can attempt to mediate a resolution. This is like calling the boss and asking for help when you can't work things out with a colleague. There is no legal consequence associated with making such a request, and there can be no discipline issued as a result of the request itself, but someone could be disciplined as a result of your request. What your request means is that managers will need to look at the interactions which have happened already and try to figure out what to do. Maybe they just need to weigh in with a suggestion. Discipline (such as warnings, or temporary or permanent bans) would only happen as a result of posts that someone has already made "on the record". It takes a toll on managers (who are volunteers like everyone in here) to handle such a request, so it's wise to avoid calling a manager if possible. Still, do it if you need to; it's better than letting a situation continue to deteriorate. This option is akin to what kids call "tattling", but sometimes, it might be the only way to get help. If the Enquiry Form doesn't get you a response, you can also look up the wiki Personnel and private message one of them personally.

Post in a public forum (ON the record)

This is the "nuclear war" option. The forums are public, visible not just to contributors, but to anyone anywhere on the internet, and visitors often look in the forums to see what is happening on the wiki. The forum pages are intended for policy discussions among the entire community. The forums are not intended as places to negotiate disputes about matters pertaining to a specific article. But the forums are a good place to ask if anyone knows what the expectation is about something, or if there is a rule, or if there should be a rule. Community debate on such matters is welcome, assuming it remains cordial. These posts are visible to anyone in the world, and so they are "on the record" and could have legal consequences or result in discipline.

Awareness of ON vs. OFF the record

Anytime a contributor communicates with other contributors by any of the "ON the record" methods above, that post is visible, not just to other contributors, but to anyone on the internet. Thus, it's a good idea when making such posts, comments, questions or even complaints, to double check the verbiage before hitting SAVE. For example, have you got any "you" words in there? Is it possible to reword any "you" phrases with "I" phrases instead? For example, if you start out to write something like, "You are ignoring me", maybe that could be restated, "I am still hoping to get an answer to..." It's okay to use "you" in certain very safe situations, such as "Would you like to do that, or do you want me to?"

Discussion thread etiquette

Using sections headers

On any kind of Talk page, a new topic should be introduced with a section header (set off by one or more equal signs). The section header should be as precise as possible while not being too long.

Signing posts

Responses to a new topic on a Talk page always needs to be signed by adding four tildes ~~~~ at the end of each separate line. The tildes cause the wiki automatically to insert a link to your User page, plus the date and time. It is important to sign posts so that we know who made them and when without having to dig through the page history.

Indenting posts

Responses to topics should be indented using one or more colons. The more colons, the deeper the indention.

No editing what anyone else posts

If other contributors post in an inexpert manner, it is better to message them or post on their Talk page to let them know a better way to do it. It is generally a very bad idea to edit anyone else's posts on Talk or Forum pages.

Should your post be at the bottom of the thread?

Some people think all additions to running discussion threads should be added to the bottom, as long as each reply is a response to the above reply, and using indention appropriately. Other people think that all additions to running discussion threads should be clustered by sub-topic. For example, if in the middle of a long thread, someone starts talking about a new subject and you want to chime in, it is okay to indent right under that post (but in the middle of the thread) and say something new, because after all, your signature will show when you made the comment. Normally, the differences in approach won't matter, but it CAN make long, stringy threads difficult to follow if people have different approaches to how to organize the discussion. Sometimes, it may be helpful to split certain discussions out, or more parts of a discussion to another part of the page. Please check with others before doing that, but it may sometimes help.