Help:Using Talk Pages

Help page

Every wiki page has an associated talk page, which can be used for discussion and communicating with other users. Talk pages can be accessed by clicking the "discussion" tab at the top of the page. Having discussions on a free-form wiki page may seem strange at first but the talk pages are a great way to a pointed discussion about a particular page. Please go through the talk page guidelines for a detailed explanation on the conventions. A few broad conventions have been mentioned below.

Basic conventions

While using a talk page, users must follow certain basic conventions such as:

  • Every new discussion must have begin with a == level 2 heading == at the bottom of the page (or use the "Add topic" tab).
  • Indent replies with colons (:) at the beginning of the line.
  • Always sign your name after your comments. Use the four tildes "~~~~" wiki syntax (or the signature button in the toolbar above the editing textbox). For more information see the user guide for signatures.

Here is an example discussion, following the talk page conventions:

Wiki text Rendered talk page

== Code ==
How's the code? --~~~~
: It's great!! --~~~~
:: I made it myself! --~~~~
I think the code-discussion should be moved to Talk:Github.. --~~~~

Code

How's the code? --DH (talk) 18:37, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

It's great!! --Hykem (talk) 18:38, 3 November 2012 (UTC)
I made it myself! --DH (talk) 18:39, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

I think the code-discussion should be moved to Talk:Github.. --AlexAltea (talk) 10:32, 8 September 2013 (UTC)

Editing others' comments

It is not necessary to bring talk pages to publishing standards, so there is no need to correct typing/spelling errors, grammar, etc. It may irritate the users whose comments you are correcting. The basic rule, with some specific exceptions, is that you should NOT edit or delete the comments of other editors without their permission. Never edit or move someone's comment to change its meaning, even on your own talk page.

Generally, you should not break up another editor's text by interleaving your own replies to individual points; this confuses who said what and obscures the original editor's intent. Cautiously editing or removing another editor's comments is sometimes allowed, but normally you should stop if there is any objection. If you make anything more than minor changes it is good practice to leave a short explanatory note such as "[piracy links removed by ~~~~]".

Refer Editing others' comments section of the talk page guidelines for an exhaustive list of scenarios where it may be appropriate to edit another user's post.