Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum:Guidelines

Helpful articles

Lexicanum is a joint project with the goal of creating as complete an encyclopedia of the Warhammer universes as possible.

To work on Lexicanum, you must follow the guidelines below. Questions about these can be asked at the Forum or on the Discord server.

The Netiquette and rules of common sense and courtesy should be applied.

This includes but is not limited to the following rules (adapted from "What is netiquette?"):

Guidelines

• Do not infringe on copyright: The publication of text or pictures without permission of the rightful owner can lead to serious problems for the project. This is especially relevant to Games Workshop and the patent rights regulations are here.

• Lexicanum is an encyclopedia: Lexicanum should be used to develop an encyclopedia. It is not a dictionary or fan site, and is not a carrier for business interests.

• Lexicanum is no rulebook: the Lexicanum does not want to replace rulebooks so it's not allowed to include text that belongs to that category, e.g. no posting of rules, point costs, wargear options, doctrines, chapter traits, army lists etc.

• Respect other users: The participants of Lexicanum come from many different places and backgrounds and often have a different point of view.

• Refrain from personal abuse. You may express robust disagreement with what someone says, but don't call them names or threaten them with personal violence. Abusive behaviour, vandalism, threats etc. will not be tolerated.

• Don't spam. That is, don't post advertisements for products or services.

• Write clearly and succinctly. On a site that has many non-native English speakers, avoid using slang they may not understand. Remember that your posts are public. They can be read by your partner, your children, your parents, or your employer.

• Stay on-topic, especially when you're new.

• Don't expect other people to do your homework for you. If you are for example looking for technical help don't ask questions you could easily answer yourself by reading the manual or online help provided. When you do ask for help, include details of what attempts you've made to solve the problem. It will save time and also show people that you are making an effort to help yourself.

• Do not post verbatim copies or copyrighted material without the correct disclaimers or to which you do not own the rights.

• Do not post material that may promote hate speech, discrimination, violence etc.

• Neutrality: The neutral point of view tries to present ideas in a way that both those who agree with, and disagree with, can accept the way it is written. It does not demand the acceptance of all, as some ideologies reject all points other than their own. Therefore, the goal should be to create a place where all rational ideas can be collected together in a presentable way.

• Categories: In order to keep the encyclopedia clear from the beginning, we have created some categories. Whether they are all sensible will show in time. It is compulsory to use the categories provided. The location of the category link should always be at the bottom of the article with every category in its own, separate line. For further information see Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum:Categories

• Orthography: Lexicanum does not commit itself to old or new spelling rules. Both are to be respected. The author who wrote the article follows their set of rules and as such subsequent changes must follow the same sets. This avoids having different spellings throughout one article.

• Naming Conventions: the article title should only consist of the name, so no titles or addendums are allowed (for example colonel, Warlord, the Slaughterer, Planet, Sector etc... If there is more than one article with the same name, a disambiguation has to be created with the corresponding articles listed which are differentiated with explanation in brackets e.g. XY (Imperial Guard), XY (Space Marines) for persons or XY (Person), XY (Planet), XY (Ship) etc. For further information please also read Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum:Naming Conventions.

• Images: when uploading images follow the rules here

• Articles which are based on informations created by national subdivisions of Games Workshop and which are not included in the general background have to be marked with the corresponding Country Templates.

• Fan Fluff: background information written by fans but not published on official sources is only allowed on user pages and will be removed if encountered elsewhere.

• Sources/ Citation: it is compulsory that every article includes sources for every bit of information presented. This also applies to changes and additions. Revisions without proper citation will be removed. Please note that paragraphs from different sources have to marked as such.

• The changing of the content of articles by unidentified users is not acceptable and will be reverted. This does not apply to changes of orthography, grammar and style.

Who is going to enforce these rules?

You as a Lexicanum editor makes you effectively an editor-in-chief. Active members look at recent changes and correct contents and format. Each participant is at the same time an author and editor and is just as responsible for the content as the next person.

Do not claim or think to have powers and rights that you do not have. Normal users should never try to "take the law into their own hands". If a user for example feels that there are problems with another user he should inform a Lexicanum Administrator (also known as Sysop) or Bureaucrat. Should an Administrator face problems that require powers or input beyond his level of authority he should contact a Bureaucrat.

The site's owner, assisted by one or more a Lexicanum Administrators or Bureaucrats, has the final say in enforcing the rules.

This article is based on the guidelines from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and stands under the GNU license for free documentation. Within Wikipedia is a list of authors available, and there you can work on the article.