Grand Theft Wiki:About Policy: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 04:41, 3 August 2012

Policy refers to the rules, guidelines and working practices of Grand Theft Wiki.

For a full list of policies, see Policy and Category:Policy. For help on other subjects, see Help.

The general aim of Policy is to help Grand Theft Wiki run smoothly. Without any guidelines or the ability to enforce rules, anybody could do anything they wanted on the site, and it would never have become a useful hub of information it has.

Where policy comes from

Policy is written by the staff of Grand Theft Wiki. Only staff can edit the policy pages. Policies, and changes to existing policies, can also be suggested by users on the talk page or directly to a staff member.

It is the responsibility of the Managers of the wiki to approve changes to policy.

Policy is created when there is a need for it, so there are many things where no specific policy or guidance exists. In these matters, common sense should prevail, but you can contact any staff member for guidance.

A lot of our policy is adopted from Wikipedia, as they have established good methods of working on a wiki over years of discussion and development. None of our policies are copied word-for-word, but the spirit and purpose is the same. It should be noted that policy on Wikipedia is NOT necessarily policy on Grand Theft Wiki, but Wikipedia policy may be used for reference where there is none on Grand Theft Wiki.

One extra type of policy is decisions made by staff - essentially this is case law. If a staff member advises a user to do something in a particular instance, that decision should be taken into account, even if it is against the wording of a policy or covering something not covered by a written policy. Deliberately ignoring staff decisions may make you fall foul of our expectations or our Enforcement Policy.

Common sense

Not everything is black-and-white. There are always exceptions, and things do change.

Policies should not be taken as word-perfect - instead the spirit and purpose of the policy should be adhered to. For example, if a policy doesn't specifically forbid something, that doesn't mean we allow it - you should make a judgement in the best interests of this wiki and in the spirit of the policies that we do have. Likewise, if the wording a policy forbids something that it wasn't intended to, then the spirit/intention of the policy and the best interests of this wiki override it.

Policy changes over time - Grand Theft Wiki is larger and more complicated than when it first started in 2006, so policies may change. It may also be that a policy written for the wiki a long time ago is not entirely valid now. Again, common sense will prevail, but staff should provide guidance.

If you're ever in doubt - speak to a member of staff.

Policy decisions

Administrators have the authority to enforce policy and the best interests of the wiki. See our Enforcement Policy for fuller information.

All users are entitled and encouraged to participate in discussions over policy, guidelines, working practices and to question anything we do here. However, there comes a point when a decision has to be made to allow the wiki to move on and for work to continue. In these instances, a Manager can make a decision. In the event of continued disagreement, the founder - User:gboyers - can make a final decision. These decisions will be taken in the best interests of the wiki.

If you have any questions - speak to a member of staf

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Protect}}
+{{Policy}}{{toc}}
-{{Working Document}}
-This is the official policy page of Technical Wiki. This includes instructions on how to behave, what is or is not appropriate, and how decisions are made.
+'''Policy''' refers to the [[Grand Theft Wiki: rules| rules]], guidelines and working practices of Grand Theft Wiki.
-== Basic Policy ==
+For a full list of policies, see [[Policy]] and [[:Category:Policy]]. For help on other subjects, see [[Help]].
-Any registered member may edit any page, except those that are marked [[Category:Protected|Protected]]. Any vandalism, which includes removal of good text, swearing, abuse, racism, homophobia and anything along those lines is strictly forbidden, and may result in your account and IP address being blocked from the site.
+The general aim of Policy is to help Grand Theft Wiki run smoothly. Without any guidelines or the ability to enforce rules, anybody could do anything they wanted on the site, and it would never have become a useful hub of information it has.
+==Where policy comes from==
+Policy is written by the [[Grand Theft Wiki:staff|staff]] of Grand Theft Wiki. Only staff can edit the policy pages. Policies, and changes to existing policies, can also be suggested by users on the talk page or directly to a staff member.
+It is the responsibility of the [[Grand Theft Wiki:Staff|Managers]] of the wiki to approve changes to policy.
+Policy is created when there is a need for it, so there are many things where no specific policy or guidance exists. In these matters, common sense should prevail, but you can contact any staff member for guidance.
+A lot of our policy is adopted from [[:wp:Wikipedia:List_of_policies|Wikipedia]], as they have established good methods of working on a wiki over years of discussion and development. None of our policies are copied word-for-word, but the spirit and purpose is the same. It should be noted that policy on Wikipedia is NOT necessarily policy on Grand Theft Wiki, but Wikipedia policy may be used for reference where there is none on Grand Theft Wiki.
+One extra type of policy is decisions made by staff - essentially this is case law. If a staff member advises a user to do something in a particular instance, that decision should be taken into account, even if it is against the wording of a policy or covering something not covered by a written policy. Deliberately ignoring staff decisions may make you fall foul of our expectations or our [[Grand Theft Wiki|Enforcement Policy]].
+==Common sense==
+Not everything is black-and-white. There are always exceptions, and things do change.
+Policies should not be taken as word-perfect - instead the spirit and purpose of the policy should be adhered to. For example, if a policy doesn't specifically forbid something, that doesn't mean we allow it - you should make a judgement in the best interests of this wiki and in the spirit of the policies that we do have. Likewise, if the wording a policy forbids something that it wasn't intended to, then the spirit/intention of the policy and the best interests of this wiki override it.
+Policy changes over time - Grand Theft Wiki is larger and more complicated than when it first started in 2006, so policies may change. It may also be that a policy written for the wiki a long time ago is not entirely valid now. Again, common sense will prevail, but staff should provide guidance.
+If you're ever in doubt - speak to a member of staff.
+==Policy decisions==
+[[Grand Theft Wiki:Staff|Administrators]] have the authority to enforce policy and the best interests of the wiki. See our [[Grand Theft Wiki|Enforcement Policy]] for fuller information.
+All users are entitled and encouraged to participate in discussions over policy, guidelines, working practices and to question anything we do here. However, there comes a point when a decision has to be made to allow the wiki to move on and for work to continue. In these instances, a [[Grand Theft Wiki:Staff|Manager]] can make a decision. In the event of continued disagreement, the founder - [[User:gboyers]] - can make a final decision. These decisions will be taken in the best interests of the wiki.
+If you have any questions - speak to a member of staf
+==See also==
+*[[Policy]] - List of policies
+*[[Grand Theft Wiki:Policy]] - Additional list of all policy pages
+*[[Grand Theft Wiki: Rules]] - The fixed rules of Grand Theft Wiki
+*[[Help]] - Help on other subjects