Stupid Little Edits

In gentler words - the kind of work your WikiGnome does. Categorizing pages, fixing typos, removing your signatures to ease refactoring, etc. These are usually considered a GoodThing.

On the other hand, some view this as a problem, because it causes more entries in RecentChanges.

---

The focus of this wiki is textual content, not perfect punctuation and presentation.

• Don't reflow paragraphs by removing newlines. This does not affect the appearance of the page and just clutters recent changes.
• Don't convert between the various forms of dashes (EmDash?, EnDash?, -, --, –, —).
• Don't prefix every signature with '--' just to satisfy the SignatureSurvey.
• Don't convert British spellings to American spellings (color/colour).
• Don't just insert/remove commas, periods, etc.

Currently, there is an automated SharkBot which will revert these kind of edits.

But do FixYourWiki.

• Fix obvious spelling mistakes and poor grammar, but only if it aids understanding.
• Add and fix WikiLinks.
• Convert broken character encodings to UtfEight (there was recent breakage due to a server upgrade).
• Add bulleted lists.
• Refactor pages to improve structure and reduce duplication.

For new content, please try to follow the WikiStyleGuide.

---

"...removing your signatures to ease refactoring..."

I cannot object to this practice strongly enough. When I put my signature on a particular contribution it is because I want my words kept as is. There have been times in the distant past when something I said was buggered up by someone wanting to "streamline" or "correct" one of my statements. Instead of improving my contribution these do-gooders screwed the pooch badly. I wish my statements to be left alone when I sign them.

On the other hand, I have made plenty of contributions to this Wiki that were unsigned, sometimes with my name added to the list of contributors at the bottom of the page. This is a great way to let any involved WikiGnome sort out the ThreadMode diatribe into a more concise DocumentMode statement of ThesisAntithesisSynthesis and still maintain one's tracking of ongoing discussions.

Please don't remove signatures without asking the original author of the statement.

-- MartySchrader

---

See: RecentChangesIsNotTheWiki, InDefenseOfImperfection

CategoryWikiMaintenance