 | This page is a guideline on the Indian English Bharatpedia. Many editors agree with the ideas on this page. It is a good idea to follow it, but it is not policy. You can change the page as needed, but please use the talk page to make sure that other editors agree with any big changes. |
"Be bold" is a core behavioral guideline on Bharatpedia. It encourages editors to jump in, start editing, and help build the encyclopedia without worrying about making mistakes.
If you see an article that can be improved—whether it is fixing a typo, improving grammar, expanding content, or adding reliable references—go ahead and edit it!
Why you should be bold[edit source]
- Imperfection is okay: Nobody gets everything right on the first try. Other editors can always refine, format, or build upon your work.
- Mistakes are easily fixed: MediaWiki saves every revision of every page. If something breaks or a mistake is made, it can be easily reverted or corrected.
- Action moves the wiki forward: Bharatpedia grows when contributors take the initiative to edit articles directly rather than just pointing out problems on talk pages.
When to exercise caution[edit source]
While being bold is strongly encouraged, you should apply common sense and caution in certain situations:
- Controversial or sensitive topics: For highly debated subjects, it is often best to discuss major changes on the talk page first to reach consensus.
- High-use templates and infrastructure: Changes to widely used templates or site system pages can affect hundreds of articles across Bharatpedia. Test your changes in a sandbox first.
- Deleting large amounts of content: Avoid removing substantial sections of cited information without explaining your reasoning in the edit summary or on the talk page.
- Core principles remain essential: Being bold is not an excuse to ignore core policies such as maintaining a Neutral Point of View, providing verifiable sources, or avoiding copyright violations.
The BRD Cycle (Bold, Revert, Discuss)[edit source]
If your bold edit gets reverted by another contributor, do not enter an edit war. Instead, follow the **BRD cycle**:
- Bold: Make your bold edit to improve a page.
- Revert: If another editor disagrees and reverts your change, accept it gracefully without re-reverting.
- Discuss: Open a discussion on the article's talk page to explain your edit, listen to the other editor's reasoning, and work together toward a community consensus.