 | This page in a nutshell: An essay is a page containing the viewpoint or advice of one or more editors. Essays are not policies or guidelines, carry no authority, and cannot be cited to settle a dispute. |
An essay on Bharatpedia is a page setting out the viewpoint, opinion, or advice of one or more editors. Essays are written to persuade, to explain a position, or to share experience. They are not binding on anyone, and they are not the community's settled view on anything.
Essays are one of several kinds of internal page. They sit at the bottom of the tiers of authority, below policies, guidelines, and information pages.
What an essay is[edit source]
An essay is a page that:
- Expresses a point of view — the author's own — rather than a neutral description of a process or a settled standard.
- Argues for a position, or offers advice, or explains a way of working that the author has found useful.
- Is not the product of a formal community discussion, and has not been adopted by consensus as a policy or guideline.
- May be written by a single editor, or by several, and may be edited by others — though authors often prefer that their essays not be substantially rewritten by others.
Essays are sometimes described as "opinion pieces". That is a reasonable description. The key point is that reading an essay tells you what one or more editors think, not what Bharatpedia requires.
What an essay is not[edit source]
- An essay is not a policy or guideline. It carries no authority and binds no one.
- An essay cannot be cited to settle a dispute. In a content or conduct discussion, an essay is not a substitute for a policy, a guideline, or a source. It may be cited as an argument, but the fact that an essay says something does not make it correct.
- An essay is not a neutral description. Information pages describe how Bharatpedia works; essays advocate a view about how it should work, or how it should be understood.
- An essay is not a vote. The number of editors who sign an essay has no bearing on whether the position it advocates is correct.
- An essay is not a loophole. An editor cannot justify departing from a policy by pointing to an essay that says the policy is wrong. To change the policy, change the policy, through discussion.
Where essays live[edit source]
Essays may be placed in either of two namespaces:
- Project namespace — pages titled
Bharatpedia:Essay name. These are community essays, and any editor may edit them. - User namespace — pages titled
User:Username/Essay name. These are personal essays, and by convention other editors do not edit them substantially without the author's agreement.
A personal essay that attracts interest from other editors may be moved to the project namespace. This is usually done with the author's agreement, since a project-space essay is subject to editing by anyone.
Finding and listing essays[edit source]
Essays in the project namespace are listed at Bharatpedia:List of essays and categorised at Category:Bharatpedia essays. Personal essays are generally not listed centrally, and are found by browsing a user's contributions or subpages.
Identifying an essay[edit source]
Essays in the project namespace are normally marked at the top with the {{Bharatpedia essay}} template, which renders a banner stating that the page contains the advice or opinions of one or more editors, and categorises the page into Category:Bharatpedia essays.
An essay should not also carry {{Bharatpedia policy}}, {{Bharatpedia guideline}}, or {{Bharatpedia information page}}, since those banners indicate different kinds of page.
Writing an essay[edit source]
Before writing an essay, consider whether the material belongs elsewhere:
- If it describes how a process works, it may be an information page.
- If it records a standard editors are expected to follow, it should be proposed as a guideline through the usual discussion.
- If it belongs to a single article, it should be raised on that article's talk page.
- If it is a short comment on an existing policy, a talk page post may be more useful than a new page.
If an essay is the right form, the conventions are:
- Write clearly and give reasons. An essay that asserts a position without arguing for it is not much use to anyone.
- Acknowledge opposing views. An essay is more persuasive if it addresses the strongest argument against its position rather than a weak version of it.
- Avoid personal attacks. An essay criticising a policy is fine. An essay criticising named editors is not.
- Do not present the essay as settled policy. Make it clear in the text, and through the banner, that it is an opinion piece.
- Accept editing. Project-space essays are editable by anyone. If you want a page that reflects only your view, keep it in your user space.
Essays and consensus[edit source]
An essay that is widely read and broadly agreed with may eventually influence the community's practice, and in some cases may be promoted to a guideline. This happens through discussion, not through the essay being popular.
Where an essay conflicts with a policy or guideline, the policy or guideline prevails. An essay that is routinely cited to justify conduct contrary to policy may be discussed at the village pump, and where the community agrees that it is being misused, it may be tagged as such or, in serious cases, removed.