 | This page in a nutshell: Information pages document Bharatpedia's processes, conventions, and practices. They are not policies or guidelines, and their contents are advisory rather than mandatory. |
Information pages are pages in the Bharatpedia namespace that document how Bharatpedia works — its processes, conventions, practices, and community norms — without carrying the authority of a policy or guideline.
They sit between the two main tiers of Bharatpedia's internal documentation. A policy or guideline records a standard that editors are expected to follow; an information page describes how something is done, or what a process involves, without requiring any particular course of action. Information pages are sometimes called explanatory supplements when they exist to help editors understand a policy or guideline.
Purpose[edit source]
Information pages serve several purposes:
- Explaining processes. Pages such as Bharatpedia:Requests for comment describe how a community process works, so that editors can participate in it correctly.
- Elaborating on policies and guidelines. A supplement may expand on a policy's reasoning or application without restating the policy itself.
- Recording conventions. Some information pages document long-standing practices that are widely followed but have never been formally adopted as guidelines.
- Providing context. Pages may explain the history or rationale behind a particular way of doing things, so that editors can understand why a convention exists before deciding whether to follow it.
What information pages are not[edit source]
Information pages are not policies or guidelines. They do not bind editors, and citing one does not settle a dispute in the way that citing a policy does.
- They cannot override a policy or guideline. Where an information page conflicts with a policy, the policy prevails.
- They do not establish new community standards. A convention becomes a guideline only through broad discussion and explicit adoption.
- They should not be treated as a substitute for consensus. Where an information page describes a practice, the practice itself still depends on the agreement of editors involved.
- They are not essays. Personal viewpoints, advocacy, and proposals belong in the essay namespace or on talk pages, not in the information namespace.
How information pages relate to other pages[edit source]
Bharatpedia's internal documentation falls into roughly four tiers:
| Type | Authority | Typical location |
|---|---|---|
| Policy | Widely accepted standard that editors should normally follow | Bharatpedia: namespace
|
| Guideline | Best practice supported by consensus, applied with common sense | Bharatpedia: namespace
|
| Information page | Describes processes and conventions; advisory only | Bharatpedia: namespace
|
| Essay | One or more editors' viewpoints or advice | Bharatpedia: or User: namespace
|
Information pages may also describe processes that are governed elsewhere. For example, a page describing a noticeboard's workflow is an information page even though the underlying conduct standard may be set by a behavioural policy.
Identifying an information page[edit source]
Information pages are usually marked at the top with the {{Bharatpedia information page}} template, which renders a banner and categorises the page into Category:Bharatpedia information pages. Pages that carry this banner should not also carry {{Bharatpedia policy}} or {{Bharatpedia guideline}}, since the three banners indicate different levels of authority.
Some information pages are further tagged as supplements to a specific policy or guideline. A supplement is still an information page; the tag simply records which policy it exists to clarify.
Creating an information page[edit source]
Before creating an information page, consider whether the material belongs somewhere else:
- If it records a standard that editors are expected to follow, it may belong as a guideline, and should be discussed at the appropriate venue first.
- If it records a single editor's view, it belongs in the essay namespace.
- If it merely describes how a technical feature works, it may belong in the help namespace instead.
- If it duplicates an existing policy or guideline, consider improving that page rather than creating a parallel one.
When an information page is created, it should:
- Be written in a neutral, descriptive tone.
- Avoid presenting its contents as requirements.
- Link to the relevant policies and guidelines it depends on or clarifies.
- Carry the {{Bharatpedia information page}} banner.
Review and retirement[edit source]
Information pages are maintained by ordinary editing. Because they are advisory, they may be updated more freely than policies or guidelines — but substantial rewrites should still be discussed on the talk page, especially where the page is widely cited by other pages or by editors in discussion.
A page that is no longer accurate or useful may be merged into a related page, redirected, or nominated for deletion through the usual processes. If a page's content gradually acquires the force of community consensus, it may be proposed for promotion to guideline status through the normal adoption process.