WikiProjects

This is an information page.

It documents a Bharatpedia process, convention, or practice. It is not one of Bharatpedia's policies or guidelines, and its contents are advisory rather than mandatory. Editors should use common sense when applying it.

Shortcuts: BP:WIKIPROJECT · BP:WPP

This page in a nutshell: A WikiProject is a group of editors who collaborate on a specific topic area. WikiProjects provide a place for coordination, discussion, and shared standards, but they do not own articles and their decisions are subject to Bharatpedia's policies and guidelines.

WikiProjects are groups of editors who collaborate on a particular topic area. A WikiProject provides a central page where editors interested in that topic can coordinate their work, discuss questions, maintain shared standards, and keep track of articles within their scope.

WikiProjects are voluntary and open. Any editor may join any project, and no editor is required to join one. Projects exist to help editors collaborate, not to assign work or grant authority.

What a WikiProject is[edit source]

A WikiProject is essentially a coordination point. It typically includes:

A project page describing the scope of the project and how to participate.
A talk page where members discuss matters relevant to the project.
A list of members — editors who have signed up as participants.
A list of articles or a category covering the project's scope.
Optional task lists, assessment tables, or to-do lists.
Optional guidelines or advice pages specific to the topic area.
Optional templates — such as article talk page banners that mark articles as within the project's scope.

What a WikiProject is not[edit source]

Understanding what WikiProjects are not is as important as understanding what they are.

WikiProjects do not own articles. No group of editors has special authority over a topic area. An article within a project's scope is still edited by the community at large, and is still governed by Bharatpedia's core content policies.
WikiProjects cannot override policy. A project's local convention is a convention only. Where it conflicts with a policy or guideline, the policy prevails.
WikiProjects do not grant authority. Membership carries no privileges and no special standing in a dispute.
WikiProjects are not a substitute for consensus. A discussion held on a project talk page may inform a broader discussion, but it does not bind editors who are not part of the project.
WikiProjects are not walled gardens. Editors from outside a project are free to edit articles in its scope and to participate in its discussions.

Starting a WikiProject[edit source]

Before starting a new WikiProject, consider whether one already exists for the topic. Bharatpedia has a limited pool of active editors, and a new project that attracts no participants is less useful than an existing project that gains one more member. If a related project exists, consider joining it or raising the topic on its talk page instead.

If no suitable project exists, a new one may be started. A reasonable minimum is:

A project page at Bharatpedia:WikiProject [topic], describing the scope and goals.
A talk page, which may be the same page or a separate /talk page.
A clear scope statement — what the project does and does not cover.
A short list of initial participants.
Where useful, a talk page banner template to mark articles as within scope.

Projects should not be created merely to make a point, to claim a topic area, or to serve as a venue for advocacy. A project with a single member and no activity is usually better redirected to a broader project.

Article banners[edit source]

Many WikiProjects place a banner template on the talk pages of articles within their scope. The banner typically marks the article as within the project's scope, records its quality assessment, and may record its importance rating.

Banners are placed on talk pages, not in articles. They do not affect how an article is displayed to readers, and they do not confer any special status on the article.

Assessment of article quality — usually on a scale running from stub to featured — is maintained by projects for their own tracking purposes. Assessment is not a substitute for the community's own quality processes, such as good article and featured article reviews.

Participating in a WikiProject[edit source]

Joining a WikiProject is usually as simple as adding your name to the project's member list. There is no application process, no minimum edit count, and no requirement to be an administrator.

Once a member, an editor may:

Add articles within scope to the project's list or category.
Participate in discussions on the project talk page.
Help with the project's task list or to-do list.
Assess articles for quality or importance, if the project does assessment.
Propose project-specific conventions or advice pages.
Help maintain the project page itself.

Membership is not a commitment. Editors are free to leave a project at any time, and projects should not treat their member lists as active rosters — many editors sign up and then edit only occasionally.

Inactive and defunct projects[edit source]

WikiProjects often become inactive when their members move on. This is normal and not a problem in itself.

An inactive project page may be:

Marked as inactive — with a notice at the top of the page, so that editors know the project is not currently active.
Redirected — to a broader project covering a related topic.
Merged — into another project, with any useful content preserved.
Archived — where the project's discussions are of historical interest.

Projects should not be deleted merely because they are inactive. An inactive project page costs little to maintain and may be reactivated if interest returns.

Naming conventions[edit source]

WikiProject pages are conventionally titled Bharatpedia:WikiProject [topic], for example Bharatpedia:WikiProject History. Subpages of the project use a slash, for example Bharatpedia:WikiProject History/Assessment or Bharatpedia:WikiProject History/Members.

Project-specific templates are conventionally titled Template:WikiProject [topic].

Bharatpedia:WikiProjects

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