Destinypedia:Sandbox

Welcome!
Welcome to Halopedia/Destinypedia, Guardian/Spartan! Here we strive to be the definitive place for information on everything pertaining to the Halo/Destiny universe. The following is a guide applicable to all Halopedia/Destinypedia articles. It reflects Halopedia's/Destinypedia's standards, and is intended to help editors to produce articles with language, layout, and formatting that are consistent, clear, and precise.

Navigation
Gives a quick rundown of where everything is and what it is for.

About Destinypedia/Halopedia
Halopedia/Destinypedia is first and foremost an online encyclopedia for things related to Halo/Destiny, and, as a means to that end, an online community of people interested in building a high-quality Halo/Destiny encyclopedia in the spirit of mutual respect. Please avoid using Halopedia/Destinypedia for other purposes, or treating it as something it is not. Bearing this in mind, below is a list of things Halopedia/Destinypedia is not:

Halopedia/Destinypedia is not a fanfiction site
Halopedia/Destinypedia is designed for the incorporation of canon from the Halo/Destiny universe. Its users and administrators work hard to ensure that every article contains information that has been officially recognized to exist in the Halo/Destiny world. Many people on the site are working on fanfiction of their own, but fanfiction items themselves do not have a place among Halopedia's/Destinypedia's articles. You are free to add a link to your own fanfiction Halo/Destiny related stories on other sites from your userpage or account page, but no articles incorporated into Destinypedia about or related to them will be kept.

Halopedia/Destinypedia is not a speculative forum
The intrigue behind the Halo/Destiny series is its own mystery; there is a great deal of the storyline that has not been revealed to the world but 343 Industries/Bungie has promised to continue making products that add more details to that storyline. However, Halopedia/Destinypedia articles are designed to display notifiable information, not speculation. As a result, speculative content, or content not supported by official canon is considered speculation and is not permitted in Halopedia/Destinypedia pages. Such content is best placed in the Talk Page of the article in question. This way, various speculation on the article can be left to a minimum; lots of speculation on an article page makes it long, confusing, and counterproductive.

Halopedia/Destinypedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information
The content of Halopedia/Destinypedia is based entirely off of material present in the Halo/Destiny universe. Though there are many potential items that could be included in Halopedia/Destinypedia, they are not added because this may clash with future developed storylines. Therefore the addition of content currently unfeatured in Halopedia/Destinypedia will not b allowed.

Halopedia/Destinypedia is not a history book
Many things seen in the Halo/Destiny universe are depicted as homage to the past. Ships, planets, and even people have been named after past events. But that does not mean that these events deserve an article in Halopedia/Destinypedia. Whether an article is deemed unnecessary or not is at the discretion of the community.

Halopedia/Destinypedia is not Wikipedia
Destinypedia is not affiliated with Wikipedia or any other wiki site not explicitly mentioned as being tied to Halopedia/Destinypedia. Halopedia/Destinypedia is an independent wiki and it follows its own set of guidelines and rules though it may sometimes take ideas from larger and more developed wikis. However Halopedia/Destinypedia policy is always the highest authority on this website.

Halopedia/Destinypedia is not a democracy
Like virtually all wikis, Halopedia/Destinypedia is not a democracy. Most of our popular issues (such as Featured Articles) are put up to a user vote, but important decisions are made based on discussion; not consensus or voting. The reasoning for this is that legitimate concerns cannot be ignored in light of important decisions, and one opinion is not necessarily equal to another; particularly when experience plays into the decision. These details must be ironed out in discussion before a decision is made final.

Halopedia/Destinypedia is not a soapbox
Halopedia/Destinypedia is not a website for individual opinions on any subject. Halopedia's/Destinypedia's articles are to be completely neutral on every subject, conveying all information available, and nothing more. Any creation of articles or the editing of existing articles to reflect individual opinions or ideas on subject matter that consist of personal opinions on a topic will be immediately reverted or deleted. Opinions can be expressed on user pages, talk pages, or forums, but not in articles.

Halopedia/Destinypedia is not a clan/fireteam recruitment center
The overwhelming majority of Halopedia/Destinypedia users play the Halo/Destiny games online and many of them are members of individual clans/fireteams in those games. However, clan/fireteam recruitment on Halopedia/Destinypedia is strictly prohibited. Outside of individual user pages, references, comparisons, or invitations to join, clans/fireteams are forbidden, particularly on articles, talk pages, or any other space where they do not belong.

Halopedia/Destinypedia is not 343/Bungie
While Halo/Destiny is an Activision/Microsoft-owned franchise, Halopedia/Destinypediaa is not affiliated with 343/Bungie], Activision/Microsoft or other studios. "Submissions" by people requesting or demanding that we make additions or changes to the series will be treated as spam.

Code of Conduct
All Halopedians/Destinypedians are expected to conform to a certain level of civility in writing articles and talk posts. While the Halo/Destiny series may be intended for mature players, excessively hostile or vulgar behavior is strictly prohibited. Below is a detailed list of pointers on the manner in which all Halopedia/Destinypedia users must observe. Also note that the code of conduct applies to Users and Staff alike while on Halopedia/Destinypedia or any of its related platforms in accordance with this policy.

As for the people who run Halopedia/Destinypedia in particular, wiki staff are members of the community who help maintain the site, and as such, have access to a few additional functions. This however does not justify malicious or disruptive behavior from them, and staff members are expected to hold to the same standards as any other user.

Basic manners
Of Staff


 * When dealing with other users, be polite at all times; remember, they cannot see or hear you so choosing your words wisely is a good way to ensure your conversation is not misunderstood as hostile or offensive. Likewise, be careful how you interpret what you read as what you understand might not be what others mean.


 * Civilly work towards agreement; do not argue with other users based on religion, personality or political standpoint and always keep conversation based on the object in question and stick to the facts.


 * Be reasonable. If you act in a respectable manner, others will find it hard to have issues with you.


 * If, while editing, someone disagrees with your contributions, Do Not Edit War! Always provide good reasons why you think that a specific revision is appropriate and discuss it with the other contributors. This, however, is not to be misinterpreted as a reason to revert others' contributions. Users should not edit based on personal preferences but in accordance with the Manual of Style and the Layout Guide.


 * A good way to avoid entering edit conflicts is to recognize your own biases, and keep them in check. Editors will be less likely to revert edits that are in keeping with the rules.


 * And finally, DO NOT use profanity. As Halo/Destiny is a T/M rated game, many of it's fans are still relatively young. Profanity is not allowed on any of Halopedia's/Destinypedia's articles, subpages or message boards. Likewise Wiki pages or about pages should also be free of potentially offensive content. Keeping the wiki free of foul language helps maintain a friendly atmosphere and a cleaner environment for users of varying ages and religions.

Edit Warring and User disputes
Sometimes potentially controversial changes may be made to find out whether it is opposed and another editor may revert it. This may be the beginning of a revert-discuss cycle. While this is fine, an edit war may arise if the situation develops into a series of back-and-forth reverts. Such back and forthing is considered edit warring and undermines the article's stability. Nevertheless, not every revert or controversial edit is regarded as edit warring.


 * Reverting vandalism is not edit warring. However, edits from a slanted point of view, general insertion or removal of material, or other good-faith changes are not considered vandalism.


 * Reverting to enforce certain overriding policies is not considered edit warring.


 * Reverting edits by banned or blocked users is not edit warring.


 * When reverting, be sure to indicate your reasons. This can be done in the edit summary and/or talk page. Anti-vandalism tools such as rollback should not be used to undo good-faith changes in content disputes or preference contentions without an appropriate edit summary.


 * If an edit war develops, participants should try to discuss the issue on the talk page and work things out. Do not discuss through edit summaries and continued reversion. It is better to seek help in addressing the issue than to engage in edit warring. When disagreement becomes apparent, one, both, or all participants should cease warring and discuss the issue on the talk page, or seek the help of a neutral staff member.


 * If, despite trying, one or more users fail to cease edit warring, refuse to work collaboratively or heed the information given to them, or do not move on to appropriate dispute resolution, then an administrator may take action such as locking the page in question and/or blocking the party/parties in question.


 * Destinypedia staff are the ones who decide whether to issue a warning or block for edit warring; these are intended to prevent, deter and encourage change in disruptive behavior, but not to punish it. Where a block is appropriate, the span of the block is at the discretion of the staff member issuing the ban. Where multiple editors or even staff engage in an edit war, Bureaucrats should consider all sides before making a decision on who is guilty, since perceived unfairness can fuel issues further.

User Rights
Contains all user rights sets and information pertaining to Admins, patrollers, rollbackers etc. including CheckUser

Blocking and Penal policy
Deals with topics pertaining to blocking, kicking, and reprimands.

Canon and Copyright Policy
Lays down rules for what content is allowed on the wiki according to a set of standards. Includes notability and general disclaimer

Citation policy
For dealing with citing pages and where help can be found.

Image Policy
About personal images and uses.

Layout and Manual of Style
Just that.

Vandalism
Definition, penalties, and rules pertaining to second chances, eternal bans, a basis for a ban etc.

Voting
Voting system rules.