| EBTHK's Policies and Guidelines |
|---|
| Content Standards |
| Editing Rules Neutral Views Available for verification Privacy protection State the source |
| Format Guidelines |
| Editing Guidelines Route info template system |
| Managements |
| Deleting Rules and Guidelines Page Protection Guidelines Image Usage Guidelines |
| Attitude on User Communication |
| User Page Guidelines Etiquette and Civility Don't resort to legal threats No personal attacks |
| User Violation Behaviours |
| Vandalism Copyright Infringement User Offence Policy and Blocking |
| Resolution of Disuputes |
| Consensus Resolving disuptes Preventing Common Mistakes |
The Encloypedia of Bus Transport in Hong Kong (EBTHK) is a collaborative programme, which its founders and contributors have a common goal:
- The objective of the Encloypedia of Bus Transport in Hong Kong (EBTHK) is to create an encyclopedia that truly belongs to Hong Kong's bus enthusiasts, and is an account of the present, history, and future vision of bus transport in Hong Kong, as well as a record of the things, terminology, and bus culture related to the above topics. This encyclopedia is a serious attempt to record all things related to bus transport in Hong Kong, so as to reflect the culture of public transport in Hong Kong.
The EBTHK has a number of policies and guidelines to help us work towards this common goal. Some of these are still evolving, while others have been in place for a long time and are by no means controversial.
As our guidelines continue to evolve, many of the editors of the EBTHK feel that the written rules are inevitably inadequate to cover all possible forms of tampering or malicious behaviour. For example, a user may be reprimanded for behaviour contrary to the spirit of our written guidelines, even if the letter of the rules has not been broken. Those who act in good faith, show civility, seek consensus, and strive to create a neutral encyclopedia will be welcomed by all.
Key Policies[]
You don't have to read all of EBTHK's guidelines before contributing! However, the following guidelines are key to making the EBTHK experience a fruitful one, and the sooner you master them, the better.
- Editorial Guidelines: Basic guidelines for editing articles; articles that violate the guidelines may be deleted.
- Neutral point of view: Avoid bias. Articles should be written from a neutral point of view, presenting different perspectives on a topic fairly and sympathetically.
- Verifiable Sources: EBTHK may only publish material that can be verified, and any slander, libel, or fabrication that lacks a verifiable source is prohibited.
- Privacy: EBTHK is a free bus encyclopedia, not a newsgroup or discussion forum, and no personal information should be included in this website.
- Do not infringe copyright: EBTHK is a free encyclopedia released under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 3.0 licence. Submitting copyright-infringing works to EBTHK threatens our goal of creating a truly free encyclopaedia that can be distributed by anyone, and can lead to legal problems. See EBTHK copyright for more information.
- Respect for other participants. EBTHK participants come from many different countries, regions, and cultures, and have widely varying positions and observations. Respect for others is key to our effective collaboration in building an encyclopedia. Please see the guidelines on Etiquette and Civility and Dispute Resolution.
Procedures on deciding policies[]
Inheritance of certain policies from Wikipedia[]
The EBTHK has inherited some of Wikipedia's policies and guidelines, such as etiquette and civility. However, as the EBTHK develops and grows, the community itself will develop appropriate and useful policies or guidelines.
How are policies decided?[]
The EBTHK's approach has been developed largely through consensus. Such consensus can be achieved through public debate on complex issues, or it can be a simple development from established practice. In most cases, accepted standards are not immediately formalised. The descriptions of the EBTHK guidelines on this and other pages are therefore used to describe established community norms that have developed over time.
Discussion of the guidelines is focussed on the Community Discussions and Comments and Suggestions to Managers pages. The proposed guidelines are focused on the comments and suggestions for administrators. Remember that for a policy to become official, it must be agreed upon at the EBTHK itself. If an approach is likely to be controversial, it should be discussed before it is formalised. Sometimes voting is useful, but only if it builds on previous discussions and aims to reach a consensus.
Traditions arising from established practices are sometimes difficult to recognise. If a practice is unopposed, it may be difficult to hold the community's attention long enough to complete the formal process of adopting a course. In such cases, the best solution may be to document the existing practice on an appropriate page. This provides a place to discuss the practice and possible changes to the policy, and allows people to cite the source of the policy if needed.
How to adopt the policies[]
You are an EBTHK Editor. The EBTHK lacks an Editor-in-Chief or a centralised top-down mechanism to monitor and approve the day-to-day progress of the EBTHK. Instead, active participants revise or correct content and formatting issues as they come to light. So the editors of the EBTHK are both authors and editors.
As a result, the vast majority of the guidelines and directions are enforced by the various users of the editing pages, who discuss enforcement issues with each other. Some of the guidelines are also enforced by the administrators through temporary suspension, particularly as a mechanism for dealing with vandalism.
Different Policies and Guidelines[]
A list of the various approaches can be found in the following categories:
- EBTHK Official Policy: A widely accepted approach that everyone should follow.
- EBTHK Guidelines: Suggested guidelines that people should, but don't have to, understand and recognise at EBTHK.
- EBTHK Suggestions: Points of view motion that may become the new guidelines.
Convention[]
Adherence to these conventions allows us to create a consistent and easy-to-use encyclopedia:
- Editorial Guidelines (how to write an entry)
- Naming Conventions (how to name an entry)
- Image Usage Guidelines (how to use image files appropriately)
- Deletion Guidelines and Standards (how to submit pages for deletion, what pages can be submitted for deletion, and how to perform deletions)
Restricted Functions[]
Some features of the software that could be misused, such as deleting pages or locking pages, are restricted to operators, who are trusted community members with some community experience. Operator-related guidelines include:
- Protection Guidelines (when and why pages should be protected)
- User Offence Policy and Blocking (banning disruptive users, or enforcing arbitration committee decisions)
Different Guidelines[]
General Guidelines[]
- Be sure to back up: Please make sure you back up the documents you provide to EBTHK. EBTHK's system software, hardware, and personnel, there are too many factors that can cause your contribution to be irrevocably lost.
See "Hong Kong Buses Wiki:Preventing Common Mistakes" for more about other useful tips.
Behaviour Guidelines[]
- Sign the discussion page
- No personal attacks
- Don't resort to legal threats
- Always explain the reason for a revert
- Operator Matters
Content Guidelines[]
- Available for verification
- State the source
Format Guidelines[]
- Formatting New Articles
- Editing Guidelines