InstallGentoo Wiki:General rules

Please note that the guide is an official policy, which serves as a guiding rule for the wiki's activities, and as such, this page is subject to constant improvements. However, due to the nature of communities involved, some of our rules may not be suitable, and the community can make suggestions by utilizing the talk page. Because of the mechanism of MediaWiki (Special:RecentChanges), we won't have to announce any addition/deletion to the rules.

This, along with IG:TERMS, are official policies of this wiki and must be followed at all times as long as you are using this service.

Welcome! Here's a simple guide to help you create a great article!

What should my article be about?

Shortcut: IG:ABOUT

Head on over to https://8ch.net/tech/ and https://boards.4chan.org/g/ and take a look at the threads on there. The stupid questions threads are excellent for topics to write about. You can also find some needed articles on the list on the main page and in the list of wanted pages.

If, on a technology board, different people will ask the same things, or you've felt at some time or another that there should have been a guide for something, then you have pretty good indication that there should be an article on it.

How should I write my article?

Shortcut: IG:WRITE

I'm glad you asked. Your article should be informative, and the main things people will be looking for when browsing this wiki are:

• What is (insert topic here)?
• Why should I use (insert topic here)?
• How do I use (insert topic here)?
• Where can I get (insert topic here)?

and last but not least

• What (insert topic here) does /g/ use or recommend?

These are the questions you should try to answer while writing your article.

Don't mislead people into false information

Shortcut: IG:FALSE

Remember, assume that everyone visit the wiki to find the right information. Because the administrators are unlikely to cover many topics at once, we cannot verify whether the content is true or not in an instant. Please do NOT mislead people into false information. The admins may ask general threads in corresponding imageboards to check whether your information is legitimate or misleading.

Don't use first-person remarks

Shortcut: IG:FIRSTPERSON

Avoid these words in a page: I, we, our, etc. Always use third-person remarks on any article. For guides, then you can use second-person remarks. However, you can use first-person remarks for section and sub-section titles (such as How should I write my article?).

This rule does NOT affect the talk page and user page.

Don't shitpost with your own opinion unless you've got proof

Shortcut: IG:NOPROOF

Don't shitpost with your own opinion unless you've shown it to be true, and people generally agree with you (even if you have to convince them).

  Arch is a shitty distro that takes ages to set up and is crap because I haven't seen
  anything good come out of it. It's a waste of time too, so don't use it.

Do not add humor/false statements to your article

Shortcut: IG:HUMOR

Again, don't shitpost with your shitty sense of humor/ideas.

  Edward Snowden is a weeaboo and the savior of /g/ and /tech/. He is the god of free software. 
  Ever since he whistleblew, /g/ worships him. He is life!

This, along with shitposting without proof, are examples of what you should NOT do. People check out this wiki to become informed; not to have other peoples' unresearched opinions shoved down their throats. Just because you see people on /g/ act like this, does not mean you should write articles like this.

Place the contents properly

Shortcut: IG:PROPER

Remember, make sure that when you make an article, place the contents properly, for example:

• See also is always placed at the very bottom.
• External links is always placed before See also.
• If possible, put History first.

Reversion

Shortcut: IG:REVERT

Try to avoid reverting someone's edits when possible. If a revert is necessary give a rationale for it on the article's talk page, or give a reason with a factual basis on the summary. Calmly explain your reasoning. Try to be factual, site reliable sources and come to a consensus or compromise in disputes. Ask for a third opinion and request for comments if necessary. As a last resort ask a wiki admin to resolve the dispute. Use the three-reverts in 24-hours rule with exemption for vandalism. Do not engage in edit wars.

Three revert rule

Shortcut: IG:3RR

Please note that this is the rule of reversion (aka undoing other editors' action), NOT rule of editing.

An editor must not perform more than three reverts on a single page—whether involving the same or different material—within a 24-hour period. An edit or a series of consecutive edits that undoes other editors' actions—whether in whole or in part—counts as a revert. Violations of the rule normally attract blocks of at least 24 hours. Fourth reverts just outside the 24-hour period may also be taken as evidence of edit-warring, especially if repeated or combined with other edit-warring behavior. See below for exemptions.

The three-revert rule applies per person, not per account; reverts made by multiple accounts operated by one editor count together. Editors violating 3RR will usually be blocked for 24 hours for a first incident. Even without a 3RR violation, an administrator may still act if they believe a user's behavior constitutes edit warring, and any user may report edit warring with or without 3RR being breached. The rule is not an entitlement to revert a page a specific number of times.

If an editor violates 3RR by mistake, they should reverse their own most recent reversion. Administrators may take this into account and decide not to block in such cases—for example if the user is not a habitual edit warrior and is genuinely trying to rectify their own mistake.

3RR exemptions

The following actions are not counted as reverts for the purposes of 3RR:

1. Reverting your own actions ("self-reverting").
2. Reverting edits to pages in your own user space.
3. Reverting actions performed by banned users, and sockpuppets of banned or blocked users.
4. Reverting obvious vandalism—edits that any well-intentioned user would agree constitute vandalism, such as page blanking.
5. Removal of clear copyright violations.
6. Removal of other content that is clearly illegal under US law, such as child pornography and links to pirated software.
7. Removal of libelous, biased, unsourced, or poorly sourced contentious material.

Considerable leeway is also given to editors reverting to maintain the quality of a featured article while it appears on the main page.

If you are claiming an exemption, make sure there is a clearly visible edit summary or separate section of the talk page that explains the exemption. When in doubt, do not revert. Instead, engage in dispute resolution, and in particular ask for help to administrators.

Replying to comments in Talk pages

Shortcut: IG:TALK

Be sure to indent your reply and place it below the parent as well as signing using ~~~~ . Example:

Comment on talk page. ~~~~
: Reply to comment on talk page. ~~~~
:: Reply to first reply of comment on talk page. ~~~~
: Another reply to comment on talk page. ~~~~

Remember, talk pages are not a place for tech support.

Capitalization

Shortcut: IG:CAPS

When you make an article, use proper capitalization for page title and section title. Do not capitalize the second or subsequent words in an article title, unless the title is a proper name. For multiword page titles, one should leave the second and subsequent words in lowercase unless the title phrase is a proper name that would always occur capitalized, even in the middle of a sentence.

Sections

Shortcut: IG:SECTION

All wiki page sections must begin with ==, never use = for sections.

This is a good example: == Sections ==

and this is a bad one: = Sections =

Subsections will begin from ===.

Redirection

Shortcut: IG:REDIRECT

To redirect, use the #REDIRECT [[Page name#Section title]] syntax.

Code, command, and config files

Shortcut: IG:CODECONFIG

This guide is the replacement for IG:CODEPRE.

See Template:bc, Template:hc and Template:ic respectively. However, make sure you use the appropriate template for everything.

• Use Template:bc for codes
• Use Template:hc for configuration files, for example:

/etc/grub.d/60_memtest86+

Template error: are you trying to use the = sign? Visit Help:Template#Escape template-breaking characters for workarounds.

Rule enforcement

Shortcut: IG:ENFORCE

The rules may or may not result in a ban, as such, it depends on the severity of the pages affected.

• Poor editing (IG:FIRSTPERSON, IG:PROPER, IG:CODEPRE, IG:SECTION, IG:CAPS etc.) will never result in a notice or a ban. But a breach to these rules must be fixed at once, by admins or users.
• Breaking IG:HUMOR will result in:
  • First time: First-degree infraction notice
  • Second time: Second-degree infraction notice
  • n-th time, n > 2: 24 * (n - 2)-hour ban.
  • 10th time: Permanent ban.
• Breaking IG:NOPROOF will result in:
  • First time: First and second-degree infraction notice
  • n-th time, n > 1: 24 * (n - 1)-hour ban.
  • 5th time: Permanent ban.
• Breaking IG:FALSE will result in:
  • n-th time, < 3: n-week ban.
  • 3rd time: Permanent ban.
• Edit warring:
  • The administrator(s) will protect the page, and the warring parties must settle it in its talk page, if impossible, the administrator will study the case and issue a verdict in a maximum timeframe of 24-hours, the punishment(s) may vary.
• Spamming with gibberish:
  • 1st time: Permanent ban, and no appeal.

If a new punishment method for a rule is issued, that rule will be effective in 0.1 seconds after an administrator edited this section.

If you are banned already, you can still make another account, but if the administrators ever discover you in your new account, you'll be banned.

I know I am wrong, I want to be unbanned!

Good, while you are banned, you can still log in and edit your own talk page. Use it to appeal your ban. Timed ban less than 72 hours can NOT appeal.

If you abuse your talk page, your talk page will be protected in n month, raising by 1 everytime you abuse your own talk page. When the n reaches 5, you cannot appeal anymore.

Uh, what is an infraction notice?

An infraction notice is a nice information in your user page to show everyone that you are a bad kid. There are two degrees of infraction notice, the first-degree infraction notice, and the second-degree infraction notice. Basically, a second-degree infraction-notice is an extension of the first-degree infraction notice. This type of punishment are stacking, meaning that:

If you are enduring your first-degree notice, and a second-degree notice is issued, the first-degree punishment will be paused. That means your punishment time is the remaining time for your first-degree punishment + 2 months.

The effects of infraction notice while you have infraction notice(s), lasts for one month if you have first-degree infraction notice, and three months if you have the first and second-degree notice (stacking, 1 month and 2 month).

If you ever get this type of notice, do NOT remove the notice until the specified timeframe. Failure to comply means second-degree infraction notice (assuming you have the first-degree infraction notice) or 2-week ban. (second-degree infraction notice).

Anything else?

• Provide examples
• Use infographics/images if possible
• Try not to use too much technical jargon unless you explain what it means. Assume that anyone coming looking for a topic here doesn't know anything about it. Your article should be as easy to understand as possible, and as quick to understand as possible.
• Learn how to spell and use proper grammar.
• Learn and use the wiki formatting markup here. Nicer looking pages are easier to read.
  • If you find a shitty article, please mark it with the {{Cleanup}} tag.
• Provide tips and tricks or advice you've learned to make things easier

Now, get out there and start being useful, you swine.