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Edit requests allow editors to propose changes to a page when they cannot or should not make the edits themselves. To ensure efficiency, each request should provide a clear and specific description of the proposed edit. If the change is potentially controversial, obtainconsensus before submitting the request. Using theEdit Request Wizard or adding an appropriate talk pagerequest template can help facilitate the process (see§ Making requests below). Including the exact text of the suggested edit, or when possible linking to asandbox version of the requested change, helps expedite review and implementation.
Once an edit request is approved and implemented, the responding editor must includecopyright attribution in theedit summary, as outlined in§ Responding to requests.
Certain types of edit requests require special handling. Errors on Wikipedia'sMain Page ortomorrow's main page should not be submitted as standard edit requests; instead, they should be reported atWikipedia:Main Page/Errors. Similarly, requests tomove (rename) an article should be made throughWikipedia:Requested moves.
In general, if you want to make an edit request:
Consensus isn't needed if a change is not controversial. Uncontroversial changes don't requiresourcing, such as correcting typographical errors or disambiguating links. If this is the case, you don't need to establish consensus, but instead propose the change as stated above.
Edit requests for articles or templates should meet the same fourbasic requirements. Note, however, that edit requests for templates should meet theadditional requirement of adequate testing—see§ Requests for templates below.
Before requesting an edit, please consider the following requirements (SUNS—Specific, Uncontroversial, Necessary, Sensible):
{{edit fully-protected}} template merely to attract attention to a post, even in the name of finding consensus, as it clutters upthe category that administrators check to find unanswered edit requests with unactionable requests that still take time to clear out. Instead, try to get opinions byappropriately notifying any editors who have already worked on the page or a relatedWikiProject about your post. Similarly, edit requests toextended confirmed restricted topics by editors who are not yet extended confirmed are expected to be uncontroversial without requiring further discussion.Responding editors may decline to make any edit, and are especially likely to reject edits that are controversial, violate Wikipediapolicy, or do not have evidence of consensus. There is a forum atWP:Requests for page protection § Current requests for edits to a protected page for requesting or discussing edits to protected pages, including edits to locked discussion pages, and edits that may be significant or controversial. The direct shortcut to the section isWP:RFED, (in Wikipedia's namespace, the Requests For Editing).
If you are requesting a complex change to a template, place the required code on thetemplate's sandbox page. This gives the opportunity to test the code before changing the live template. Instead of pasting the code on the talk page, which can affect its readability, just place a link to the /sandbox along with the request and rationale.
If you are a newer user, it is recommended that you use theedit request wizard, which guides you through the process of making the edit request.
Please use the article'stalk page toestablish a consensus with editors engaged in the subject area before using the relevant edit request template for your proposed change. If you think your proposal is uncontroversial and won't face debate or opposition, then make the request. The ideal situation is that after you make an uncontroversial edit request, an editor would simply apply your desired changes.
In a limited number of cases, you may make the edit yourself without asking others and without getting reverted. For example, if you have a conflict of interest and are not prevented by the page from making edits, and you just want to fix a typo or small grammar mistake.
Make requests as short, well formatted, and simple as possible. If you want several different edits, then the best thing to do may be making one edit request for each one—after the previous one you make gets resolved. You may use the{{textdiff}} template to format the "before" and "after" to make the differences between them clearer. Example:
{{textdiff|Slithy toves are green and yellow. They are scaly and have an orange crest.|Slithy toves are green, speckled with yellow spots. They are scaly and have a crest consisting of two parallel rows of horny orange bumps that run from the top of their skulls to the base of their necks.}} →
| − | Slithy toves are | + | Slithy toves aregreen,speckledwith yellowspots. They are scaly and haveacrestconsistingoftwoparallelrowsofhornyorangebumpsthatrunfromthetopoftheirskullstothebaseoftheirnecks. |
If you submit a request that
editors might quickly lose interest or be unable to help. This may delay any response to your request or cause it to be declined or to go unanswered.
The simplest approach for edit requests for fully protected, template-protected, or semi-protected pages is to use theView source tab on that page and use the "Submit an edit request" link at the bottom right; this automatically loads the correct talk page tag.[1]
If you are making a request because of aconflict of interest (COI; seeWikipedia:Suggestions for COI compliance), use{{Edit COI}}, which is specifically made for the reason of COI; it must be added manually to the relevant page's talkpage.
Alternatively, you can use a tag directly, adding it manually to the relevant page's talkpage:
{{edit interface-protected}} (shortcut:{{IPER}}) for sitewide JavaScript or style sheet pages;{{edit fully-protected}} (shortcut:{{FPER}}) for fully- and move-protected pages;{{edit template-protected}} (shortcut:{{TPER}}) for template-protected pages;{{edit extended-protected}} (shortcut:{{EPER}}) for extended-protected pages;{{edit semi-protected}} (shortcut:{{SPER}}) for semi-protected pages;{{edit COI}} for conflict of interest edits.{{Edit partially-blocked}} for edits by users blocked from a specific page or namespace.Remember that all editors are volunteers, and a polite request (rather than a demand) is more likely to be acted on promptly.
Sometimes, the same or similar edits are needed on several pages, such as adding the same category to many pages. In this case, add the tag to only one talk page, with a list of all the pages that need updating and a clear description of what needs to be done (see§ Making requests). This saves work both for the editor making the request and for the editor responding to the request. Consider making requests forlarge-scale edits that requireadministrator privileges on theadministrator's noticeboard. However, this should only be forsignificant edits, as edit request templates automatically categorize the page into the appropriate administrative category.
Please be patient: it can take anywhere from a day to several months for an edit request to be acted upon. If you want more editors to be willing to respond to your request, try heeding advice on how to properly make the requests.
Edit request templates automatically add the name of the relevant page into an appropriate administrative category, such asCategory:Wikipedia fully protected edit requests (from{{edit fully-protected}}) for edits to fully protected pages. Administrators routinely check this category for protected edit requests to process. Other relevant categories, such asthose for semi-protected,extended-confirmed-protected,template-protected,interface-protected, andconflict of interest edit requests, are also monitored by other editors.
Sometimes, responding editors may request further information, and disable the template by changing the|answered= parameter to "yes" — e.g.{{edit fully-protected|answered=yes}}. Feel free to re-enable the template when the additional information has been provided or additional consensus has been obtained by changing the "yes" in the template to "no". If you're unable to do this, you can simply respond on the talk page. If you do not receive a response in a day or two, then submit a new edit request.
If your request is denied, analyze the discussion or the reason why it was declined and make the relevant changes to the request or follow the advice in the thread if any and if appropriate. You may be directed to seekconsensus, which means that your request is probably unclear or needs more discussion. In this case, simply open a new thread (not a new request) to discuss the edit you want and try to reach consensus. If you disagree with the response of the edit request or the discussion, you can follow thedispute resolution process.
In responding to requests, consider the four points listed under§ General considerations. In particular, potentially controversial edits should have prior consensus and edits to templates should be appropriately tested beforehand. Responding editors should use their judgement to respond appropriately to requests, and take into account relevant Wikipedia policies such asneutral point of view,verifiability, andreliable sourcing.
The following are standard templates for responding to edit requests, and their usage:
{{subst:EIp}}, for interface-protected{{subst:EP}}, for fully protected{{subst:ETp}}, for template-protected{{subst:EEp}}, for extended-confirmed-protected{{subst:ESp}}, for semi-protected{{subst:ECOI}}, for conflict of interestAdjust response according to the template documentation, then depending on the context you may add the reason for implementing or not implementing the request.
These templates should besubst:ed and added at the beginning of the editor's description of the request. For example, for the request"Under the title, add the word Malumba." The template{{subst:ESp|?}} can be used, which renders:
Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a"change X to Y" format and provide areliable source if appropriate.
It is acceptable to remove a request without a description of the requested change (an "empty edit request") from a Talk page. Consider using{{Empty edit request}} on the User Talk page of a user who has posted an empty edit request.
Once the request has been responded to, the responding editor should disable the protected edit request template by changing the|answered= parameter to "yes" — e.g.{{edit fully-protected|answered=yes}}.
Copy and paste edits made on behalf of other editors must beappropriately attributed. You may use theedit summary to add this to the page history. An example copyright attribution edit summary is:
Implementing edit requested by [[Special:Contributions/NAME|NAME]] on the talk page – short description of changes made
You canpurge this page to update the number of requests in this section. Editors may wish to use the following lists to keep track of new edit requests (for an overview of the tables below, clickhere):
For a directory of current requests, seeWP:Dashboard § Requested edits.
These pages are automatically updated byAnomieBOT. Because they are regular Wikipedia pages and not categories, it is possible to inspect the page histories to see edit requests that have previously been closed. AnomieBOT also includes the number of pending requests in its edit summary when it updates the list, making it possible to monitor new edit requests directly from the watchlist.
If the article talk page hasarchiving enabled, edit requests may occasionally be archived before being answered. If the request might still be considered, move the edit request back to the Talk page. Otherwise, if you believe the archiving shows there wasno consensus, simply close the request by changing the|answered= parameter to "yes".