 | This page documents an English Wikipediabehavioral guideline. Editors should generally follow it, thoughexceptions may apply.Substantive edits to this pageshould reflect consensus. |
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Thetemplate editoruser group assigns permissions that allow trusted coders to edittemplates andmodules that have beenprotected with thetemplate protection level (usually due to a high transclusion count). It also allows those editors to create and modifyeditnotices for all pages, not just those in their own user and talk pages,[1] to movesubpages, and to change thecontent model of pages.
There are currently206 template editors, which makes the total number of users with these permissions 1,035 (the rest are administrators).
Editors are permitted to exercise these permissions to perform maintenance, answer reasonable edit requests, and make any other simple and generally uncontroversial edits to templates, modules, and editnotices. They are also permitted to enact more complex or controversial editsafter those edits are first made to a test sandbox, their technical reliability and their consensus among other informed editors having already been established.
If you are in the template editor user group, please ensure you have astrong password andfollow appropriate personal security practices. A compromised template editor account will be blocked and its privileges removed on grounds of site security. In the unlikely event that your account is compromised, notify an administrator immediately, so they can block your account and remove any sensitive privileges to prevent damage.
The key to wisely editing templates is tothoroughly test your changes before implementing them. Each template has a defaulttestcases subpage which should be used for this purpose. It is important to test whether your changes have introduced any errors or not, which can be easy to spot if test cases are well-set up.
Remember that template-editorship, just like adminship,can never be allowed to become some sort of privileged position within debates among editors. Being a template editor puts you in a complicated position, because any edit you make is at once both a normal edit and a privileged action. Avoid making unilateral decisions if there is reason to think people might object. You can always propose the change on a template's talk page, and make the change if there are no objections after a few days. Use your discretion in determining how potentially controversial your change might be.
Expect to be held accountable for all changes you make. Be receptive to any concerns or complaints that others raise.
Repeated failure to adhere to these restrictions can result in revocation of permissions. If the failure is particularly egregious, any administrator reserves the right to remove your template-editing access summarily and without warning, even for a first offense.
Template editors should be aware of what kind of changes require gathering consensus beforehand and which don't. Remember to becivil when engaging in editing disputes.
It is a plus for editors in general to be aware of the implications of changes tohighly transcluded templates. In particular, many small changes to these templates in a short time may backlog thejob queue, causing pages using the templates not to be re-updated quickly. (In some circumstances, pages may not be updated even a week after a change to a very highly transcluded template or module.)
Note that template protection is not a guard against inexperienced editors trying their hands on templates per se, nor to guard against repeated changes, nor to shut out editors not acting on consensus. Vandalism or misinformation on a high-risk template would be visible on many pages that transclude them, which is considered the primary reason for preemptive template protection.
 | This is arough guide, and is in no way a replacement for usingcommon sense. |
{{{color}}} parameter on{{infobox}}).italic=yes or anoprint=yes.nowrap class on a template that looks better on one line or swapping a few words.If you use these rights for anything even vaguely resemblingvandalism,you will be blocked immediately. Wikipedia maintains an active policy of "shoot first, ask questions later" when it comes to anything involving widely transcluded templates. If you hold privileged access on any other projects, you may very well find your accountlocked by thestewards until you can prove you are in control of it. Even if it is all a misunderstanding, you may lose your template-editor privileges nonetheless if you are found to have behaved recklessly or erratically.
The same goes for vandalism thatdoesn't involve these rights. These are, fundamentally, administrator-level rights, and you are expected to behave with the accountability and behaviour that entails. Administrators have beendesysopped for inappropriate behavior, even when that behavior didn't involve their tools, or never affected a single article. Considering that these rights gives you some of the abilities that people are most afraid of falling into the hands of a rogue admin, you should not be making any untoward changes.
These rights should never be used to gain an upper hand in editing disputes. You have a privilege that most people do not have. The normalBOLD, revert, discuss cycle does not apply because those without these rights are unable to perform the "revert" step. Therefore, if your edit is or may be controversial (seethe "When to seek discussion" criteria above), avoid making unilateral decisions, and instead propose the change on the template's talk page, and then make the change if there are no objections after a few days. Do not change the template to your preferred version when consensus has not been achieved yet to resolve the dispute.
A template editor should not revert the edit of their peer on a protected template without good cause, careful thought and (if possible) a prior brief discussion with the template editor whose action is challenged. It is the responsibility of the reverting template editor to demonstrate their revert is not out of sheer reflex. When a template editor's edit is reversed by a peer, the edit (or a similar one) must not be reinstated by the original or another template editor without clear discussion leading to a consensus decision.
If you wish to request template editor rights for yourself, please seeWikipedia:Requests for permissions/Template editor. These rights are also automatically part of the administrator tools package. SeeWP:DYKTPE for a special case applicable tothe "Did you know" (DYK) section on theMain Page.
The template editor user group is granted by administrators. Administrators use their own discretionary assessment of an editor's template contribution value, technical expertise, as well as the followinggeneral guidelines:
Additionally, an editor should have demonstrated a need for the right, as well as a familiarity with the care and responsibility required when dealing with high-risk template modification:
The above items are merely guidelines. An administrator may choose to substitute other proofs of an editor's competence in handling high-risk template responsibilities.
Followinga discussion at WT:PERM, DYK editors applying for template editor permissions should start a discussion atWT:DYK or ask a DYK administrator to grant the right instead of putting in a request atWP:PERM/TPE. Editors granted this permission for DYK editing should generally not use the permission to edit protected template pages unless they also meet the criteria above. DYK editors who wish to edit non-DYK template-protected pages in template space should apply throughWP:PERM/TPE as usual, even if they already have the permission, so that there is a record of a formal review of their editing history.
The user rights can be revoked at any time by an administrator without any process or prior notice in any of the following circumstances:
Additionally, the rights may be removed immediately at the request of the editor.
If your template editor rights were revoked and you would like to appeal the decision, first communicate with the revoking administrator. If after such an exchange you still feel the matter is unresolved and requires outside input, or if the administrator is unresponsive, useWikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard to appeal the decision.
Note: Some high-risk templates and modules are protected viafull protection, as these templates and modules have become very stable and seen few, if any, necessary changes. Template editors cannot edit these pages, but anyadministrator may change the protection level for individual templates and modules on request. See the list oftemplates andmodules currently under "protected template" protection.
The template editor user group includes the following rights:[2]
{{PROTECTIONLEVEL}}-related template codeeditinterface to this groupmove-subpages to this group