Wikipedia:List of policies

This list of Wikipedia policies and guidelines is a comprehensive summary of all policies and guidelines that have been approved by the consensus of Wikipedia editors. While there is no precise definition of the difference between a policy and a guideline, generally policies are rules that all users are expected to follow, while guidelines are suggestions for content or user behaviour.

See Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines for a general overview.

Policies

Guidelines

This section is not currently comprehensive.

wikipedia:Editing policy: Improve any page without hesitation, regardless of the state you leave it in. Avoid removing information wherever possible.
wikipedia:Build the web: Link articles sideways to neighbours, and upwards to categories and contexts to create a useful web of information.
wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages: Sign all your posts on Wikipedia talk pages by typing ~~~~ to be accountable and to help others understand the conversation.
wikipedia:Don't include copies of primary sources: Don't copy lengthy poems, speeches or other source text into Wikipedia. Put them in Wikisource if you need to.
wikipedia:Subpages: Don't use slashes (/) in the names of articles to create subpages.
wikipedia:Edit summary: Always type at least a brief summary of the change that you made in the Edit Summary box. Avoid misleading summaries.
wikipedia:Disambiguation: If an article's name is very similar to another, make a note at the top. If many articles share a name, create a disambiguation page.
wikipedia:Deletion policy: If no page appropriate for Wikipedia could ever be written on an article's topic, nominate it for deletion. Otherwise, try and fix it.
wikipedia:Semi-protection policy: Pages undergoing frequent vandalism can be semi-protected to block edits by very new or unregistered users.
wikipedia:No binding decisions: All decisions, including poll results, can be reversed later as Wikipedia develops.
wikipedia:Ownership of articles: You agreed to allow others to modify your work. So let them.
wikipedia:Harassment: Don't make life miserable for other users, such as by wiki-stalking them, or you may be blocked.
wikipedia:Sock puppet: Do not use duplicate accounts to rig votes, mislead others or circumvent policy. Good-faith uses are fine.
wikipedia:Banning policy: Users may be banned for varying times. They may appeal, but must not circumvent the ban, so don't bait them or help them to try.