QBWiki:Rules

The QBWiki is governed by the following rules. The rules are informed by the Purpose as a guiding philosophy.

Community

Keep in mind that the QBWiki corresponds to a real-life activity, and contributors are likely to meet some of the people they interact with on the QBWiki in real life. Be nice to each other.

Accounts

QBWiki accounts must be held under people's full real names. This does not have to mean "legal name"—it's fine to omit portions of a name that the person does not ordinarily use (like middle names for most people), to use common nicknames, etc. If multiple QBWiki users have the same name, disambiguating information may be added to one or more of their usernames.

QBWiki accounts cannot be shared, transferred, or otherwise used in a fashion other than "one person, one account". It is not permitted for a person to have multiple accounts. People who change their name can request that their username be changed.

Each user's user page should contain a brief explanation of their connection(s) to quizbowl, past and present. This typically means the school(s) for which the person played, coached, etc., and major organizations for which they have done significant work. This is initially provided as the "Biography" when a person requests a QBWiki account. Users should make reasonable efforts to keep their page up-to-date, and other users may assist them in doing so. It is fine for the user page to be a redirect to a main-namespace page (as long as the main-namespace page provides this information).

Content

Write in clear, correctly spelled, grammatical, punctuated English. There is no objective standard for this, but be reasonable. Poor writing should be (avoided, but if it is posted anyway,) improved.

Do not add information to the QBWiki about question content from sets that have not been cleared for public discussion. This includes clues, answers, trends, opinions, or anything else that could possibly give a reader an unfair advantage or that could be perceived as doing so. If you’re not sure whether the information you want to add falls under this policy, or if you’re not sure whether the set has been cleared for public discussion, do not add it.

Obscenity, bigotry, and other content that is widely considered inappropriate for polite society is forbidden. Profanity is generally discouraged, especially in main-namespace articles (as opposed to talk pages).

Photos are encouraged provided they are relevant and provided the subject(s), photographer, and copyright holder (which is usually the photographer) are comfortable with their inclusion. Photos can generally be removed if any of those criteria is not met.

Do not remove information from the QBWiki that is true and relevant to quizbowl (even if it is unflattering or the subject desires its removal). The notion of "relevant" is somewhat subjective and can change based on a person's connection to the quizbowl world, the passage of time, etc. The following exceptions apply:

• Any rule that is more specific than this rule (e.g., the rules against uncleared question content and profanity/etc.) overrides this rule. In other words, obscenity is still forbidden even if you think it is somehow true and relevant.
• The QBWiki is not meant to be a repository of statistics, and such content can be trimmed substantially even if it is true and relevant. It’s fine to include major accomplishments, but recounting all of a person’s or organization’s tournament results wouldn’t be suitable. However, it is appropriate to include aggregated statistics that are not readily available in any other form (e.g., List of high school nationals appearances by Missouri teams, though it would be even better if that page were kept up-to-date).
• Names of victims of inappropriate behavior should only be included for victims who are known to be comfortable with the inclusion of their name.
• Personal contact information should only be shared if the person wants it shared.

False information must not be added to the QBWiki and should be removed if it is added. If the truth of information is reasonably disputed, it is better to discuss that on talk pages and/or describe the dispute in articles than to ignore it.

Exercise common sense and politeness over the inclusion of information that is silly, is not relevant to quizbowl, may be considered private, etc. In general, information of this nature can be removed at will.

Refer to people by the name and pronouns they want to be referred to by (as long as the name is not obscene, chosen to create confusion, chosen to facilitate cheating, obvious nonsense, etc.). If these are not explicitly known, they can be inferred from the person's quizbowl or other activity (e.g., what name their stats are recorded under on other sites). However, it may be appropriate to include notes about people's former names.

Sourcing

Citations for information on the QBWiki are very welcome, but they are not generally required. In cases of dispute over facts and in other rare cases, administration may require citations.

QBWiki users are welcome to write about themselves, their organizations, etc., as long as they follow these rules. There is no “conflict of interest” policy. However, for controversial topics, it is generally recommended that people closely involved take at most a secondary role in writing about the event.

Other

Situations not covered in these rules will be addressed upon request (or observed need) by administration, bearing in mind the Purpose, available resources, and other considerations deemed prudent.

These rules may be changed at any time. Suggestions are welcome. Administration will attempt to arrive at consensus of interested people before doing so and follow other reasonable processes.