Guides:Contributing

TL;DR

Ensure you have the {{Guide Warning}} template on the page, and all changes MUST be approved by staff for public viewing via ApprovedRevs. Ensure all commands are accurate and do not attempt to mislead users with the information on guides.

Definition

Guides are anything that explain to a user how to do something beyond a link to another source or a brief instruction. Be that a 10000-word article on how to set up your own email server using RHEL 9 or a quick guide on hardening Firefox with more privacy focused options, a higher standard of quality and safety than standard articles SHOULD be maintained for guides. This is because unlike normal articles that only provide factual information, guides contain instructions for users to do things to their systems, which could potentially damage the systems or cause data loss.

Policies

All main wiki policies apply, including but not limited to the Code of Conduct and the wiki guidelines. We also recommend you check out our Contributing page as well, which has a lot of important and useful information for editors.

In addition, a special set of criteria are required, as outlined below:

• All guides MUST start with Template:Guide Warning.
  • There are no exceptions to this rule, and violations of the rule entail all edits to be rejected until the template's addition.
  • Add it using {{GuideWarning}} or {{Guide Warning}} at the beginning of the page:
  • This article or section lists commands or instructions which could potentially damage your system. Please ensure you understand the commands or instructions you are running or following before you run or follow them.

This warning exists to make users wary of running random commands or following instructions they see on the internet blindly and that they understand what they are doing to their system. Dangerous commands or instructions should be reported to an administrator immediately.

• To prevent distribution of malicious information, all changes to guides, unless from moderators/ATL staff, MUST be approved by a moderator.
  • All edits are automatically submitted for review, and will normally be reviewed within 24 hours; but if it is still pending after 48 hours feel free to contact a moderator.
• Due to the nature of guides, bias is much more likely to be shown. Extra care must be taken to avoid this:
  • Double-check the tone and structure of your guide to ensure you are not misleading users or trying to convince them your method is better than others.
  • Aim to provide unbiased and informative content to all users. Your personal views, regardless of validity, are irrelevant here.
• You are responsible for ensuring all instructions you provide are safe and functional.
  • In guides, any foreseeable risks with running a specific command MUST be clearly stated.
  • Ensure to clearly outline, if any, the requirements and prerequisites of the commands.
  • Any dangerous commands provided will be held accountable to whomever adds them to a guide.

A good example guide would be Guides:Setting up Flathub on Fedora, which is maintained and has been made in accordance with our guidelines and standards.