Template talk:Blp0

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Contents

[edit] Documentation

Vandalism: {{uw-vandalism1}}, {{uw-vandalism2}}, {{uw-vandalism3}}, {{uw-vandalism4}}, {{uw-vandalism4im}}
Content removal: {{uw-delete1}}, {{uw-delete2}}, {{uw-delete3}}, {{uw-delete4}}
Testing: {{uw-test1}}, {{uw-test2}}, {{uw-test3}}, {{uw-test4}}
Spam linking: {{uw-spam1}}, {{uw-spam2}}, {{uw-spam3}}, {{uw-spam4}}
Other behavior: see Wikipedia:Template messages/User talk namespace.

Warning templates should always be used with the "subst:" keyword, as strongly suggested on Wikipedia:Template substitution. They are shown without subst here to reduce the display space occupied by this table, not to encourage their use without subst. For example, type {{subst:uw-vandalism1}}~~~~ (not {{uw-vandalism1}}) to warn common first-time vandals.

The levels of templates are:

  1. Assumes good faith
  2. No faith assumption
  3. Assumes bad faith; stern cease and desist
  4. Assumes bad faith; strong cease and desist, last warning


[edit] Usage

Usage Output
{{subst:Blp0}} Welcome to Wikipedia. Please do not add unreferenced or inadequately referenced controversial biographical information concerning living persons to Wikipedia articles. Thank you.
{{subst:Blp0|Article}}* Welcome to Wikipedia. Please do not add unreferenced or inadequately referenced controversial biographical information concerning living persons to Wikipedia articles, as you did to Article. Thank you.
*You can use {{subst:Blp0|Article|subst=subst:}} to substitute the contained ParserFunctions.

[edit] Language

See Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons: Remove unsourced or poorly sourced controversial material:

"...There seems to be a terrible bias among some editors that some sort of random speculative 'I heard it somewhere' pseudo information is to be tagged with a 'needs a cite' tag. Wrong. It should be removed, aggressively, unless it can be sourced. This is true of all information, but it is particularly true of negative information about living persons." (emphasis added)

Since the policy is that no unsourced information is to be included, the word "negative" should be removed from the template:

"Please do not add unreferenced information..."

I've recently encountered a situation where someone was adding unreferenced information to a biography that wasn't necessarily negative but was, nonetheless, unsourced. The templates in their current form aren't applicable to this situation; if the word "negative" is removed, the templates become more versatile.

Is this change something that can be done unilaterally, or does it need to be a proposal at the Village Pump?—Chidom talk  07:05, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

You'll need to get the policy changed before updating the template, possibly at WP:VPP or WT:BLP. I'd support this move, but it might meet with opposition. --ais523 08:37, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
Done. This is in agreement with the WP:BLP policy. AnonEMouse (squeak) 22:02, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pedantic quibble

I often encounter editors who are adding negative material about living people to articles that aren't necessarily biographies (e.g. band article, company article, organization article, etc.). Perhaps the language could be changed so it isn't specific to biography articles? Something like: "Welcome to Wikipedia. Please do not add unreferenced information concerning the biographies of living persons. Thank you." I suppose it isn't a big deal, I just feel the warning is confusing to newbies who have added material to an article which isn't a biography per se. Normally {{blp1}} is more appropriate in these cases anyhow. shotwell 14:08, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Removal of the term "negative" from this template

While it is true that the addition of any unreferenced information to a biography of a living person is inconsistent with WP:BLP, the addition of unreferenced negative information is considered to be an especially serious WP:BLP violation:

Editors should remove any controversial material about living persons that is either unsourced, relies upon sources that do not meet standards specified in Wikipedia:Reliable sources, or is a conjectural interpretation of a source. In cases where the information is derogatory and poorly sourced or unsourced, this kind of edit is an exception to the three-revert rule. These principles apply to biographical material about living persons found anywhere in Wikipedia, including user and talk pages. Administrators may enforce the removal of such material with page protection and blocks, even if they have been editing the article themselves. Editors who re-insert the material may be warned and blocked.

This template, along with template:blp1 and template:blp2, is designed to warn editors who insert unreferenced negative information into biographies of living persons that such conduct is unacceptable, and will be treated as an immediately blockable offense, not a content dispute. Removing the adjective "negative" from this template dilutes its message regarding the nature of the proscribed conduct. Indeed, many users are likely to view the admonition "Please do not add unreferenced information to biographies of living persons" as hypocritical, since many biographies of living persons will include some unreferenced information which will not be in dispute. Furthermore, while any unreferenced information may be removed from a biography of a living person per WP:BLP (or, indeed, from any article, per Wikipedia:Verifiability), disputes over the removal of unreferenced information that is not "derogatory" are treated in the same manner as any other content disputes. As in other content disputes, the use of template warnings is generally inappropriate. I suggest that, in light of the rationale for the reinsertion of the term "negative" into this template, and the issues with the applicability of this template to articles which are not biographies per se described in Template_talk:Blp0#Pedantic_quibble, that the second sentence in this template be changed to the following: "Please do not add unreferenced negative biographical information concerning living persons to Wikipedia articles" John254 03:53, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wording

This template seems a bit terse. What do you folks think of making it read like this:

“
| Welcome to Wikipedia. While we encourage editors to contribute to articles they have knowledge of, there are guidelines and policies that govern the type of material that should be included. One of these is the biographies of living persons policy. Please do not add unreferenced negative biographical information concerning living persons to Wikipedia articles. Thank you.
”

--AbsolutDan (talk) 18:44, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Requested change: not just articles

Having just removed an attack on a living person from a Category Talk page, I request that the wording of this warning be changed from "Wikipedia articles" to (say) "Wikipedia". The result would be

Please do not add unreferenced negative biographical information concerning living persons to Wikipedia.

It seems to me that this change, or something like it, is necessary now that WP:BLP covers all of Wikipedia, not just the articles. Thanks. CWC 22:49, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Welcome to Wikipedia"

Is it just me, or does the inclusion of the phrase "Welcome to Wikipedia" at the beginning of this template seem to carry a slight air of "you must be new here"? -- Bobyllib 20:39, 27 July 2007 (UTC)