Wikipedia talk:Requests for mediation/Bates method

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Note : This request for mediation is about the discussionpage. But Indirectly it is about the improvement of the article.

Note : Note : I do not think Ronz will agree with this formal mediation. Seeyou (talk) 20:18, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Archiving_a_talk_page :

It is helpful to label archives with dates and a brief summary of the main discussions. The most common useful method is the cut and paste procedure.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Refactoring_talk_pages :

Refactoring is a form of editing whose goal is to improve readability while preserving meaning. It is a stronger term than copy editing and can include removing superfluous content, summarizing long passages, and any other means that alter the presentation of information. (See list below.) Like refactoring in computing, refactoring of talk pages must preserve the full intentions of the original authors.

[edit] Summarize If a discussion has become lengthy in such a way that it obscures meaning and hinders further discussion, an editor is encouraged to summarize it in such a way as to preserve all significant detail. It is the editor's responsibility to ensure credit is given to those who posted the original commentary. Wherever possible an editor should retain the original usernames and timestamps of the parties involved in signed comments.

[edit] Insert headings, subheadings, or paragraph titles If a discussion has become excessively long and complex, it may be useful to summarize it. However, in some cases, dividing the text into different sections or subsections and/or adding paragraph titles may be enough to help both readers and participants understand the flow of the discussion and find the main or most appealing parts of the text. These techniques may require the division of long paragraphs into smaller ones. The division in sections or subsections may imply a careful rearrangement of the sequence of comments. Initial phrases such as "Regarding what user xxx wrote about..." can be deleted or made significantly shorter, if paragraph titles such as "Re: Title" are inserted, where "Title" is the title given to a previous paragraph. When applied to ongoing discussions, the insertion of paragraph titles may help reducing the length of future contributions, by preventing repetitions and making the reference to specific parts of the existing text easier. It may also attract the attention of new contributors on interesting points that might otherwise remain unnoticed. Seeyou (talk) 18:23, 7 June 2008 (UTC)