Wikipedia:Which talk page?

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This is an essay; it contains the advice and/or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. It is not a policy or guideline, and editors are not obliged to follow it.

In Wikipedia, talk pages let users communicate with one another easily and effectively. You can share ideas, spread Wikilove, and many other things with talk pages. When a user wants to send a comment to another via talk pages, he or she has two options: write the comment in his or her own talk page, or write it in the other user's talk page. Whether any user picks the former option or the latter, it is important to be consistent throughout. When using talk pages, either write your comment in your own talk page or the receiver's; do not alternate.

Of course, exceptions do apply. If a user explicitly tells you to comment in his/her talk page, then you would be obliged to do so. However, do not alternate for any other reason. It is distracting and irritating to the receiver.

However, there is a third option. If you choose to do so, you could put your comment in both your own and the other user's talk page. That way, a reader of your page can read the discussion in one page without having to leave that page.

If you are going to write your comment in your own page, you might want to use {{talk back}} on the receiver's talk page so that he/she knows that he has a message on yours.