CZ:Introduction to CZ for Wikipedians

Welcome Wikipedians and ex-Wikipedians!

Before you be bold and start contributing, please read this document all the way through. By doing so, you can be sure that your work at Citizendium will get off on the right foot, and that you won't run into any unexpected snags.

There are some very important "do's and dont's" that Wikipedians in particular may have to bear in mind. Wikipedia's policies either do not apply here or have been fundamentally altered. We have our own ways of doing things, you might say. At the same time, some of Citizendium's policies are remarkably similar to Wikipedia's. But which are which?

Citizendium is not a mirror

Citizendium is not a mirror of Wikipedia. Absolutely do not simply copy content from Wikipedia to Citizendium without working on it. If you wish to import material from Wikipedia, it must be because you have immediate plans to improve it. See How to convert Wikipedia articles to Citizendium articles for directions. Articles copied from Wikipedia without any substantive revisions after one week are subject to deletion.

Exception: If you are the primary author or manager of an article or class of articles (e.g., about vipers or astrophysics) and you intend to continue your work on and maintenance of the article(s) here, then you may do so. In such a case, place a note to that effect at the top of the article talk page(s); otherwise, your imports are apt to be deleted.

Note: Don't think you have to do it all yourself. The cooperative nature of the Citizendium means that even some very good articles from Wikipedia can still be improved stylistically, or by expansion and the addition of new information. For what we mean, see Article Mechanics: Narrative coherence and flow and Improving articles stylistically. You may have to rethink how you conceive of writing encyclopedia articles.

Differences in style, approach and tone

You're probably used to well-developed Wikipedia articles being divided into many short sections, full of bulleted lists. Some are written in dense prose that shows off erudition more than really introducing a topic. We think Citizendium has a better way.

We don't like to speak "encyclopedese." Rather, we want Citizendium articles to be lucid, highly readable introductions written in compelling, narrative prose that really do the job of introducing a topic to people who need an introduction. This doesn't mean our articles will have less information or be more lightweight. It means we simplify the difficult, engage our readers, and allow a narrative voice to come through. In short, we want to make it hard for anyone to click away from an article until they have read it all the way through.

For further information, see Article Mechanics — a probably quite different take on encyclopedia writing than you might be used to. You might also want to have look at Sage advice on writing CZ articles, and a few examples among our approved articles while comparing them with their Wikipedia counterparts. Even some of our developing articles exhibit the difference we are talking about, e.g., compare the intro of our Anthropology article with Wikipedia's version.

Notice also that we aren't putting contributor-oriented templates, such as Wikipedia's neutrality templates, atop our articles.

New and unfamiliar practices

We have several practices that will be new and unfamiliar to Wikipedians:

• The use of Subpages to expand article content. At Wikipedia, subpages are disallowed related to articles. Citizendium, on the other hand, has made them universal for all articles. To get an idea of what we add to subpages, see our list of subpage types. While you're there, make sure to note how we have replaced "List of" articles with catalogs. You might also check out Civil society: Catalogs, a developing example.

• The "Content is from Wikipedia?" tick-box. If any content of an article at Citizendium came from Wikipedia and you aren't the sole author of that content, be absolutely sure you check the tick-box. It is just above the "Save page" button. If you are the sole author, however, please make it clear on the relevant talk page and post a link to the Wikipedia article history giving evidence of such. The {{WPauthor}} template has been created for this purpose.

• Workgroups, Workgroup Category Tags, and Workgroup Recent Changes. Anybody can edit any article but we want every article to have its editorial team assigned.

The above new practices are things you can use every time you do work on the Citizendium. See We aren't Wikipedia for other new practices.

Acting like a pro

The concept of professionalism richly captures the culture to which the Citizendium strives. Our professionalism policy is our cornerstone behavior policy and is about much more than just our low tolerance for uncivil and disruptive behavior that can quickly result in permanent banning. It is about our decided intent to create — and enforce — a respectful, pleasant, and productive working environment. This is so even when contributors may be working out disagreements and critiquing others' work.

Examples of unprofessional behaviors at Citizendium include:

• Reverting others' work. We have a no-unexplained-revert rule. You must justify any reversion on the talk page and try to give others a chance to revert their own work.
• Deletion of others' work without explanation. Deletion of more than 50 words can result in a warning, followed by a ban. Vandalism is excluded.
• Attacks on another's moral character, or personal or professional credibility. This applies whether done with Citizendium or other resources.
• Threats of any kind. You'll not only be banned by us but your local authorities will be contacted in serious cases.
• Disrespectful characterization of another's work. We critique it respectfully instead, even if it maybe really is bunk.
• Retaliation when wronged. We call a constable instead and refuse to let any offenses we see go unreported.

Simply put, professional conduct is mandatory here. Professionalism is what differentiates our culture from that of many other Web 2.0 communities. And no one has to be a professional occupationally to act professionally.

Real names means real names

Part of behaving professionally is signing with your real name on the wiki. You need not worry about your real name showing up all over the Net from CZ pages, since we use robots.txt to prevent that. Constables warn users with unacceptable nicknames, instruct them that they may apply for a pseudonym, and then ban them if they fail to correct the name.

A real name in some cultures consists of a single name. In this case, verification that you belong to one of these cultures is required.

Handling content disputes without "edit warring"

Content disputes are inevitable, but we simply will not tolerate edit warring. If you disagree with another participant, the first step is to discuss the matter on the talk page; if no satisfactory compromise can be reached, the next step is to ask an uninvolved editor in the relevant area and with the relevant expertise to adjudicate. We do plan to have a more sophisticated dispute resolution mechanism, but we haven't needed to implement it yet. We've been quite successful at actually collaborating and compromising.

We ain't elitist, but our "world" isn't flat

We ain't elitist, but our "world" isn't completely flat. At Wikipedia, everyone has the same role when it comes to making judgments about article content. Between competing citations and changing "consensus", disputes can seem unending. We think our system is an evolution of that model.

Editors

You already know we make a special role for experts and that we respect them. But what you may not know is that this does not at all mean you cannot professionally argue your case with them; you most definitely should. Our editors aren't distant overseers looking down from the Olympian heights. To edit, editors must work shoulder-to-shoulder with authors and other editors. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised at how well it works!

Authors

Editors are authors too, but what can authors do? Almost everything. Authors can start new articles, edit existing articles, talk things over on the talk page, and much else. Authors work side-by-side with not only other authors, but with real experts in their field. We feel it is a very liberating thing to have experts on-board who are empowered to make decisions amidst content disputes. Although you may be skeptical at first, you'll probably find yourself heartily agreeing after a while — especially after you see your work appearing in articles that have been approved! For more on author functions, please see CZ:The Author Role.

Constables

Our constables are Citizendium's "community managers" or "Sysops". They oversee adherence to basic policies, and settle behavioral problems whereas editors settle content disputes. Constables also review applications and create new accounts. They operate within a "separation of powers" and are held to a strict conflict of interest policy. Constables may not act as constables in articles where they have acted as authors or editors. All hold at least a bachelor's degree and are at least 25 years old. For further information see CZ:Constabulary.

Constables replace attacks of any kind with our {{civil}} template, which reads,

Text here was removed by the Constabulary on grounds of civility. (The author may replace this template with an edited version of the original remarks.)

Attacks result in a warning or even a ban, depending on the case.

Moreover, if you have any complaints to make about other users, no matter how well justified, please don't make them on the wiki. Constables remove complaints and replace them with the {{nocomplaints}} template, which reads:

A comment here was deleted by The Constabulary on grounds of making complaints about fellow Citizens. If you have a complaint about the behavior of another Citizen, e-mail constables@citizendium.org. It is contrary to Citizendium policy to air your complaints on the wiki. See also CZ:Professionalism.

All of our constables are very friendly and helpful, but don't make the mistake of taking that to mean they play fast and loose with the rules. They don't. Constables only block permanently, nothing less. For further information see Constabulary Blocking Procedures.

To "call a constable," please email constables _at_ citizendium.org.

Images

Any type of open content licensed images are allowable and preferred, although images from Wikipedia or the Wikimedia Commons and other image banks must pass a two-pronged test before you upload them to Citizendium. Fully copyrighted images are allowable in Citizendium if you place proof of permission in a Permission subpage of the image's talk page. We are still working out our policy on fair use of images (see the draft), so please withhold uploading fair use images until our policy is finalized. Watch the Notice board for an announcement.

All images lacking clear copyright data are subject to speedy deletion by constables acting on their own recognizance. Citizendium editors will not nominate articles for approval if the status of their images is unclear.

See Images Help on Copyrights for more detail.

Not categories and projects but workgroups

Wikipedians self-organize into Projects whose foci are articles in certain categories. Citizendium organizes authors and editors into discipline workgroups. Editors are assigned their workgroups, while authors simply add themselves to whichever workgroups they choose. You should join author workgroups straightway after your account has been created. You can take a workgroups tour to find out more, and read Get plugged in to the community!

Article deletion policy

The general rule about article deletion is that articles should be deleted if their continued existence would create more work and frustration, in the long run, for either contributors or users, than deleting them. This is the essence of our Maintainability policy. It is distinctly different from Wikipedia's notability policy.

Constables may delete articles that are not maintainable. Editor permission is required for deletion of other articles. See CZ:Article Deletion Policy for elaboration.

We may also place articles into what we call Cold Storage rather than delete them.

On stubs and lists

At Wikipedia, creating stubs is an encouraged practice. Someone will always come along and add to them — eventually. At Citizendium, we much prefer you start one or just a few articles, and develop them well—even until they are approved.

At Wikipedia, creating lists of various types is acceptable. At Citizendium, we create articles and their relevant catalogues.

Don't spill alphabet soup!

We wish to avoid having an insular, unintelligible community. Accordingly, we don't use neologisms like "NPOV" and "POV", "RS", "FWIW", and "OR". Our Chief Constable has made this a bannable offense, and we're still not sure whether she's kidding or not. Just use plain English on top of wikilinks or post them in full. Any page shortcuts you find (the one for this page is CZ:CZ4WP) are exclusively for your personal use. In our informal discussions, however, it is generally agreed that CZ and WP are permissible, but only, it must be stressed, in an informal context.

Family-friendly

The Citizendium aspires to be an encyclopedia with international acceptance, usage, and credibility. All general usage traditionally print encyclopedias who enjoy such a status have a "family-friendly" policy, and so does Citizendium. Accordingly, Wikipedia is not censored just cannot apply here. All articles we have about sexual topics will be scholarly and tactful, and none will contain gratuitously graphic photos. For more information, see our Family-Friendly Policy.

Don't ignore all rules, but do be bold

Larry Sanger wrote Wikipedia's original Ignore all rules policy as a way to encourage people to be bold and not sit on the sidelines just because they, for example, did not know wiki markup (you can have a look at the original document). Yet over time, Ignore All Rules has been interpreted to have a "deep and subtle meaning".

Simply put, if you attempt to ignore all rules on Citizendium, you will rapidly meet up with one of our constables. But please don't let a lack of confidence keep you sitting on the sidelines.

Now, be bold!

For further reading

• We aren't Wikipedia - A rundown of the similarities and differences
• How to convert Wikipedia articles to Citizendium articles - Essential reading if you wish to import anything from Wikipedia
• Citizendium's Statement of Fundamental Policies - The document you endorsed before being granted Citizendium membership.
• A Dozen Essentials - A dozen things you should know about.
• Article Mechanics - Different in several ways from Wikipedia, definitely worth reading.