Help:User pages
User pages are pages for organizing the work editors do on LifeWiki, as well as speaking to other users. Pages in the User and User talk namespaces are considered to be user pages. User pages are mainly for early drafts, data collection, interpersonal discussion, notices, and limited autobiographical and personal content.
Talking to someone on their user page's talk page is fine. Otherwise, non-moderators should generally not edit the user pages of other users without their explicit or implicit permission.
What may I have in my user pages?
There is no fixed use for user pages, except that usually one's user page has something about oneself, and one's talk page is used for messaging. Some legitimate uses of user space include (but are not limited to):
- Information about you (e.g., your name and/or alma mater).
- Notes related to your LifeWiki editing (e.g., planned edits and projects on the wiki).
- Useful links and tools (e.g., links to maintenance categories or your personal homepage).
- Early drafts (e.g., articles that may be moved into the main or OCA namespaces at a later date, after more work is done).
- Tables that collect useful information, but are not complete or don't fit well in a main-namespace article. This type of page may often collect contributions from multiple LifeWiki editors, with implicit permission being given for edits from others (unless otherwise stated) due to the nature of the page.
- Collections of personal cellular automata discoveries (e.g., patterns that you found that don't meet the notability threshold for having their own article in the main namespace).
- A small and proportionate amount of suitable unrelated material. For example, a paragraph or two of humor or miscellaneous extra content on your user page is probably fine. Three subpages of your user page dedicated to memes and/or a novella that you wrote probably is not fine. The exact line between "fine" and "not fine" is at the discretion of the moderators.
What may I not have in my user pages?
Generally, you should avoid substantial content on your user page that is unrelated to LifeWiki or cellular automata. LifeWiki is not a general hosting service and your user page is not a personal website.
In addition, there is broad agreement that you may not include in your user space material that is likely to bring the project into disrepute, or which is likely to give widespread offense (e.g. racist ideology). Whether serious or trolling, "LifeWiki (like Wikipedia) is not a soapbox". You do have more latitude on your user page than elsewhere on LifeWiki, but don't be inconsiderate. Offensive material may be removed on sight by a moderator.
Some unacceptable uses of user space include (but are not limited to):
- Extensive discussions or writings that are not related to LifeWiki or cellular automata.
- Large amount of games, roleplaying sessions, and other content solely for entertainment rather than improving the wiki.
- Promotional material and/or SPAM.
- Personal attacks of any kind against other LifeWiki editors or anyone else.
- Personal information about other users without their consent.
- Offensive material (e.g., racism).
- Excessive edits that flood the wiki's Recent Changes.