Source Entities:Be bold

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This page in a nutshell: Nobody's going to be mad if you accidentally put something wrong in an edit, so go ahead and make it!

Be bold can be explained in three words: "go for it". Wikis develop faster when everybody helps to fix problems, correct grammar, add facts, make sure wording is accurate, etc. Source Ents not only allows you to add, revise and edit articles: it wants you to do it. Of course, others here will edit what you write, but do not take it personally! They, like all of us, just wish to make the site as good a resource as it can possibly be. Also, when you see a conflict in a talk page, don't just be a mute spectator. Be bold and drop your opinion!

Fix it yourself instead of just talking about it. If you notice an obvious error or problem, the best course of action may be to be bold and fix it yourself rather than bringing it to someone's attention in the form of a comment or complaint. In the time it takes to write about the problem, you could instead improve the wiki. Source is known for inconsistencies even in the oddest of places. If someone notes something which you've never witnessed personally, the first question to ask is probably what game that behavior is present in, possibly followed by questions about system specifications and graphics cards. Evidence in the form of videos, images, and map files can also be very helpful.

Don't be upset if your bold edits get reverted. Though the boldness of contributors is a great asset, it is important that you take care of the common good and not edit disruptively or recklessly. Of course, any changes you make that turn out badly can be reverted easily, and usually painlessly, and it is important not to feel insulted if your changes are reverted or edited further. All editors make mistakes, have misconceptions, don't consider a certain scenario, or simply forget at times. With a little time spent by everyone else to examine edits themselves, we can be sure everything is correct. Remember that talk pages exist for a reason: to discuss matters related to a page. If someone requests confirmation on something you wrote, the best course of action is to give evidence.

Often it is easier to see that something is not right rather than to know exactly what would be right. We do not require that everyone be bold. After all, commenting that something in an article is incorrect can be the first step to getting it fixed. It is true, though, that problems are more certain to be fixed, and will probably be fixed faster, if you are bold enough to do it yourself. There are also many templates available that can be used to express your concerns directly on the page, like Template:todo1.

If another editor linked you here, they may be indirectly asking you to do more than complain about problems on a page. Two examples from VDC:

  • [1] Editors here all could have saved their time and energy by adding the information they wanted themselves, which they were fully capable of, yet Gear was the only complaining editor to end up making any revisions and even then, the requested information never got added (the page is still regarded as useful even without it). This type of behavior is clearly destructive and wasteful.
  • [2] Few comments to add here. At the time of writing, that page is still unedited by JoshuaAshton.

See Also[edit source]