HRFWiki2:User space

The Homestar Runner Fanstuff Wiki 2 provides each user with a user space to facilitate communication among participants in the project. If your username is StongBad:

• Your user page is the page at "User:StongBad"
• Your user talk page is the page at "User talk:StongBad"
• Your user subpages are any pages at "User:StongBad/subpage" or "User talk:StongBad/subpage" (see below)
• Your user space is the collection of all the above.

Details about yourself shouldn't go in the main namespace, which is reserved for Homestar Runner fanstuff.

What can I have on my user page?

A good start is to add a little information about yourself, such as your real name, your location, fanstuff you have created, etc. Obviously, this will depend on how comfortable you are with respect to privacy. Users under the age of 13 should read our policy on youth protection before giving out personal information.

You can also use your user page to help you use the Homestar Runner Fanstuff Wiki 2 more effectively: so you can use it to list "to do" information, work in progress, reminders, useful links, and so forth. It's also good for experimenting with markup (a personal HRFWiki2:Sandbox).

Another use is to let people know about your activities and opinions on the Wiki. So you might include current plans, a journal of recent activities on the wiki, and your opinions on how certain wiki articles or policies should be changed. If you won't be editing the wiki for a while, drop a note on your userpage to that effect.

What can I have on my user talk page?

Your user talk page is for other users to discuss things with you. As your user talk page becomes larger, you may choose to delete or summarize old discussion, as you feel appropriate. You can also archive your talk page if it gets too long. Please avoid deleting discussion merely because it is critical of your actions — doing so will only make people repeat the same criticism, and will make it seem like you are ignoring criticism.

What about user subpages?

If you want, you can create subpages for your userpage. These can be used for things like:

• Your signature
• Your userboxes
• A work in progress, until it is ready to be released
• Archives of user talk
• Tests; for testing a template, make it a separate subpage

Please do not abuse this privilege. Do not use subpages for content that could just as easily go on your userpage.

What should I avoid?

A small amount of non-Homestar Runner content is fine, but you should avoid too much stuff that is unrelated to Homestar Runner. Free and low-cost web hosting, email, and blog services are widely available, and are a good alternative for content unrelated to Homestar Runner. Commercial advertising or spam is also discouraged, as well as excessive personal information.

Ownership and editing of pages in the user space

As a tradition, the Homestar Runner Fanstuff Wiki 2 offers wide latitude to users to manage their user space as they see fit. However, pages in user space still do belong to the community. Contributions should always respect the copyrights of The Brothers Chaps, and community policies apply to your user space just as they do elsewhere.

If at all possible, avoid editing another's user page. If you must do so, it should be for a compelling reason; for example, to correct linking errors that might confuse readers or to provide technical assistance. Occasionally a user (especially a sysop) might edit another's user page to bring it in line with policy, but keep in mind that a talk page notice is preferred in most cases. Please do not encourage anyone to casually edit your page. Casual editing of another's user page is strongly discouraged and in most cases may be reverted.

What other information is accessible to others from my user page?

In addition to the usual information accessible from an article page such as page history, "Discussion", and the like, other users can access your "contributions" to see what edits you have made to the wiki over time.