Guidelines
Community
guidelines.
Lede
These guidelines describe what everyone agrees to when reading, contributing to, or editing SikhWiki. Whether you are here to fix a typo or to review another contributor's work, these are the rules.
No. 01
For contributors.
Anyone with an account is a contributor. These rules govern what you submit to SikhWiki — every edit, every correction, every new article.
- 01
Cite your sources.
Every factual claim in a contribution needs a source — a primary text, a manuscript, or peer-reviewed scholarship. Web pages, blog posts, and personal opinion are not sources. If you cannot point to a credible reference, do not publish the claim.
- 02
Quote scripture precisely.
Direct quotations from Guru Granth Sahib, the Dasam Granth, or related texts include the ang (page) and shabad reference, in Gurmukhi alongside any English translation, with the translator credited. Paraphrases of scripture are noted as paraphrases.
- 03
Treat Punjabi as a primary language.
When introducing a Punjabi term, include the Gurmukhi script, a transliteration, and a brief gloss. Do not romanize meaning away for convenience. Common terms (Sikhi, Guru, langar) need a gloss on first use only.
- 04
Write in a neutral voice.
Articles report what is known, sourced, and disputed. They do not argue, praise, denounce, or editorialize. If you cannot write neutrally about a topic, do not write about it — start a talk-page discussion instead.
- 05
Submit only work you can publish.
Verbatim text from other articles, books, or websites — including your own — must be in quotation marks with citation. Translations are derivative works and require both source attribution and translator credit.
- 06
One person, one account.
Multiple accounts (sock puppets) for the same person are prohibited. Your contribution history should be your full record, under one identity.
- 07
Disclose conflicts of interest.
If a contribution touches your own work, your organization, your family, or any subject in which you have a financial or institutional stake, declare it in the edit summary. Disclosure is a contributor's duty, not just an editor's.
No. 02
For editors.
Editors review contributions before publication. These rules govern how you review — and they bind you in addition to all of the contributor rules above.
- 01
Apply the standards equally.
A submission from a senior scholar is held to the same evidence bar as a submission from a first-time contributor. Familiarity, seniority, and reputation do not lower the standard. The standard is the standard.
- 02
Review in public.
Every decision — accept, revise, request more sources, reject — is recorded on the article's talk page with reasons. Silent rejections are forbidden, and so are silent acceptances of partisan claims.
- 03
Resolve disputes by evidence.
When two contributors disagree, the editor's job is to surface the evidence on each side on the talk page so the community can see it — not to choose a winner by editorial fiat.
- 04
Recuse when you cannot be neutral.
If a contribution involves your institution, your sect, your family, or a topic where you cannot review evenly, recuse and pass it to another editor. Recusal is part of the role; it is never a failure of it.
- 05
Maintain a public conflict-of-interest disclosure.
Editors keep an up-to-date conflict-of-interest disclosure on their public profile — institutional roles, paid affiliations, family ties to article subjects. If anything changes, update it before your next review.
- 06
Never accept partisan claims silently.
Partisan framing or unsourced assertions, even from familiar contributors, must be challenged on the record. Silence is endorsement.
- 07
Editors are accountable to the community.
Repeated standards violations result in suspension through public review. No individual grants or revokes editor status. The standard belongs to the community, and so does the answer to its breach.
No. 03
Conduct.
How everyone behaves on talk pages, in edit summaries, and in any other corner of SikhWiki where contributors meet contributors.
- 01
Disagree about evidence, not about people.
Personal attacks, harassment, religious insults, casteist language, gendered insults, and bad-faith arguments are grounds for suspension. Strong disagreement, expressed on the merits, is welcome and expected.
- 02
Edit summaries are part of the record.
Use edit summaries to explain what you changed and why. They are not the place for snide comments, jokes at another contributor's expense, or score-settling.
- 03
Respect privacy.
Do not reveal real names of contributors who use pseudonyms, do not publish private correspondence, and do not share any contributor's personal information. Doxxing is grounds for permanent suspension.
- 04
No commercial promotion.
Articles are not advertising. Personal websites, books for sale, organizational marketing copy, and affiliate links will be removed. Citations to commercial publications are fine when the publication is itself the source.
- 05
Appeals are public.
If your account has been suspended and you would like to appeal, the process is public — see the contact page. Outcomes of appeals are recorded under the relevant talk pages.