The Shield Wiki:Policy

These policies are the standards of community behavior and rules of content inclusion for The Shield Wiki. They are designed to keep the project running smoothly. Many of the policies are only summarized here, and are described in greater detail on specific sub-pages which will be linked below. If you disagree with some component of the policy, please feel free to discuss it with the community in the Forum but remember to respect the policy in the meantime.

Policies that apply across all Wikia can be found on the Central Wikia at Wikia:Category:Policy. Adding [[Category:Policy]] to any policy pages will add them to the policy category. This is found here.

Don't be a criminal

See also the Administrators project page for a list of offenses that warrant blocking.

This is the only rule that is entirely non-negotiable. Don't be a criminal means treating your fellow contributors with respect and good humor. You don't have to feel it. You just have to do it. Specifically:

• Be civil. No personal attacks on others. That applies both on talk pages and edit summaries. For instance, when cleaning up a page:

Instead of: Spelling, grammar, where did you go to school???

Just say: Fixing spelling and grammar

Also, please be aware that your tone may not come across to people who can't see your face or hear your voice.

If you are the person who is offended, try to assume that the other person is acting in good faith, and respond in kind. That can often defuse arguments before they even begin.

• Treat others' work with respect. Do not belittle or ridicule someone else's work or ideas, and do not delete it capriciously. The exception is obvious vandalism, which should be removed as soon as possible. However, if a person seems to be trying, assume good faith and try to help them.

Rework and rewrite as much as you want, but try to find a place for everything rather than cutting it out completely.

"Manual of Style"

See the full Manual of Style.

One of the most important components of Policy, the Manual of Style is our collection of firmly established editing standards designed to set a consistent format and appearance for all of our articles.

Canon policy

See the full Canon policy for more information.

Canon consists of the bodies of work that are considered to be "genuine" or "official" within a certain fictional universe. With The Shield, as with other license situations, the facts presented in the different tie-in products may not agree with each other or with the show. Since The Shield Wiki aims to be a complete reference, please make note of all facts, inconsistent or not. The Shield Wiki has established a canon hierarchy as a guideline to determine what information should be given priority in the few cases where it is necessary to choose one source over another. This hierarchy is only a guideline and common sense should always be at the top of the list.

Consensus and precedent

See the full Consensus and precedent policy for more information.

All policies on The Shield Wiki should be established by consensus. One specific component of the policy is identified as the "consensus policy", which states that certain kinds of edits require consensus before being made. This policy describes three kinds of very specific edits which require clear proposals to be made on pertinent discussion pages before any changes are permissible.

Copyright policy

See the full Copyrights policy for more information. (You may be looking for the copyright of this wiki.)

Deletion policy

Rewriting is essential to the building of a wiki database of information. That's why the site is a wiki - we want participation! Rewrite and correct and cite sources as much as you want, that is always worthwhile. Conversely, if someone has rewritten something you wrote, don't take it personally. Everyone is trying to make things better.

However, outright removal of a fact shouldn't be done lightly. Before eliminating something someone else wrote in good faith, ask yourself:

• Can this be rewritten? Try cleaning up the spelling, grammar, and formatting. A little polish can work wonders.
• Can this be moved? There might be a more appropriate name for an article, or a more appropriate article in which to place a fact. Maybe a sentence in an article would work better as a background note, or a background note item should go in the body of the article.

Deleting and reverting should be reserved for patent nonsense and clear vandalism (such as number strings, profanity, and page blanking). Nothing should be removed because it is too trivial, as this is a purely subjective value judgement and violates the Neutral Point of View policy.

Image use policy

See the full Image use policy for more information.

1. First, ensure that your image is from something related to The Shield (the show, special features footage, related media, etc.). For consistency and copyright reasons, this wiki no longer accepts new images that are external to The Shield, such as pictures of actors taken from other shows, or photo shoots unrelated to The Shield.
2. Before you upload anything, use a clear, detailed title for the file. An obscure name like "qua_047.jpg" won't help anyone, and will be subsequently be deleted by an administrator.
3. Obey our copyright policy when uploading images.
4. Don't include any watermarks or text in the image. This includes copyright notices; those belong in the text of the image description page: see the next step.
5. Use the image description text box to describe an image and its copyright rules.
   • The description entered when uploading an image becomes the default text for the image description page. You can use wiki markup in the image description.
   • If the image is a screenshot from the show or some promotional material, you must type {{fairuse}} in the image description text box. The result is as follows:

This file is copyrighted. It will be used in a way that qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.

</noinclude>

Neutral point of view

The Shield Wiki has a Neutral Point of View Policy similar to that of Wikipedia.

Although the world of The Shield is fictional, it may inspire strong feelings. Some interpretation may be necessary in order to write a thorough and complete article; however, please avoid making value judgements about the characters or events on the show. Instead, report as accurately and completely as possible what happened without taking sides.

Instead of: In a foolhardy but heroic move, Officer Julien Lowe rushed out to save Officer Danny Sofer from the crossfire.

Write something like: Despite clear orders from Aceveda, Officer Julien Lowe rushed out to save Officer Danny Sofer from the crossfire.

Writing as accurately and as objectively as possible will make the site more useful for everyone.

Of course The Shield does not exist in a vacuum, and it may be appropriate to report on such things as fan response and real-life influences on the creation of the show. When writing on fan response, it is best to include as many different sides as possible, including that of the show's creative team, if available. Remember that if a controversy is important enough to be included here, it must have at least two strong opposing arguments.

Instead of: Lem was in every episode until Season 5 and his death sucked and everybody loved him. He should have lived.

Write something like: Because Lem was in every season until Season 5, and his character was popular, many fans felt that he shouldn't have died. Others, however, argued that his death added more layers to the characters and the story.

However, do not dress up your personal opinion as fact by claiming that "many fans" share it, unless you have a source to back up the claim. Likewise, do not make claims about what the show's creative team thought or intended unless it was stated on the record (interviews, podcasts, and DVD commentary are good sources). If you see a similarity between scenes or to another work, simply note it under "Background information and notes."

Speculation and unknown information

Template:Shortcut

Because of the structure of the show, The Shield is prone to leaving a lot of loose ends for plotlines and characters. Sometimes the writers deliberately avoid wrapping up plotlines that aren't useful, sometimes they're restrained from writing conclusions for certain characters, and sometimes scenes get filmed and then deleted for one reason or another.

Outright speculation about events that are unknown or have not yet happened is discouraged, although it may be useful to point out missing information in some cases. If the missing information is notable, please note it, so that readers don't wonder where the story stopped.

However, if quite a bit is known about the missing information it should be explained in the "Background information and notes" section of the article rather than the main body.

Sometimes the characters themselves speculate on what happened or what might happen. In those cases, it is best to state that it is the character's assumption (and not the audience's).

Vandalism policy

See the full Vandalism policy for more information.

Vandalism and bad faith edits of this wiki are reverted swiftly, and vandals are banned with no fanfare. Please note that, no matter how small vandalism may be or even if it was copied and pasted beforehand, it will never take an experienced administrator more than one click to undo the edit(s). Your time is much better spent reading or contributing constructively to the encyclopedia, so, reconsider causing trouble and accept our invitation to register an account and join the community!

See also

• Neutral Point of View on Wikipedia