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The difference between policies, guidelines, and essays on Wikipedia is obscure. There is no bright line between what the community chooses to call a "policy" or a "guideline" or an "essay" or an "information page". This explanatory essay itself is a supplemental page, which is an even more ambiguous group. [1]
Formal policies and guidelines have a notice at the top of their pages, and the prefix "Wikipedia:" or "WP:" before their page name. While there is a policy or guideline for almost every issue imaginable, no one is expected to know all of them! Luckily, there are a handful upon which all others are based.
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organization. Policies can assist in both subjective and objective decision making.
The purpose of policies and guidelines is to state what most agree upon, and should be phrased to reflect the present consensus. Editing a policy/guideline/essay page does not in itself imply an immediate change to accepted practice. It is bad practice to recommend a rejected practice on a policy or guideline page.
The authoritativeness of the policy or guideline in Wikipedia hierarchy. This is based on it's policy vs. guideline status, it's prominence, and strength and broadness of consensus that led to it; How strong and categorical the applicable wording in the policy or guideline is. For example "suggested: vs. "must"
Introduction to policies and guidelines – a quick introduction to the major policies and guidelines for very new users. Related essays. Simplified rule-set – some basic aspect of Wikipedia norms and practices. Eight rules for editing – if you start out by following these simple rules, the rest should come naturally.
List of policies and guidelines — a list of principle policies and guidelines. List of policies — a comprehensive descriptive directory of policies. List of guidelines — a comprehensive descriptive directory of guidelines. Manual of Style contents — a comprehensive descriptive directory of the pages which make up the Manual of Style.
A guideline is a statement by which to determine a course of action. It aims to streamline particular processes according to a set routine or sound practice. [ 1 ] They may be issued by and used by any organization (governmental or private) to make the actions of its employees or divisions more predictable, and presumably of higher quality.