Wikipedia:User pages

This page documents an English Wikipedia consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page.

Shortcuts WP:UP WP:USER WP:USERPAGE

This guideline in a nutshell: User pages are for communication and collaboration. While considerable leeway is allowed in personalizing and managing your user pages, they are community project pages, a Wikipedia article . They should be used to better participate in the community, and not used to excess for unrelated purposes nor to bring the project into disrepute.

User pages are pages for organizing the work users do on

User pages are available to Wikipedia users personally for purposes compatible with the Wikipedia project and acceptable to the community; Wikipedia is not a blog, webspace provider, or social networking site. Wikipedia policies concerning the content of pages can and generally do apply to user pages, and users must observe these policies. Users believed to be in violation of these policies should first be advised on their talk page using {{subst:uw-userpage}} when immediate action is not otherwise necessary.

User page

Your user page has a name like this: User:Example. (

global user page

that will display on all Wikimedia projects where you have not created a local user page.

User talk page

Your user talk page (sometimes abbreviated to "your talk page" or "your user talk") has a name like this: User talk:Example. (

Help:Using talk pages

.

Subpages

Shortcuts

• WP:UP#SUB
• WP:USERSUBPAGE
• WP:CREATEUSER#SUB

Subpages in user space can be used to store sandboxes, essays about Wikipedia, and drafts of Wikipedia articles, among other things. You can create these subpages yourself.

User pages or user space

All of these pages are your user pages or user space. While you

do not "own" them

, by custom you may manage them as you wish, so long as you do so reasonably and within these guidelines.

You also have subpages ending in .js and .css to store any

interface administrators

can edit such pages, although anyone can view them.

You can create subpages of your User page and your Talk page. To create a subpage, type the following into the Wikipedia search box and press the ↵ Enter key, replacing "Your_Wikipedia_Name" with your username:

User:Your_Wikipedia_Name/subpage_name

This will bring you to a page with the title User:Your_Wikipedia_Name/subpage_name. Now click the "Create" button next to the Wikipedia search box and the editing window will open. Enter a few test words and save the new page. You will notice that different from your user page, a subpage contains a backlink to your user page, which looks like this:

< User:Your_Wikipedia_Name

Clicking on the backlink will bring you to your user page. But, contrary to what you might expect, no new tab has been created for "subpages", for example, containing a list of all of your subpages; everything on your user page is unchanged. So how do you navigate to your subpage? As a method of last resort, you can always go back to your subpage by adding the title of your subpage to the URL of your user page:

If your home page URL is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Your_Wikipedia_Name
just add the name of your subpage:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Your_Wikipedia_Name/subpage_name

There is, of course, an easier method, but it has to be done manually. Copy and modify the following text and put it on your user page:

[[Special:Prefixindex/User:Your_Wikipedia_Name]]

After saving your user page, clicking on this link will provide you with a list of all pages containing the string "User:Your_Wikipedia_Name", which in our case includes the sandbox, the user page and, of course, the newly created subpage.

Users will be notified when someone else edits their user talk page. Since 30 April 2013, registered users receive a notification through the new

For users not editing with an account (unregistered users), the alert below is automatically displayed on all pages until they view their user talk page. If they click "new message," it will direct them to the bottom of their talk page. If they click "last change," it will show them the last edit done to their talk page. Creating a fake message banner that misleads readers into thinking they have new messages is prohibited.

The links Special:MyPage and Special:MyTalk are shortcuts that take any user to their own user and user talk pages. If someone is to visit your (or someone else's) user or user talk pages, a proper page link will be needed (e.g., [[User talk:Example]]). In practice, user and user talk pages are mostly visited by clicking on user signatures in discussions, and links shown in page histories and diffs.

In your watchlist, you may wish to make edits to your user talk page more noticeable, so that you can check these – since they might be more urgent – before you check the other changes. To highlight all edits to your user talk page, place this CSS rule in your CSS:

/* make it easier to pick out edits to own user talk page */
li.mw-changeslist-ns3-{{subst:REVISIONUSER}} {
  background-color: #fef6e7;
  border: 1px solid #edab00;
  color: #000;
}

To restrict the highlighting to just those edits which you have not yet viewed, use this rule instead:

/* make it easier to pick out edits to own user talk page, but only if not yet visited */
li.mw-changeslist-line-watched.mw-changeslist-ns3-{{subst:REVISIONUSER}} {
  background-color: #fef6e7;
  border: 1px solid #edab00;
  color: #000;
}

If your user name contains spaces, you will need to make a second edit to replace these spaces with underscores.

In addition to the usual information accessible from an article page such as

Visitors to your user page can also click "Email this user" if you have opted in your user preferences to be able to send and receive email. Your email address will remain private unless you reveal it yourself, select the option to reveal it (in preferences), or reply using an email system outside Wikipedia.

There is no fixed use for user pages, except that usually one's user page has something about oneself, and one's talk page is used for messaging. Provided other users can quickly and easily find the pages they need, users may, within reason, freely organize their user pages as they choose.

Users may include a user page notice on their own user pages, user talk pages, or both. Placing the template {{User page}} at the start of a user page clearly identifies the nature of the page for readers, and also helps if people find the labeled page in copies of Wikipedia elsewhere (more about this below) and want to locate the original.

Contributions can also be given a wider license – for example releasing them into the public domain or multi-licensing them – by putting a notice to this effect on one's user page, or on a subpage linked from it. Note that it is not possible to give them narrower licensing: all edits on Wikipedia, including all userspace edits, are licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License and in most cases the GNU Free Documentation License as part of Wikipedia.

User pages may be mirrored by other sites. If there is material you do not want copied, reposted, or reused, do not post it on the site.

Certain kinds of material must not linger indefinitely in user space; see below for details.

Besides communication, other legitimate uses of user space include (but are not limited to):

You are also welcome to include a simple link to your personal home page, although you should not surround it with any promotional language. However, if a link to your home page is the only thing on your userpage, this may be seen as an attempt at self-promotion.

User pages are also used for administrative purposes, to make users aware of blocks, warnings, or other sanctions if they happen, and to notify of matters that may affect articles you have worked on or editorial issues you have been involved with. Others may also edit your user pages, for instance awarding you a barnstar or leaving notes and images for you, or adding comments and questions. Although you have wide leeway to edit your user pages, a few of these matters should not be removed (see below).

Details about yourself should not normally go in the main encyclopedia

In the rare case that you or something closely connected to you may have an article in the encyclopedia, that is always treated as completely separate from you as an editor. You should very carefully read the guidance on

If you would like to draft a new article, Help:Userspace draft provides a standard template and useful guidance to help you create a draft in your userspace, and the Article Wizard can walk you through all stages of creating an article with the option to save as a userspace draft too. You can use the template {{userspace draft}} to tag a userspace draft if it is not automatically done for you.

Some people add personal information such as contact details (email, instant messaging, etc.), a photograph, their real name, their location, information about their areas of expertise and interest, likes and dislikes, etc. Once added, this information is unlikely to ever become private again. It could be copied elsewhere or even used to

Privacy-breaching non-public material, whether added by yourself or others, may be removed from any page upon request, either by administrators or (unless impractical) by purging from the page history and any logs by

Userboxes are fun little boxes you can put in your user page to express yourself. They are rectangular and usually contain a picture and text. Here is an example:

A userbox is a small rectangular box that looks like this.

Generally, you should avoid substantial content on your user page that is unrelated to Wikipedia. Wikipedia is not a general hosting service, so your user page is not a personal website. Your user page is about you as a Wikipedian, and pages in your user space should be used as part of your efforts to contribute to the project.

In addition, there is broad agreement that you may not include in your user space material that is likely to bring the project into disrepute, or which is likely to give widespread offense (e.g.

Do not put your userpage or subpages, including draft articles, into

Old copies of mainspace articles should be deleted. Mainspace material may be copied to userspace for short-term, active drafting or experimental purposes (the template {{userspace draft}} can be added to the top of the page to identify these). Note the requirements of Wikipedia:Copying within Wikipedia. Satisfactory edits should be promptly incorporated into the mainspace article and the userspace copy deleted (use {{db-u1}}), as content forking represents an attribution hazard.

Userspace is

When a userspace page reaches a point where it can be included as an article, consider

Unfinished userspace drafts may be ignored, moved to draft namespace or listed at Wikipedia:WikiProject Abandoned Drafts for adoption by other editors if the original author no longer wants them or appears to have stopped editing.

Old drafting pages in the userspace of inactive users:

1. If suitable for mainspace, move to mainspace;^[2]
2. if the draft is not problematic (e.g. no BLP, reliability, promotional issues) but not ready for mainspace, let it be;^[3]
3. if of some potential but problematic, then blank during periods of inactivity using {{Userpage blanked}};^[3]
4. if the draft is an old copy from mainspace, consider nominating it for deletion;
5. if an actual draft version of a
   request a history merge
   ; and finally,
6. if the draft has no potential and is problematic even if blanked,
   seek deletion
   .

Note: Redirects from userspace subpages to mainspace are common and acceptable. Wikipedia:Soft redirect is an alternative considered preferable by some.

User space drafts have no expiration date and thus, cannot and should not be deleted on the grounds of their age alone.^[4] Furthermore:^[5]

• GNG
  does not apply to drafts.
• User space drafts prevented from being moved to the main space only because of the GNG are not to be kept indefinitely.^[6]
• Drafts deemed fit to be articles can be moved across namespaces or submitted for AfC without the author's explicit permission if and only if the draft creator is reasonably inactive.
• Userspace drafts which do not meet article content standards should not be moved to mainspace in order to seek deletion.
• In case a userspace draft was moved to mainspace but is found not fit to be in mainspace, it must be returned to the previous location in userspace.
• Any editor who intends to improve old userspace drafts can move them provided the creator of said draft is "reasonably" inactive.

Do not include non-free files (copyrighted files lacking a free content license) on your user page or on any subpage thereof, per the

There is broad consensus that you should not have any image in your userspace that would bring the project into disrepute and you may be asked to remove such images. Content clearly intended as sexually provocative (images and in some cases text) or to

The Wikipedia community strongly discourages simulating the MediaWiki interface, except on the rare occasion when it is necessary for testing purposes. Fake user talk notification banners that mislead readers into thinking they have new messages are also prohibited.^[8]

CSS and other formatting codes that disrupt the MediaWiki interface, for example by preventing important links or controls from being easily seen or used, making text on the page hard to read or unreadable (other than by way of commenting out), or replacing the expected interface with a disruptive simulation, may be removed or remedied by any user. Inappropriate internal or external links that unexpectedly direct the reader to unreasonable locations or violate

Traditionally, Wikipedia offers wide latitude to users to manage their user space as they see fit. However, pages in user space belong to the wider community. They are not a personal homepage, and do not belong to the user. They are part of Wikipedia, and exist to make collaboration among editors easier.

You can alter your user page with either

Bots and other users may edit pages in your user space or leave messages for you, though by convention others will not usually edit your user page itself, other than (rarely) to address significant concerns or place project-related tags. Material that clearly does not somehow further the goals of the project may be removed (see

As with all other edits, user space contributions are irrevocably licensed for copying and reuse under the

Policy does not prohibit users, whether registered or unregistered, from removing comments from their own talk pages, although archiving is preferred. If a user removes material from their talk page, it is normally taken to mean that the user has read and is aware of its contents; this is true whether the removal was manual or automatic. There is no need to keep them on display, and usually users should not be forced to do so. It is often best to simply let the matter rest if the issues stop. If they do not, or they recur, then any record of past warnings and discussions can be found in the page history if ever needed, and these diffs are just as good evidence of previous matters.

A number of important matters may not be removed by the user—they are part of the wider community's processes:

• Declined unblock requests regarding a currently active block.
  Shortcut

  • WP:KEEPDECLINEDUNBLOCK
• Miscellany for deletion tags for the user talk page itself^[9] (while the discussion is in progress).
• Speedy deletion tags for the user talk page itself^[9]
  and requests for uninvolved administrator help (an administrator will quickly determine if these are valid or not; use the link embedded in the notice to object and post a comment, do not just remove the tag).
• For IP editors, templates and notes left to indicate other users share the same IP address. This includes schools, military installations, WiFi hotspots, and other shared IP addresses, but not dynamic IP addresses. Very old content on these pages may be removed.

In general, one should avoid substantially editing another's user and user talk pages, except when it is likely edits are expected and/or will be helpful. If unsure, ask.

If an editor asks you not to edit their user pages, such requests should, within reason, be respected. However, editors

If the community lets you know that they would rather you delete some content from your user space, you should consider doing so—such content is only permitted with the consent of the community. Alternatively, you could move the content to another site, and link to it.

Although other editors will aim to respect your user space, if corrective action is needed and not undertaken, the inappropriate content will eventually be removed, either by editing the page (if only part is inappropriate), by redirecting the page to your main user page (if entirely inappropriate), by community discussion at

The best option if there is a concern with a user's page is to draw their attention to the matter via their talk page and let them edit it themselves, if they are agreeable. In some cases a more experienced editor may make substantive edits to another user's user space, in which case that editor should leave a note explaining why this was done. This should not be done for trivial reasons. If the user does not agree, or does not effectively remedy the concerns, or the matter is unsure or controversial, then other steps in this section can be taken including

If the material must be addressed urgently (for example, unambiguous copyright, attack, defamation, or

Unsuitable pages, media and images in userspace may also be nominated for deletion or (if appropriate)

When a user leaves Wikipedia, their user and user talk pages are usually unaffected and may be edited again at any future time. Some users place the {{retired}} template on their user and talk page to let others know that they are away for an extended period or permanently. A user may blank their user and user talk pages (i.e. overwriting with a blank page) provided non-removable notices (if any) are left intact.

Wikipedia's community traditionally offers a

Summary of key points: While some help can be given, it is not possible for your edits to be removed entirely, and account deletion would potentially violate

Users who have left Wikipedia may be added to Wikipedia:Missing Wikipedians after a certain amount of time, usually one year without an edit.

As with article pages, user pages are occasionally the targets of vandalism, or, more rarely, edit wars. When edit wars or vandalism persist, the affected page should be protected from editing.

Most user page vandalism occurs in retaliation for a contributor's efforts to deal with vandalism. Administrators may protect their own user pages when appropriate, and are permitted to edit protected pages in user space. Sometimes a non-administrator's user page may be targeted for vandalism. Some of this vandalism is prevented through

In cases in which the filter is insufficient in preventing vandalism to a non-administrator's user page, an editor may create a .css suffixed sub-page containing their user page content within their user space, transclude the sub-page into their main user page, then request that an administrator fully protect their user page. (For instance, create User:Example User as {{User:Example User/userpage.css}}.) This method will completely prevent further vandalism by limiting user page editing to yourself, and interface administrators, since ".js" and ".css" pages in userspace can only be edited by them. Note that the addition of inappropriate content to your user page after locking other editors out is considered a serious offense.

Repeatedly inserting copyrighted content or other inappropriate material on your own user pages after being notified not to do so, or misusing user space following a block (e.g., for

Vandalism of talk pages is less common. Usually such vandalism should merely be reverted. Blocks should be used for repeated vandalism of talk pages, where policy permits. In rare cases, protection may be used but is considered a last resort given the importance of talk page discussions to the project.

If you wish to delete your own page, tag the top of the page with {{db-u1}}, and an administrator will delete it for you. However, note that user talk pages are normally not deleted.

In general, other users' user pages are managed by that user. Except for blatant or serious matters, it is preferable to try contacting the user before deletion (see above). However, unambiguous copyright violations, attack pages, promotional text, and privacy or

Take special care to

Use of a user page as a personal web page unconnected with Wikipedia's mission may be a

You can request the deletion of your user page or subpages, by adding {{

Pages which were moved into your user space from somewhere else may also not be deleted upon your request: These must be listed at Articles for deletion if they originated as articles, or Miscellany for deletion for anything else. If you want to move such pages back to where they came from but are unable to complete the move for technical reasons, you can request technical help at Wikipedia:Requested moves/Technical requests.

You can also

Alternatively, you might consider simply making the page redirect to your user page or your talk page. This is normally sufficient for most people's needs. Note that while you may redirect your user page and its subpages to your talk page, you may not redirect your talk page to another page in your user space.