USApedia:Accountability features
We trust our editors. To balance the power granted to every USApedia editor to change any article, there are accountability features built into the wiki.
- Individuals need to have an account in order to make changes to USApedia
- Every edit is tied to an individual editor in three places (Recent changes, the article's history, and the editor's user contributions)
- Every edit can be undone by any editor. The change being undone is still preserved in the article history.
- Every page to which you edit is added to your watchlist. When any page on your watchlist is changed by someone else, you receive an email notifying you of that change.
- Every version of every article can be seen in the article's history.
The accuracy and usability of the information on USApedia depends on the active participation of all USApedia users in monitoring content, editing for improvement, and engaging other editors using the accountability features described below.
Identify and contact article editors
If you encounter content on USApedia that looks questionable, inappropriate, or confusing, consider emailing the person who posted it to ask questions, suggest a new format, or provide other constructive feedback.
If you have not already done so, please fill out the information on your user page
You can access your user page by clicking on your username at the top of the USApedia screen. Does your username appear in red? That's because you haven't added content yet! You can use the "Basic user page" template from the drop down list. If you do not see a drop down list, follow the "create this page" link and you should be brought to a page that does have that option. Do not include any personal privacy information.
Four steps to identify and email users who have edited information on any USApedia page
- Click on the history tab at the top of any page. This will show you a chronological list of every edit made to the page, and the username of the person responsible for each change.
- On the history page, select the appropriate radio buttons and click compare versions to pinpoint the edit that you are curious or concerned about.
Watch articles you care about
USApedia provides an easy way to keep tabs on all edits other USApedia users make to pages you’ve contributed to, or pages that are relevant to your subject matter area. Simply log in to your USApedia account and click on the star at the top of any page (above, right). This will add the page to your watchlist. By default, you will receive email notification when a page on your watchlist is changed. You will only receive these emails if you have verified your a USApedia account.
Flag articles for review
Let’s say you come across a page that appears to have inaccurate or disorganized content. You are encouraged/welcome to remedy the problem by simply editing the page yourself. If you are not a subject matter expert, or if you think it would be better to have the author(s) consider your views and make the change themselves, you can “flag” the page for others to review by making a simple edit to the page. The “flags” appear as colored boxes, like those on the top of this page. The will be visible to everyone who visits the page.
How to Flag Pages for Review
The ‘’’Review Flag’’’ should be used for pages with content that you believe to be inaccurate or inappropriate for posting on USApedia.
- Click on the ‘’’Edit’’’ tab. At the top of the page in the editing window, type two brackets {{review}}.
- In the ‘’’”Summary”’’’ box just below the editing window, briefly explain the reason you have flagged the page for review.
- Save your change by clicking on the ‘’’Save page’’’ button at the bottom of the window. A blue flag will now appear on the top of the page.
How to flag articles for cleanup
The ‘’’Cleanup Flag’’’ should be used for pages with content that could benefit from better formatting—ie., pages that are disorganized, that have formatting mistakes; pages that are too long and should be broken up into subpages; etc.
- Follow the instructions for adding the ‘’’Review Flag’’’ above, but in the editing window, type {{cleanup}}.
- Explain your reason for flagging the page in the ‘’’Summary’’’ box and save the page.
Once a page has been flagged for review, it is automatically added to the list of ‘Articles for Review.’’’ Pages flagged for cleanup are added to the list of 'Articles for Cleanup’’’.
How To monitor and fix flagged articles
Anyone can make the changes necessary to remove the Cleanup or Review Flag—these changes do not necessarily have to be made by the author.
- Click on the edit tab, make any necessary changes, and then delete the {{review}} or {{cleanup}} code from the top of the page.
- Be sure to explain in the Summary box (just below the editing window) how you addressed the issue that prompted the flag—ie., whether you changed the content, or reviewed the content and decided it was correct or appropriate formatted as it was.
- Save the page. This will remove the flag, and will take the page off of the list of Articles to be reviewed or cleaned up.