TechInfoDepot:Edit requests

Edit requests are requests for edits to be made to a page, where the editors cannot or should not make the proposed edits themselves. Requests should be accompanied by a clear and specific description of the requested change, and consensus should be obtained before formally making the request. Requests are made using an appropriate talk page template (see making requests below). Clarity in edit requests is important, and providing the new sentences or code in your request, if possible, will expedite the process.

Errors on the Main Page are a special case, and should not be handled via standard edit requests. To report an error you have noticed on the current main page or tomorrow's main page, please add it to the appropriate section on TechInfoDepot:Main Page/Errors.

Procedure
The general procedure for edit requests is:
 * 1) Propose a specific change on the talk page, and get consensus for it. Don't add an edit request template yet.
 * 2) Once it is clear there is consensus for the change, and any final details have been worked out, put a template on the talk page along with a short, clear explanation.
 * 3) A user who can implement the edit will notice the template has been added, and will respond to the request.

Prior consensus is not needed for uncontroversial changes which do not require sourcing, such as correcting typographical errors or disambiguating links, so step 1 can be omitted for these. However, in such cases do consider points 1. and 2. of "general considerations" below.

General considerations
Edit requests for articles should meet four basic criteria. Edit requests for templates should meet these as well as an additional requirement of adequate testing - see below. Before requesting an edit, please consider the following points:


 * 1) Is an edit request necessary? If the protection on a page is of short duration or is about to expire, consider waiting a few extra hours for the opportunity to make the edit yourself. If the page is semi-protected and you are nearing the threshold to edit such pages yourself (10 edits and your account at least 4 days old), consider waiting until you can do it yourself.
 * 2) Is the request specific? Any edit request must be accompanied by a detailed and specific description of what changes need to be made. Clearly indicate which sections or phrases should be replaced, and what they should be replaced with.
 * 3) Is the request sensible? It is sensible to perform basic tidying such as ensuring all references are properly formatted using citation templates, and that the section still flows correctly after the text is changed.
 * 4) Is the request controversial? Edit requests for fully protected pages must be handled by an administrator. Administrators can only respond to requests which are either uncontroversial improvements (correcting typos or grammar, formatting references, etc. in articles; or improving reliability or efficiency of template code) or are already supported by a consensus of editors, usually on the protected page's talkpage. Please do not add the  template merely to attract attention to the change, as it clutters up the relevant edit request category with unactionable requests. If consensus is required for the change and you would like the request to be actioned on sooner, please indicate a clear consensus rather than requiring the admin to read pages of discussion.

Responding editors may decline to make any edit, and are especially likely to reject edits that are controversial, violate TechInfoDepot policy, or do not have evidence of consensus. There is a forum at TechInfoDepot:Requests for page protection to discuss significant or controversial edits to protected pages.

Making requests
The simplest approach for edit requests for a protected or semi-protected page is to use the View source tab on that page and use the "Submit an edit request" link at the bottom right; this automatically loads the correct talk page template. Where requests are made due to the editor having a conflict of interest (COI; see TechInfoDepot:Suggestions for COI compliance), the request edit template should be used; it must be added manually to the relevant page's talkpage.

Alternatively, the templates can be used directly, adding them manually to the relevant page's talkpage:
 * edit protected for fully protected pages;
 * edit semi-protected for semi-protected pages;
 * request edit for conflict-of-interest edits.

Response time
Edit request templates automatically add the relevant page into an appropriate administrative category, such as Category:TechInfoDepot protected edit requests (from edit protected, for edits to fully protected pages). Administrators routinely check this category for protected edit requests to process. In the three months of September through November 2007, the average time for a request to be handled was approximately 23 hours, and 75% of requests were resolved within 26 hours. Other relevant categories, Category:TechInfoDepot semi-protected edit requests and Category:Requested edits, are patrolled by other editors. Please be patient; it can take a few days for an edit request to be acted upon.

Edits affecting several pages
Sometimes the same or similar edits are needed on several pages, such as adding the same category to many pages. In this case, add the template to only one talk page, with a list of all the pages that need updating and a clear description of what needs to be done. This saves work both for the editor making the request and for the editor responding to the request. Requests for large-scale edits that require administrative abilities can also be made at the administrator's noticeboard.

Requests for templates
If you are requesting a complex change to a template it is a good idea to place the required code on the template's sandbox copy. This gives the opportunity to test the code before changing the live template. Instead of pasting the code on the talk page, which can affect its readability, just place a link to the /sandbox along with the request and rationale.


 * Clearly indicate which lines of code need to be changed, or (ideally) provide a link or diff to a sandbox which contains the entire code of the template, with the required changes. The responding editor can then simply replace the code in the live template with the code from the sandbox.
 * Edits to protected templates, except when they are trivial, must be tested in a sandbox first to make sure that they do not cause problems or corrupted output.

Further information needed
Sometimes responding editors may request further information, and disable the template by changing the answered parameter to "yes" — e.g. . Feel free to re-enable the template when the additional information has been provided or an additional consensus obtained by changing the "yes" in the template to "no". (If you're unable to do this, you can simply respond on the talk page. If you then receive no response in a day or two, submit a new edit request.)

Responding to requests
In responding to requests, consider the four points listed under "General considerations". In particular, edits likely to be controversial should have prior consensus, and edits to templates should be appropriately tested beforehand. Responding editors should use their judgement to respond appropriately to requests, and take into account relevant TechInfoDepot policies such as neutral point of view, verifiability and reliable sourcing. Edits made on behalf of other editors should be appropriately attributed in the edit summary.

EP and ESp are standard templates for responding to edit requests for protected and semi-protected pages respectively, with a variety of options. For example, /  is convenient for responding to insufficiently specific requests. and should not be subst:ed.

Once the request has been responded to, the responding editor should disable the protected edit request template by changing the answered parameter to "yes" — e.g..

Monitoring new requests
Editors may wish to use the following lists to keep track of new edit requests:
 * User:AnomieBOT/PERTable - protected edit requests ([ add to watchlist])
 * User:AnomieBOT/SPERTable - semi-protected edit requests ([ add to watchlist])

These pages are automatically updated by AnomieBOT. Because they are regular TechInfoDepot pages and not categories, it is possible inspect the page histories to see edit requests which have previously been closed. AnomieBOT also includes the number of pending requests in its edit summary when it updates the list, making it possible to monitor new edit requests directly from the watchlist.