Tachyony: Imported page

2022-01-18T00:41:27Z

Imported page

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{{essay|WP:TEMPORARY}}
[[File:Echafaudage Tour de la Lanterne La Rochelle.jpg|thumb|right|200px|When a building is covered in scaffolding for a long time, debates can arise over whether having this visible scaffolding and construction work for so long is desirable.]]
A '''temporary version''' is a saved version of a page in [[WP:NS0|Main Article Space]] in which the editor who saves the changes actually has plans to make more permanent changes at a later time or date, or has the strong expectation that one or more other editors will. The later time may be a few minutes or days later, or may be indefinite. A ''temporary version'' may or may not have an incomplete appearance to the reader.

==Arguments for temporary versions==
* [[WP:WIP|Wikipedia is a work in progress]]. Technically, few if any pages can ever be complete. Additionally, many pages are about ever-changing subjects and require non-stop updates.
* Some pages are so complicated that it is impossible to complete them or complete certain changes in a single edit. But there is a desire for them to be in mainspace prior to their completion.
* Some pages are so long that it is difficult for a single editor to complete the entire page, and help may be needed from others.
* They can be used as a neutral location when it is likely that some involved editors would not like to edit a draft in another particular editor's user-space.

==Arguments against temporary versions==
* Wikipedia is for the readers more than the editors. A page in a temporary state gives a bad impression of the page and of Wikipedia altogether.
* Temporary versions may lack accuracy or neutrality.
* One might view making a temporary version as harmless. But [[WP:PVS|the number of times a page is viewed]] varies for each article. If an article is viewed around 6000 times in a day, that is approximately 4 views per minute. That means for each minute that passes between saving different edits, about 4 people have viewed the page. This is acceptable if the article is simply incomplete, but is problematic when the information is out-of-date or otherwise inaccurate, especially with a [[WP:BLP|living person]] or otherwise sensitive subject.
* Editors can avoid temporary versions by performing all proposed changes in their own [[WP:USERSPACE|userspace]], as a [[Template:Userspace draft|draft]], and then transferring their planned final version to the article when they are done.

==Marking temporary versions==
There are various [[WP:TM|templates]] that can be used to indicate that a page is in a temporary state:
* {{tl|New page}}, to indicate that the page has just been created and may not be complete
* {{tl|Newlist}}, for lists that are not complete
* {{tl|Userspace draft}}, for new articles temporarily in userspace
* {{tl|In use}}, to indicate that the page is in the process of an update that is taking multiple edits at the present time, and others should not disturb the page
* {{tl|Under construction}}, to indicate that the page is undergoing a major revamping, but that others are welcome to edit during this process
* {{tl|Incomplete list}}, to indicate a list is in the process of being built and that others should help expand it
* {{tl|Dynamic list}}, to indicate the list can never remain in a complete or steady state. The list covers an ever-changing topic, and will likely always need updates.
* {{tl|Update}}, to indicate that the information on a page is in need of an update

{{Wikipedia essays|building}}

[[Category:Wikipedia essays about building the encyclopedia]]

Wikipedia:Temporary versions of articles - Revision history

Tachyony: Imported page