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User warnings are standardised messages which can be used by administrators — and in some cases, others — to gently advise other users how they can bring their editing practices into harmony with this wiki's policies. They are also designed to reduce the work-load of admin by making it possible to leave a detailed message with only a few keystrokes.
Origins
The idea for this system arose from a forum discussion designed to improve retention of new and IP users. There, it was decided that brief, specific template messages placed on user pages would be a better way of instructing users about the rules of the wiki. The current "system" of individualised messages pointing generally to, for example, the manual of style, was deemed too time-consuming for the person leaving the message, and too vague for the person reading it.
The final form of this thing arises mainly from an idea supplied by sulfur as an example of things going on at Memory Alpha, as well as the current state of Wikipedia's user warning project. The basic idea of the system is to create a lot of little messages that point to specific parts of the MOS and other policy pages. Language in the messages should remain friendly and objective, thereby eliminating unintentional harshness of tone. Furthermore, since the message is standardised, there will hopefully be fewer case of perceived personal bias.
Though the basic idea of the system is not terribly new, is execution retains a good deal of "TARDIS flair". The actual form of the messages has been wholly created at this wiki and doesn't exist anywhere else on the web — at least, not until it's shared under the beauty that is the CC-BY-SA copyleft license.
How it works
Placing a message on a user talk page
Making new messages
The format for new pages has been made as simple as possible, and includes just a few steps: naming, calling the framework, and entering the message.
Picking a good name
When naming a new message, try to pick a template title that makes sense but uses as few words as possible. If at all possible, try to use just one word. Remember that your message should be about a very specific point of policy.
Imagine that we wanted to alert a user to the fact that we use "Romana II" not "Romana 2". We'd want to create a message about the naming of the character of Romana (i.e. the rule at T:ROMANA), not a message which just says, "Please follow the manual of style."
Thus, we set the base name of our message to be Romana. If we were talking about pictures, we'd probably have to go to a second word, like "pic width" or "pic filesize" or something. Butw e only have, or ar likely to have, 1 real rule about Romana's name, so that's a safe bet.
But we can't call the template just
[[template:Romana]]
. We have four levels of message, so each message requires four templates. In this case, the templates would be:
[[template:Romana1]], [[template:Romana2]], [[template:Romana3, and [[template:Romana4]]
Each template would be very similar, but would feature differences according to the level of warning.
Framework
Following are the basic frameworks for each level. To make new templates, just copy and paste these frameworks into your new page. Type your message in the blank space provided. Don't alter anything else about the format. If you accidentally delete even a carriage return from the framework, it could affect the way that the message displays. The closing </div> tag must be on a line by itself for the text to display properly.
Level 1
=={{{2|{{generic1}}}}==
{{Warn1}}
<br>
{{{1|}}}
</div>
Level 2
=={{{2|{{generic1}}}}==
{{Warn2}}
<br>
{{{1|}}}
</div>
Level 3
=={{{2|{{generic1}}}}==
{{Warn3}}
<br>
{{{1|}}}
</div>
Level 4
=={{{2|{{generic1}}}}==
{{Warn4}}
<br>
{{{1|}}}
</div>
Examples of each level
There are four different levels of message, as can be seen here.
Level 1
The sky is falling. Lots of other things are happening. Like this. And this. And that over there. There are many balls in the air, many plates spinning. I wish I could make you understand how much is going on.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ <span style="">02:52: Sat 15 Oct 2011 Just some friendly advice
Level 2
The sky is falling. Lots of other things are happening. Like this. And this. And that over there. There are many balls in the air, many plates spinning. I wish I could make you understand how much is going on.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ <span style="">00:24: Sat 15 Oct 2011
Level 3
The sky is falling. Lots of other things are happening. Like this. And this. And that over there. There are many balls in the air, many plates spinning. I wish I could make you understand how much is going on.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ <span style="">02:52: Sat 15 Oct 2011
Level 4
The sky is falling. Lots of other things are happening. Like this. And this. And that over there. There are many balls in the air, many plates spinning. I wish I could make you understand how much is going on.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ <span style="">00:24: Sat 15 Oct 2011
Rules for use
Any user may send out a level 1 or 2 message to another user. However, level 3 and 4 warnings can only be sent by an admin. If you're not an admin, and you post a level 3 or 4 warning on another user's page, you will become subject to blocking without warning.
Similarly, users shall not place these messages on an administrator's talk page out of spite. If you've had a message placed on your page by an administrator, don't turn around and place one on his or hers just to "get back at them". That said, so long as your intentions are positive rather than retributive, it's not forbidden for a user to put a level 1 message on an administrator's page. We all sometimes forget the rules and need a gentle reminder — which is precisely what the level 1 messages are for.
Be aware, though, that if you're wondering why an admin is appearing to break the rules, it's probably more effective to just post a simple question on his or her page.