Please do not dump Wikipedia into tag wikis

Question

Please do not populate tag wikis by copying text from Wikipedia.

Reviewers, please reject tag wiki suggestions that are copied from Wikipedia or other sources, or more generally that suggest content that isn't relevant to security professionals.

It's often illegal (copying content from Wikipedia requires attribution, which is impossible in a tag wiki excerpt), but that's not the main problem.

The main problem is that text from Wikipedia is almost never adequate for this site. Tag wikis are meant to contain information that is useful for our community. This is not the same goal as Wikipedia, so it isn't surprising that what's good for Wikipedia isn't good for us.

• Dictionary definitions for terms that everybody knows are not helpful. Define concepts only if they are not known to the whole community. Focus on the relevance to our community, i.e. security professionals.
  • Expand acronyms if they're common but not universal abbreviations (e.g. ids). Don't expand acronyms if they're a proper name that isn't normally expanded (e.g. aes).
• Do not include encyclopedic details such as who invented the concept and when. Encyclopedic data belongs on Wikipedia.
• Excerpts should be short and to the point. Put the concept in context: how is it relevant to a security professional? One sentence, or even a sentence fragment, is enough for all but the most subtle cases. If there is any doubt as to when the tag should and shouldn't be used, summarize the usage guidance in the excerpt.
• In the main tag wiki body, provide a high-level overview of the tag's subject material. Once again, explain what is relevant to a security professional.
  • Do link to the Wikipedia article if there is one.
  • Do link to the vendor or project home page if applicable, as well as any official documentation and other useful out-of-site resources (tutorials, implementations, etc.).
• Also explain in more detail when the tag should and shouldn't be used, if it isn't immediately obvious. Don't write “the tag widget is about widgets”, but if it isn't always clear when the tag should be used, do provide usage guidance.
  • Do mention tags that people might want to use instead or in addition.
• Look for frequently asked questions in the tag and link them in the tag wiki. Votes and views are often a good indicator but use your own experience and judgement as well. Linking questions helps people confronted with common problem, and helps close voters find duplicates more quickly.

For more guidance about tag wikis, see the blog post.