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Wiki contribution guidelines

This wiki can be edited by all users, and we encourage everyone to contribute whenever they feel capable. However, we ask that contributors keep the following guidelines in mind:

  • The primary purpose of the wiki is to improve the quality of questions posted in the sub, by providing quality background information and official sources that users can refer to before asking their question. So often the best kinds of contributions will simply be links to comments that contain high-quality answers to frequently-asked questions.

  • If you see something that you think is incorrect, try to "clarify" or "expand on" it instead of replacing it. The mods will review and clean up the wiki from time to time, so it's generally better to let information that has been shown to be unclear/incorrect to be removed by the mods at that time.

  • Cite sources and data instead of anecdotes or personal experience. Personal experience has a role to play on reddit, of course, but it doesn't generally belong in this wiki. Try to keep the tone factual/neutral, and cite as many sources as possible.

  • Avoid oversimplification. Simplified advice can sometimes be the best advice, depending on the recipient. However, that's not the tone that we're aiming for with this wiki. The wiki assumes that its readers are already somewhat familiar with day-to-day life in Japan, and it is intended to be the place that people look for nuanced and well-sourced information rather than glib oversimplifications or shortcuts. Only add something to the wiki when you are able to explain it in a bit of detail, with links to relevant sources.

  • On the pages that list specific businesses, we would prefer not to list every single business that provides a specific service or sells a specific product. Instead, we would like to limit such lists to only businesses that have exceptional qualities or are unusually good value.

  • Hopefully this goes without saying, but don't use wiki edits to win arguments or score points in a debate. If a topic is the subject of contentious discussion in a comment thread, keep the argument in the thread rather than bringing it into the wiki. If necessary, edit the wiki only once there has been some resolution of the issue.

  • If you make a significant contribution, let us know! The wiki is a big place, so we won't always notice contributions immediately. But if you make a significant contribution, we want to be able to praise your efforts in our monthly moderation thread, as well as offering you the chance to adopt a custom user flair.