Template:Talkheader/doc

Introduction
This template is a signpost. It is designed to be used on talk pages, to provide:


 * A short introduction and appropriate links for newcomers.
 * A reminder of policy to experienced Wikipedians.
 * A list of links to the current talk page's archives.

Usage
To add this template to a talk page, just edit the talk page, and put at the top of the page (above existing conversations).

Using the template is suggested for talk pages that are very active or have had policy violation problems. 'This template should be used only when needed''. Do not add this template to every talk page. In particular, it should not be added to otherwise empty talk pages.''' (For more information on this topic, see the talk page for this template, including the talk archives and the TfD logs.)

This template is a self-reference.

Archive links
When used on a talk page that has archives, and when those archives are named using the standard of "/Archive 1", "/Archive 2", etc, links to those archive pages will be listed automatically within this template. A link to the archive index is also displayed, if it is named "/Archive index".

If no archives exist for the current talk page, or if archives exist but possess non-standard names, no archive links will be displayed.

Archive links can be manually switched off using the parameter. For example:

Namespace appearances
Be aware that this template will appear differently in different namespaces. In particular, in the article namespace, there is an additional box of "Article policies". That box does not appear when this template is used in any other namespace (including the template namespace). Here is what the template looks like with the "Article policies" box:

Other differences include:


 * In article space, the phrase "This is not a forum for general discussion about the article's subject." appears (as another bullet point, after "New to Wikipedia").
 * The term "article" is used in article space; in other namespaces, the term "page" is used.
 * In the user namespace, the header line changes to read "This is USERNAME's talk page, where you can send messages and comments to USERNAME.".