Furthermore, it often seems that the “real” rules are significantly different than what the wiki says.
It’s a wiki, so you can improve it if you want ;) I revamped the LW faq significantly a while ago, including adding that portion… I was attempting to codify things as they were, not describe how things should be (although, I like the idea of using the FAQ that way as well; if this thread seems to have come to some kind consensus writing it up in the FAQ seems like a good way to codify it for posterity).
Main exists to encourage people to submit longer posts (on the order of a couple thousand words or more). Shorter posts may be appropriate for Main, if they are exceptionally high quality. Other factors that suggest you should post in Main include...
I do this without any pretense of representing some consensus from this thread; the consensus if anything seems to be that we should modify how the Main / Discussion distinction works at the level of site software. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem likely to happen any time soon.
So instead, the above is my attempt to explain the main purpose currently served by Main, influenced particularly by this comment and also Vaniver’s comments. It’s a rough patch, but I hope it’s at least a slight improvement.
It’s a wiki, so you can improve it if you want ;) I revamped the LW faq significantly a while ago, including adding that portion… I was attempting to codify things as they were, not describe how things should be (although, I like the idea of using the FAQ that way as well; if this thread seems to have come to some kind consensus writing it up in the FAQ seems like a good way to codify it for posterity).
I’ve edited the wiki to read:
I do this without any pretense of representing some consensus from this thread; the consensus if anything seems to be that we should modify how the Main / Discussion distinction works at the level of site software. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem likely to happen any time soon.
So instead, the above is my attempt to explain the main purpose currently served by Main, influenced particularly by this comment and also Vaniver’s comments. It’s a rough patch, but I hope it’s at least a slight improvement.