Wikipedia:Edit lock

From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change

Wikipedia does not use software article locks on pages, because some feel that this would be contrary to the policy and spirit of openness. Page protection is never to be used for closing down an article's normal development and community editing.

[change] {{inuse}} template

On the other hand we do have {{inuse}} tags, which can be used to tell people that you are in making a larger edit (within 1 – 180 minutes). Other people can still edit the article, but courteous users should leave it alone until you're done. (This "soft lock" has been proposed as a built-in software feature in bugzilla:1510, and is already a feature of other wiki software.) If you do use such a "lock" please be responsive to any inquiries about the lock. The template looks like this:

An editor is currently changing this project page for a short while. In the terms of Wikipedia this is called major edit. As a courtesy, please do not edit this article when you see this message. The person who added this notice will be listed in the history of this article. If this article has not been edited recently, please remove this template. This message is intended to help reduce edit conflicts; please remove it between editing sessions to allow others to improve the article.