Template:In use/doc

Usage
This template is for pages actively undergoing a major edit. If the page instead is actively undergoing construction, please use Under construction.

The In use template message is placed at the top of a page you are actively editing for a short period of time. The tag is intended to inform people that someone is currently working on the article, thereby reducing edit conflicts. Please do not leave it in place for more than the few hours at most that should be necessary, as doing so may unnecessarily discourage others from contributing to the article. If it has been up for more than two hours since the last edit, it should be removed. Specifying periods of several days or longer for this template goes against the spirit of simply avoiding edit conflicts; please only use it for sessions where you are actively editing the article.

There is one exception where you are not editing an article, but it temporarily needs to be "frozen" from further edits so it remains stable. Currently, the only reason for doing that is to create a spoken Wikipedia reading of the article. If the article is so long - or your reading requires the time - that it takes more than two hours to record, you should re-open editing, then save the article to start the clock over. A use of this template with a warning such as  is acceptable.

If you wish to indicate that an article is being rebuilt over a longer period of time consider the template. That template encourages others to edit the article while indicating that it is a work in progress.

To use, just add   at the top of the article you want to work on. If you want to reserve it for a specific length of time and optionally, a message, use. Alternatively, if only one section of the page is being edited, you may place this template at the top of that section using. Please remember to remove the In use note as soon as you're finished editing.

Using this template will place the including article in Category:Pages actively undergoing a major edit.