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→Minor edits
When editing a page, a [[MediaWiki User's Guide: Logging-in|logged-in]] user has the option of flagging the edit as a "minor edit". This feature is important, because users can choose to ''hide'' minor edits in their view of the [[MediaWiki User's Guide: The Recent Changes page | Recent Changes page]], to keep the volume of edits down to a manageable level.
When to use this is somewhat a matter of personal preference. The rule of thumb is that an edit of a page that consists edits consisting of spelling corrections, formatting, and minor rearranging of text should be flagged as a "minor edit". A major edit is basically something that makes the entry worth revisiting for somebody who wants to watch the article rather closely. So any "real" change, even if it is a single word, should be flagged as a "major edit".
The reason for not allowing a user who is not logged in to mark an edit as minor is that vandalism could then be marked as a minor edit, in which case it would stay unnoticed longer. This limitation is another reason to log in.
