It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines; rather, its purpose is to explain certain aspects of Wikipedia's norms, customs, technicalities, or practices. It may reflect differing levels of consensus and vetting.
This page in a nutshell: The {{Centralized discussion}} template is a widely-transcluded listing of ongoing discussions, specifically those which have potentially wide-ranging impacts and therefore require input from the community at large.
The {{centralized discussion}} template (shortcut: T:CENT) is generally used to draw attention to discussions regarding policies, guidelines or other matters that have a wide impact and on which a broad consensus is needed. It expands to the box listing with heading "Centralized Discusssion" at the top of this page, listing such discussions.
There are many alternative methods of publicizing discussions. Announcements, such as for ArbCom elections, etc., are generally done via the Watchlist notice or the Sitenotice. Discussions related to content, including use of infoboxes and templates within a specific topic area, are usually best advertised within the appropriate WikiProjects.
Wikipedia:Village pump (policy) and Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals) provide central areas both for giving notice of discussions elsewhere and for debate itself. Despite regular archiving, these pages tend to grow rather lengthy. It's not always easy to know what issues are active.
Discussions listed on Cent are about matters that are significant enough to require a broad consensus. See Wikipedia:Canvassing for guidance on the appropriate way to gain attention.
Like any tool, this may be misused. Kindly exercise restraint, assume good faith, and allow process to take its course. Please don't add new policy ideas indiscriminately; trial balloons are better floated at Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals). This template should be reserved for ongoing discussions. Remember, its usefulness is in inverse proportion to its size.
Before joining a debate, it might be wise to gather some background, especially on complex or long-standing issues. Please be courteous to your fellow editors and read existing discussion before adding your own comment. It's hoped that {{centralized discussion}} will contribute to the opening of policy debate and the broadening of consensus; but of course no good purpose is served by uninformed comment. Stay cool.
You may create any page of the form Wikipedia talk:Centralized discussion/''Some topic'' if it does not appear that any particular existing talk page is the correct place for a policy-related discussion. Please note that there are a great many talk pages; a very large number of discussions are ongoing. Before creating yet another debate page, check to see that the topic is not already under discussion elsewhere. Search the project for keywords related to the topic in question.
For a listing of current collaborations, tasks, and news, see the Community portal. For a listing of ongoing discussions and current requests, see the Dashboard.
