Difference between revisions of "Style Guide"

1,461 bytes added ,  16:25, 24 April 2014
m
no edit summary
m
Line 1: Line 1:
This style guide represents the agreed-upon conventions of the wiki's community as to how the wiki should be constructed. It is by no means finalized and is likely subject to change as more efficient organization/design practices come about. For newer users, this should be a useful way to understand how to craft your article to meet the wiki's standards.
This style guide represents the agreed-upon conventions of the wiki's community as to how the wiki should be constructed. It is by no means finalized and is likely subject to change as more efficient organization/design practices come about. For newer users, this should be a useful way to understand how to craft your article to meet the wiki's standards.


= Categories =
== Headers and subheaders ==
Headers are extremely important in AetoliaWiki; not only do they help visually separate information, they also create segmented chunks of text that can be individually edited, linked to, etc.
 
=== Header conventions ===
Headers are created by surrounding text in <nowiki>= equal =</nowiki> signs. Using more <nowiki>==== equal ====</nowiki> signs will create different sorts of headers, each with decreasing emphasis and visual prominence.
 
* We always begin with level two headers. Level one headers are not permitted, because they follow the exact same format as the page's name at the top of the article, and therefore can be subject to site style changes.
:: '''<nowiki>== el'Jaziran Economy ==</nowiki>'''
* When moving to a different topic under the same realm of information in that header, you use a subheader:
:: '''<nowiki>=== The Slave Trade ===</nowiki>'''
 
* Headers are written in '''title case''' (all objects except for "the", "a", "in", "of", etc. are capitalized).
 
== Categories ==
Pages that represent a catalog of similar articles. Can hold subcategories, and their own content.
Pages that represent a catalog of similar articles. Can hold subcategories, and their own content.


Line 13: Line 26:
:: Ex: [[Asper]] should be categorized as an island area and a subcontinent/landmass area, but not belong to the Areas category.
:: Ex: [[Asper]] should be categorized as an island area and a subcontinent/landmass area, but not belong to the Areas category.


= Naming Conventions =
== Naming Conventions ==
* Articles should ''never'' begin with "The" if it can be helped. The reason for this is that MediaWiki counts this word when it alphabetizes articles; when browsing categories, all articles beginning with "The" appear under "T", making it difficult to find what you want.
* Articles should ''never'' begin with "The" if it can be helped. The reason for this is that MediaWiki counts this word when it alphabetizes articles; when browsing categories, all articles beginning with "The" appear under "T", making it difficult to find what you want.


= Templates =
=== Handling Redirections ===
To prevent us from having to enter <nowiki>[[Aalen Forest|The Aalen Forest]]</nowiki> every time we want to link to the correctly-named article, we use redirections.
* A redirection page is a page that contains this token and nothing else:
::'''<nowiki>#REDIRECT [[My Page]]</nowiki>'''
* Attempting to navigate to a redirection page simply sends you to the intended page!
 
== Templates ==
We all play a text-based game via programmable clients, so the concept of templates should come naturally: they are basically functions or objects made for the wiki.
We all play a text-based game via programmable clients, so the concept of templates should come naturally: they are basically functions or objects made for the wiki.


Line 23: Line 42:
:: Ex 2: Tables don't really count. They are about as simple as they will possibly get.
:: Ex 2: Tables don't really count. They are about as simple as they will possibly get.


= Areas =
== Areas ==
Area pages are marked with the [[Template:AreaPage|<nowiki>{{AreaPage}}</nowiki>]] template. Obviously, these are articles for the various areas, or player-accessible zones, of the game.
Area pages are marked with the [[Template:AreaPage|<nowiki>{{AreaPage}}</nowiki>]] template. Obviously, these are articles for the various areas, or player-accessible zones, of the game.


=== Naming Area Pages ===
=== Naming Area Pages ===
* ''Vashnar Mountains'' is preferred over ''The Vashnar Mountains'', if only because then our category pages don't have massive clusters of articles under the "T" alphabetical listing.
* See ''Naming Conventions'' above: ''Vashnar Mountains'' is preferred over ''The Vashnar Mountains'', if only because then our category pages don't have massive clusters of articles under the "T" alphabetical listing.
* In using the AreaPage template, you should add a type as well: '''<nowiki>{{AreaPage|type=Mountains}}</nowiki>'''. Write the type in title case.
* In using the AreaPage template, you should add a type as well: '''<nowiki>{{AreaPage|type=Mountains}}</nowiki>'''. Write the type in title case.
** If, in assigning your article a type, it creates a new category, please open that category's page and add '''<nowiki>[[Category:Areas]]</nowiki>''' to it.
** If, in assigning your article a type, it creates a new category, please open that category's page and add '''<nowiki>[[Category:Areas]]</nowiki>''' to it.


= Correcting Pages =
== Correcting Pages ==
This wiki is very much a work in progress, and as of this writing requires significant changes to its infrastructure, to better facilitate future editing and readability.
This wiki is very much a work in progress, and as of this writing requires significant changes to its infrastructure, to better facilitate future editing and readability.