Archives:Contributing Guidelines

From Dragons Exodus

Revision as of 21:20, 7 March 2006

Articles entered into the Archives need to have a certain structure and format in order to ensure redeability and consistency. At the same time, there is a need to ensure fairness to all clans, temples, players and areas. Therefore, a consistant way of dealing with information eeds to be applied on all entries.

Articles

Articles are the equivalent of computer files or the actual entries in an encyclopedia. Needless to say, they have to be quite comprehensive. However, they do not have to START that way. Write what you are sure about and let others add to it. If an article is (or becomes) too long for readability, it needs to be arranged in a manner that it has an automatic table of contents.

Make sure your articles always lin to relevant categories and internal links are added in the articles.

New articles are created by typing in http://www.editthis.info/Dragons_Exodus/index.php/Your_Article_Name

Article Naming

Articles are referenced by their names, so choosing an appropriate one is very key. Most information can be referred to by its proper name, such as "Vampires" or "Kleothera". Sometimes, it's helpful to further qualify a name if it's possibly ambiguous we do this by appending a parenthetical to the end.

If an article's title has more than one word, DO use spaces.

When naming an article, do not use a colon (:) in the name. This is reserved for "namespaces" a feature of the wiki system and used only in very special circumstances.

New Pages

Take care, however when creating new pages that are 'orphaned' pages. Unless linked, they are are hard to find. And chances are, if the topic was important enough to have an article, it is mentioned in some related article(s). Also, when creating new pages, feel free to go back to older, related pages and create any links that may seem appropriate.

Categories

All (or almost all) articles should contain at least one category, and usually more. Categories are added at the end of an article and usually refer to a group or classification for that article. For instance, the page "Kleothera" is in the "Current Immortals" category (and Circle of Fire and Discordance).

Needless to say, if an article belongs in a sub-category, there is no need to include it in the more generic category when linking.

Note: Only a Sysop can delete categories. Therefore, be sure that a new category is needed before creating one. If you have accidentally created one that needs to be deleted, ask Cerethon, Kleothera or Aerick to delete it for you.

Content

Points to be kept in mind

1. Refer to factual items using the wiki link markup (e.g. foo), but only in the first reference (or if it's not obvious). No need to make every word in the body a link.
2. Always remember to add a category to the article.
3. Do not include OOC comments in the body of the page. If you need to share information or comments about an article, use the "Talk"/"Discussion" tab for that page.
4. When creating links, make sure you check the plurality of any existing topics. You can specify a link to the singular while maintaining a plural form in context using proper wiki markup.
5. Avoid excessive use of external links (cross linking of internal references to categories using an external link in edit). It may indeed be used in some instances, but do not make it a norm.
6. When writing an article on an area, cross link it to a map. You may use Cerethon's Forest Maps site for this as an external link.
7. IC information that has not been formalised as helpfiles yet eg guides on the races other than elder, or clan histories) an be created directly in the wiki. These will, however, eventually locked for editing.
8. If when writing an entry you feel you do not know a part of the plot and want to ask others about it, do leave an entry on the talk page.

Privilaged Information

• Please do not share quests, skills information, or anything that should reasonably stay private (i.e., clan information).
• Information that is related to quests should only be included when they are instrumental in describing an area or NPC, and of course, we should never include any information that you could not attain without actually completing part of a quest.
• If information related to a quest must be included, be as vague as possible.

DE specific considerations 1. In pages about Areas, individual places within the area should be bolded (unless they are linked). 2. Other areas and all denizens should be linked, not bolded or italicised. 3. Locations should link via the entire proper name. For instance "Thakissis River" not "Thakissis River".

Editing

When you edit an existing page, please be considerate and summarise what you did in the Summary field.

Specific Categories

Historical Figures

Occasionally, the need will arise to link to and talk about adventurers who have contributed significantly to the world. This is a somewhat grey area, but we have a few rules of thumb to indicate when an adventurer warrants a page and when it doesn't:

• The person must be a major contributor in some verifiable historical event.
• Verifiable means included in an event post or otherwise endorsed/approved by an immortal. Character backgrounds and made up fiction are not verifiable.
• Simply participating in an event is not enough to warrant a separate article. However, being the catalyst to a major world event can be.
• Becoming a clan or temple leader, let alone officer, is not enough to warrant an article, but being the first (founding) one probably is or having lead one for one year or longer real time.

When in doubt, always err on the side of not creating an historical figure article. It is (and should be) a major achievement to be written into the pages of history and is not for everyone. If you're still unsure and think a person warrants a separate article, seek approval first.

Principal NPCs

Major named NPCs (RP loaded ones) or area NPCs that have a huge role in determining the IC nature of areas alone are to be determined. These include royalty, city administrators, healers and major shop owners. Do not write articles about NPCs that are of no IC significance or lack a unique name.

Areas and Geography

Information on areas in DE is divided into two broad categories- viz Geography and Continents. Continents contain the areas of DE by continent. Geography contains specific features like rivers and forests. If an area is solely of one geographical type, only one article is created for both and classified under two categories. However, in case a part of the overall larger area belongs to a Geographical type (eg. there is a river and village and a swamp in the Thakissis River Basin, among other things). In this case, Thakissis River Basin is entered as an Area in the Eastern Continent and entries for Thakissis Swamp and River and Lizardman Village are created under appropriate heads in Geography.

Objects

Do not seek to write about all good equipment in DE. Indeed, avoid creating articles on that basis. Refer to only those items that have IC significance or have historically been used in RP. If an object is obtained through an area quest, do not under any circumstances reveal how to get it. Indeed, try to be vague about objects which need to be obtained through interaction with NPCs or solving riddles.