Guidelines

Latest revision as of 12:13, 1 November 2022

The Dogcraft Wiki's goal is to be the definitive source of information for everything about the Dogcraft Minecraft Server, Discord, Website and fan community of ReNDoG. The Wiki should be able to serve as a point of reference for both new players seeking to find out more about us as well as veterans wanting to learn about our history. To reach this goal, the Dogcraft Wiki is able to be edited by anyone with a free Dogcraft.net account; everyone is able to contribute to help improve the site.

These Wiki Guidelines serve to help accomplish this goal by outlining the best practices to take when editing here as well as explaining the various facets of the project. However, they are not absolute (with exception to vandalism, which is prohibited by Rule #23); rather they are in place to act as a frame of reference or help document to make the most of your contributions. If you'd like additional assistance with editing, please feel free to ask on the Dogcraft Wiki discord.

Summary of Guidelines

These are the main principles of our Wiki editing guidelines. For detailed information on a specific topic, see the links in the section below.

Create articles that are relevant and interesting to the Dogcraft community.
Write impartially and without bias, as though you are reporting on the topic.
Third-person is the best perspective for almost all passages of text on the Wiki.
An easy to create yet effective article layout is: introduce the topic - give detail about the topic - provide images of the topic.
Templates such as player templates, infoboxes and navboxes can improve the delivery of information, so be sure to use them.

Other guidance and policy concerning Wiki editors:

You may not be able to edit a small selection of articles with important information or that are vital to the smooth operation of the Wiki. If you feel something on these needs to be changed or updated, contact a Wiki Administrator.
Be aware that others can edit articles and be open to communicating and working with them when necessary.
Every Wiki user has their own userpage which can be customised and does not need to follow the Wiki writing guidelines.
Vandalism of the Wiki is not tolerated and is punishable by Rule 23 of the Dogcraft Rules.

Additional Information

Page Types

The Wiki contains a number of different page types across a few different Namespaces. For information on how to write different types of pages, click the links below:

Articles - Main content pages containing information about various topics.
Guides - Tutorial pages describing how to complete a task.
User Pages - Where users can write about themselves and show off their content.

Policies & Information

Vandalism - Further information about Rule #23 and vandalism on the Wiki.
Wiki Administrators - Information about the project leaders.
Namespaces - Information about namespace organisation on the Wiki.
Redirects - Redirect policy.
Page Protection - Page protection information.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Sidebar Internal}}{{DISPLAYTITLE:CWP:Guidelines}}''See also: [[Dogcraft Wiki:Frequently Asked Questions|Wiki FAQ]]''
+{{Sidebar Internal}}
-Articles on the ''Cyberdog Nation Wiki'' should be '''informative''', '''helpful''' and '''answer''' all the '''questions''' someone may have about whatever the article topic is. Articles should also be impartial and cohesive, covering all the positives and negatives about the article's topic. In alignment with the [[Rules|server rules]], we also expect all articles to adhere to the "PG-13" policy, so inappropriate material is not permitted.
+The '''Dogcraft Wiki'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s goal is to be the definitive source of information for everything about the Dogcraft Minecraft Server, Discord, Website and fan community of ReNDoG. The Wiki should be able to serve as a point of reference for both new players seeking to find out more about us as well as veterans wanting to learn about our history. To reach this goal, the Dogcraft Wiki is able to be edited by anyone with a free Dogcraft.net account; everyone is able to contribute to help improve the site.
-The wiki permits articles about anything to do with the [[Dogcraft.net]] server. However, this does not mean everything is necessarily worthy of a page. We would rather have a smaller range of high-quality pages than a broad range of basic and low-quality pages. Often times a single page is more effective at explaining a topic than multiple; we want the wiki to be easy to navigate and gather information from.
+These Wiki Guidelines serve to help accomplish this goal by outlining the best practices to take when editing here as well as explaining the various facets of the project. However, they are not absolute (with exception to vandalism, which is prohibited by Rule #23); rather they are in place to act as a frame of reference or help document to make the most of your contributions. If you'd like additional assistance with editing, please feel free to ask on the Dogcraft Wiki discord.
-== Writing a good article ==
+==Summary of Guidelines==
-[[File:CD Logo Wiki.png|thumb|135x135px|Thank you for taking interest in writing an article for the Cyberdog Wiki Project!]]
+These are the main principles of our Wiki editing guidelines. For detailed information on a specific topic, see the links in the section below.
+*Create [[Dogcraft Wiki:Articles|articles]] that are relevant and interesting to the Dogcraft community.
+*Write impartially and without bias, as though you are reporting on the topic.
+*Third-person is the best perspective for almost all passages of text on the Wiki.
+*An easy to create yet effective [[Dogcraft Wiki:Articles#Article structure|article layout]] is: introduce the topic - give detail about the topic - provide images of the topic.
+*Templates such as [[Dogcraft Wiki:Articles#Player template|player templates]], [[Dogcraft Wiki:Articles#Infoboxes and Navboxes|infoboxes]] and [[Dogcraft Wiki:Articles#Infoboxes and Navboxes|navboxes]] can improve the delivery of information, so be sure to use them.
-=== What deserves an article on the wiki? ===
+Other guidance and policy concerning Wiki editors:
-Articles on the wiki can be about anything, provided they are within the scope of the Dogcraft.net server and community. This can range from, but not limited to, builds, projects, settlements, groups of players, events on the server, guides on how to play on the server and historical occurrences / phenomenons. However, we do have some exceptions of things that don't warrant an article.
+*You may not be able to edit a [[Dogcraft Wiki:Page Protection|small selection of articles]] with important information or that are vital to the smooth operation of the Wiki. If you feel something on these needs to be changed or updated, contact a [[Dogcraft Wiki:Administrators|Wiki Administrator]].
+*Be aware that others can edit articles and be open to communicating and working with them when necessary.
+*Every Wiki user has their own [[Dogcraft Wiki:User Pages|userpage]] which can be customised and does not need to follow the Wiki writing guidelines.
+*[[Dogcraft Wiki:Vandalism|Vandalism]] of the Wiki is not tolerated and is punishable by Rule 23 of the Dogcraft Rules.
-=== Things you shouldn't write an article about ===
+==Additional Information==
-* '''Overwhelmingly negative topics.''' It's no secret to anyone that over the years Dogcraft has had some rough times. As stated in the guidelines introduction, we encourage writing impartial articles, including covering the controversies and opinions of certain topics (provided it is PG-13). However, covering individual drama between players isn't probably worth documenting on the wiki.
+===Page Types===
-* Highly '''niche''' topics such as inside jokes within a subset of the community. Of course, it's interesting to read about community subsets and groups, but you should include the niche topics within an article about the group rather than in a separate one. For example, this is why there is no "Bean War" or "[[Survival Railway Network (Survival 2)#Construction Begins|The Riddening]]" article and instead we mention these topics within larger articles about the broader topic.
+The Wiki contains a number of different page types across a few different [[Dogcraft Wiki:Namespaces|Namespaces]]. For information on how to write different types of pages, click the links below:
-* Builds and projects that have '''yet to begin''' construction. We strongly discourage writing speculatively about what "will" happen. We would love to have your article when your build is a little bit further on, or has started construction.
+* [[Dogcraft Wiki:Articles|Articles]] - Main content pages containing information about various topics.
-* Articles about/containing topics intended to be held within confidence. Once you publish an article to the wiki, it cannot be truly deleted. This includes topics about server moderation processes. We also like to discourage talking about banned users, unless they are particularly noteworthy.
+* [[Dogcraft Wiki:Guides|Guides]] - Tutorial pages describing how to complete a task.
+* [[Dogcraft Wiki:User Pages|User Pages]] - Where users can write about themselves and show off their content.
-=== How should I structure my article? ===
+===Policies & Information===
-We like to lay out articles in a particular style. We recommend reading a range of articles to see our style in effect, but you can find a rundown on our style detailed below. However, '''if this seems too complicated, don't worry'''. An administrator is able to do some of the technical stuff and restructuring for you, once your article has been made.
+* [[Dogcraft Wiki:Vandalism|Vandalism]] - Further information about Rule #23 and vandalism on the Wiki.
-* Introductory paragraph, giving a brief definition/outline of the topic, including times, the [[Worlds|world]] it is on and players involved.
+* [[Dogcraft Wiki:Administrators|Wiki Administrators]] - Information about the project leaders.
-* Additional headings covering the topic in more detail. You may want to include:
+* [[Dogcraft Wiki:Namespaces|Namespaces]] - Information about namespace organisation on the Wiki.
-** History about the topic
+* [[Dogcraft Wiki:Redirects|Redirects]] - Redirect policy.
-** For builds, discuss the building style and architecture.
+* [[Dogcraft Wiki:Page Protection|Page Protection]] - Page protection information.
-** For projects, talk about the goals and management of the project.
-** Transport links and how to get to the project, if necessary.
-* Infoboxes and navboxes, where neccessary.[[File:Adding an Infobox.PNG|thumb|220x220px]]
-** To add an infobox, click ''Insert → Infobox'' and choose the one appropriate. If there isn't one appropriate for your article, then chances are you won't need one.
-*** When filling out the "Status" box on an infobox, you should use one of the [[Status|Status Categories]] by typing "<nowiki>{{</nowiki>" and searching and selecting for {{Active}}, {{Inactive}}, {{Cancelled}}, {{Open}} or {{Defunct}} as appropriate.
-*** Remember, you don't have to fill out every single box in an infobox, only the ones that are appropriate to your project. If you can't come up with something for a box, or simply don't think its necessary, then don't include it. At the same time, there's no point having one if it contains no useful information.
-** Navboxes go at the bottom of your article. Go to the bottom of the article and type "<nowiki>{{</nowiki>". Review our list of Navboxes and decide which one is right for you, then search for the name of that navbox in the search bar. If it's an article about a build, project or settlement on a particular world, you're going to want to add a Survival 1/2/3 Navbox, otherwise if it's about server information, a Server Information navbox, or for an event an event navbox.
-* Once you have saved your page, go to the bottom and add categories as appropriate. For example, add a "Settlements" category if it's a settlement, a "Survival 3" category if it's a thing on Survival 3, etc.
-=== Writing tips ===
-<u>Avoid fluff</u>
-Avoid writing more than necessary; keep your pages as concise as possible. Take this excerpt from a previous version of the "[[Hydropolis]]" article, for instance.
-<blockquote>''"At this point, the ideas of the founders came together to offer the absurd idea of creating a city in the water surrounding the city, inspired by [[Havana]] and [[Akkara]]: however ideas were only starting to brew."''</blockquote>This excerpt contains unnecessary phrasing; a trap which can be easy to fall into. The grammar here makes the point of the excerpt harder to ascertain for readers and dramatizes the meaning. For example, words such as ''"absurd"'' and phrases like ''"however ideas were only starting to brew"'' are unnecessary. Here's a simplified version of the passage that removes the "fluff".
-<blockquote>''"Inspired by [[Havana]] and [[Akkara]], the founders came together and settled on the idea of building a city on the waters surrounding the existing guardian farm"''</blockquote>Remember, '''the goal is to write the most useful/interesting articles, not the longest ones'''.
-<u>Embolden the article name/topic in the first paragraph</u>
-It is customary to embolden the article name in the introduction section of the article. This allows the reader to relate the contents of the article back to the topic. This should only be done at the first mention of the topic and should include mentions of redirects. You should not use bold text for any other purpose.
-<u>Link to other pages on the wiki</u>
-[[File:AddingLinks.PNG|thumb|220x220px]]
-Select the text you want to link and press Control+K on Windows (Command+K on macOS) to add a link to another article page. You can also enter a web address to add an external link. You shouldn't go overboard with this so it's generally good practice to only add a link for the first mention in a page.
-<u>Use paragraphing</u>
-Long walls of text are hard to read, particularly on mobile, so ensure you break them up and use paragraphs.
-<u>Use citations/references, if necessary</u>
-[[File:References.PNG|thumb|220x220px]]
-It's not always mandatory to do this and should only really be done if they are available, but you can use the Insert → Reference feature to add a reference to your page, perhaps linking to another web page.
-This may be useful in the case where your article contains a lot of links to forum posts or external resources, but it also requires doing Insert → Reference List at the bottom of the page to work. We'd like to avoid bloating articles with unnecessary references (after all, this is a game), so please apply restraint with this feature.
-=== Adding images ===
-A picture can explain a thousand words. You can add an image by clicking on the picture in the toolbar and they are really useful as both a point of reference to readers and to break up a long wall of text.
-=== Adding galleries ===
-Galleries are likewise useful for viewing a number of images of an area. However, they are a bit complicated  as you have to search for the images within the wiki. You should first upload your images using the [[Special:Upload|Upload]] function, entering a file name and description. Once it has uploaded, you can then press back and repeat this process.
-=== Articles on Settlements ===
-We're no longer categorizing Cities and Towns separately, as we determined that it was too subjective. We still wish to distinguish cities and towns somewhat using different infoboxes, to give readers an "at-a-glance" idea of the scale of a particular build, but we felt like separating the two was too vague and was not helpful for navigation particularly.
-== Assistance ==
-The Cyberdog Wiki Project has two administrators who are able to provide assistance with editing, should you need it. We recommend you join the Cyberdog Wiki Project discord if you need help with creating your article, want to discuss with others about articles, access a wider list of [[World Downloads]] and show off your new article with others.
-=== Administrators ===
-* [[User:William|William278]] - ''founder'', ''bureaucrat'', ''administrator''
-* [[User:darparniox|darparniox]] - ''bureaucrat, administrator''
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