Help:Style Guide
This style guide acts as both a how-to do for common actions on MediaWiki and formatting guidelines for consistency across BNRP Wiki.
Creating Pages
To easily create a new page, you can append the name of the page to the URL of the site. Example: https://bnrpwiki.lonk-sailfin.ts.net/index.php/New_Page will display the empty page "New Page" and allow you to create that page.
Categorizing Pages
Pages should follow a common tagging system using category tags. A category tag looks like this: [[Category:Tag]]. When inserted on a page, it will not appear in text, but will categorize the page at the bottom. Categories are the main way that Mediawikis organize their pages, so they should follow a common system. A list of common tags and their purpose are available below.
| Category Tag | Purpose |
|---|---|
| [[Category:Characters]] | Super category for all characters, regardless of instance. |
| [[Category:(Instance)]] | Super category for all instances. May contain characters, events, and more. |
| [[Category:Threads]] | Super category for all threads, regardless of characters & instances involved. |
Categories can be removed or added freely to pages. Multiple categories may apply to pages. Any page can have as many categories as needed. Categories can be made by any user (example: [[Category:Keep Quiet]] as an instance tag can be made and used by anyone, regardless of user status).
Templates
Templates on MediaWiki exist to make common actions faster. A template can be invoked like so: {{TEMPLATENAME}}. There exists some default templates included in MediaWiki, but most Templates are user generated. The admins have created a few templates to be used across the site, which can be found in Category:Templates. A list of common templates and their purpose are available below.
| Template | Purpose |
|---|---|
| {{CharactersInfobox}} | An infobox for characters. |
| {{UnderConstruction}} | An ambox for pages under construction. |
| {{SpoilerAmbox}} | An ambox for pages that contain spoilers. |
| {{TriggerWarningAmbox}} | An ambox for pages that contain trigger warnings. |
Templates, much like categories, can be made by anyone on the site, regardless of their user status. HOWEVER, templates are special pages, and must be made under Templates: and tagged with the Templates category. Templates should also come with usage information, should they require information to be provided at use (such as with infoboxes).
Style Considerations
Character Pages
Character pages are fairly flexible, as the needs of characters will likely be different across many instances. However, they should follow a common style. This includes:
- An infobox (such as {{CharactersInfobox}})
- A small paragraph about the character
- Personality information
- History/Timeline information
Beyond this, you can include any additional information you may want. An example page for the minimum expected style can be found in Rockman.EXE (Keep Quiet).
Instance Pages
Instance pages follow a similar format to character pages. They feature an info box, a small paragraph describing the instance, and any additional information you wish to include.
An example page can be found at Keep Quiet.
Thread Pages
Threads should be created in the Threads namespace (e.g: Thread:Title).
Thread pages follow a main format beginning with embedded iframes. For Discord threads, this requires exporting the thread, hosting it on a static HTML hosting provider (such as GitHub Pages), and using an iframe HTML tag. Since this is not supported by MediaWiki by default, the Extension HTMLTags is used to support it. An example usage is seen below:
<htmltag tagname="iframe" src="IFRAME SOURCE" width='100%' height='600px'></htmltag>
For Forum threads, I am working on a scheme to import these into the wiki in some fashion. We may use iframes as well.
Threads should also use {{ThreadInfobox}}, and {{TriggerWarningAmbox}} as needed.
When should I edit someone else's page?
On a regular wiki, editing other pages is common- they're repositories of general knowledge. However, since our Wiki's goal is being a repository for roleplay content, not all knowledge is commonly known. Therefore, the following guidelines apply to editing a page you did not create:
When To Edit:
- A minor spelling, grammar, or otherwise formatting mistake.
- An incorrect link to a character, thread, or other page.
- You have the express permission of the page's owner to do so.
When Not To Edit:
- You think the content of a page is incorrect; such as the events written, summaries of a thread, or character information.
- You do not like the way a page is laid out, formatted, or disagree with the amount of content on a page.
- The owner of the page has expressly said they do not want edits to the page.
When in doubt, ask. If an edit is made to your page that you did not want, you can undo the change in this history of a page. If this happens repeatedly, please reach out to the Moderators to discuss.
