Guideline:Project namespaces
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 | This page documents an BattleTechWiki project content guideline. |
 | This guideline in a nutshell: Project pages are for information or discussion about BattleTechWiki. They should be used to allow users to better participate in the community, and not used to excess for unrelated purposes nor to bring the project into disrepute. |
| Namespaces | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject namespaces | Talk namespaces | ||
| 0 | (Main/Article) | Talk | 1 |
| 2 | User | User talk | 3 |
| 4 | BattleTechWiki | BattleTechWiki talk | 5 |
| 6 | File | File talk | 7 |
| 8 | MediaWiki | MediaWiki talk | 9 |
| 10 | Template | Template talk | 11 |
| 12 | Help | Help talk | 13 |
| 14 | Category | Category talk | 15 |
| 100 | Policy | Policy Talk | 101 |
| 102 | Property | Property talk | 103 |
| 106 | Form | Form talk | 107 |
| 108 | Concept | Concept talk | 109 |
| 112 | smw/schema | smw/schema talk | 113 |
| 118 | Draft | Draft Talk | 119 |
| 460 | Campaign | Campaign talk | 461 |
| 828 | Module | Module talk | 829 |
| 3000 | Portal | Portal Talk | 3001 |
| 3010 | Guideline | Guideline Talk | 3011 |
| 3012 | Information | Information Talk | 3013 |
| Virtual namespaces | |||
| -1 | Special | ||
| -2 | Media | ||
| Current list (API call) | |||
Terminology[edit]
The project namespaces are the multiple namespaces consisting of administration pages Pages in these namespaces will always have the prefixes:
- BattleTechWiki:. (can also be reached by alias BTW: or the standard (for any MediaWiki site) prefix Project:. Its namespace number is four (4).)
- Policy: (can also be reached by alias P:. Its namespace number is 100.)
- Guideline: (can also be reached by alias G:. Its namespace number is 3010.)
- Information (can also be reached by alias I:. Its namespace number is 3012.)
Colectively they are known as the "Project" pages as they are namespaces that that are consisting of administration pages with information or discussion about BattleTechWiki as this it is the primary "Project" for which this site exists for. WikiProject pages, which are included in the BattleTechWiki namespace, are usually referred to as WikiProject pages to distinguish them from project pages as a whole.
Content[edit]
Pages within the "Project namespaces" themselves are not part of the encyclopedia proper. These administrative pages are intended for use by editors or by automated tools for the organization and governance of the encyclopedia. Consequently, they do not generally need to conform to the same content protocols or style conventions as articles. Nevertheless, these pages, as with all pages, should be accessible and must comply with BattleTechWiki's policies.
The pages in the project namespaces are organized according to their function within the overall project schema. This includes official guidelines, process pages, discussion pages, optional essays, maintenance pages, informative pages, and historical pages.The project namespaces are not a free web host and should not be used as a long-term archive to host pages that look like articles.
BattleTechWiki pages[edit]
Many pages in the Project namespaces have nothing to do with rules or implementation of those rules, and thus do not belong in the other below namespaces. These pages normally sit in the BattleTechWiki: namespace
WikiProject pages[edit]
Pages of a WikiProject are the central place for editor collaboration and organization on a particular topic area. Many WikiProjects compose "advice essays" about how to apply BattleTechWiki's policies and guidelines to their specific subject area. Pages with BattleTechWiki:WikiProject prefix form a WikiProject pseudo-namespace. These pages are typically marked with the {{WikiProject status}} template.
Discussion and noticeboard pages[edit]
Some pages are designed for discussions, such as the Request for Comment and Research Desk. While many of these pages operate like talk pages, some of them have posting rules (at the top of the page) which may be administratively enforced, and they also have their own talk pages, usually about the management of the noticeboard or other process in question.
Manual of Style[edit]
Also currently under the BattleTechWiki: namespace are our style summaries of guidelines widely accepted among editors about BattleTechWiki's article formats, see the Manual of Style page for more information. These pages are marked with the {{MoS guideline}} template.
Policies pages[edit]
Under the Policy: namespace, Policy pages describe BattleTechWiki's important rules that are procedures for important processes and that are widely accepted by the community and have been through the BattleTechWiki review process. These pages are marked with the {{policy}} template.
Guideline pages[edit]
Under the Guideline: namespace, Guideline pages describe BattleTechWiki's consensual rules-of-thumb that are not as strict as our policies, that are widely accepted by the community and have been through the BattleTechWiki review process. These pages are marked with the {{guideline}} template.
How-to and Information pages[edit]
Informational and instructional pages (How-tos) are pages marked with the {{Information page}} header template and are typically community-edited pages that are intended to inform, clarify or supplement; concepts and perspectives on the administrative, procedural, technical, or interpretive aspects of the BattleTechWiki project. These pages function as explanatory tools rather than definitive policies or guidelines themselves. However, like policies and guidelines, they may evolve over time and may be cited in disputes or discussions.
As their primary purpose is to inform users and editors of BattleTechWiki, they are sometimes written in an essay-like format, and often presented as opinions, advice, or explanations. However, they are still expected to present technical or factual guidance impartially without subjective viewpoints. Like essays, they hold limited status compared to formal policies and may reflect varying levels of consensus and vetting.
There is considerable overlap between the Help namespace (which primarily provides technical assistance) and the BattleTechWiki namespace (which generally focuses on WikiProjects, and procedural information). As a result, redirects and hatnotes are commonly used to guide readers between relevant pages.
Examples include:
- Pages explaining how to apply or supplement existing BattleTechWiki policies and guidelines (see below).
- Pages presenting factual or technical information on the software that runs the BattleTechWiki project.
- Pages describing BattleTechWiki processes and communal norms.
- Pages that clarify prevailing consensuses on BattleTech subject matter.
- Historical pages documenting outdated practices or guidance (see below).
Relevant categories:
Supplement Pages[edit]
The {{Supplement}} template is used for "explanatory essays" is intended as a separate "supplement" banner used for pages derived from policy improvement conversations. The template does not indicate a "higher status" within the community for an essay, but is used to denote that the essay in question has wide acceptance to be linked from said policy or guideline page. See Template:Supplement for more information
Historical pages[edit]
A historical page or process is one which is no longer in use, or is no longer relevant or consensus has changed about its content. They are kept as records of past Wikipedia processes to give context to historical discussions and to inform future discussions on similar topics. These pages are typically marked with the {{historical}}, {{superseded}} or {{dormant}} templates.