View source for Guideline:Project namespaces

{{pp-move-vandalism|small=yes}}
<!-- NOTE: If you are a new user attempting to create your own project page, do not edit this page. This page gives the guidelines for project pages.
-->
{{hatnote|This page is a guideline for project namespaces and their talk pages. For information about WikiProjects, see [[Guideline:WikiProjects]]. }}
{{subcat guideline|project content guideline|Project pages|BTW:PRJ}}
{{nutshell|title=This guideline|<p>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.</p>}}
{{Namespaces}}

==Terminology==
The '''project namespaces''' are the multiple [[BattleTechWiki:Namespace|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 [[mw:MediaWiki|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==
Pages within the "Project namespaces" themselves are not part of the [[BattleTechWiki:What is an article?|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 [[BTW:MOS|style conventions]] as articles. Nevertheless, these pages, as with all pages, should be [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility|accessible]] and ''must'' comply with [[BattleTechWiki:Policy|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==
{{short|BTW:BTWNS|BTW:NS4}}
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===
{{shortcut|BTW:PROPAGES}}
{{See|Guideline:WikiProjects}}
Pages of a [[BTW:WikiProject|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 <code>BattleTechWiki:WikiProject</code> prefix form a WikiProject pseudo-namespace. These pages are typically marked with the {{tl|WikiProject status}} template.
* [[:Category:WikiProjects]]
===Discussion and noticeboard pages===
{{short|BTW:DISPAGES}}
Some pages are designed for discussions, such as the [[BTW:RFC|Request for Comment]] and [[BattleTechWiki:Research Desk|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===
Also currently under the '''BattleTechWiki:''' namespace are our style summaries of guidelines widely accepted among editors about BattleTechWiki's article formats, see the [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style|Manual of Style]] page for more information. These pages are marked with the {{tl|MoS guideline}} template.
* [[:Category:Manual of Style]]
==Policies pages==
{{short|BTW:POLICYPAGES|BTW:NS100}}
Under the '''Policy:''' namespace, [[BattleTechWiki:List of policies|Policy]] pages describe BattleTechWiki's important rules that are procedures for important processes and that are [[BattleTechWiki:Consensus|widely accepted by the community]] and have been through the [[BTW:PROPOSAL|BattleTechWiki review process]]. These pages are marked with the {{tl|policy}} template.
* [[:Category:Policies]] 
==Guideline pages==
{{short|BTW:GUIDEPAGES|BTW:NS3010}}
Under the '''Guideline:''' namespace, [[BattleTechWiki:List of guidelines|Guideline]] pages describe BattleTechWiki's consensual rules-of-thumb that are not as strict as our policies, that are [[BattleTechWiki:Consensus|widely accepted by the community]] and have been through the [[BTW:PROPOSAL|BattleTechWiki review process]]. These pages are marked with the {{tl|guideline}} template.
* [[:Category:Guidelines]]

==How-to and Information pages==
{{short|BTW:INFOPAGES|BTW:NS3012|}}
Informative and instructional pages (How-tos) are typically edited by the community; while [[BTW:Consensus|not policies or guidelines themselves]], they are intended to supplement or clarify BattleTechWiki guidelines, policies, or other BattleTechWiki processes and practices that are communal norms. Where [[Guideline:Essays#BattleTechWiki_Essays|essay pages]] offer advice or opinions through viewpoints, information pages should supplement or clarify technical or factual information about BattleTechWiki impartially. In comparison to policies and guidelines, information pages, like essay pages, have a limited status, and can reflect varying levels of [[Policy:Consensus|consensus]] and vetting. These pages are typically marked with the {{tl|Information page}}. There is a large amount of overlap between the [[BattleTechWiki:Help namespace|Help namespace]] (which provides mainly technical information) and the BattleTechWiki namespace (which provides mainly procedural information and interpretation). For this reason, [[Help:redirect|redirect]]s and [[BTW:hatnote|hatnote]]s are often set up between these two namespaces. See [[Help:About help pages]] for more information.
* [[:Category:Information pages]]
* [[:Category:BattleTechWiki how-to]]

===Supplement Pages===
{{Shortcut|BTW:SUPPLEMENTAL}}
The {{tl|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
* [[:Category:Supplemental pages]]
===BattleTechWiki Essays===
{{see|Guideline:Essays#BattleTechWiki_Essays}}
* [[:Category:BattleTechWiki Essays]]
===Historical pages===
{{short|BTW:HISPAGES}}
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 {{tl|historical}}, {{tl|superseded}} or {{tl|dormant}} templates.

{{BattleTechWiki policies and guidelines|state=collapsed}} 
[[Category:BattleTechWiki features|{{PAGENAME}}]]