Factorio:Wiki rules: Difference between revisions

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This page is used for contributors on this wiki.
Below are the community guidelines for the Official Factorio Wiki. Infringing upon any of these rules will result in either a warning or a temporary/permanent ban, depending on the circumstances. These rules are not final, and are subject to change. Additionally, all admins hold the right to enforce as they see fit, even if the rule they enforce is not specifically enumerated here.


== Get an account ==
We at the Official Factorio Wiki thank you for your cooperation, and we hope that you see these rules as fair and acceptable. Of course, you may message an admin at any time to discuss the rules or ask for clarification.


Just follow the instructions for registering. It takes normally one or two days to be added, because every user is added by hand to avoid spam.
Our rules are fairly standard to what you'd find on other wikis.


== How to contribute? ==
== Discipline ==


This wiki is the work of a team. The people like to add information or bring it into better context, or they are doing videos, or design web pages.
Before getting into the list of rules, the process that the Wiki administration team takes will be explained here. We follow a very simple system, which progresses from a polite unofficial warning to a permanent ban, depending on the severity and times that the event has occurred. Their violation will also be undone. There are a few 'shortcut' rules that if broken will skip stages, however.


The team communicates through the talk-pages ("Discussion" folder at the top) or through the forum ( http://www.factorioforums.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=50 ). It is very important to look into the "Recent changes", so that you see, if someone modified a page (especially a talk:-page), in which you are interested.
# An unofficial warning - The user will be sent a kind message pointing out that they did something incorrect, and that's it. The violation will be fixed by an admin.
# An official warning - The user will be sent a kind message stating that they have been officially warned to cease what they're doing. It will use the phrase "This is an official warning."  
# A temporary ban - The user will be temporarily banned from the Wiki, for a variable amount of time, depending on the case. They will also be sent a message.
# A permanent ban - The user will be given a permanent ban, and a message.  


(BTW: You can change the shown results in the preferences!)
If the user goes some time between violations, the stages will undo back to 2. However, certain violations result in an immediate ban, such as vandalism, spamming external site links, attempting to mess with the mediawiki installation, etc. These are further detailed below.


There are different jobs you can do. We begin from simple to complex.
== Conduct ==


=== Corrector ===
# Be respectful to all editors, and readers. '''All forms of hate are not tolerated''', and will result in an official warning directly.
# '''All forms of vandalism and spam are not tolerated''', and violators will be banned without question.
# Wiki talk pages are for discussion of their respective page '''only'''. Please keep all discussion of in-game mechanics to the forums or subreddit, the links to which are in the sidebar. An article's talk page is intended for discussion or questions regarding the article's content. It is not a forum for casual discussion. Game suggestions, personal stories, shout-outs, etc. will be removed.
# Similarly, self/other promotional content is forbidden unless it is for ''specific examples and educational purposes''. Edits made that simply show off or enumerate user creations will be removed.
# Always remain civil during discussions.
# Registered users are expected to use a single account for all editing under most circumstances. The use of more than one account by a single individual is known as "sockpuppeting", and is a very high offense. A second account can be used in certain rare circumstances by longtime established, trusted users. Some valid reasons to use a second account may include those below. In those cases, '''it must be made absolutely clear that the accounts are operated by the same individual.'''
## Technical testing
## Bot (automated) accounts
## Administrators who want to use non-admin accounts in less secure editing situations.


Read through the pages (of your language) and correct mistakes or bad language use. If it sounds ugly then change it. If you do so, you'll see walls of text. This is how mediawiki works. Sorry, but it's the way you'll learn to do more. :)
== Editing ==


=== Translator ===
# Do not edit-war. If a user overwrites your change and you disagree, do not edit the page back and forth, discuss it on the talk page of the page in question. In instances of edit warring, the oldest version is preferred until a decision is reached. Moving a page back and forth and un-deleting a page without permission is also considered edit warring.
# This ties into the above rule, but assume good faith. If a wiki editor makes a mistake due to human error, the fact that they are new to the community, or any other honest reason, fellow wiki community members must assume good faith. Rather than insulting, berating, or lashing out at the editor, community members should approach situations like these with a helpful and understanding attitude. This is why unofficial warnings are given first.
# Refrain from using profanity unless it is used within a direct quotation. Preferably, censor the curse with stars.
# Refrain from editing other users' user pages, unless it is to remove broken links.
# While the Wiki can be easily reverted in the event of a mistake, please try to avoid creating work for others.
# Mod related documentation is not to be hosted on this wiki. The Official Factorio Wiki is meant for documentation of the base game only. Instead, users looking for documentation or developers looking to provide documentation should do so on their mod's entry in the mod portal, or bundle the documentation with the source code of the mod. ''This wiki does not document nor enumerate mods.''
# Tying into the above rule, the Wiki also does not enumerate user creations. User creations should only be placed on the Wiki for demonstration and educational purposes only, simply enumerating or showing off designs will be removed as there exist better portals for this.
# Pages with high amounts of transclusions/importance will be protected, to both protect against vandalism, and to protect the servers from load caused by edits to these pages. Contact an admin if you want a change one of these pages or feel like it should not be protected.


Take an English page, copy the content into a subpage (see down, what we mean!) and translate.
== Page creation ==


=== Writer and Linker ===
# Work in progress pages of new content must be created in the author's userspace, and preferably an admin should be asked before merging into the greater Wiki.
# Any other language has no right to obtain a page name which collides with English. There exist a few words that are the same in multiple languages (The word 'So' means the same in English and in German, for example), these words cannot be used for page names to avoid collisions.
# No other language has the right to use a page name which means the same or something different in another language. This is also to prevent confusion.
# Language pages when translated should use the English name with the language code appended to the end of the name. For example, "Transport belt" when translated to German should be named "Transport belt/de". For a list of letter codes by language, see [https://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/code_list.php here]. With the exception of <code>pt-br</code>, we use this standard. Please note that any languages that are not listed [[Template:Flag|here]] are not reachable when translated (won't show up as a language the page is in). Please ask an admin to add support for a new language you wish to translate to.
## See also: ''[[Factorio:Translation guide|Translation guide]]''
# Page names should only be capitalized at the first word, with some exceptions. Essentially, Petroleum gas, and not Petroleum Gas. This is both for readability and for the internal code of the wiki to work correctly. Failing to do this will result in the page's name being fixed.
# Translation of WIP pages or pages in someone's userspace is highly discouraged. While it won't be stopped, it is very likely to result in a waste of effort, since the page may never reach the public eye, or be finished. Instead, if the WIP page is a tutorial, writing a new tutorial from scratch in a native language would be much better, as you wouldn't have to conform English to your language.
# Pages may only be created in the user's userspace if they are meant to end up on the general wiki or otherwise relevant to the wiki (sandboxes, etcetera). If the page is not related to the wiki, it has to be related to Factorio, and may not be linked from outside sources, including the general wiki. Uploading files for a non-wiki-related page is not permitted.


If someone asks something in the forum, and there is a good answer, it's a good idea to add that information into the wiki. No special knowledge is needed for that, just search the right page, the right chapter or add a new and write and if it is ok, it isn't deleted by the next. :)
=== Templates and redirects ===


Sometimes you don't have time for that, but you read an interesting fact about Factorio, you found something interesting fact? Some quite interesting information in the forum?
* Redirects may only be created in the following circumstances:
** The redirect is being used to fix several similar red links, and it would be too much effort to correct them in other ways.
** The redirect is being used to 'autocorrect' a common mistake, such as not prefixing a tutorial with <code>Tutorial:</code>. This does not include spelling mistakes!
** The redirect is being used to fix an incorrect external link that occurs on many sites. ''If the incorrect link only occurs on one site, have the owner of that site fix it.''
** The redirect is to a file, to fix several file based red links or broken icons.
** The redirect is created automatically by a page move.


* Stage 1: Simply copy the link and put it into the right page under "See also". This is to document: look, this belongs also to this page, but I don't have time yet.
* Redirects may '''''NOT''''' be created under the following circumstances:
* Stage 2: the next, who reads it, and has time, takes the condensed information from that link writes it into the page. That should normally be enough.
** To redirect on a common community slang (e.g Underneathies -> Underground belts). People are smart enough to search for the actual in-game name.
* Stage 3: if that sub information is too big, or if there are some more information about that, then move it to a subpage. (There are some examples in the wiki, how to use subpages, in general it's just adding a "/subpage name" to the existing.)
** To solve a small amount of red links. Where possible, fix the red links directly.
** To fix small issues such as incorrect capitalization, etc. There is a search feature on the Wiki.
** Redirects may ''not'' be created unless there is actually a lot of links going to them. Redirects created with the idea of "This might be useful someday" are noise and provide nothing. Again, there is a search function. There are rare exceptions to this rule, stated above.
** Redirects may not exist within user spaces, except when a page was moved and the redirect was created by that page move. Any other redirects created or placed into a user's userspace will be deleted.


=== News-maker ===
* Templates may be created in the following circumstances:
** The creating user has permission from an admin to create the template and use it on pages. Often, we may have an easier method of solving the problem the editor is attempting to fix with a template, but is unaware we have it. Ask us, we don't bite.
** It is acceptable to create a template inside of your userspace, for use with testing another WIP page. However, you may '''''NOT''''' use this template anywhere but within your userspace.
** Upon approval, you may create the template, or move it out of your userspace, but not before.


There are the [[News]]-page. Just add new links, as interesting new information comes out. The rest is explained into the page as comment, just make it equally.
* Why we discourage the use of templates:
** Templates are a powerful feature, so much so that users often attempt to fix problems with them. However, to put it to an analogy, using a template to fix a small problem is like using a backhoe to weed your garden. Most of the time, it is overkill and provides no clarity or convenience that could not be provided via other means.
** Templates are inefficient, and require many resources from the server to resolve them when a lot of them are put onto a page. This can put load onto Wube's servers, which we try to avoid.
** Templates make it harder to understand pages. Since they can create text arbitrarily, it can be difficult to determine which of the many templates on a page is creating text that shows up on save. It is better to have less templates, so it is easier for editors to understand the construction of a page.


Is this a news or not? Good question. See it from historical point of view: when you will go back to the older news, will your news be still relevant?
== Requesting admin work, Misc ==


=== Designer ===
# There exists a few templates for this purpose, mainly <nowiki>{{Delete}}</nowiki>, <nowiki>{{Move}}</nowiki>, and <nowiki>{{Merge}}</nowiki>. These may be placed on pages to request action be taken by moderators or by editors. However, do note that the request may be denied.
# Files that are unused are always up for deletion, so ensure that any images uploaded are immediately used somewhere on the Wiki.


This is about the look and feel of this wiki. It is quite interesting what can be done with such relatively simple nesting. But it is also quite confusing. :)
== See also ==


Deep knowledge of Mediawiki's template system is not really needed, but will help. For the beginning just try to understand, how the current templates work. Make your own test-page in your user-space and try to program around.
* [[Factorio:Style_guide|The Wiki's style guide]]
 
* [[Factorio:Editor noticeboard|The editor noticeboard]]
=== Tutor for beginners ===
 
This is about writing tutorials. How to make things in factorio. This is currently a problem, cause the game changes and will change. The plans are to be about "ready" in summer 2015. So if you write a tutorial now it will be outdated in a few month.
 
Nonetheless this job is needed, cause more and more will ask for beginner tutorials and it shows up more and more, that this is really read and used, so by writing/recording (videos are welcome) you can influence how the community will play this game.
 
=== Architect ===
 
The wiki is created in an agile process: writing, reading, playing. :) When you found out, that this process is somehow inefficient, cause the things are not, where you expect them, then you need to change the wiki in general.
 
This is for example currently the case for the whole "networks" they are not longer a good idea. The logistic network and robotic network are in truth a "robotic system", which contains a construction- and a logistic-area. And the logistic area can be extended over the logistic network.
 
 
 
 
'''Don't be afraid: There is nothing, which you can really break, because the wiki has a version history.
 
== Basic ==
* Read the wiki pages.
** If you don't like something, change it.
** If you find typos, change it.
** If you find something is wrong described, make a prove, that it is wrong and change it.
 
== Advanced ==
 
* Add missing information at the right place.
: This is in most cases easy, but sometimes could be really difficult. Ask for help if you don't know.
 
* Split the information on big pages into subpages.
: See for example the [[Railway network]].
 
* If you find that a topic belongs to two pages,  then don't copy the information into the two pages, but create a new page and link.
: Best example for this is the [[Power Production]] page.
 
* Take the right words.
: Factorio has a set of words, which have a fixed meaning. For example: an entity can be mined, an item can be picked up. Removing them means something different! Ask the factorio wiki, if you are unsure.
 
* A picture says more than 1000 words.
: Make pictures, if possible. In some case use GIFs! See down.
 
* You can also go to the [[Wiki To-do List]] and look, if there is a job you like.
 
== Discussions ==
 
I (ssilk) prefer the forum for discussions and I hope this is not a problem, because I think, discussions on wiki-pages is to high-end for most potential wiki-writers.
 
=== Existing discussions ===
 
In the descending order of date:
 
http://www.factorioforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2047
 
http://www.factorioforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3205
 
http://www.factorioforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2429
 
http://www.factorioforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2255
 
== Translations ==
 
'''This is currently a mess!'''
 
=== This is how it should work ===
 
This method is used by the Mediawiki-Team and we want to adapt it. Example:
 
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Navigation The english default
 
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Navigation/es Spanish translation
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Navigation/de German tranlation
 
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Navigation/ru Russian translation
 
 
==== First some rules ====
* The default language is English.
* Any other language has no right to obtain a pagename, which collides with English.
* No other language has the right to use a pagename, which means the same or something different in another language.
 
==== This is the logical consequence of the above rules ====
 
* Let's say we have a page named [[Transport network]].
* Now someone translate that page to German: Because he doesn't know better, he names the page "[[Transport netzwerk]]".
* This is a mess! Because for example in Swedish (it's just an example) this is also the translated pagename.
* What's now right? Is [[Transport netzwerk]] now a German or a Swedish page?
 
==== Solution to this ====
 
The right pagename is [[Transport network/de]] for the German and [[Transport network/sv]] for the Swedish page.
 
Whuuaaaa... "Transport network" - that's not German!
 
''Yes, but it is the only way to keep the namespace clean.''
 
And there is nothing about making a redirect page [[Transport netzwerk]] which redirects to [[Transport network/de]]. Or make a page where the user can choose if he wants the German or Swedish page.
 
=== So what do I need to do now? ===
 
* If you want to translate a page, then do not rename the page, just add a "/" and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ISO_639-1_codes standard macro-language-code] to the pagename.
: "Inserters" becomes "Inserters/fr" for France, "Inserters/ru" for Russian etc.
* If you are working on a page, which has a translated pagename then rename (Move) it! Search the orginal pagename, add the language-code (see above) and move it to the new pagename. A redirect is automatically left for the old pagename!
 
(More to explain, language macro, see main-page at top right)
 
== Pictures ==
 
=== Picture formats ===
 
For making it simple we should use only formats based on 100. This is to avoid different sized pics which look staggered. This is especially important for the width, for the height it is not that problem. For example: 200x200, 300x100, 400x232. For existing pics (old pics use often a width of 256 px) reduce the with in text to 200 px (and analogous).
 
* (100 - 200) x (100-300) px
: for flowing in the text, pictures which explain the text, the browser can embed this into it's own rendering. You can put them left or right, the text should flow around.
* (400 - 600) x (100 - 600) px
: Something like a banner. A big pic which stays alone in its line. You may put simply a ":" in front of it to intend the pic and keep it away from flowing text.
* 300 x 300 px
: This is especially for gif animations. Gif animations cannot be reduced in size, cause mediawiki re-renders the picture and the result is the first frame of the gif! See for example these pics: http://www.factorioforums.com/wiki/index.php?limit=200&ilsearch=Mpstark&user=&title=Special%3AListFiles
* the biggest format  for flowing text should be: 600x600px
 
=== Making pictures out of the game ===
 
Do's:
 
* Take pictures at day! [[Lua/Game#alwaysday|Turn on daylight]]! Use night or dawn only, if needed to explain something.
* Turn off clouds! The shadows are especially in GIF-animations not useful.
* Steam/smoke is also not so useful.
* Use god mode! [[Lua/Player#controllertype]]. You can go to every place and don't stand in the way of the picture.
* You can [[Lua/Game#speed|slowdown the game]] to find the right moment for the picture. Slowdown is also useful, if you use Gifcam, which makes screenshoot in 30 frames/sec only.
* You can use also the [[Lua/Game#peacefulmode]], to be not disturbed by the natives.
* You can stop the game in the right moment using SHIFT-SPACE key. That also blends the grid in.
* Learn how to use the [[Debug mode]] to add relevant information into this picture.
* Go into the highest zoom level you possibly can, without missing any vital information.
* A good in-game picture should be rebuilt, so that only the relevant entities/items are shown. Every repetition, every unneeded element will complicate it.
 
Dont's
 
* Don't make pictures of ultra-complicated stuff! Add only as much elements, which are needed to understand, how that might work. Exception: if you show how that could ''look'' in the end.
* Don't just take a screenshot. Try to remove all unneeded informations from the picture.
* Try to make a picture without the character, except if to show something; then face the character to it.
 
See http://www.factorioforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2472 for more.
 
=== Optimizing the picture before upload ===
 
* Cut as much as possible/nice.
* Resolution should not normally be higher than 600x600 px. If that seems too small, then you should rethink what you want to do.
* ''Do not add textual information into the pictures! ''Instead add numbers or letters in it and add the text on the wiki-page; otherwise, it isn't searchable information,if it is written into the pic.
* Sharpen the pictures. For the wiki it looks quite better to sharpen the pictures one or two times.
 
=== Making animations ===
 
This has to be tested a bit:
 
: [http://blog.bahraniapps.com/?page_id=21 Gifcam] (PC only)
: [http://www.cockos.com/licecap/ Licecap] (also for Mac)
:: Good example pictures: http://www.factorioforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3920
 
== In-game API for screenshots ==
 
http://www.factorioforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=4109#p30605
 
Looks like a plan: create a world. Walk through the world. Start a replay of this walk and then add making screenshots.
 
More or less like the method used in the demo-video, but take only some gif-animations or single pictures.

Latest revision as of 19:16, 20 July 2022

Below are the community guidelines for the Official Factorio Wiki. Infringing upon any of these rules will result in either a warning or a temporary/permanent ban, depending on the circumstances. These rules are not final, and are subject to change. Additionally, all admins hold the right to enforce as they see fit, even if the rule they enforce is not specifically enumerated here.

We at the Official Factorio Wiki thank you for your cooperation, and we hope that you see these rules as fair and acceptable. Of course, you may message an admin at any time to discuss the rules or ask for clarification.

Our rules are fairly standard to what you'd find on other wikis.

Discipline

Before getting into the list of rules, the process that the Wiki administration team takes will be explained here. We follow a very simple system, which progresses from a polite unofficial warning to a permanent ban, depending on the severity and times that the event has occurred. Their violation will also be undone. There are a few 'shortcut' rules that if broken will skip stages, however.

  1. An unofficial warning - The user will be sent a kind message pointing out that they did something incorrect, and that's it. The violation will be fixed by an admin.
  2. An official warning - The user will be sent a kind message stating that they have been officially warned to cease what they're doing. It will use the phrase "This is an official warning."
  3. A temporary ban - The user will be temporarily banned from the Wiki, for a variable amount of time, depending on the case. They will also be sent a message.
  4. A permanent ban - The user will be given a permanent ban, and a message.

If the user goes some time between violations, the stages will undo back to 2. However, certain violations result in an immediate ban, such as vandalism, spamming external site links, attempting to mess with the mediawiki installation, etc. These are further detailed below.

Conduct

  1. Be respectful to all editors, and readers. All forms of hate are not tolerated, and will result in an official warning directly.
  2. All forms of vandalism and spam are not tolerated, and violators will be banned without question.
  3. Wiki talk pages are for discussion of their respective page only. Please keep all discussion of in-game mechanics to the forums or subreddit, the links to which are in the sidebar. An article's talk page is intended for discussion or questions regarding the article's content. It is not a forum for casual discussion. Game suggestions, personal stories, shout-outs, etc. will be removed.
  4. Similarly, self/other promotional content is forbidden unless it is for specific examples and educational purposes. Edits made that simply show off or enumerate user creations will be removed.
  5. Always remain civil during discussions.
  6. Registered users are expected to use a single account for all editing under most circumstances. The use of more than one account by a single individual is known as "sockpuppeting", and is a very high offense. A second account can be used in certain rare circumstances by longtime established, trusted users. Some valid reasons to use a second account may include those below. In those cases, it must be made absolutely clear that the accounts are operated by the same individual.
    1. Technical testing
    2. Bot (automated) accounts
    3. Administrators who want to use non-admin accounts in less secure editing situations.

Editing

  1. Do not edit-war. If a user overwrites your change and you disagree, do not edit the page back and forth, discuss it on the talk page of the page in question. In instances of edit warring, the oldest version is preferred until a decision is reached. Moving a page back and forth and un-deleting a page without permission is also considered edit warring.
  2. This ties into the above rule, but assume good faith. If a wiki editor makes a mistake due to human error, the fact that they are new to the community, or any other honest reason, fellow wiki community members must assume good faith. Rather than insulting, berating, or lashing out at the editor, community members should approach situations like these with a helpful and understanding attitude. This is why unofficial warnings are given first.
  3. Refrain from using profanity unless it is used within a direct quotation. Preferably, censor the curse with stars.
  4. Refrain from editing other users' user pages, unless it is to remove broken links.
  5. While the Wiki can be easily reverted in the event of a mistake, please try to avoid creating work for others.
  6. Mod related documentation is not to be hosted on this wiki. The Official Factorio Wiki is meant for documentation of the base game only. Instead, users looking for documentation or developers looking to provide documentation should do so on their mod's entry in the mod portal, or bundle the documentation with the source code of the mod. This wiki does not document nor enumerate mods.
  7. Tying into the above rule, the Wiki also does not enumerate user creations. User creations should only be placed on the Wiki for demonstration and educational purposes only, simply enumerating or showing off designs will be removed as there exist better portals for this.
  8. Pages with high amounts of transclusions/importance will be protected, to both protect against vandalism, and to protect the servers from load caused by edits to these pages. Contact an admin if you want a change one of these pages or feel like it should not be protected.

Page creation

  1. Work in progress pages of new content must be created in the author's userspace, and preferably an admin should be asked before merging into the greater Wiki.
  2. Any other language has no right to obtain a page name which collides with English. There exist a few words that are the same in multiple languages (The word 'So' means the same in English and in German, for example), these words cannot be used for page names to avoid collisions.
  3. No other language has the right to use a page name which means the same or something different in another language. This is also to prevent confusion.
  4. Language pages when translated should use the English name with the language code appended to the end of the name. For example, "Transport belt" when translated to German should be named "Transport belt/de". For a list of letter codes by language, see here. With the exception of pt-br, we use this standard. Please note that any languages that are not listed here are not reachable when translated (won't show up as a language the page is in). Please ask an admin to add support for a new language you wish to translate to.
    1. See also: Translation guide
  5. Page names should only be capitalized at the first word, with some exceptions. Essentially, Petroleum gas, and not Petroleum Gas. This is both for readability and for the internal code of the wiki to work correctly. Failing to do this will result in the page's name being fixed.
  6. Translation of WIP pages or pages in someone's userspace is highly discouraged. While it won't be stopped, it is very likely to result in a waste of effort, since the page may never reach the public eye, or be finished. Instead, if the WIP page is a tutorial, writing a new tutorial from scratch in a native language would be much better, as you wouldn't have to conform English to your language.
  7. Pages may only be created in the user's userspace if they are meant to end up on the general wiki or otherwise relevant to the wiki (sandboxes, etcetera). If the page is not related to the wiki, it has to be related to Factorio, and may not be linked from outside sources, including the general wiki. Uploading files for a non-wiki-related page is not permitted.

Templates and redirects

  • Redirects may only be created in the following circumstances:
    • The redirect is being used to fix several similar red links, and it would be too much effort to correct them in other ways.
    • The redirect is being used to 'autocorrect' a common mistake, such as not prefixing a tutorial with Tutorial:. This does not include spelling mistakes!
    • The redirect is being used to fix an incorrect external link that occurs on many sites. If the incorrect link only occurs on one site, have the owner of that site fix it.
    • The redirect is to a file, to fix several file based red links or broken icons.
    • The redirect is created automatically by a page move.
  • Redirects may NOT be created under the following circumstances:
    • To redirect on a common community slang (e.g Underneathies -> Underground belts). People are smart enough to search for the actual in-game name.
    • To solve a small amount of red links. Where possible, fix the red links directly.
    • To fix small issues such as incorrect capitalization, etc. There is a search feature on the Wiki.
    • Redirects may not be created unless there is actually a lot of links going to them. Redirects created with the idea of "This might be useful someday" are noise and provide nothing. Again, there is a search function. There are rare exceptions to this rule, stated above.
    • Redirects may not exist within user spaces, except when a page was moved and the redirect was created by that page move. Any other redirects created or placed into a user's userspace will be deleted.
  • Templates may be created in the following circumstances:
    • The creating user has permission from an admin to create the template and use it on pages. Often, we may have an easier method of solving the problem the editor is attempting to fix with a template, but is unaware we have it. Ask us, we don't bite.
    • It is acceptable to create a template inside of your userspace, for use with testing another WIP page. However, you may NOT use this template anywhere but within your userspace.
    • Upon approval, you may create the template, or move it out of your userspace, but not before.
  • Why we discourage the use of templates:
    • Templates are a powerful feature, so much so that users often attempt to fix problems with them. However, to put it to an analogy, using a template to fix a small problem is like using a backhoe to weed your garden. Most of the time, it is overkill and provides no clarity or convenience that could not be provided via other means.
    • Templates are inefficient, and require many resources from the server to resolve them when a lot of them are put onto a page. This can put load onto Wube's servers, which we try to avoid.
    • Templates make it harder to understand pages. Since they can create text arbitrarily, it can be difficult to determine which of the many templates on a page is creating text that shows up on save. It is better to have less templates, so it is easier for editors to understand the construction of a page.

Requesting admin work, Misc

  1. There exists a few templates for this purpose, mainly {{Delete}}, {{Move}}, and {{Merge}}. These may be placed on pages to request action be taken by moderators or by editors. However, do note that the request may be denied.
  2. Files that are unused are always up for deletion, so ensure that any images uploaded are immediately used somewhere on the Wiki.

See also