Help:Editing
For a more complete guide, see the Wikipedia page, but here are just a few tricks:
Most importantly
- Use Show preview to check your edit before saving.
- Check your links. Check links to empty pages (coloured red) to see whether you linked to the right page.
- Don't create an article of just a few lines solely to have created it. It's better to invest your time in existing articles which need attention.
- If you do create or edit a page, make sure the proper categories are assigned.
- Use templates to easily add commonly used formatting and information. Below the save/preview buttons the most commonly used templates are linked. (Character Data, Book Data, Stub, etc)
- Never use material that you don't have permission to publish under the license this wiki uses.
- If you think an article could potentially contain much more information which you couldn't include, add the {{stub}} template.
- When adding a comment or question to the Discussion page, sign it with the signature tool or by typing four tildes (~~~~).
All this makes editing easier and the result of your efforts better. It also saves others time, as someone else will have to correct omissions.
Formatting
The toolbar above your editing area can automate many formatting options but you can also put the text within '' '' to italicize it, or ''' ''' to bold-font it.
The toolbar also has Special characters not found on the keyboard and more Help.
Linking
Type the article name within [[ ]] to link it. For example, [[genetics]] shows up as genetics.
The vertical bar | (usually found below the backspace key on a keyboard ) can be used to separate the linked article's name and the way you want it to show up in the content you're writing. For example, [[genetics|genetic stuff]] shows up as genetic stuff. To save yourself typing, just a | with no given text, will automagically strip away the Namespace: and (things between brackets*) in the article title. For example, [[Ankh (river)|]] gives Ankh, and [[Book:Thud!|]] gives Thud!.
To link to a Category: page, add a colon before Category: and the | at the end like this: [[:Category:Wizards|]] = Wizards.
* called "parentheses" in the US
Language
- Spelling:
The reference edition for wiki purposes is the original hardcover edition, Smythe, Gollancz or Doubleday. These will use British spellings, therefore article titles and links have to use the British form where there are variant spellings. (The obvious example being The Colour of Magic, not color.) Otherwise, this is an international project with contributors from all over the world, some not even native English speakers. Any contributor creating an article is free to use any form or spelling found in reputable English dictionaries of any continent. Additions or edits to the article should then maintain the original style. Please do not edit correct spellings for your personal preference. Do edit for consistency; switching back and forth from flavor to flavour and kerb to curb looks sloppy.
- Style
While we feel a dash of humour is usually a welcome addition, and we have tended to model the style on that of the not-very-reverent Discworld Companion, remember that it is a form of encyclopedia, not a blog. We are interested in Mr. Pratchett's insights and opinions, not yours. Don't write in the first person. There are annotation pages for speculation, opinion, and insights into the background of things but wiki articles should be factual and supportable. The discussion pages may also be used to solicit support for an idea or express an opinion.
For Books
Special templates to make links to books consistent (and easier.) The table below contains the books and their template code.
For Characters and others
Most characters, locations, objects, concepts etc can be linked directly by [[ ]] - use full name if known without titles or honorifics. The book templates then have to be used to link to a book that has the same name as a character or location or things, for example the 4th novel, Mort (written as {{M}}), as distinguished from the character named Mort ([[Mort]]); other examples include pyramids, moving pictures, and the fifth elephant.