Talk:Main Page

2006-01-12T13:36:37Z

68.238.115.120:

I moved (renamed) the entries on the different types of cannons to singular form ([[Combustion cannon]], [[Hybrid cannon]] etc), it's standard in wikis and makes linking much easier. Edit: removed capitalization in the titles as well, should not be used unless neccessary (such as in person names) since wiki is picky about capitals. I put redirects in place. --[[User:GalFisk|GalFisk]] 18 October 2005 04:22 (CDT)

== Formatting ==

Question: should the preferred formatting of lists be like that on the cannon pages
*item 1
*item 2
*etc
or the default one, like this

*item 1
*item 2
*etc

The second one is more common, but the first one has precedence on this page. I prefer the second one since it's more integrated with the rest of the text (same font/size) and think the other should be reserved for ascii drawings and the like that needs a monospace font. It would be nice to have a rule either way though, have the pages edited to correspond to that rule, and so set a consistant basis for future articles.
-- [[User:GalFisk|GalFisk]] 18 October 2005 09:04 (CDT)

== Whatever you please ==

If you think the second way is better then go with it. I'm still trying to get used to using a Wiki and it seems that you've been on more than be so you've had more experience.

Have fun :)

Thanks a lot.
:Ok, I'll change the formatting in the affected articles to the way I like it then. I've edited a bit on Wikipedia and I enjoyed it, I'll be adding/fixing stuff here whenever I feel like it.
:I see that the box formatting can creep in by simply custting and pasting from Wikipedia, it's created by adding a space in front of a line and that can creep in during that operation for some reason.
:You can sign your posts by putting three tildes (<nowiki>~~~</nowiki>) at the end, or sign it with date using four tildes. Remember to be logged in then of course. Preview is a good tool when trying out stuff.
:Result: [[User:GalFisk|GalFisk]] 18 October 2005 11:47 (CDT)

== duplicate articals ==

There are multiple articals that are exactly the same, but with slightly different names.
What's up with this?
:Some items redirect to other articles, if you search for [[ignition]] you're redirected to [[ignition source]] for instance. some articles were also renamed, when that is done a redirect is automatically placed on the old name. If you have been redirected, it will say so at the top of the page.
:The reason for having redirects is to make searching and linking easier, as well as not losing all previous links to a page if it gets renamed for some reason.
:If you find genuine duplicate identical articles, delete one and place a redirect from that to the other one. A redirect consists of the following text:

:<nowiki>#redirect [[article name]]</nowiki>

:--[[User:GalFisk|GalFisk]] 18 October 2005 17:35 (CDT)

== Some info on how Wiki handles capital letters: ==

The first letter in an article name will always be a capital letter. If you try to create an article on "psi" (which is the correct capitalization), it will be named "Psi".

When linking, the first letter is treated the same whether it is capital or not. Both <nowiki>[[psi]] and [[Psi]]</nowiki> will get you to the "Psi" article.

This is not the case with capital letters elsewhere in the article name though, a link to <nowiki>[[PSI]]</nowiki> will point to an article with the entire title in capitals.

To create more confusion, the search function is less picky, a search for both "PSI" and "psi" will send you to the same article.

Because of this, it's important not to use capital letters except where warranted. Valid cases are abbreviations ([[BBQ ignitor]], [[PVC]]), proper names, ([[The Spudgun Technology Center]], [[Gas Gun Design Tool]]), and other things that are normally written capitalized. If it's done both ways (many don't bother capitalizing either of these two), make a redirect from one version to the other.

As a rule of thumb, only capitalize when it looks wrong if you don't.

If you are unsure just go ahead and do it either way, if it's wrong someone will come along and fix it.

i think linking to a particular post on spudtech is a bad idea, people may have to sign up.

== Stubs, categories ==

A '''stub''' is a short article where a lot of information could be added. To mark an article as a stub, add <nowiki>{{stub}}</nowiki> at the bottom. A notice will be added that the article needs to be expanded. When you expand on a stub, you can remove the notice. All current stubs can be found in [[:Category:Stubs]]. [[The Spudgun Technology Center]] article is a good example, it's very short and a lot more can be written about it.

'''Categories''' are a way to automatically organize articles. When a new article is made, it can be added to a category by adding <nowiki>[[Category:Category name]]</nowiki> at the bottom. An article should not be member of too many categories, only those to which is has a direct connection. For instance [[Pneumatic cannon]] could be a member of the category "cannons", but should not be in the category "valves" or "construction materials". And a valve fits perfectly in the category "valves", but is unneccessary in "construction materials".

To take an example, I just made the [[:Category:Valves]]. We could instead have had an article on [[valves]] which linked to all the valve articles, but that would mean this article would need to be updated each time a new "valve" article is added to stay current. By just adding the new article to the appropriate category, an up to date list is always maintained.

An article on valves (Edit: called, for instance, [[valve]]) could be useful too of course, it should then link to the category for the listing of valves. I will be adding more categories and sort the current articles. If you find or write an article that fits in a current category, link it, and if you find that a particular useful category doesn't exist, you can create it, or put up a suggestion that it be created.

Edit: Categories are by their nature in plural form, articles should be in singular where possible.

A few useful templates also need to be added, such as one for footnotes. Unless someone else does it, I will as soon as I have found out how they work :)

--[[User:GalFisk|GalFisk]] 24 October 2005 10:20 (CDT)

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