Help:Editing manual: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:36, 21 July 2024

BG3Wiki is a collaborative, living project created and maintained by community volunteers. Don't be afraid to contribute – anyone can edit and contribute to BG3Wiki, no sign-up necessary! Proceed to Editing basics when you're ready.

Introduction to editing

Creating an account

Creating an account is an optional but recommended step. Once your account has a few edits, you won't need to solve CAPTCHA anymore. Editing using an account attributes wiki edits to your account. You can edit pages without an account, but your IP address will be publicly logged.

Sandboxes

Click Here to create your personal sandbox page. You can use this to learn how to edit, or simply to experiment. You are free to edit this page as much as you wish, it is disconnected from the rest of the wiki.

Join the Discord server

We recommend you join the BG3Wiki Discord to discuss wiki editing with other contributors. This is completely optional, but be aware many decisions are taken during live discussions, even though we recommend the use of the Discussion page for most content articles.

Policies and guidelines

BG3Wiki only has a few simple content rules. In addition to these, we also have an Editing policy and a Style manual, both with principles and practices that the wiki strives to adhere to. Reading these is not required to edit the wiki.

Editing policy: A set of guidelines and principles to follow when editing the wiki.
Style manual: The style and formatting guidelines for articles and files. If you're unsure about grammar, format or capitalisation, you can look it up here!
Verification: BG3Wiki relies on verification to ensure readers can know where in the game information on the wiki comes from.

Other namespaces

There are other types of pages that use different guidelines and principles than the rest of the wiki.

Guides

The Guide namespace is where users can create and edit guides on BG3Wiki.

To create a Guide, simply start an article name with Guide:. For example, Guide:How to use torches.

Modding

The Modding namespaces is all about modding, such as how to create and use mods.

To create a Modding page, simply start an article name with Modding:. For example, Modding:How to use mods.

Additional resources

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-{{NavHelp}}
 {{PageSeo
 | image = bg3wiki_help.png
 | description = A brief guide on how to contribute to the Baldur's Gate 3 Community Wiki
 }}
-'''BG3Wiki''' is a community volunteer effort.
+{{NavWiki|help}}
+BG3Wiki is a collaborative, living project created and maintained by community volunteers.
-Everything here is written and maintained by fans of the game. Anyone can edit and contribute to BG3Wiki, no sign-up necessary!
+Don't be afraid to contribute – anyone can edit and contribute to BG3Wiki, no sign-up necessary! Proceed to [[Help:Editing basics|Editing basics]] when you're ready.
+__NOTOC__
-This page will help you get started on contributing to the wiki. If you're interested in diving deeper into a particular topic, check out the various  available online.
+== Introduction to editing ==
+==== Creating an account ====
-== Getting started ==
+[[Special:CreateAccount|Creating an account]] is an optional but recommended step. '''Once your account has a few edits, you won't need to solve CAPTCHA anymore.''' Editing using an account attributes wiki edits to your account. You can edit pages without an account, but your IP address will be publicly logged.
-Don't be afraid to contribute to the wiki. Contributions are always welcome, and you're encouraged to add any missing information.
-If you want guidance on best practices, you can at any time consult the [[Help:Editing Policy|Editing Policy]] or the [[Help:Style Guide|Style Guide]], but this is not required to get started!
-==== Creating an account ====
-[[Special:CreateAccount|Creating an account]] is an optional step that allows you to customize your wiki settings and attributes wiki edits to your account. You can edit pages without an account, but your IP address will be publicly logged.
 ==== Sandboxes ====
 [[Special:MyPage/Sandbox|Click Here]] to create your personal sandbox page. You can use this to learn how to edit, or simply to experiment. You are free to edit this page as much as you wish, it is disconnected from the rest of the wiki.
-==== Discussion pages ====
+==== Join the Discord server ====
-An article's '''Discussion''' page, or Talk Page, is where editors can discuss an article. Use an article's Discussion page to discuss the article's contents and edits. Sign your comments using {{code|<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>}}.
+We recommend you join the [https://discord.gg/K6R89fSZuF BG3Wiki Discord] to discuss wiki editing with other contributors. This is completely optional, but be aware many decisions are taken during live discussions, even though we recommend the use of the Discussion page for most content articles.
-==== Page history ====
+== Policies and guidelines ==
-Click the '''View history''' button above a page to see a history of edits performed on that page. Each line describes a revision of the page, including date/time, the contributor who made that edit, and (ideally) the reason for the edit. This can be helpful if you're not sure why an edit was made.
+BG3Wiki only has a few simple [[bg3wiki:Content rules|content rules]]. In addition to these, we also have an Editing policy and a Style manual, both with principles and practices that the wiki strives to adhere to. Reading these is {{em|not required}} to edit the wiki.
+* [[bg3wiki:Editing policy|Editing policy]]: A set of guidelines and principles to follow when editing the wiki.
+* [[Help:Style manual|Style manual]]: The style and formatting guidelines for articles and files. If you're unsure about grammar, format or capitalisation, you can look it up here!
+* [[bg3wiki:Verification|Verification]]: BG3Wiki relies on verification to ensure readers can know where in the game information on the wiki comes from.
-The wiki is a living project, and wiki editing is a collaborative effort! Be prepared for your contributions to be tweaked, copyedited, or deleted.
+== Other namespaces ==
+There are other types of pages that use different guidelines and principles than the rest of the wiki.
-=== Introduction to editing ===
+==== Guides ====
-==== Editing an existing page ====
+{{hatnote|See also: [[Help:Guide namespace]]}}
-To edit an existing page, click either '''Edit''' (opens Visual Editor) or '''Edit source''' (opens Source Editor) above the page. Within either editor view, you can switch between the Visual Editor and the Source Editor at any time via the upper-right menu button.
+The Guide namespace is where users can create and edit guides on BG3Wiki.
-When you've finished editing, feel free to add a brief '''Summary''' of your changes and click the '''Save changes''' button!
+To create a Guide, simply start an article name with {{code|Guide:}}. For example, {{code|Guide:How to use torches}}.
-[[File:edit_visual_or_source.png|right|thumb|Visual Editor and Source Editor buttons]]
+==== Modding ====
-[[File:switch_visual_or_source.png|right|thumb|Switching between editor types]]
+{{hatnote|See also: [[Modding:Modding resources]]}}
-* The Visual Editor is helpful for contributors who are new or not yet familiar with [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Formatting wiki markup], but it doesn't allow you to directly manipulate wiki markup.
+The Modding namespaces is all about modding, such as how to create and use mods.
-* The Source Editor is more powerful and flexible, but requires at least a basic understanding of wiki markup.
-==== Categories ====
+To create a Modding page, simply start an article name with {{code|Modding:}}. For example, {{code|Modding:How to use mods}}.
-[[File:category_example.png|right|thumb|Example of a Category]]
-'''[[Special:Categories|Category]]''' pages list all the pages within that Category.
-==== Browsing categories ====
-The '''Everything''' search option includes Categories in the search results. You can also find them on the [[Special:Categories]] page. Categories can prove useful when looking for a specific image or page, particularly when you don't know the exact name of the thing you're looking for.
-==== Adding a page to a category ====
-[[File:visual_editor_categories.png|right|thumb|Adding Categories in the Visual Editor]]
-Some templates will automatically add the correct category to the page it is used on. However, in some cases, you'll want to manually add pages to additional categories.
-To add a page to a category:
-* When using the Visual Editor, you can add a page to a category by clicking on the upper-right menu and selecting '''Categories'''. Start typing a category name in the provided box, and the editor will suggest autocomplete options for the category, if any exist.
-* When using the Source Editor, use the markup {{code|<nowiki>[[</nowiki>Category:<em>Name of category here</em><nowiki>]]</nowiki>}} at the bottom of the page. You can repeat this as many times as needed for additional Categories.
-=== Templates ===
-{{hatnote|See also: [[Help:Templates]]}}
-A Template is a special type of page designed to be included within other pages. Templates are often used as 'shorthand' to automatically insert frequently-used images, code, and formatting on a page. We use templates extensively on bg3.wiki.
-See the [[Help:Template Quick Reference|Template Quick Reference]] for an overview of the most commonly-used templates.
-== Using the search feature ==
-{{hatnote|See also: [[Help:Searching for BG3Wiki]]}}
-[[File:multimedia_search.png|right|thumb|Use the Multimedia option to search for images]]
-The built-in [[Special:Search|Search]] function is also very powerful. You can use it to find pages, images, categories, templates, and more.
-* By default, Search results will only include content pages.
-* Use the '''Multimedia''' option to search for images.
-* Use the '''Everything''' option for a quick-and-dirty way to look through all possible results for your search term.
-* Use the '''Advanced''' option to filter your search to specific [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Namespaces namespaces], like Category or Template.
-== Other namespaces ==
-=== Guides ===
-{{hatnote|See also: [[Help:Guide namespace]]}}
-The Guide namespace is where users can create and edit guides on BG3Wiki. These pages use different rules from the rest of the wiki.
-To create a Guide, simply start an article name with {{code|Guide:}}. For example, {{code|Guide:How to use torches}}.
 == Additional resources ==
 * [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Contents MediaWiki help pages]
 * [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Formatting MediaWiki formatting]
-* [[Help:Editing Policy|Editing Policy]]
-* [[Help: Style Guide|Style Guide]]
-== Discord ==
-Join the [https://discord.gg/K6R89fSZuF BG3Wiki Discord] to discuss wiki editing with other bg3.wiki contributors! Or, if you prefer not to join the Discord, you can leave messages via the '''Discussion''' link at the top of any page (including any user's page, if you want to contact them).
 [[Category:Wiki Help]]