Help:Creating pages

This page describes in general terms how to create new pages on the this wiki. If you need specifics, the Example pages are probably the place to go.

Your guide for creating new pages

Ensure that you have set up your watch preferences and notifications correctly

Watch all pages that you create. Unwatched pages rot and we do not want that.

Look at the example pages

These are in the proper layout and use all the nifty templates for getting all the required information right. Chances are that much of the tedious work has already been done for you.

Put pages in the correct namespace

Regular pages (almost all pages) go in the standard namespace (no namespace). Pages that really only are helpful for editors, like this one, all go in the Help: namespace. This prevents them from turning up in search results.

Put some deep thought into the choice of page title

This is a wiki, so it matters a lot. See the relevant example pages for more details. Read the naming policies for titles, headings and names so you get it right.

Create the page

You can for example search for the page title you had in mind, using the search box at the top of the page. If it is not found, you will be offered to "Create the page Your excellent title on this wiki". You will notice there is nothing special about that link; it's just a dead wikilink. So another way to create a new wiki page is to click a dead link, and then click "Create" at the top of the page.

Add content

Type stuff into the box. Click "Show preview" button to see that your stuff makes sense. Click the Editing help link next to the button if you need help figuring out how stuff works. Go wild! Nothing goes live until you press the "Save page" button.

Create the talk page

Click the "Discussion" tab at the top of your page, add something useful on there (cf. Help:Talk example page) and click "Save page".

Example pages, designs and templates

The catchall term for all that is "Example pages", and they are all available here:

Category:Example page

along with motivation on why you should not call them templates (because mediawiki has called dibs on that term).

The example pages are an attempt at standardisation in the fluent world of wikis. If you feel there is a need to create more, please do so, and make sure to follow the guidelines here and on the example page category page when doing so.