Article Templates
From Minnewiki
Article templates serve as production guides for Minnewiki. They help structure the information you're providing and assure consistent layout for Minnewiki readers.
There is a template for each of the principal categories of information - People, Groups, and Venues. Please use these templates when creating new articles and as guides when reformatting or expanding existing articles.
How to use the templates
Using templates for new articles - method 1
1. Create your new article and leave its editing window open.
2. Identify the template that most closely fits your subject category. Insert the template name into the editing window text box following this example: {{subst:Group}}.
3. Save your article.
4. Click Preview to open the edit window -- you will see the template text and code in place.
5. Enter your article information into the best places on the template. If you don't have information for a section, you can delete that section heading.
- Group template {{subst:Group}}
- People template {{subst:People}}
- Venue template {{subst:Venue}}
- Resource {{subst:Resource}}
Using templates for new articles - method 2
1. Create your new article and leave its editing window open. You'll be pasting the template into it.
2. Identify the template that most closely fits your subject category and click on it's name to open it. (HINT: Open a new browser window to navigate to the template.) You'll see a page filled with subheads and lines, but no text. It looks like an article with no information.
3. Click the edit tab to open the template's edit window. You'll see the plain text and wiki coding you need.
4. Copy and paste the template text and code into your new article.
5. Enter your article information into the best places on the template. If you don't have information for a section, you can delete that section heading.
Editing existing articles. If you want to add more information to an existing listing, you can refer to the templates to see how it's done. Similarly, if someone else has added miscellaneous information to an article and you want to reorganize it, you can refer to its template to see how it should be structured.
Templating FAQ
- Why does every Minnewiki article have to look the same?
- While it may seem to stifle some creativity, the benefit of having a standard format is significant for those who use the wiki. Sructuring the information aids understanding and also prompts authors to include useful items in their articles.
- I have a section I want to add, but it's not covered by the template. What do I do?
- First, make sure it really doesn't belong in the existing sections. If your information really doesn't fit anywhere, go ahead and add the section. We'll adjust the templates if we see they aren't fitting the information that people want to write.
- I have an article I want to add, but it's not a person, band, venue, or anything else with a template. What do I do?
- First of all, consider if the contribution is really something useful to have on Minnewiki. Check our FAQ. But if you're really sure, just start the article without a template.
