Wikipedia:Help Project/Overview: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:07, 29 October 2009

Latest revision as of 03:49, 22 August 2020

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There are many different parts to the help system, the purpose of this page is to provide an overview of how they fit together.

==History of the Help Pages==

==First time users==

Most first time users will find their way into the help system from the links on the main page:

*The 'about wikipedia', 'contact us' and 'help' links on the sidebar visible on each page.

*The 'anyone can edit' link in the banner

*From the header bar links on the main page.

Other ways new users might end up on a help page:

*Following a link from a tag e.g. 'Citation needed'

*Following a link from a talk page.

*System messages e.g. login window

*Welcome or warning on their talkpage.

The original concept was to have main help pages on MediaWiki. Using templates, the MediaWiki content would be transcluded onto the various Wikipedia pages, then content specific to that Wikipedia would be added to the end of the page. Various other extra help pages where created on Wikipedia that had no equivalent on MediaWiki like how-tos and essays, wome of which developed into guidelines.

Most of the help pages that are directed toward new users have the help header

{{WP help pages (header bar)}}

The [[Wikipedia:Introduction]] has four tabs to follow, Introduction/you can edit now, Further editing, Explore Wikipedia and the fourth leading to the tutorial... (No header bar)

Unfortunately, the MediaWiki pages were never updated and the different language versions of Wikipedia began to diverge in many ways. This led to the material being regularly copied across and merged into Wikipedia's help, but sometime in 2008, the final merge was performed and this concept was abandoned, with the templates removed and deleted. Help pages have then been updated without regard for the other Wikipedias, but now includes help that is more relevant to en.Wikipedia.

==Tutorials==

The [[Wikipedia:Tutorial]] has the header bar and tabs for each of its pages: About Tutorial, editing, formatting, wikilinks, citing, talk pages, policies, create login, and wrap up which points a number of other sources for further information.

There have been many attempts to bring sense to the Help System, but in isolation and faced with the complexity of the task no general structure has yet been agreed upon. Several areas or set of pages have developed well and there are several projects that work on a subsets of Help effectively.

[[Wikipedia:Picture tutorial]]

In September and October 2009, this project added its banner to many of the help pages, with a view to bringing all the relevant discussions and editors into contact with each another.

==other users==

Policies

Guidelines

Essays

How-tos to perform tasks

Help Index

Full Help Index

Links from projects or shortcuts placed by user on their own page.

If a member of a Project, the projects own help pages / manual of style / guidelines

== Header bars ==

===MediaWiki software reference===

A number of pages were copied from MediaWiki to the WP Help system. Some are still soft redirects to the MediaWiki Help, Most of those copied have been updated to be more relevant to WP users.

Help pages on specific syntax of the mark-up language.

Help pages on the mediawiki software itself, including system messages and default pages.

<nowiki>{{Help pages header}}</nowiki>

==Index Pages==

[[Help:Contents]] is aimed to provide a basic topic based navigation to all areas of the help system. Note it is the first link in the help header bar.

{{Help pages header}}

[[Help:Contents/Site map]] is a full topic based navigation index, it is linked to at the bottom of help:contents in the line 'See the Site Map for all of the help menus on one page.'

== Nav Box ==

[[Wikipedia:Quick directory]] is an index to find ones way around the entirety of Wikipedia and as such includes many a help page type pointer.

===Short Nav Box===

For new users to follow a predefined course, and intermediate editors access to commonly used help pages for reference

{{Wikipedia:Help_Project/Overview/Accessible_Nav_Box}}

===Complete Nav Box===

==Areas where questions can be asked==

To see how much info we can get in it for intermediate/experienced editors without it going BANG! - I.e advanced topics only accessed once in a blue moon

===General help===

*[[Wikipedia:Help_desk]]

*[[Wikipedia:New contributors' help page]]

{{Navbox

===Article construction===

|name = Wikipedia Help

*[[Wikipedia:Requests_for_feedback]] - light

|state = {{{state|uncollapsed}}}

*[[Wikipedia:Peer_review]] - medium

|title = [[Help:Contents]]

*[[Wikipedia:Featured_article_review]] - heavy

|style = width:80%;

|listclass = hlist

|group1 = Indexes

===For info about policies and operations===

|list1 =

*[[Wikipedia:Village pump (policy)]]

* [[Wikipedia:Village pumpFAQ (technical)Index]]

* [[Wikipedia:Village pumpQuick (proposals)directory]]

* [[Wikipedia:VillageEditor's pumpindex to Wikipedia|Editor's (miscellaneous)index]]

* [[Help:Contents]]

|group2 = [[Help:Contents/Getting started|Getting started]] |list2 =

==Possible Nav Box==

* [[Wikipedia:Introduction|Introduction]]

1st draft - most of [[Help:Contents]], some of [[Wikipedia:FAQ Index]]

* [[Help:Contents/Browsing Wikipedia|Browsing Wikipedia]]

<div class="infobox NavFrame {{#ifeq:{{{hideContainer}}}|yes|collapsed}}" style="width:200px; margin:5px; padding:0px; border:1px solid #ddd; background:#fff; font-size:90%;">

* [[Wikipedia:Glossary|Glossary of Wikipedia terms]]

<div class="NavHead" style="background:#eee; padding:0px 10px 0px 0px; border-bottom:1px solid #ddd; font-size:110%; text-align:center; margin-bottom:-1px;">'''Help Pages'''</div>

* [[Wikipedia:Advice for parents|Advice for parents]]

<div class="NavContent" style="text-align:left; padding:3px;">

* [[Wikipedia:FAQ/Overview]]

*[[Help:Contents/Site map|Site Map]]

* [[Wikipedia:FAQFive pillars|The Five IndexPillars]]

|group3 = Browsing WikiPedia |list3 =

<div class="NavFrame {{#ifeq:{{{hideOverview}}}|yes|collapsed}}" style="background:transparent; border:1px solid #ddd; margin-bottom:4px; padding:0px;">

* [[Wikipedia:Searching|Search for an article]]

<div class="NavHead" style="height:auto; background:#eee; border-bottom:1px solid #ddd; margin-bottom:-1px; font-size:110%;">Overview</div>

* [[Wikipedia:Basic navigation|Find articles and site functions]]

<div class="NavContent" style="text-align:left;">

* [[Wikipedia:FAQ/Readers]]

*[[Help:Contents/Getting started|Getting started]]

**[[Wikipedia:Introduction|Introduction]]

**[[Wikipedia:Glossary|Glossary of Wikipedia terms]]

**[[Wikipedia:Advice for parents|Advice for parents]]

**[[Wikipedia:FAQ/Overview]]

</div>

<div class="NavFrame {{#ifeq:{{{hidePolicies}}}|yes|collapsed}}" style="background:transparent; border:1px solid #ddd; margin-bottom:4px; padding:0px;">

<div class="NavHead" style="height:auto; background:#eee; border-bottom:1px solid #ddd; margin-bottom:-1px; font-size:110%;">Policies</div>

<div class="NavContent" style="text-align:left;">

*[[Help:Contents/Policies and guidelines|Policies and guidelines]]

**[[Wikipedia:Five pillars|The Five Pillars]]

**[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style|Manual of Style]]

*[[Help:Contents/Browsing Wikipedia|Browsing Wikipedia]]

**[[Wikipedia:Searching|Search for an article]]

**[[Wikipedia:Basic navigation|Find articles and site functions]]

**[[Wikipedia:FAQ/Readers]]

*[[Help:Contents/Communication|Communication in the project]]

**[[Wikipedia:Contact us|Contact us]]

**[[Wikipedia:Village pump|Village pump]]

**[[Wikipedia:Talk_page_guidelines|Talk pages]]''

</div>

<div class="NavFrame {{#ifeq:{{{hideContributing}}}|yes|collapsed}}" style="background:transparent; border:1px solid #ddd; margin-bottom:4px; padding:0px;">

<div class="NavHead" style="height:auto; background:#eee; border-bottom:1px solid #ddd; margin-bottom:-1px; font-size:110%;">Contributing</div>

<div class="NavContent" style="text-align:left;">

*[[Help:Contents/Editing Wikipedia|Editing Wikipedia]]

**[[Wikipedia:Cheatsheet|Cheatsheet]]

**[[Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia|Contributing to Wikipedia]]

**[[Wikipedia:tutorial|Tutorial]]

**[[Wikipedia:FAQ/Editing]]

**[[Wikipedia:FAQ/Contributing]]

*[[Help:Contents/The Wikipedia community|The Wikipedia community]]

**[[Wikipedia:Consensus|Consensus]]

**[[Wikipedia:Deletion discussions|Deleting pages]]

**[[Wikipedia:Dispute resolution|Dispute resolution]]

*[[Help:Contents/Links|Links and references]]

**[[Help:Link|How to make links]]

**[[Wikipedia:External links|External links]]

**[[Wikipedia:Citing sources|Citing sources]]

*[[Help:Contents/Resources and lists|Resources and lists]]

**[[Wikipedia:Cleanup resources|Cleanup resources]]

**[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Stub types|Types of stub]]

**[[Wikipedia:Template messages|Templates]]

*[[Help:Contents/Images and media|Images and media]]

**[[Wikipedia:Uploading images|Upload images]]

**[[Wikipedia:Picture tutorial|Add to articles]]

**[[Wikipedia:Image copyright tags|Copyright tags]]

**[[Wikipedia:Creation and usage of media files|Other media]]

*[[Help:Contents/Account settings and maintenance|Account settings and maintenance]]

**[[Help:Preferences|Change your preferences]]

**[[Wikipedia:Customisation#User name and signatures|Change your signature]]

*[[Help:Contents/Tracking changes|Keeping track of changes]]'

**[[Help:Page history|Page history]]

**[[Help:User contributions|User contributions]]

**[[Wikipedia:Vandalism|Vandalism]]

*[[Help:Contents/Technical information|Technical information]]

**[[Wikipedia:Tools|Tools]]

**[[Wikipedia:FAQ/Technical]]

**[[MediaWiki| MediaWiki software]]

**[[Wikipedia:Text editor support]]

*[[Wikipedia:Questions|Where to ask questions]]

**[[Wikipedia:Contact us/Article problem|Article problem]]

**[[Wikipedia:Help desk|Help desk]]

**[[Wikipedia:New contributors' help page|New contributors' help page]]

**[[Wikipedia:Editor assistance/Requests|Editor assistance/Requests]]

**[[Wikipedia:Reference desk|Reference desk]]

**[[Wikipedia:Village pump|Village pump]]

|group4 = Communicating |list4 =

**[[Wikipedia:Editor's index to Wikipedia|Editor's index]]

* [[Help:Contents/Communication]]

**[[Help:Wikipedia: The Missing Manual|The Missing Manual]]

* [[Wikipedia:Questions|Where to ask questions]]

</div>

* [[Wikipedia:Contact us|Contact us]]

* [[Wikipedia:Village pump|Village pump]]

* [[Wikipedia:Talk_page_guidelines|Talk pages]]

* [[Wikipedia:Contact us/Article problem|Article problem]]

* [[Wikipedia:Help desk|Help desk]]

* [[Wikipedia:Editor assistance/Requests|Editor assistance/Requests]]

* [[Wikipedia:Reference desk|Reference desk]]

* [[Wikipedia:Village pump|Village pump]]

|group5 = Tutorials |list5 =

* [[Wikipedia:Picture tutorial]]

* [[Wikipedia:tutorial|Tutorial]]

* [[Wikipedia:Article wizard 2.0]]

|group6 = Editing basics |list6 =

* [[Help:Contents/Editing Wikipedia|Overview]]

* [[Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia|Contributing to Wikipedia]]

* [[Help:Contents/Policies and guidelines|Policies and guidelines]]

* [[Wikipedia:Consensus|Consensus]]

* [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style|Manual of Style]]

* [[Wikipedia:Cheatsheet|Cheatsheet]]

* [[Help:Contents/Account settings and maintenance|Account settings and maintenance]]

* [[Help:Preferences|Change your preferences]]

* [[Wikipedia:Customisation#User name and signatures|Change your signature]]

* [[Wikipedia:FAQ/Editing]]

* [[Wikipedia:FAQ/Contributing]]

* [[Help:Wikipedia: The Missing Manual|The Missing Manual]]

* [[Help:Contents/The Wikipedia community|The Wikipedia community]]

|group7 = Editing reference |list7 =

* [[Help:Link|How to make links]]

* [[Help:Contents/Links|Links and references]]

* [[Wikipedia:External links|External links]]

* [[Wikipedia:Citing sources|Citing sources]]

* [[Help:Contents/Resources and lists|Resources and lists]]

* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Stub types|Types of stub]]

* [[Wikipedia:Template messages|Common Templates]]

* [[Wikipedia:Cleanup resources|Cleanup resources]]

* [[Wikipedia:Deletion discussions|Deleting pages]]

* [[Wikipedia:Dispute resolution|Dispute resolution]]

* [[Wikipedia:Requests_for_feedback]]

* [[Wikipedia:Peer_review]]

* [[Wikipedia:Featured_article_review]]

|group8 = Images and files |list8 =

* [[Wikipedia:Picture tutorial]]

* [[Help:Contents/Images and media|Images and media]]

* [[Wikipedia:Uploading images|Upload images]]

* [[Help:Files]]

* [[Wikipedia:Image copyright tags|Copyright tags]]

* [[Wikipedia:Creation and usage of media files|Other media]]

|group9 = Tracking changes |list9 =

* [[Help:Contents/Tracking changes|Keeping track of changes]]

* [[Help:Page history|Page history]]

* [[Help:User contributions|User contributions]]

* [[Wikipedia:Vandalism|Vandalism]]

|group10 = Technical information |list10 =

* [[Help:Contents/Technical information|Technical information]]

* [[Wikipedia:Tools|Tools]]

* [[Wikipedia:FAQ/Technical]]

* [[MediaWiki]] software

* [[Wikipedia:Text editor support]]

* [[Wikipedia:Media help|Media files on Wikipedia]]

* [[Wikipedia:Media help (Ogg)|Audio and video]]

* [[Wikipedia:Media help (MIDI)|MIDI]]

}}

==Historical==

A list of help links created by previous project: [[Wikipedia:Help Project/Link repository]].

Found on a users page:

{| border="2" style="background:#efefef;"

|-

|'''[[Help:Contents|Help contents]]''' - all pages in the Help namespace: [http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AAllpages&from=&namespace=12 Meta] [http://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AAllpages&from=&namespace=12 b:] [http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AAllpages&from=&namespace=12 c:] [http://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AAllpages&from=&namespace=12 n:] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AAllpages&from=&namespace=12 w:] [http://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AAllpages&from=&namespace=12 q:] [http://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Allpages&from=&namespace=12 wikisource] [http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AAllpages&from=&namespace=12 wiktionary]<BR>

<BR>

'''Reading:'''

[[Help:Reader|Overview]] |

[[Help:Go button|Go]] |

[[Help:Searching|Search]] |

[[Help:URL|URL]] |

[[Help:Namespace|Namespace]] |

[[Help:Page name|Page name]] |

[[Help:Section |Section]] |

[[Help:Link|Link]] |

[[Help:What links here|Backlinks]] |

[[Help:Piped link|Piped link]] |

[[Help:Interwiki linking|Interwiki link]] |

[[Help:redirect|Redirect]] |

[[Help:Variable|Variable]] |

[[Help:category|Category]]

<br>

'''Tracking changes:'''

[[Help:Recent changes|Recent]] |

[[Help:Enhanced recent changes|(enhanced)]] |

[[Help:Related changes|Related]] |

[[Help:Watching pages|Watching pages]] |

[[Help:Page history|Page history]] |

[[Help:Diff|Diff]] |

[[Help:User contributions|User contributions]] | [[help:Edit summary|Edit summary]] | [[Help:Minor edit|Minor edit]]

<br>

'''Logging in and preferences:''' [[Help:Logging in|Logging in]] | [[help:Preferences|Preferences]] |

[[Help:User style|User style]]<br>

'''Editing:''' [[help:editing|Overview]]''' |

[[Help:Starting a new page|New page]] |

[[Help:Images and other uploaded files|Images/files]] |

[[Help:Image description page|Image description page]] |

[[Help:Special characters|Special characters]] |

[[Help:Formula|Formula]] |

[[Help:Table|Table]] |

[[Help:EasyTimeline syntax|EasyTimeline]] | [[Help:A quick guide to templates|Template intro]] |

[[Help:Renaming (moving) a page|Renaming (moving) a page]] |

[[Help:Automatic conversion of wikitext|Automatic conversion of wikitext]] |

[[Help:Talk page|Talk page]] |

[[Help:Testing|Testing]] | [{{SERVER}}{{localurl:Special:Recentchangeslinked|target=Template:H:f}} rlc]<br>

'''Projects:'''

'''[[m:Help:Contents|Meta (master page)]]''' |

[[b:Help:Contents|Wikibooks]] |

[[commons:Help:Contents|Wikicommons]] |

[[n:Help:Contents|Wikinews]] |

[[Help:Contents|Wikipedia]] |

[[q:Help:Contents|Wikiquote]] |

[[s:Help:Contents|Wikisource]] |

[[wikt:Help:Contents|Wiktionary]]<br>

For other languages see Meta.

|}