WikiIndex talk:Wiki project - Categories and tags

Subject-matter categories
I was looking for subject-matter categories, so as to offer a link from a newish Wikia. This is the nearest I could find (in a mere 10 minutes) to a discussion of the subject.

There are 1200 "wanted categories", many of them having 3 or more links and many looking like subject-matter categories. Most of them would become "uncategorized categories" as soon as one gave them a word of text (and/or preferably a parent category), to join the current mere 22 officially uncategorized. They would gain the small advantage of being ordered alphabetically.

Is that where one should start?

Wikia's category listings - currently under 70 covering over 2,000 Wikia sites - could give a guide if anyone was keen to organise the subject-matter categories but wasn't clear how to go about it.

Robin Patterson 17:02, 21 April 2007 (PDT)

A list of all topics
Most wiki talk about several closely-related topics. Is there a way to get a list of all the wiki topics we've used at WikiIndex so far? (Is Robin Patterson searching for the same thing?) That way, when I add a new wiki to the WikiIndex, I can scan through the list of topics and pick out all the ones that apply to this wiki.

I thought that the page Category:Wiki Topic is such a list of all those topics -- but I see a few categories such as Category: Game development that are not listed there.

On the one hand, I'm tempted to slap the Category: Wiki Topic tag on all such wiki topic pages, so they will be listed there.

On the other hand, perhaps we're trying to do things like Wikipedia. At Wikipedia, if a category has a tag on it, then that tag is assumed to apply to all subcategories. So, since Category: Game development is a subcategory of Category: Programming, and Category: Programming is a subcategory of Category: Software, and Category: Software is a subcategory of Category: Computing, and Category: Computing is a subcategory of Category: Information Technology, and Category: Information Technology is a subcategory of Category: Technology, and since Category: Technology already has the Category: Wiki Topic tag, therefore Category: Game development (and all those other sub-topics of Category: Technology) doesn't need the Category: Wiki Topic tag.

But if we do things the Wikipedia way -- in a strict hierarchy, rather than a flat tag space -- how do I get a list of all the wiki topics we've used at Wikiindex so far? --DavidCary 13:36, 13 October 2008 (EDT)

Perhaps use Special:Categories? And then ignore some categories -- such as Category:Active administrators of this wiki -- that are never the topic of discussion at other wiki? --DavidCary 13:44, 13 October 2008 (EDT)


 * The main problem with Special:Categories is that you can't jump to different alphabetical sections. I had assumed that categories were hierarchical, and that's how I've been proceeding. But, of course, I could be wrong. Also, I had assumed that Category:Wiki Topic was only for categories that had not yet been plugged into the hierarchy, so I had removed that category if I made a category into a sub-cat of another. --MarvelZuvembie 19:44, 13 October 2008 (EDT)

2 new categories proposal
I'm proposing two new categories for inclusion, with the following reasons: Discuss please. . . . Regards, Hoof Hearted 03:49, 28 September 2011 (PDT)
 * 1) Category:Custom skin — my train of thought is mainly for MediaWiki (MW) sites. Generally, most MW sites use a standard default skin, and all can look rather 'samey'.  But some seem to have gone an extra mile and used/developed a custom skin – and I personally think it would be nice to recognise that here on WikiIndex.  I don't think this needs to be included in the Wiki template (though depending on if there becomes a noticeable number of wikis with custom skins, this may need to be included in the template in future) – instead, it can simply be added via the tag in the prose of the text.  Oh, and this can also be used for any of the other Wiki engines which have a custom skin too!
 * 2) Category:Hosts advertising — OK, this bugs me. It is (or should be!!) widely known that all Wikia sites are 'plagued' by all kinds of advertising, whereas most MediaWiki sites generally have none.  However, some MW sites are now hosting advertising (Google Adsense -  Google advertising seems to be the most prevalent).  I strongly think we should show if a site hosts advertising, then it gives the readers on this site the fore-warning of advertising, and then allows them to make a pre-informed decision as to weather to open up said site or not.  I'm very aware that a significant sector of the UK population are passionate about the freedom to reject advertising (we can choose TV and radio channels which allow advertising, and others which prohibit advertising – and with the advent of PVR recorders with hard discs, you can zap through the adverts on any recorded programme with them).  I think this category should be included in the Wiki template.