WikiIndex:Namespace conventions

Not to be confused with WikiIndex:Naming conventions

Template:TOCright WikiIndex:Namespace conventions — the MediaWiki software which this WikiIndex wiki uses has many built-in 'namespaces'. Many are the standard default namespaces, as used in a similar vein by the plethora of other MediaWiki sites. Here is how we at WikiIndex are . . . or are not using them.

To see an overview of all current namespaces in use here on WikiIndex, either click on the 'Search' button below the search box (you don't need to enter any text), and then click on 'Advanced'; or go to Special:PrefixIndex and click on the drop-down box.

Main namespace

This is the basic or 'root' namespace. Articles will be shown by their title without any prefix, and similarly without any prefix as a URL in your browser address bar immediately after the http://WikiIndex.org/. This main namespace will (or should) contain the following:

• All wiki article entries;
• Wiki people pages of those people who prefer to be known by their real names and have moved their default user page;
• Normal articles (which are not actual wikis) related to with wikisphere in general, such as OptOut, wiki ideas, wiki concepts, etc;
  • This original idea for this wiki is a contested idea (by some) - people would like it out of the path of a casual eye and put into a Project Namespace, we are still working on that one;
• Everything else not mentioned below.

Please see WikiIndex:Naming conventions for guidance on how we correctly name articles here on WikiIndex.

Talk: namespace

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WikiIndex: namespace

This is typically known as the 'meta' namespace. 'Meta' pages are about the specific policies and workings of this WikiIndex wiki, such as WikiIndex:AntiSpamMeasures.

User: namespace

We use the 'User:' namespace differently to, say Wikipedia. Since automatic signatures link to the User namespace, see the redirect at User:MarkDilley. It goes to MarkDilley, which has a link back to his user talk page.

User talk: namespace

The User talk namespace is the only namespace where in-wiki notification of messages on user talk pages from others will work, so we do use this namespace for that purpose. It is useful to redirect the talk page for each person from the main namespace to the User talk namespace.

Category: namespace

All WikiIndex categories go in this namespace. [[Category:Cities]] can be placed in an article to add it to the cities category in the same manner as keywords.

We also use the {{tag}} template to include articles into categories; this is useful when needing to create a wikilink to a category within the textual prose of an article. {{tag|cities}} would also include the article into category:Cities.

Template: namespace

All WikiIndex templates go in this namespace.

File: namespace

All WikiIndex images should be in this namespace. These currently include:

• Uploaded Logos;
• Uploaded People pictures;
  • Uploaded charictures;
  • Uploaded avatars.

The File namespace can also support other media files, such as video and audio.

Help: namespace

• need to think about how this works: Help - is it a hard wired page like Recent changes? Should it be a portal for the Help namespace?
  • No, it's not. The "Help namespace portal" is Help:Contents
    • If the Help page is not hardwired - then how is the help namespace portal determined? ... Just went to check on a brand new wiki and there is nothing in the Help:Contents space, so it seems to me that it is up to us to figure out, right? MarkDilley
  • MediaWiki:Sidebar determines what pages appear in the navigation box — all links, including Help:Contents are therefore editable by admins and can be added, removed or made to point anywhere. Help: is just a namespace like any other and, unless you've downloaded documentation from a MediaWiki site and posted it there, will be initially empty. --Carlb 11:34, 15 December 2006 (EST)

Proposal: namespace

The Proposal namespace was primarily (though not always) used during the infancy of WikiIndex to seed ideas and develop policies, guidelines, and general methodology. Now rarely used, this namespace still contains useful information and interesting reading on how we have reached the current consensus here on WikiIndex.