Feed The Beast Wiki:Article creation guideline

This guideline outlines what a basic article should contain and the basic layout of articles, please always follow this guideline when creating articles. Not following this guideline may result in a temp-block or even a perma-block. You have been warned.

Basic article layout

An article should always have the following sections and components in the order specified:

1. Lead section (Article introduction)
2. Main content
3. A langbar
4. Categories

Lead section

The section of an article is the section before the first heading and before the table of contents. The lead serves as an introduction to the article and a summary of its most important aspects. Various article components, like infoboxes, should be also included in this section and will be listed later in this article.

Wikipedia states that "The lead should be able to stand alone as a concise overview. It should define the topic, establish context, explain why the topic is notable, and summarize the most important points—including any prominent controversies. The emphasis given to material in the lead should roughly reflect its importance to the topic, according to reliable, published sources, and the notability of the article's subject is usually established in the first few sentences. Apart from trivial basic facts, significant information should not appear in the lead if it is not covered in the remainder of the article.

The lead is the first part of the article most people read, and many read only the lead. Consideration should be given to creating interest in reading more of the article, but the lead should not "tease" the reader by hinting at content that follows. Instead, the lead should be written in a clear, accessible style with a neutral point of view; it should ideally contain no more than four paragraphs and be carefully sourced as appropriate."

Articles with bad lead sections can be tagged with the maintenance template: {{subst:dated|introrewrite}}.
Articles with missing infoboxes can be tagged with the maintenance template: {{subst:dated|infobox needed}}.

Creating articles without lead sections will always result in a warning. Repeated violations will result in a block.
Creating articles without infoboxes when needed will always result in a warning. Repeated violations will result in a block.

Main content

The structure of this section may vary by the type of the article and will be discussed in more detail later.

Langbar

A langbar should always be present at the bottom of an article to allow for linking to translated versions of an article. You will be warned for not adding langbars but please do not edit an article for the sole purpose of adding in the langbar, by doing so, especially editing articles en masse, is considered disruptive editing and will be temp-blocked, in certain severe cases, you may be perma-blocked.

To create a langbar, insert the following code at the bottom of an article on a new line:

<languages/>

The langbar will only show up when the article is marked for translation so don't worry if it doesn't show up.

Categories

The categories should always be the last thing in the page source, categorizing pages allows for users to quickly find related content, an article is not limited to one category and should be added to as much relevant categories as possible. A full list of categories can be found below:

If an article fits in a category, then the article should not be in any parent categories. Please also do not add any new categories, by adding random categories that aren't listed above, you will be warned and repeated violations will result in a block.

Uncategorized articles can be tagged with the maintenance template: {{subst:dated|uncategorized}}.

Not adding categories to articles will result in a warning and repeated violations will result in a block.

Standard appendices and footers

When an optional appendix section is used, they should appear at the bottom of the article in level 2 headings.

Order of section

1. See also
2. External links
3. Navigation templates (footer navboxes)

See also section

An article recommended to have a see also section, the links in the see also section cannot be replaced by a navbox, a navbox can be provided, but only after the list of links. The see also section should list related articles and topics to allow for readers to quickly find related content, if a navbox is present, then a see also section with a list of links should be also present.

The see also section should contain an unordered list, preferably in alphabetical order, of links to related articles, a brief annotation when a link's relevance is not immediately apparent, when the meaning of the term may not be generally known, or when the term is ambiguous.

Wikipedia considers that "Whether a link belongs in the 'See also' section is ultimately a matter of editorial judgment and common sense. The links in the 'See also' section should be relevant, should reflect the links that would be present in a comprehensive article on the topic, and should be limited to a reasonable number. As a general rule, the 'See also' section should not repeat links that appear in the article's body or its navigation boxes.

The links in the 'See also' section do not have to be directly related to the topic of the article, because one purpose of 'See also' links is to enable readers to explore tangentially related topics. The 'See also' section should not link to pages that do not exist (red links) nor to disambiguation pages (unless used for further disambiguation in a disambiguation page).".

Replacing existing see also sections with navboxes will result in a warning.

External links

A bulleted list of recommended relevant websites, each accompanied by a short description. These hyperlinks should not appear in the article's body text, nor should links used as references normally be duplicated in this section. "External links" should be plural, even if it lists only a single item.

Navigation templates

This section should contain all footer navigation boxes, no section heading should be created and the only two things that can be after this section is the langbar and the category links. Navigation boxes shouldn't be present in other places of the article.

Elements of the lead section

As explained in more detail below, the lead section may contain optional elements presented in the following order:

1. Disambiguation links
2. Maintenance tags
3. Infoboxes
4. Introductory text
5. Table of Contents

An example of a well-formed lead section:

{{About|BuildCraft Wrench}}
{{Copyedit|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox|...}}
The '''wrench''' from BuildCraft...
[table of contents]
== First section ==

• Disambiguation links should be the first elements of the page, before any maintenance tags, infobox or image; if a reader has reached the wrong page, they will want to know that first. A "for topics of the same name ..." disambiguation link is sometimes put at the beginning of an article to link to another article discussing another meaning of the article title. In such cases, the line should be italicized and indented using the {{About}} template. Do not make this initial link a section.
• Maintenance tags should be below the disambiguation links. These tags inform the reader about the general quality of the article, and should be presented to the user before the article itself.
• Infoboxes contain summary information or an overview relating to the subject of the article, and therefore should be put before any text (though in actuality they will generally appear to the right side of the text of the lead).
• The content of the introductory text will be explained in more detail below.
• The table of contents will automatically appear after the introductory text if the article has more than three sections, the table of contents should not be floated or positioned in other places of the article.

Article types

Below is a list of common article types that will appear on the wiki.

• Item pages
  • Tool pages
  • Crafting component pages
• Block pages
  • Machine pages
• Resource pages
• Landscape pages
  • Biome pages
  • Structure pages
  • Dimension pages
• Creature pages
  • Hostile creatures
  • Neutral or passive creatures
  • Bosses
• Mod/Modpack pages
• Fluid pages
• Guides
• Concepts^*

The standard structure of such pages listed above will be explained in detail below.

^*Concept pages should be made only if required, and should be things such as energy systems. If staff members feel the page is not necessary or does not fit on the wiki, they have the right to remove it.

Section definitions

Sections mentioned below should be displayed as level 2 sections when used in an article.

Recipe

This section should contain recipes that result in the item that the article is about. A brief description of what the recipe is made up of and other notes and stuff can be placed before the crafting recipe. Recipes support animation and multiple crafting grids should be merged if possible.

Articles with multiple crafting grids that could be merged can be tagged with the maintenance template: {{subst:dated|merge crafting grids}}.

For other mod's changes to recipes, please put them under a level 3 subsection titled identical to the mod that is changing it.

Usage

This section should contain how the item is used in the game. In this section instructions to operate items, tools and machines should also be included in this section and be split in to level 3+ sections when needed.

However, you should not put a full list of recipes that the item is used in ^{[Verification needed]}:

• Correct: The wrench is mainly used to rotate and dismantle IndustrialCraft 2 machines, it can also be upgraded to the Electric Wrench.
• Incorrect: The wrench is used in the following recipes: ...List of recipes...

Item pages

Anything which cannot be placed on the ground as a block is an item.

Item articles should contain the Recipe section detailing how to obtain the item. They may also contain a Usage section describing how to use the item, but only if it can actually do something.

Tool pages

Some items can be used to do things, such as a wrench can be used to dismantle machines.

For tools, a Usage section must be included, and should describe all unique functionality of the tool. If another tool already performs that functionality, then you should link to that other tool, and then detail any additions or changes to that functionality.

For example, the Electric Wrench effectively duplicates the functionality of the Wrench, so the Electric Wrench would link to the Wrench page, and then further describe how it consumes electricity instead of durability to function.

Crafting component pages

Some items are useless on their own, and their only purpose is to be crafted into other things. In this case you should not include a Usage' section, and instead briefly summarize the a couple of the most important things that the item is used to craft in the lead description.

Block pages

Blocks are anything which may be placed on the ground.

Block articles should contain the Recipe section detailing how to obtain the block.

Machine pages

Machines are blocks which are capable of doing something.

Machines must have, in addition to the Recipe section, a Usage section describing how to use the machine. Just like for tool pages, the Usage section should describe all unique functionality of the machine, and if it duplicates the functionality of another machine, you should link to that other article, and then detail any additions and changes.

For machines which are made out of multiple one block, such as the Rock Crusher being made out of 12 Rock Crusher blocks, both the Rock Crusher block, and the resultant multiblock Rock Crusher machine should be on the same page.

For multiblock machines that are made of multiple different blocks, such as the GregTech fusion reactor, the resultant multiblock machine should be on a page of its own.

Resource pages

All raw forms of metals and gems should be combined into one single page. The {{Infobox ore}} template should be used in place of the normal infobox on these pages.

Resource pages should contain a Recipe section describing how to obtain that material. Recipes for transforming one form of that material to another will be covered by specialty pages such as Storage Blocks.

Landscape

Landscape pages are for anything that is a natural part of the world, or an entirely new world. Landscape pages themselves should not exist unless absolutely necessary. Instead, pages for the subcategories of landscape should be made, such as biomes, structures, and dimensions.

Biomes

Biomes that are added by mods should be documented. It should have at least one picture of what the biome looks like with GUIs invisible, a brief description of the appearance and features of the biome, and any special attributes it has. The {{Infobox biome}} template should be used in place of the normal infobox on these pages.

Sub-sections should not normally be necessary for biome pages.

Structures

Structures are world-generated buildings that are created by mods. An example of a Vanilla Minecraft structure would be a village or stronghold.

Structures should have at least one picture of what the structure looks like with GUIs invisible, a brief description of the appearance and features of the biome, and any special attributes it has. If it has dungeon loot, this should be noted. If it has sub-structures, such as rooms and corridors, they should not have their own page. Instead, they should have a picture and description.

Dimensions

Dimensions are alternate worlds added by mods. These pages should have at least one screenshot of what the dimension looks like with GUIs invisible, a description of the appearance and features of the dimension, and any special attributes it has.

Sub-sections should normally be present. These sub-sections should be titled "Entering the <Dimension Name>", and "Exiting the <Dimension Name>". Any other necessary sub-sections should be added as needed.

Creatures

Creatures are entities, which can include subcategories of hostile, neutral/passive, and bosses. The "Creature" type should not have its own page. Instead, use one of the three types, listed previously.

Hostile

Hostile creatures are enemy monsters that intentionally seek out players and attack them, or perform some sort of debuff towards them.

These pages should include at least one screenshot of what the enemy looks like, with GUIs invisible. Other required information includes the health that they have, in hearts and health points, the damage(s) it can deal, how it attacks, and where/how it can be found.

Neutral/Passive

Neutral or passive creatures are entities that either will never attack the player, or will only attack the player when provoked.

These pages should include at least one screenshot of what it looks like, with GUIs invisible. Other required information includes the health that they have, in hearts and health points, where/how it can be found, and, if possible, the damage it can deal and how it attacks.

Bosses

Bosses are creatures that force the purple boss health bar to appear at the top of the screen when they are present. They are almost always hostile.

These pages should include at least one screenshot of what it looks like, with GUIs invisible. Other required information includes the health that they have, in hearts and health points, where/how it can be found, the damage it can deal, and how it attacks.

Fluid pages

If a mod has more than 3 fluids in it, they should all be documented on a single page. See IndustrialCraft 2 Fluids for the layout of one of these pages.

If a mod has 3 or less, they should be documented on separate pages. See Steam for the layout of these pages. This example page does not have a crafting template for how it is made. In general, if possible, there should be a crafting grid template showing how to make the fluid.

Mod/Modpack pages

Mod and modpack pages should use the {{Infobox mod}} and {{Infobox pack}} respectively. These pages should contain a brief description of what the mod or modpack does and its purpose. A brief description of the role of mods in a modpack can also be included. A link to donation/support pages (for example: Patreon and Flattr links) for mod or modpack authors is allowed and supported; put them under a level 2 header titled "External Links".

Guides

Main pages: Project:Guide guideline

Concepts

There is no way to describe every single possible concept page, because it is too broad of a subject. When in doubt, contact a FTB Wiki Staff member for assistance.