Formatting is the height of courtesy. Our readers deserve a good typographic roadmap to the content! Here are a couple of things you can do to make your article clearer and cooler.
1. Subheads
See how I did that? To create a subhead, put some plusses and a space ("+ ") before the line. A single plus is an H1 header, two plusses is H2 and three pluses is an H3 sub-sub-head. Four plusses? Don't be ridiculous.
Ex: +++++ This is what a Sub-sub-sub-sub-head looks like
This is what a Sub-sub-sub-sub-head looks like
2. Lists and bullets
Use an asterisk and space at the begining of each line of a bulletted list. Use a hash symbol to make a numbered list "# "
Example
'# and a one'
'# and a two'
- and a one
- and a two
Example
'* Sixteen…'
'* with a bullet'
- Sixteen…
- with a bullet
3. Page Names and Tags
This is important. It really should have been #1. Here we are, though. Each page lives in a category. So far we've create 5 categories:
- personalities
- vessels
- factions
- landmarks
- lifestyle
When you create a page you MUST create the name as a category|pagename combination. For instance, Cat Anne's bio page is, for example, personalities:cat-anne. If you don't use a category, your pages will vanish into a point singularity and never be seen again. (unless you edit and rename it correctly.) If you need more categories, discuss your idea on the forums and we'll talk about it.
The name itself should be short and clear. We generally use dashes to replace spaces.
After you create your page, scroll to the bottom and click on "Tags" (I know self explanatory, but you never know) and then create a tag or three for what it's all about. Use a space to separate each tag.
4. Hyperlinks
Every page should have outlinks. That helps create the web of connections — between people, places, ideas, objects and events — that constitute a 'world.'
SIMPLEST: Just put the three brackets around the word that you think needs a link, add a "category:" and ignore the rest. So [[[futurehistory:The Cat in the doorway]]] becomes the perfectly legit The Cat in the doorway page.
ADVANCED: To link a word with a name other than its page (e.g., Dog Lilly to BadDog), type 3 brackets, the category and name of the page, a "pipe" separator (that is "|"), the link as you want it to appear in the text, and 3 close brackets. So [[[personalities:baddog|Dog Lilly]]] appears as the Dog Lilly page link.
IMPORTANT: Things that have hyperlinks DO NOT need corresponding pages. If you're writing about The Dot and make a reference to a new character, whom you have just made up, you can make him a hyperlink and not worry about building the page. The wikidot will add that link to the "Wanted pages" list, which will show up on the Job Board for someone else to figure out.
5. Quotes and Block quotes
I use this alot, particularly when I'm quoting from the actual game dialog. Use a "> " with a space at the head of a line. At the first line without a "> " you'll leave the block quote, so use a "> " if you need a space. So:
> CAPT RICHARD
> Which way did he go?
>
> MAJOR DOMO
> Hunh? Who?
And we're out.
CAPT RICHARD
Which way did he go?MAJOR DOMO
Hunh? Who?
And we're out.
6. Images, files and other primary sources
We have an interesting plan for primary sources so I encourage you to add as many of these as you can! So, if you write an article about Cat Anne's musical career (and why not?) you could include one of her songs.
To do so, when you are in the normal, non editing mode, use the FILES menu on the BOTTOM NAV CAR to upload a file.
- to display an image include it in something like this:
[[include :snippets:image |image=cat_1a.jpg
|width=200 px |float=left
|heading=Cat Anne |caption=Meow
|link= |alt=
|title=Cat Anne ]]
which makes this:
| Cat Anne |
 |
| Meow |
For other kinds of documents (e.g., emails from Anne, the original text of the Treaty of Vienna-HEO), just make it a page and link to it.
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