Guide to Making AoW Pages
From AgeofWiki
In this guide, I show you how to contribute helpful, effective, and informative pages to the project.
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Markup
The first thing to understand is basic wiki markup. When you edit a page, there are boxes at the top which allow you to apply various effects to the page. The important ones to know are covered here.
Line Breaks
Line breaks on wiki are slightly different than on a forum. If something is directly below what you are typing, it will simply be attached to the end. To put it in a new paragraph, so to speak, hit enter twice. You can also use the <br> command to make this work.
Headings
To create a heading, you surround the text with = signs. The more equals signs on each side, the smaller the heading. For example, to create a heading that says Markup, I simply wrote ==Markup==. A page with four or more headings automatically generates a table of contents, which is useful for fast navigation.
Internal Links
To make a link to another wiki page, or to a wiki page that you'd like to see made, write the name of the page and put [[ and ]] around it. For example, if I wanted to make a link to the main page, I'd write [[Main Page]].
Example: Main Page
To link to another page, but display text different from the title of the page, write the page title in brackets as above, but this time put a bar (|) inside the brackets and then put the text you want. For example, if I wanted to link to the main page with the text MP, I'd write [[Main Page|MP]].
Example: MP
Text placed directly outside an internal link (no space) is added to the link, but does not change the location. For example, if I wanted to say Main Pages, but link to Main Page, I'd just leave the s on the outside, like this: [[Main Page]]s
Example: Main Pages
To make a link to a page that doesn't exist, write the title that you'd like for the page and put [[ and ]] around it. This will create a red link, which links directly to the edit tools for that page. Doing this improves comprehension and helps organize your thoughts.
Example: Page That Doesn't Exist (Don't add that page, though, we need it for the demonstration).
If you see a page that doesn't exist, don't edit it with just some text saying "Empty" or "No Text". This doesn't accomplish anything, and it takes the page off of the "Wanted Pages" list, and it confuses people.
An internal link to the page it is placed on is bolded instead of being made into a link. This is often used to bold the topic of the page.
Redirects
Sometimes you want one page to automatically forward a user to another page. For example, the page AoM forwards the user to Age of Mythology: The Titans. To do this, simply add #REDIRECT [[Page Name]] to the page you want to redirect to another page. For example, I edited the page AoM with '#REDIRECT [[Age of Mythology: The Titans]]'.
External Links
External links take you to another website. Except in special circumstances, these should be at the end of the article. To create an external link, you put [ and ] around it. For example, to link to http:\\www.ensemblestudios.com, I write [http://www.ensemblestudios.com]
Example: [1] (http://www.ensemblestudios.com)
AgeofWiki assigns names to external links, but you can add your own by typing a space and then a name for the link, like this: [http://www.ensemblestudios.com ES]
Example: ES (http://www.ensemblestudios.com)
Bold
To make text bold, add ''' and ''' around it, like this: '''bold text!'''
Example: bold text!
Italics
To make text italics, add '' and '' around it, like this: ''italic text!''
Example: italic text!
Internal Images
To add an internal image (ie, one you uploaded), type: [[Image:Name.jpg]]. To control the size of the image, add a bar at the end and then enter the width, like so: [[Image:Name.jpg|250px]] For example, I type [[Image:sun1.jpg|200px]] to create the following image.
Example: Missing image
Sun1.jpg
200px
External Images
I've found the easiest way to insert external images is to just type the location. IE: http://www.google.ca/intl/en_ca/images/logo.gif
Example: 
Signatures
To add a signature to something, usually a discussion, press the signature button or type --~~~~
Example: --68.147.162.246 02:41, 19 Jan 2005 (GMT)
Horizontal Line
To add a horizontal line to your documents, type ---- . Use the horizontal line sparingly, since it tends to clutter up the document.
Example:
Other Markup
There's plenty of other markup for wiki, but this is just a basic guide. Most HTML tags also work on wiki, so if you must, you can use them too.
Stylistic Conventions
Links Everywhere
As a rule, everything should have its own page. In an article, whenever you mention a design team, designer, project, game, or glossary word, create a link to that thing's page (if the page doesn't exist, create a link to where it will go when it gets made). The rule for what words belong in the glossary is summed up as "anything your parents wouldn't understand in context". This includes words you assume all AoM players know, but not words that the greater English speaking community will understand.
An important note here: Whenever you mention a trigger or basic editor effect such as "raise elevation", provide a helpful link on the AgeofWiki page on that subject. This will help our inexperienced readers learn.
Another note: Don't make EVERY noun into a link. There are plenty of words that an AoM information database does not need to cover. Example: Computer.
Neutral and Informative
The goal of AgeofWiki is to create a neutral and informative information resource. Leave your personal vendettas and flame wars somewhere else. When you contribute to AgeofWiki, realize that you are working to improve the scenario design community. Information you post should be relevant and exact. Instead of hearing that "it is one of the best scenarios for AoM", people want to know "It has received an average rating of 4.7 by 3 reviewers at Age of Mythology Heaven's Download Central, and it has been downloaded 8521 times from that site
Check your spelling!
Spelling is an important part of professionalism and comprehension. Many readers do not speak English as a first language, so don't make things harder for them by using poor spelling and grammar. If you use Internet Explorer, download the free [www.iespell.com IE Spell] spelling checker.
Give credit where it is due
If someone else helped you with an article or wrote an article entirely, acknowledge their contribution.
Keep external links together at the end
As a rule, always link to the AgeofWiki page about a topic, and then include external links for more information at the end. If you want to mention an external page in context, consider making an AgeofWiki page that covers the same subject.
Use Images
A picture is worth 10,000 words. AgeofWiki allows you to upload pictures to the database, and you should do this to back up your points. If you're contributing to the Triggers section for AoM, all of the images you'll need have already been collected.
Add to the Design Dictonary
If you're writing an article and decide to leave a link to a word you think needs clarification, don't just put it in your article. Add a link to the same word to the Glossary.
Bold the Topic
It is something of a convention to bold the topic of the article to first time you use it. For example, in an article about Spitfire, you'd say "One of the most sucessful designers to date, Spitfire is known for his excellent guides".
Summary At The Top
Instead of jumping right into your subject, summarize it at the top so the reader knows whether the article will be a waste of time or the information he's looking for. For example, this article starts off "In this guide, I show you how to contribute helpful, effective, and informative pages to the project." If the reader was looking for something else, he knows right away he needs to keep looking.
Wiki Functions
Talk Page
Each page has a discussion tab. Use it to leave a comment about the page (like "good work making 359239523 images Spitfire, now make a page for each one). You should use a signature on everything in the talk page.
Edit
This is the tab you use to edit the source for the page, and to make changes. There are also individual edit buttons at the top of each section.
History
Each page also has a history tab. This is where you can find a record of all changes made to a page, and obtain source from previous versions in order to revert vandalism.
Special Pages
The "Special Pages" link to the left (in the toolbox) lets you see a number of useful lists, such as longest pages, shortest pages, most popular pages, orphaned pages, wanted pages, all pages, users list, and a list of admins. The admins at time of writing are Elpea and Spitfire, and you can contact one of us to do things like move pages, revert vandalism, delete pages, undelete pages, and put your new category (explained below) in the correct section.
Categories
Unlike at the old AoW, the HG wiki will not employ categories
