View source for Stars!wiki:Policies

There aren't many yet. But you may wish to "watch" the [{{wikiurl}}?title=Stars!wiki:Policies&action=watch policies talk page] and stay abreast of policy discussions as they happen. Or just [{{wikiurl}}?title=Stars!wiki:Policies&action=watch watch this page] and keep informed of policy changes.

==Abbreviations==
Articles for names with abbreviations should use the full name, with a REDIRECT page for the abbreviation.

==Article Library==
These articles have been collected for posterity, please do not edit these articles except:
* Structurally (how they are presented - readability)
* Categories - add as appropriate
* See also - relevant wiki pages
* Compatibility - add a note if an article only applies to an older Stars! version
If you wish to modify the text or rewrite any of these texts please '''do''' create a separate, more current article elsewhere in Stars!wiki, not in the [[Article Library]].

==Categories==
*[[special:Categories]] lists categories currently in use.
#Where appropriate, list your article in a category(or two...) Its a only a link at the bottom of the page per category. See [Meta:Help:Category here] for the how-to specifics.
# Suggested categories are listed at [[Stars!wiki:Categories]].

==Namespaces==
A list of existing namespaces appears at the bottom of the [{{wikiurl}}?search=foo&go=Go search results]. Except for [[wikipedia:interwiki|interwiki]] prefixes, please do not create pages with non-existant namespaces. The pages will be created with a colon in the name and may not be accessable once the namespace has been created.
:Namespaces are a wiki organisational concept, essentially its the prefix for wikilinks eg(Stars!wiki,Special,Help) Most articles are listed in the default namespace (Main) and don't require a prefix. They are used to differentiate the purpose of the contained articles. eg the Stars!wiki namespace is for articles about Stars!wiki itself.
===Stars! Supernova Genesis===
An exception to this is articles related to S!SNG. These articles should all be prfixed with "SNG:" and do NOT have their own namespace(eg [[SNG:Websites]]). Just to really complicate things, this does not apply to SNG articles in the article library (eg [["Jeff on Supernova" compiled by James McGuigan]]).
===Interwiki linking===
Feel free to use interwiki linking, a list of defined interwiki prefixes is at [[Special:Interwiki]]. Notably the interlanguage prefixes for french and polish are defined. They both 'only' link directly back to the default namespace, so you can link to those articles without a prefix however including them on a page with the language prefix will create to interlanguage link (in other languages) eg [[Main Page]]

==Preview & minor editing==
Please make liberal use of the preview button when creating/editing pages, every time you save a page and edit again it is recorded in the history for that page.

If you are only fixing minor elements of a page (eg a malformed link or a spelling mistake) don't forget to mark your edit as minor. Actual edits should be worth someone looking at the new page.

==Style==
Please be familiar with the style of Stars!wiki articles before you go creating your own articles. Simple things like proper grammar, not putting a title at the top of the article text(articles already have titles) go a long was to make the wiki professional-like ;)
===Templates/ParserFunctions===
The MediaWiki extension [[metawikipedia:ParserFunctions]] is installed. Feel free to use it. You may also which to reference [[metawikipedia:Help:Template]] A list of existing templates is available at [[Special:Allpages/Template:]], although most are experimental at this stage. ParserFunctions functions are: #expr, #if, #ifeq, #ifexist, #ifexpr, #switch, #time. '''DO''' use the # prefix.

===MediaWiki extensions===
There is a list of available extensions at [[metawikipedia:Category:MediaWiki extensions]]. If there are any extensions you wish installed feel free to contact [[user:Gible|Gible]]. A list of currently installed extensions can be found at [[Special:version]]
:'''[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:SecureHTML SecureHTML]:''' Is installed (allows adding ''any'' HTML on a protected wiki page). Ask, if there's html you wish included and, if approved, a <nowiki>{{#shtml:}}</nowiki> template will be created.

==Orphaned pages==
If you create a new article without using a red edit link, or remove links from an article please make sure that the new article or article of the link you have removed is still linked from *somewhere* in the wiki. Preferrably somewhere logical and multiple times. [[Special:Allpages]] doesn't count.

==File uploading==
Feel free to upload any media files to supplement pages. Logos, banners,screen- or mug- shots are all good. :) If you wish to upload non-media file you will need to contact [[User:Gible|Gible]] as they must be uploaded independantly and cannot be uploaded using the wiki software.
===Stars! Screenshots===
When uploading screenshots of components/hulls or any other tech level dependent items i.e. showing the mineral/resource cost of the items, please either use a zero-tech HE/IS race to take the screen shot and/or state the tech/race used. For most items the [[Technology Browser]](for components) or the [[Ship Designer]] are the preferred places to take the screenshot.

==Legal stuff==
===Copyright/Copyleft===
Stars!wiki is entirely [[wikipedia:Copyleft|Copyleft]]. All information contained within Stars!wiki is entirely free(also as in beer). Please make sure that any information you put into the wiki is either not copyrighted or you have permission to release it to the wild.

Having said that, you should probably also read the [[Stars!wiki:General disclaimer|disclaimer]].