Help:Contributing/Creating new articles

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This page will tell you how to create a new article, put it in the correct namespace, and use infoboxes/navboxes for organization.

How to create articles

There are two ways to create new articles on SlyMods.

Automatic creation (recommended)

Creating an article is simple if the article goes in any of the categories on the Main Page. Just click the appropriate category on the main page (eg. Category:Mods for Sly 2) and use the form at the top of the category page.

Enter the desired article title click Create. This will bring you to a page where you can start typing the article content. It will automatically insert an infobox template at the top where you can fill in the main details.

If you use this method, the page will automatically be placed in the correct namespace and categories. All you have to do is actually write the article content. You should usually also put a navbox template at the bottom of the page, and then edit the navbox itself to add a link to the new page you just created (see below for more details).

Manual creation

First, search the wiki for the name of the article you want to create. If there is no article with that title, it will show a red link at the top of the search results asking if you want to create that article. Just click that red link and it will bring you to an editor where you can start typing the article.

If you use this method you will have to manually do the following:

  • Include the namespace in the article title. The format is Namespace:Article Title (see below for more details).
    • Example: If you want to create a Sly 2 article, put Sly 2: before the title.
  • Insert the relevant infobox at the top of the article, if applicable. See below for a list of infoboxes.
  • Insert any relevant navboxes at the bottom of the article. Then edit the navbox itself to add a link to the new article. See below for a list of navboxes.

Namespaces

When you manually create an article for something specific to a certain game, you should put it in the correct namespace, either Sly 1, Sly 2, Sly 3, or Sly 4. For instance, if you are making an article for a topic in Sly 1, put the article in the Sly 1 namespace (i.e. put Sly 1: before the article title.

There is also the Guide namespace for any modding guies.

If you come across an article in the wrong namespace, you can rename it by going to the More menu at the top-right of the page and clicking Move.

Infoboxes

Infoboxes are a type of template that is used to present the most important information in a box at the top of an article. Using one automatically places the article in the correct categories.

If you are creating an article for any of the following topics, you should include one or more of these infoboxes at the top of the article:

Infoboxes
Category Infobox template
Game mechanics {{Infobox game mechanic}}
Data structures {{Infobox data structure}}
Subsystems {{Infobox subsystem}}
Maps {{Infobox map}}
Files {{Infobox file}}
Game builds {{Infobox build}}
Mods {{Infobox mod}}
Modding guides {{Infobox guide}}
Modding tools {{Infobox tool}}

Here is an example of how to include an infobox in an article if you are using the source editor:

{{Infobox mod
| name= Freecam Mod
| image= File:Sly 1 Burning Rubber zoomout.png
| creator= TheOnlyZac
| version= NTSC-U
| releasedate= December 29, 2020
| download= https://example.com/download
}}

Each infobox has different parameters, so you will have to look at the template page using the links above to see what parameters it uses. Most of them have examples you can copy/paste into your article, but you can also copy one from a different article of the same type and just change the parameters.

Navboxes

Navboxes are a type of template that makes it easy to navigate the wiki. These always go at the very bottom of the article.

If you are creating an article in any of these categories, you should include one of these navboxes at the bottom of the article:

Navboxes
Category Navbox template
Sly 1 Articles {{Navbox Sly 1}}
Sly 1 Maps {{Navbox Sly 1 maps}}
Sly 2 Articles {{Navbox Sly 2}}
Sly 2 Maps {{Navbox Sly 2 maps}}
Sly 3 Articles {{Navbox Sly 3}}
Sly 3 Maps {{Navbox Sly 3 maps}}
Sly 4 Articles {{Navbox Sly 4}}
Sly 4 Maps {{Navbox Sly 4 maps}}
File Formats {{Navbox file formats}}
Modding tools {{Navbox tools}}

If you add a navbox to an article and that article is not already linked from the navbox, you should edit the navbox itself to add a link to the new article. To edit the navbox, just click the E in the top-left corner.