Wowpedia:Projects

...and by rough draft I mean very rough. Please offer input or improvements!'

WoWWiki Projects are a collaboration of editors coordinating their efforts to improve a set of articles that cover a certain area of interest.

Projects have several visible benefits:

• Improved consistency and quality across articles of a certain subject.
• Central gathering areas for editors with similar interests to collaborate.
• New users have an easy to find a starting point for getting involved in an area they find interesting or have expertise.

Projects aren't meant to give a group of editors certain authority over a set of articles. This is only a collaboration tool to draw people together. All normal WoWWiki policies apply.

Starting a project

A project is started up as a page in the WoWWiki: namespace, for example WoWWiki:XXX project. This page is the central hub for the project's activity. Follow these guidelines when creating a new project:

• Make sure the new project has a broad enough purpose and scope to sustain the project for time to come. Projects should be indefinite improvement drives that encompass many tasks across a subject. Something as simple as "Add template X to all pages about Y" is a task for within a project, not a project itself.
• Projects should have a clear name, with a defined purpose with an unambiguous scope. For example, "Improve WoWWiki's coverage of the rogue class" is an appropriate scope for a "Rogue Project". Editors and new participants should have little doubt about the project's goals.
• Browse the project directory and check that the new project is not already covered by an existing project.
• Projects must follow the same rules for all other WoWWiki content. Review the WW:DNP policy. Admins have final say.

If a project does not meet these guidelines, it could be deleted or merged into an existing project. For projects that are small in scope or personal efforts, consider listing it as a personal project, described below, rather than a full blown project.

Finding projects

Projects should be easy to find. An editor should be able to get a list of all active projects and browse for one that interests him.

• The main project page should be placed in the WoWWiki Projects category. This is done automatically by placing the template {{Project}} on the page.
• Projects will also be listed on the main Projects directory with a one-sentence description.

What's on a project page

The content of a project page is decided by the project members, but there are some must haves for every project:

• A section called Project scope defining the project's purpose and which articles fall under its scope
• A section called Project membership which describes at least how to join the project and a list of members, or a link to the category for project members. If a project has any leadership or assigned roles, it should be listed here.
• Sections for active project tasks, listing what's going on and where editors are focusing efforts.
• Links to lists, categories and other project materials.

Project categories and templates

Each project gets its own set of categories for project maintenance. Project categories and templates on articles are a good way to draw attention to the project. These templates and categories should not clutter up the main article. Instead, place them on the article talk page at the top to signify that the article is in that projects scope. Note that some articles fall within the scope of multiple projects, and may have other project templates.

Templates (XXX denotes the project name):

• {{XXX Project}} - A small template that goes on article talk pages indicating that the article falls within the project scope. Do not place project templates on main articles, only the talk pages, and only for articles that are in the project's defined scope. This template should auto-cat the project category defined below. Follow this example:

Categories (XXX denotes the project name):

• [[Category:XXX project]] - Category for the project, to be added to article talk pages. This category should be automatically added by the project template, so there should be no need to add this manually.
• [[Category:Lore project members]] - participants add their user pages here. Only pages in the User: space should be present in this category.

The philosophy here is to keep "content" seperate from "editorial activities." Projects and the categories for them are editorial by nature - related to expanding the wiki - which is why these things are kept to talk pages. The articles themselves should be a cleanly presented product.

Dead projects

Inactive projects clutter the project space and make it difficult to keep track of active areas of development. Dead projects will be removed from the project directory and category. If a substantial amount of project information is present, then it may be backed up at an inactive projects area for possible resurrection when interest arises again.

• Project spaces that have not had any updates for a period of XXX will be put up for deletion.

Deletion criteria needs more input'

• Projects are otherwise subject to WoWWiki's deletion policy just as all other content on the site. Administrators have final say.

Personal projects

There's no reason someone's one man pet project needs to be completely excluded from the projects area. If a new project request is turned down for inclusion in the main project space, you can maintain your own project in your personal user space. The personal projects category exists for users to list their own pet projects. Personal projects fall under the rules of personal articles under WoWWiki policy.