Wowpedia:Projects

A Wowpedia Project is 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. Instead, it is a collaboration tool used to draw people together. All normal Wowpedia policies apply.

Project directory
An alphabetized list of projects can be found in the Wowpedia Projects category. Also, small projects maintained by individuals can be found in the personal projects category

Starting a project
A project is created as a page in the Wowpedia: namespace, for example Wowpedia:Zone category project. This page serves as the central hub for the project's activity. A project can be created by any editor, however, it must follow these basic guidelines:


 * 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 and an unambiguous scope. For example, "Improve Wowpedia'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 policies for all other Wowpedia content. Review the do not post policy. Admins have final say.
 * New projects must contain the required items listed below at.

These guidelines are designed to keep Wowpedia projects active and useful for the entire community. 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.

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:


 * The template is required on the top of the page. This includes the page in the Wowpedia Projects category automatically.
 * 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, they 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, if the editors desire. Project categories and templates on articles are a good way to draw attention to the project, and keep a list of articles in the project's scope. 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. The philosophy here is to keep "content" separate 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.

Templates (Mage project used here as an example):
 *   - 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 (Zone category project used here as an example):
 *   - 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.
 *   - participants add their user pages here. Only pages in the User: space should be present in this category.

Dead projects
Inactive projects clutter the project space and make it difficult to keep track of active areas of development. If a substantial amount of project information is present, then it will be marked as an inactive project, with the possibility of resurrection when interest arises again. Projects that were opened and had no substantial work done will be nominated for deletion.


 * Project spaces that have not had any substantial activity for a period of 1 month after creation will be put up for deletion.
 * Project creators will be notified of possible deletion. Projects that don't get off the ground at first might be better suited as a personal project.
 * Projects that have had some activity but no updates for 1 month may be marked inactive, by using inactiveproject.
 * Projects that duplicate others or significantly overlap may be merged.
 * Projects are otherwise subject to Wowpedia'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 Wowpedia policy.