Help:Namespaces

Most pages on SmashWiki are articles, such as Link (SSBM) and Sector Z. The title at the top of the page is just that: "Link (SSBM)". However, some pages, like this one, are not articles about Smash, but rather help users find their bearings on SmashWiki. These pages are part of different namespaces.

The title of every non-article page begins with a namespace which indicates what type of page it is. For instance, this page's title starts with "Help:" because it is a help page (described below). A Talk page's title starts with "Talk:", a Category with "Category:", et cetera. These namespaces help you distinguish namespace pages from normal articles, which have are part of the "Main" namespace (but are not labeled as such).

Additionally, articles in the main namespace have a white backgroud, whereas articles in most other namespaces have a lavender background (user pages have a light aqua background). This is for easy identification. Generally, lavender or aqua pages do not contain information about Super Smash Bros. in general, but about SmashWiki or its users.

Below are descriptions of each type of special page.

Talk pages

Talk pages are essentially pages to discuss articles on this wiki. Discussion is usually about the content of the page, planning future content, discussing changes, etc. Talk pages are separate from the articles themselves, so you should be careful to avoid mixing the two up. You can get to a page's talk page by clicking the tab marked "discussion" on that page.

When you make a comment on a talk page (and only a talk page), you should sign your comment. You can do this by clicking the signature icon above the edit box, or manually by inserting four tildes (~~~~) after your message. This will leave your username and the time you wrote your message. You can also make sure you keep your comments in context by using colons to mark your place in a discussion.

For example:

This is the first message.

: This is a response to the first message. This is the second message.

:: This message is in response to the second message.

: This message is another response to the first message.

results in:

This is the first message.

This is a response to the first message. This is the second message.

This message is in response to the second message.

This message is another response to the first message.

User pages

User pages are for users to essentially have a space for free-play. Your user page is something akin to your profile on the wiki, and can be accessed by going to User:“Yourusername”. You can create sub-pages of your user page (e.g. User:Username/Subpage to test new pages, and later copy the content over. Your user page also has a talk page; unlike most other talk pages, however, your talk page is a place for others to leave you messages or discuss other issues on the wiki.

It is considered good etiquette to avoid editing user pages that are not your own, unless the user requests that you do so (an exception is that an administrator may place a notice upon a banned user page indicating that the user has been blocked). User pages contain a light aqua background for easy identification; that way you don't accidentally edit a user page, thinking it is an article or a talk page.

Although your user page is generally a place for free play, you must not upload any copyrighted or inappropriate material. Also you should not replace your user page with a redirect to any other page; this will ensure that if another user is looking for your talk page, they will be able to find it.

Project pages

SmashWiki pages (a.k.a. Project) describe goals, projects and policies of SmashWiki. You may edit most SmashWiki pages, but we encourage you to discuss any policy changes first on the corresponding talk page.

Images

The Image namespace is used for uploading media, so that one don't need to direct link from another site. For example, [[Image:bg4x4.PNG]] includes the image at Image:bg4x4.PNG, so that it looks like File:Bg4x4.PNG. For info on uploading, see Help:Uploading media.

MediaWiki

The MediaWiki namespace contains protected system namespaces, only editable by administrators. A list of such pages exists at Special:Allmessages.

Templates

Template page can be included over and over by placing {{NameOfTemplate}}. See Help:Templates.

Help pages

Help pages (like this one!) are meant to help users understand how SmashWiki works.

Categories

Categories are different from most other name spaces - they store pages. For example, if [[Category:Help]] is written at any page, it is added to Category:Help, as seen in the long, gray bar at the bottom of the page. Categories are useful for organizing articles of similar subjects.

Special and media

The special and media namespaces contain no editable content pages, but they have a purpose. The special namespace manages (mostly) auto updating pages such as wiki activity, linking to reader's page and random unexpected pages. Media namespace contains direct links to images. I.e., writing [[Image:bg4x4.PNG]] renders as File:Bg4x4.PNG, while [[Media:bg4x4.PNG]] direct links to an uploaded file's source: Media:bg4x4.PNG.