Editing Help:Editing

This is an '''Editing Guide''' for starting to edit and contribute to the Final Fantasy Wiki. If you have never edited on a wiki before, this is the place to start learning how!

==Content==
The Final Fantasy Wiki is a project created to document all content related to the ''Final Fantasy'' series. The wiki allows the following content to be posted:
*All official information on the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series, characters, places, or terms. Official information means that it must come from an official source, such as official publications, social media channels, interviews, or the game itself.
*Images and media relating to ''Final Fantasy'' that come from the game, official art, press releases, or other official sources.  Images may have reasonable modifications made, such as cropping or removing white backgrounds, as long as the content itself is not altered.

When adding content and creating new articles, an encyclopedic style with a formal tone is important. All information should be cited.

The Final Fantasy Wiki does not deal with speculation or rumors regarding upcoming games. Rumors or speculation on the ''Final Fantasy'' series, fan fiction or material related to unofficial works, or content-altered artwork, fan art, or other unofficial media are not allowed on the Wiki, nor is content that violates copyright laws, is pornographic, includes excessive advertising, promotes illegal activities, or is hate speech or incites such hate.

==Starting an article==
Before starting a new article please understand the Final Fantasy Wiki's content policy (see above). Before creating an article, make sure the article doesn't already exist on the wiki.

There are three easy ways to start a new page:
#If you search for a page that doesn't exist, you will see a red link above the search list. Clicking on the link will take you to the Create Article page.
# Clicking on existing red links on any existing page or on the [[Special:Wantedpages|Wanted Pages]] special page will take you to the Create Article page. For example, to create an article called "this link", you could click [[this link]] (unless someone has created it).  You can also create a red link yourself, in a related page to your [[Help:Userpages|user page]]. Links on related pages are convenient for navigation and help make people aware of the new page. 
# You can start a new page by typing the URL directly in your Address bar (For example, if you would like to create a page titled "this link", go to <nowiki>https://finalfantasywiki.com/This_link</nowiki>). An easy way to produce the URL is editing the last part of the URL of another page on the wiki (using an underline instead of a space between words). To prevent your new page being an "orphan", you should link to it from other pages.

==Editing==
To edit an existing article, click on the <code>Edit</code> tab at the top of the article's page. This will take you to the article's edit page containing the editable contents of the current page. The wiki uses Wiki Markup, a special language, when adding things like hyperlinks, tables, footnotes, inline citation, special characters, and so on. 

Articles on the Final Fantasy Wiki follow [[Final Fantasy Wiki:Manual of Style|style guidelines]] to ensure articles are uniform and the wiki is easier to use. A basic list of wiki markup can be found on the markup help page. An "edit toolbar" is provided just above the edit box, which allows users to automatically place and format various aspects of wiki code.

When you add information, make sure it is in the appropriate article or articles. For example, if you have new information on [[Cloud Strife]] you wish to add, the best place would probably be just in his article, and not in the ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' article, unless it is something major related to the entire game.  Use your best judgement in deciding where to add information.  If you are unsure about where your information might be most appropriate, ask a [[Final Fantasy Wiki:Staff|Staff Member]] or submit a question on the article's talk page.

Before you save changes to an article, please provide a summary of the changes you made in the Summary box just below the edit box. This also makes it easier for others to see what information has been added or taken away from an article without having to open revisions in the article's History log. Changes made to articles are logged in the article's History log, accessible from the <code>History</code> tab at the top of an article's page. This allows anyone to go back and look at earlier revisions of the article you or others have written.

A check to the "minor edit" box signifies that only superficial differences were made: typo corrections, formatting changes, replacing links, etc. A minor edit is a revision that the editor believes requires no review and would not be the subject of a dispute. Major edits, especially controversial changes, should be discussed on the article's talk page.

To see how the page looks with your edits, press the "Show preview" button. To see the differences between the page with your edits and the previous version of the page, press the "Show changes" button. If you're satisfied with what you see, press the "Save page" button. Your changes will be immediately visible to all users. 

Some pages are protected from editing. These pages have a <code>View source</code> tab instead of an <code>Edit</code> tab. You can discuss changes to protected articles on the article's talk page, including removing the protection.

==References==
Generally, sources are added directly after the facts they support. Inline citations are most commonly placed by inserting a reference between <code><nowiki><ref> ... </ref></nowiki></code> tags, directly in the text of an article. When one saves, that will display in the text as a footnote, and the source you added in will appear on the page in a numbered list, wherever the <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code> tag is present, usually in a section titled "References" towards the bottom of the page. If you are creating a new page, or adding references to a page that didn't previously have any, don't forget to add a References section with this markup.

==Images==
A file that is already hosted on the wiki can be inserted with the basic code <code><nowiki>[[File:FILENAME.png|thumb|DESCRIPTION]]</nowiki></code>. Using "thumb" generates a thumbnail of an image (the most common placement option), which is typically sized differently from the original image.

==Talk pages==
Every article on the wiki has a discussion, or talk, page, accessible via the <code>Discussion</code> tab at the top of the article's page (for example, [[Talk:Moogle]]). There, editors can discuss improvements to the content of an article. If you ever make a change that is reverted by another editor or the wiki staff, you can discuss the change on the talk page. It is very important that you conduct yourself with civility and assume good faith on the part of others. Edit warring (repeatedly overriding or redoing contributions) is strictly prohibited.

Most other types of pages on the Final Fantasy Wiki also have associated talk pages, including every editor's user page. When other editors need to contact you, they will usually do so by leaving a message on your talk page. When someone has left you a message that way, you will see a notice the next time you log in or view a page on the wiki.

Sign your messages on a talk page by using four tildes (<code><nowiki>~~~~</nowiki></code>), which produces your username and a time/date stamp.

==Conclusion==
That's all there is to it! More information can be found here:
*'''[[Final Fantasy Wiki:Manual of Style|Manual of Style]]''': The wiki's manual for writing uniform articles
*'''[[Help:Images]]''': A tutorial on using images
*'''[[Help:Contents]]''': All of the wiki's Help guides

[[Category:Help pages]]