User:Whiteknight/Help Book

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This page is an outline for a proposed book or project. This is only a planning page, not an actual book.
  1. Do not add sub-pages to this outline.
  2. Any user may edit this outline, but Whiteknight maintains complete editorial control on this page.
  3. This page may be deleted without warning.

This outline was last edited on 10 December 2008. Last edit over 184 months ago. Please update.

(Whiteknight) (Discuss) (Book Foundry) (Current Books) (VBD Edit)

I am planning to completely delete the Help: namespace overtime. All pages will be merged into help books like Using Wikibooks, or Editing Wikitext as appropriate. If needed, we can create additional books too. Eventually, all Help: pages will be deleted, and the entire Help: namespace can be removed. This is a very long-term project. --Whiteknight (Page) (Talk) 13:57, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

Help:Contents[edit | edit source]

This is a navigational map of the current Wikibooks Help namespace and directly linked pages in other namespaces, using Help:Contents as a root node. This is how the help namespace looks currently, and this list should not be changed. Red links on this page represent red links in the help namespace. Do not create these pages now, because creating such pages might be counter to the plan.

For a list of all pages in the help namespace, including those which are not currently linked from Help:Contents, see Special:Prefixindex/Help:.


Rationale[edit | edit source]

Reasons for wanting to create several "help books" instead of a single amorphous help namespace:

  1. Lead by Example. Show contributors an example of a good book as a model to follow for creating new books. Book will use a proper naming convention, an LMOS, proper and consistent navigation and formatting, etc.
  2. Able to quickly and easily separate information according to intended target audience (readers, writers, admins, newbies, etc). Certain topics can be presented differently, depending on the reader.
  3. Help pages should be instructional, and advanced topics should build upon basic topics. Such a linear structure lends itself nicely to a textbook with a narrative.
  4. Provide a logical organization of pages, by using a "book/page" naming convention. Grouping like topics together by prepending them with a common bookname.
  5. Easy ability to create navigational and style templates to suit particular books.
  6. Editing the help namespace becomes exactly the same as editing any ordinary book. More users will feel empowered to help improve it because it will be more familiar.
  7. Help books created in this way will be easy to find through regular navigation tools such as Wikibooks:All bookshelves, etc. New help books can be easily requested at Wikibooks:Requested books.
  8. New help books can be easily added to the shelf at any time, to account for new or missing information.
  9. Changes can be made to a single book without having to make those changes to the entire help namespace.

Help:Contents[edit | edit source]

Changed to be a "help bookshelf", including the books below and other books from the main module namespace that directly deal with Mediawiki: MediaWiki Administrator's Handbook, History of Wikibooks, etc. We will need a "help bookshelf" template, and we will need to add it to the list at Wikibooks:All bookshelves.

REDIRECT to Subject:Help.

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