MarioWiki:Navigation templates: Difference between revisions

Another situation is when one or more of the subjects has been taken out of the main game template and given their own template. For example, {{tem|NSMB2 Levels}} and {{tem|MPDS Minigames}} are separate from the main {{tem|NSMB2}} and {{tem|MPDS}} templates, respectively. This partitioning should generally be avoided except for levels, and other cases where including the subject would greatly increase the size of the template, as in the case of ''Mario Party'' series minigames (which are too major and require too much organization to simply put in categories like NPCs). These auxiliary game-specific templates only need to go on the articles of subjects that concern them (e.g. the ''NSMB2'' level articles) and the game page itself. Like the main game-specific templates, auxiliary templates are color-coded based on series.

There are two types of series-wide templates, both of which are color-coded like the game templates. The first type simply lists all the games in a series, usually subdivided into sub-series, such as in {{tem|WarioGames}}. Non-game series can also have templates, such as {{tem|Club Nintendo}}, which lists the comics by year. Console-based templates like {{tem|SNES}}, {{tem|Consoles}} and {{tem|Game & Watch}} (which is both console- and series-based) are also considered to be series-specific templates.

The second type is similar to the auxiliary game-specific templates in that it focuses on a single subject, but as its name suggests, follows it all across a series, rather than within a single game. These types of templates are highly discouraged except in cases where listing them apart from the game templates would help streamline navigation. For example, {{tem|MK Race Courses}} lists all the ''Mario Kart'' racecourses by game, but does not re-list courses when they reappear in later titles, whereas the game-specific templates do re-list retro courses; this means the at-a-glance list of racecourses is more compact than a simple assemblage of the game-specific templates' lists. It is also quite likely that readers will want to browse the courses across the entire spin-off series, whereas something more specialized like the Karts do not need a series-wide template. Please note that even in cases where a series-wide template is used, this should not be a substitute for a corresponding section in the game-specific templates: as mentioned before, the specific ''Mario Kart'' game templates also listed the courses (i.e. {{tem|MK64}}). Series-wide templates should not be created to replace game-specific templates: they should merely be supplemental templates. The only exception is when a subject is so numerous and minor, it would not be included in a game-specific template, and would likely only be given a category, in which case, the series-wide template would be standing in as an auxiliary game-specific template in itself, and provide sufficient organization for the minor subject. {{tem|Recipes}} is an example of this.

While species make up the vast majority of this final type of template, there are a few cases where other, non-species-based notable or complex subjects are granted these templates. Basically, if a template is not a game-specific or series-wide template, it is a species template, in structure if not in name. For example, {{tem|Mario family}} is about Mario's family, yet it is designed like the humans category, with the game and alternate media characters separated. {{tem|Earth}} is another example of a non-species "species" template. Generally, these templates should provide some level of organization, and templates that are merely categories in template form, without any subdivisions, will usually be deleted. However, sometimes major subjects (items or objects) will be granted templates in order to bring them more attention than categories alone would, effectively doing for them what proper species templates do for characters and enemies. This is the reason for the existence of {{tem|Blocks}} and {{tem|Mushrooms}} (while the latter is now divided into mushrooms and mushroom recipes, it started out as a simple category-template).

The lists of links should be grouped in a way that makes finding entries simple; generally this means alphabetical order should be used, however worlds and levels should be sequential, and characters are usually arranged by descending order of importance (i.e. Mario first, followed by Luigi, then Peach, then Bowser, etc.). Places and bosses can be organized alphabetically, like in {{tem|Super Mario RPG}}, or sequentially like in {{tem|SPM}}, depending on what makes sense given the structure of the game (i.e. do the places correspond to the levels?), the length of the sections (longer lists are better served by alphabetical order), and the personal taste of whoever made the template. If a high level of organization is needed, many templates make liberal use of subheaders, creating many small lists rather than a few big ones, such as {{tem|M&LBIS}}. Other templates use symbols to denote specific subjects in a list, such as {{tem|SM64}}'s use of asterisks to mark ''SM64DS''-exclusive content. {{tem|M&SATOWG}} uses both subheaders and symbols to help organize its content, whereas {{tem|SPP}} uses different types of dividers to group vibe-infused enemies with their regular counterparts which provides the overall alphabetical order. Some templates even color-code their lists, such as {{tem|Yoshis}}, although this is more about aesthetic appeal than organization.

Horizontal headers generally only appear in complex templates that require an extra level of structure beyond the regular two-tier header-subheader system, such as {{tem|quotes}}, which uses one to separate the two different sets of pages it covers. Very large templates like {{tem|galleries}} can also use the show/hide function made possible with horizontal headers to collapse individual sections and makes the overall template more manageable. Finally, as seen in the aforementioned {{tem|SM64}} and {{tem|M&SATOWG}}, horizontal headers can be repurposed to create unique footnote sections in which symbol legends or comments can be placed.

|colspan=2|Super Princess Peach

|bgcolor=#F9F9F9|<code>spp</code>

|rowspan=3|Mario||general/misc

|bgcolor=bisque rowspan=3|<font color=blue>bisque</font>

|bgcolor=#FFF5EE rowspan=3|<font color=blue>#FFF5EE</font>

In most articles, species templates should come first, followed by game-specific and series-wide templates, which are arranged in pure chronological order. This means that rather than being grouped into series, games will be listed separately according to their individual release dates, with their coloration being used to find all the members of a given series. Subject-based series-wide templates (the second type, like {{tem|MK Race Courses}}) will be placed directly under the first game template from that series. Auxiliary game-specific templates should come after the main game template. Above the game- and series-based templates, any family templates (i.e. {{tem|Mario family}} and {{tem|Koopa}}) should come first, followed by the actual species template, and then any other non-species-based species templates, in order of decreasing importance. Usually, however, only the actual species template (or the equivalent item- or place-based template) will be present.

While that is the order for most subjects' articles, games and series are slightly different. Games should have their game-specific template come first, followed by the overall series-wide template (the first type, like {{tem|DK games}}), and then the console-based templates, such as {{tem|SNES}} or {{tem|VirtualConsole}}. Series pages should simply have their corresponding series-wide template.

*Galleries should all contain {{tem|galleries}}

*"List of ... quotes" pages should have {{tem|quotes}}

*"List of ... glitches" pages should have {{tem|glitches}}

*"List of ... media" pages should have {{tem|media nav}}

*"List of ... in-game music" pages should have {{tem|in-game music}}

*"List of ... profiles and statistics" pages should have {{tem|profiles and statistics}}

*"List of ... pre-release and unused content" pages should have {{tem|pre-release and unused content}}

*The references pages should all have {{tem|references}}

*Game bestiaries should have {{tem|bestiaries}}

*Staff pages should have {{tem|staff}}

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