MarioWiki:Maintenance
Maintenance refers to the ongoing tasks involved in helping to keep the wiki clean, up to date and ensuring that our content is in-line with policy. Users are encouraged to continuously contribute to areas of maintenance which meet their interests and capabilities. However, some tasks are assigned to certain groups of users. For instance, the administrators help keep the wiki clean from vandalism by blocking troublesome editors, and the Poll Committee arranges the weekly poll which is featured on the wiki's main page. Certain basic maintenance tasks may also be assigned to a bot, which is able to edit a large number of pages in a short space of time.
Please remember that basic maintenance edits, such as fixing a link or correcting a spelling mistake, should be marked as a minor edit.
Main page
- Main article: MarioWiki:Maintenance/Main page
The main page is an important way to welcome visitors to the wiki, and invite them to further explore our community by providing them with news, community notices, links to useful pages, and more. A large part of the main page's content must be updated according to a weekly schedule. This includes a rotating preview of the wiki's featured articles, updating a "Did You Know?" section with Super Mario facts, and a regular community poll which is organized by the Poll Committee. The most recent Super Mario-related news is also presented, as well as a link to the latest edition of our monthly community newspaper, The 'Shroom.
File maintenance
Images, as well as audio and video files, are essential to provide examples about what articles are detailing in words. All articles should use at least one image, with the exception of implied or unseen subjects. Various maintenance tasks may be required for the file itself (such as issues with quality and categorization), the use of the file on pages, or the request for the uploading of additional files where required. Files should also closely follow the image use policy, and new revisions to files may only be uploaded by autoconfirmed users.
| Unlicensed images | Images without a file copyright tag that excludes them from one of these subcategories. Such files can't be found in one specific maintenance category: they must be found manually. |
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| Uncategorized files | Files that don't have any categories at all, including a copyright status. See Special:UncategorizedFiles |
| Files that are missing a category | Almost all files may be attributed to a game or other form of media. The {{uncategorized}} template seen when uploading files should be replaced with an appropriate media category. Users who repeatedly fail to categorize their images may be given an {{imagecategory-reminder}}. See Category:Files with missing categories |
| Images without aboutfile | Images without the {{aboutfile}} template, or with a blank or improperly formatted template. Users who repeatedly upload images with an incorrectly coded template may be given an {{aboutfile-reminder}}. See Category:Files with broken Aboutfile template |
| Unused files | All files should be used on at least one page. Some unused files may be eligible for deletion if they are too similar to another file, or otherwise have no use on our articles. See Special:UnusedFiles |
| Image requested | Articles tagged with with {{image}} require at least one image to illustrate the subject. See Category:Articles that need an image |
| Articles that need more images | Articles with {{image|more=yes}} already have at least one image, although more are required. See Category:Articles that need more images |
| Media requested | Articles tagged with {{media missing}} require at least one audio or visual file for the subject. See Category:Articles that need media |
| Articles that need more media | Articles with {{media missing|more=yes}} already have at least one audio or visual file, although more are required. See Category:Articles that need more media |
| Broken file links | Pages that are currently linking to a file that doesn't exist. If a file link on a page is unnecessary, then it should be removed. See Category:Articles with broken file links and Special:WantedFiles |
| Images of poor quality | Images that are of low quality are tagged with {{image-quality}}, and should be reuploaded or replaced. See Category:Images to be reuploaded with higher quality |
| Media files that need reuploading | Media files that are of low quality are tagged with {{media-quality}}, while media files that contain over 30 seconds of copyrighted music and need to be trimmed down are tagged with {{media-length}}. See Category:Media files to be reuploaded with higher quality and Category:Media files to be trimmed in length |
| SVG requested | Images showing a basic logo or drawing may be requested as an SVG file. These images are tagged with {{Convert to SVG}}. See Category:Images to be converted to SVG |
Written content
The following maintenance issues concern the actual written content of an article. Content should be free from spelling/grammatical errors, be of a decent length and containing all available information, as well as following the wiki's writing guidelines.
| Wanted pages | Articles that have yet to be created will be shown as a red link. New articles must follow the Manual of Style, and can only be created by autoconfirmed users. See Special:WantedPages |
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| Stub articles | Articles or sections that are very short, and lacking basic information will be tagged with {{stub}} or {{stub|section=yes}} for sections of articles. Users who have created stub articles without marking them as such should receive a {{new stub-reason}} reminder, so that they can understand how their future articles may be improved. See Category:Stubs |
| Rewrite requested | Poorly-written articles which require revising should be tagged with {{rewrite}}. Issues may include being poorly worded, ridden with grammar mistakes, or otherwise going against our writing guidelines. An expansion may also be required with {{rewrite-expand}}. See Category:Articles to be rewritten |
| Long trivia section | Articles containing an overly long trivia: such sections should only contain miscellaneous and notable information which does not fit elsewhere within the article. Trivia should be incorporated into other article sections when applicable. See Category:Articles with long trivia sections |
General article maintenance
Maintenance that doesn't specifically concern the article's written content or files.
| Articles under construction | Articles that are tagged with the {{construction}} template are not fully finished, and may have an informal appearance. Before trying to complete the article, make sure that the user who marked it as under construction does not intend to finish it themselves. See Category:Articles under construction |
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| No category | Articles without a category. See Special:UncategorizedPages |
| Wanted categories | Uncreated categories which are currently being used on articles. See Special:WantedCategories |
| Citation needed | Articles which contain information requiring a valid reference, or replacing links which have since gone defunct. See Category:Articles with sourcing issues |
| Page reference errors | This shows pages which contain a citation which has not been coded correctly. See Category:Pages with reference errors and Content pages with missing references tag |
| Duplicate template arguments | Such pages currently have an incorrectly coded template, which is trying to use the same parameter with different values. See Category:Pages using duplicate arguments in template calls |
| Unknown foreign name meanings | Articles containing {{foreign names}} with one or more blank meaning parameters. The meanings should be filled in, or the parameter omitted if the meaning is self-explanatory. See Category:Articles with unknown foreign name meanings |
| Titles from other languages | Article titles with {{another language}} are officially named, although in a language other than English. As per our naming policy, these pages should be moved to an official English title if found. See Category:Articles with titles from other languages |
| Pages without language links | Where available, articles should provide a sidebar link to at least one of our alternate-language MarioWikis in German and Italian. Please see our project page for tips on how to add interwiki links. See Special:WithoutInterwiki |
| Orphaned pages | Articles that have no links from anywhere else: every article must be referenced and linked to from at least one other article. See Special:LonelyPages |
| Dead-end pages | Articles that have no links to anywhere else. Article subjects, such as games and characters, must be given at least one link on the article that they are mentioned. See Special:DeadendPages |
Other maintenance
This section covers miscellaneous maintenance tasks which do not fit into the above sections.
| Uncategorized categories | Category pages should be given a suitable parent category, which assists in navigating through different category levels. See Special:UncategorizedCategories |
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| Uncategorized templates | All templates should appear within Category:Templates. See Special:UncategorizedTemplates |
| Double redirects | Redirects that lead to another redirect. They should be edited so they both redirect to the same target page. See Special:DoubleRedirects |
| Broken redirects | Redirects that lead to a nonexistent page. Articles should be created or redirect target changed to an existing page. If the broken redirect is not necessary, then it should be tagged with {{delete}}. See Special:BrokenRedirects |
The 'Shroom Spotlight
- Main article: The 'Shroom:Spotlight
The Spotlight is a section found within The 'Shroom, the wiki's monthly community newspaper. The Spotlight project brings attention to a small group of articles selected from a range of maintenance categories, inviting users of all interests and abilities to contribute. Progress on the articles is reported on in the subsequent edition, and a new set of focuses are chosen. Discussion and updates on the Spotlight project normally takes place within the dedicated forum topic, where feedback from readers is always invited.
Pending discussions
Contributing to ongoing discussions concerning areas of the wiki is just as important as any other kind of maintenance work. General queries and unresolved discussions may be tagged with {{talk}} under the section's header, which places the page within Category:Talk pages with unresolved issues. Users are encouraged to browse this category frequently, and provide their input where possible. It is also recommended to check the split and merge requested categories, where input can be provided on the re-organization of article information. Category:Pages pending move will contain articles (and even files) that may require a discussion before being renamed.
If a discussion for change receives mixed opinions, or otherwise does not reach an overall consensus, then a talk page proposal may be created so an official decision may be reached through a voting system. Important discussions often take place in the "comments" section on proposals. Major changes, or changes concerning a large number of pages, should instead be taken to the main proposals page. Note that only autoconfirmed users may vote in proposals.
Proposals which are yet to be implemented can be found here. If the proposal has just recently passed, it's best to first check with the original proposer in case they intend to make the change themselves, or whether they require assistance.
Important wiki discussions may take place on the forums, and an account is required in order to contribute. Many major wiki projects are also co-ordinated from the wiki collaborations forum board, which active editors are encouraged to check. Some ongoing requests and collaborations include the wiki's "Holy Grails" concerning elusive article subjects, and the level articles project which aims to give an article for each individual game level.
Administrative maintenance
Administrators and patrollers (referred to collectively as admins) are promoted users who are given additional tools, which assist in maintaining the upkeep of the wiki. All admins have the ability to counter vandalism on the wiki by blocking troublesome editors, reverting detrimental edits by using the "rollback" feature, and hiding inappropriate edits if required. Administrators are also able to delete entire pages and images when necessary.
Regular users are also able to assist the admins in various ways. Unnecessary pages and images may be tagged with {{delete}} so it appears in the deletion category, which administrators frequently check. If a discussion may be required before the page is deleted, {{delete-request}} should be used instead. All registered users are able to issue official reminders and warnings to other users, as per the warning policy. Users may also report vandals which require immediate attention by using the staff noticeboard.