Creation and Upkeep of a Character Page

			Characters Guild

Characters Guild Character Guild Resources Your character page Advanced character page tutorial Character creation tips Characters FAQ Changing Characters See also: "Your Character" tutorial Other Guild Resources Featured Bio Contest tutorials Fleet Roster Face List Character Hatchery Visit the guild forum Category:Characters Edit this nav Using the wiki, you can create a very rich and detailed character page with information about your character, an archive of sims, and much more. The tutorial below will teach you more about this. Character Page vs. User Page As you may already be aware, you automatically have a user page when you register on the wiki. If you look to the top of the page you're on right now, you'll see a small list of links, the leftmost link being your username. Now, we need to create a distinction between the "User" or "Writer" and the "Character". There's only one of you, the user, while you can have many characters. As such, it's not very efficient to use your user page as your character page, because you may have more than one character. And creating more than one username is also not very efficient. So, use your user page to give information about you, the writer, or at the very least, to create a LIST of characters you write for, and then link to them from there. But you will want to actually create a specific page for each character. Creating your character page Before you can create a character page, it's helpful to understand how to create a page, and how to name it properly. Please read the content at both of the links below: Creating a new page Naming pages properly Character page template and content To get a jump-start on your page, let's use a template that will fill in a basic structure for your page and get you started. Follow these instructions: Step 1: On your character page, click the "Edit" tab at the top. Step 2: Paste the text below into the edit window and hit save: {{Subst:StarterBio}} Once the page saves, you'll see a page that looks like this. Now click the "Edit" tab at the top of the page again to dive in and start adding content. You'll see a lot of wiki code, but don't get too stressed out! Just remember this simple rule: Make small changes, use preview, and save often While you're just getting started, use the preview feature a lot. So make a change, then scroll down and click the "Show preview" button. See what that change looks like. And if you want to keep that change, then make a descriptive edit in the "Summary:" box, and click "Save page". This will help you keep track of all the changes you're making to your page, and ensure that you don't get too deep into an edit before realizing you've accidentally done something wrong that you're not sure how to fix. Ask for help! Stuck? Not sure how to fix or change something? Lots of folks are standing by to help. Try these avenues: Pop into the chat room: Just jump right in and ask if anyone can help you with your wiki character page. Explain the problem, and provide the link to your page. Ask your crewmates for help: You can always email your ship's OOC email list and ask for help. Every crew has at least one, and sometimes many more wiki-savvy members who are happy to assist. Start a new thread in the wiki helpdesk forum: Don't be shy, just start a new thread with a descriptive title about your problem. Make sure to provide a clear description of the problem in the body of your thread, and a link to the page you're working on. Adding Categories All pages on the wiki should be categorized. So once you've created your character page, you need to add some category tags. Read the next section carefully to make sure you do not miss anything. Duty Post/Occupation Identify your character a member of StarFleet or a Civilian. The starter template will add the Starfleet personnel category by default, but you can remove it and switch out for the Civilians category (below) if necessary. If your character is a StarFleet officer: [[Category:Starfleet personnel]] If your character is a Civilian of some type, add: [[Category:Civilians]] Next, what does your character do?: S/he is an Engineering officer: [[Category:Engineers]] S/he is a Nurse: [[Category:Nurses]] S/he is a Doctor or Medic: [[Category:Healers and doctors]] and [[Category:Medical Officers]] S/he is a Counselor: [[Category:Mental Health experts]] and [[Category:Counselors]] S/he is a Security officer: [[Category:Security Officers]] S/he is a Tactical officer: [[Category:Tactical Officers‎]] S/he is a Helm Officer: [[Category:Helm Officers]] S/he is a Communications Officer: [[Category:Communications Officers‎]] S/he is a Operations Officer: [[Category:Operations Officers‎]] S/he is a HCO officer: [[Category:HCO Officers]] S/he is a Science officer: [[Category:Scientists]] and [[Category:Science Offiers]] S/he is a Starfleet Captain: [[Category: Commanding Officers]] S/he is a Diplomatic Officer, or Ambassador: [[Category: Diplomats]] S/he is a Marine of some type: [[Category:Marines]] S/he is an Intelligence officer of some type: [[Category:Intelligence Officers]] S/he is a First Officer: [[Category:First Officers‎]] S/he is a Chief Medical Officer: [[Category:Chief Medical Officers]] S/he is a Chief Engineer: [[Category:Chief Engineers‎]] Don't see the one you need? A complete list of duty post categories can be found in the Individuals by duty post category. More occupations found in the Individuals by occupation category. Species Now we need to affiliate your character page with the species of your character. Many races already have categories available – simply head to the Individuals by species category and find yours. Add that category, like so: [[Category:Vulcans]]. If your character is a hybrid of two species, add both species categories as well as [[Category:Hybrids]]. If you can't find your species category, post a new thread in the wiki helpdesk forum asking about your chosen species. Traits Does your character fit one of the following traits?: if she/he has any ESP like abilities then they would be a Reader. For more information about this or to make sure your character qualifies as a reader follow the link, Reader. Once you are sure your character qualifies as a reader then add the following category: [[Category:Reader Characters]] is she/he is a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender character then add the following category: [[Category:GLBT Characters]] if she/he holds a noble title then add this category: [[Category:Nobility]] if she/he is a Secondary Character for you then add this category: [[Category:Secondary Characters]] Keep in Mind that only officers who are above the rank of Lieutenant may request a secondary character. See Characters FAQ for more info on how to request a secondary character. Current Starship or Base You'll need to add yourself as a member of the current crew you are on. We maintain a list of current ship categories at Category: Characters by ship. Find the one that matches your ship, and add it to your profile. If you have changed ship, your old ship should have a category for former PCs (e.g. Category:Independence-A Alumni). If so, add this to the bottom of your characters page at the same time as adding it to the PC's category for your new ship. For the alumni categories, please check Category:Alumni Categories Character Status Characters die, or retire, as things change. We have categories for that, as well. S/he is deceased: [[Category:Deceased characters‏‎]] S/he is retired: [[Category:Retired Characters]] Great examples Our Featured Bio Team reviews the best bios on the wiki and curates a list of the top examples. You can find lots of inspiration for your own bio by checking out their List of Featured Bios. Advanced character pages Want to add more to your page, like detailed character information, a sim archive, and other subpages? Find advanced templates and learn more about all these topics on the Advanced character page tutorial.

	Characters Guild