A handy guide to the Intelligent Lifeform Index
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The Intelligent Lifeform Index (ILI) is Starbase 118's central database of Intelligent Aliens used for role-playing in our community. It was brought online for our fleet in 2004, originally compiled as a database located on the main website – take a look at this blast from the past!. Eventually it was brought onto the wiki, where it's remained for well over a decade.
- See also: 118Wiki:Policies and Guidelines
In the spirit of the ILI, anyone is welcome to make changes or additions to pages located within it. However, on rare occasions, Captains Council members reserve the right to alter additions made to a species article in the event the content doesn't match our community's ethos. They are also the only 118 members permitted to change the playability status of each species – this is done by calling a vote on CC forums, and only CC members ranked Commander or above can participate.
If you'd like to contribute to an ILI page, but don't know which page to start with, keep an eye out for this template and follow the instructions.
Editing the ILI
ILI formats
To make the ILI uniform, Wiki Ops has opted to adjust the standard format of the ILI page to include sixteen headings. Most pages will not have much information under all headings – some sections may be empty! We do this to encourage 118 members to add information to these empty sections.
However, the ILI is a massive database and outnumbers Wiki Ops probably 100:1, meaning we unfortunately have not standardized all ILI pages. As such, you may notice that some pages lack our standard headings almost entirely. If you'd like to update this, you can! Type {{subst:ILI format}} and save the page: this will paste all the ILI headings for you into the page. Move the existing data to the correct heading, and you have yourself a standardized ILI page.
Subpages
Some sections of an ILI page may have so much information that they require a sub-page to contain it all. This is often standard practise for information about a species homeworld (which will use the Galactic Atlas templates), their culture, etc. Only create sub-pages when you feel a heading includes a lot of data, often under a number of sub-headings.
The easiest way for new players to create subpages is by typing [[page name/section name]] under the section heading itself. For example, if you wanted to make a history page for Andorian, you would add /History and create Andorian/History.
Please remember to add the forward slash, rather than making a page titled "Andorian History", as the slash will connect the pages together and make subpages easier to locate and/or move if necessary.
Adding content
Playing a species with little content on it's wiki page is very exciting. You can add new content to ILI pages as you desire. However, Wiki Ops highly encourages users to prioritise information already simmed. This allows other players to take a look at the sims where the information was revealed, giving them the opportunity to reference the event in their own sims. It also assists Captain's Council on the rare occasion a species comes under review.
References
- See also: Template:References
The references tool allows you to cite the sim from your ship Google Group. When you add new information, always try to add <ref>[citation]</ref> at the end of the sentence or paragraph you've added. You can cite the same reference multiple times. The reference tool has instructions how to reference and 118's preferred method of citation. If you have any questions, please contact a Wiki Ops member.
Images
You may have noticed we use a lot of images from all Star Trek shows! This is where we generally source most of our canon photography. However, you are permitted to use other images, so long as doing so does not breach the image owner's copyright. When in doubt, cite your sources.
Some ILI pages also include images created by 118's Image Collective. If the image fits the article's topic, we encourage you use it!
Frequently asked questions
Can I add to an ILI page?
Yes. If you have a functioning 118Wiki account, you are permitted to add to ILI pages.
What should ILI pages include?
User:FltAdml. Wolf had an excellent answer to this question:
- "Just want to clarify re: the ILI – Our goal with the wiki in general is to be thorough and complete, but not to duplicate things found elsewhere. So it's not useful to copy wholesale things on Memory-Alpha or Memory-Beta to our wiki on the ILI since people can just and research elsewhere if they want. However, I don't know that I entirely agree that the ILI pages are just for things that are simmed, so much as that our goals in creating the ILI were to have a very clearly delineated list of what species are allowable for play, AND also to have compact and direct profiles of each species so that people can do some quick referencing if they need to. So it IS okay to edit ILI species profiles to put critical information on them. We definitely want to have things people simmed about a species as long as it's information which applies to the whole race and is not just something about one particular member of the race."
ILI pages are not character bios, and no two members of one species are the same. When adding information to the ILI, consider whether the information would be useful for other players, and flexible enough to allow them to put their own spin on things. Alternatively, think about whether your addition answers questions you had about a facet of a particular species.
Can I delete something from an ILI page?
While there are no rules dictating what you can and cannot remove from an ILI page, Wiki Ops cautions users from deleting information that may be in active use by another player. If you're unsure whether you can delete something, contact your CO or a Wiki Ops member.
How does the species approval system work?
The UFOP Constitution/Article VII: Captain's Council states CC oversees "[recognition] of plants, races, concepts, weapons, scientific advances, religions, political movements or developments, philosophies or other things or ideas as being an official part of the UFOP milieu once those ideas, concepts or things have been discussed in simulated plots." What this translates to is actually quite simple:
When a species with an undetermined playability status is presented to Captain's Council, a discussion is had on the private CC forums about what status that species should take: permitted, restricted, or forbidden. Council members determine this by reviewing as much information about the species as possible. Once satisfied the discussion has come to a general close, a vote is taken by the CC Magistrate on the suggested status to finalize the decision. All CC votes take seven days to complete, allowing all council members time to participate. After the vote reaches quorum, the species will then take on that playability status, and the wiki is updated. Only on extremely rare occasions do ILI entires undergo additional CC reviews or votes.
To clarify, new additions to ILI pages do not require CC authorisation. However, CC members may alter, delete, or call for council discussion should something added not mesh with the group's philosophies or rules.
Who is the SDC?
Occasionally you'll find this template located at the bottom of an ILI page:
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SPECIES PROFILE UPDATED This profile was revised by the Species Development Committee. |
REV 239807.09 | ||
| Please add any new information discovered during the course of a mission or shore leave. | ||||
| SB118-SDC | ||||
The Species Development Committee was previously responsible for "building the Intelligent Lifeform Index, a complete listing of all species mentioned or shown in the television show or movies". The SDC was disbanded in 2015. We aren't interested in re-opening the committee, and favour allowing the memberbase to add to ILI pages without needing SDC review. The SDC templates are in the process of being replaced by Template:Expansion needed.