User:Woogawoman/Categories

I went down the rabbit hole of the categories/category tree this week. Below, please find some of my thinking.

Best Practices

 * 1) Try to set a scope/definition for each category.
 * 2) * This will make it easier to figure out where new pages could go.
 * 3) * Category names should be as specific as needed to help clarify their intent.
 * 4) Do not use categories as a substitute for navigation.
 * 5) * Think of categories more like "tags" to aid in searching for related pages than as aids for browsing the site structure.
 * 6) * Navboxes, "related" or "see also" links are a better choice for showing structure.
 * 7) Do not add both a subcategory and its parent to the same page.
 * 8) * The parent category will list its subcategories (which can be expanded to see their contents) automatically.
 * 9) * Example: "Dress Shirt" would be placed in the more specific "Armor" subcategory within "Items" rather than in both.
 * 10) * This is related to the item above - often done as a substitute for appropriate navigation elements in page.
 * 11) Keep use of subcategories to a minimum in the early stages.
 * 12) * A shallow structure makes it easier to put pages in more than one category without causing weirdness.
 * 13) * Getting too granular early will make it harder to know where to put new pages - categories with only one or two pages in them may not give a clear indication of their intended scope.

An Example
 * The Skills category will be used for all pages that describe the specific skills in the six skill trees - encyclopedia-type details on what they are, how they are used, etc.
 * We can have a subcategory for each tree - Combat, Crafting, etc.
 * BUT - We anticipate also wanting articles on the general concepts of crafting, guides on combat, etc.
 * Putting these broader scope pages inside the Skills portion of the tree muddies its purpose as a repository of straightforward encyclopedia-type details on the skills.
 * A better choice would be to have "Crafting" and "Combat" categories at the same level as "Skills."
 * If we do this, then we should either:
 * NOT use subcategories within the Skills category. <-- This is the current approach.
 * Use a navbox to allow users to move easily within the category.
 * Add "index/overview" pages for each tree in the category (e.g. "Bardic Skills" page).
 * OR make the subcategories in Skills more specific (e.g. Combat Skills subcategory rather than just 'Combat' subcategory).
 * In either case, we can and should include cross-links from the more subjective, article pages to the relevant skills pages, within the page content itself.

Current Categories and their Scope
Quick link to the hierarchy.

Chronicles of Elyria Wiki - Top level category. Chronicles of Elyria - Main category for all game-related articles.
 * Articles related to management/maintenance of the wiki, as well as the front page.
 * DO NOT put main content pages here - use Chronicles of Elyria.

Open Questions/Tasks

 * Update Game Mechanics article to match new structure and provide more information.
 * Gammea: "World Dynamics" subcategory for articles currently in the World root?
 * Decide where Geography should go - or split it into physical geography and cultural geography?
 * Gammea: Geography could includes biomes, localization, etc. And we have to remember we are going to have different servers, so a page for each server? This is something that concerns me.

Resolved Questions

 * Mechanics and World needs better, more precise scopes. - Updated on 8/14/2016.
 * Should Characters be a subcategory of Lore? Or keep it separate, so that we can add current-day NPCs as well? - Keep it separate
 * Skills - Keep subcategories for the six classes? If so, add "Skills" to their names. - Removed subcategories to allow their use as higher level concept categories.
 * Organisation - Use American spelling? Make it plural? :) - Done