Help:FAQ

How do I make an article?
Simply type the title (take account for the casing) in the search line and press the "Go"-button. If the title doesn't already exist, you will be prompted to create an article with that pagename. The exact wording is: There is no page titled " ". You can create this page. Now simply press the red link that appears, which will direct you to an empty page with the title you searched for and you will be free to start the article. But please be so kind as to make a search (by pressing the "Search"-button) before starting an article, just in case we might have missed a redirect or if what you are about to create is already a section in an existing article.

What should or should not be added?
If you have any doubts about if a piece of information you have should or shouldn't be added to the DOAWiki, check out the Scope. The Scope is a page with a list of all the games that are featured on the DOAWiki as well of a short explanation of what kind of information, related to that game, may be added.

The Scope okays it, now what?
Now, just go for it. Even if it's a bit crude, add it to the article. We have several users who regularly check the Recent Changes page and are able to smooth the information out. And if the information is wrong, it will be removed, no harm done. We encourage trying, rather than punish failing, it gives a better atmosphere. The only time anyone is ever punished for editing, is if the edit is a clear act of vandalism (e.g. blanking pages, adding utter nonsense like "Hayate is a RoxxoR character" and stuff like that).

Why can't I say that someone/something is Roxxor?
Because all articles are to remain as objective as possible. If they weren't objective, it would be a constant editing war between those who love a specific game/character/skill and those who hate it and we would like to avoid that if possible. However, you are completely free to write whatever you wish on your Userpage such as "Dead or Alive 4 sucks so hard, I thought it was a new brand of vacuum cleaners." (if you hate DOA4) or "Dead or Alive 4 is the best thing since sliced bread... and cookies." (if you love DOA4).

Any specifics on what should be on a page?
As a matter of fact, there is. To make sure we are able to present as much information as possible, a few guidelines have been written, referred to as our Manual of Style. But if you don't have all the specifics, don't worry about it. Just add what you do have and stick the Expand template at the top of the article. You do this simply by writing at the top.

I saw a good article on Wikipedia, can I dump it here?
We try to avoid material that are copy/pasted from external sources, as we find it somewhat easier to start off with a blank slate. This way, we are less influenced by the setup of other people and are able to write more specific and satisfying material. But if you absolutely have no other choice, then make sure to add the De-Wikification template at the top of the article, so that other user may become aware of it being dumped from the Wiki and so that a De-Wikification process may start. You do this simply by writing at the top of the page.

What should I do if I come across a poorly written article?
Re-write it to the best of your abilities. But if you don't have any knowledge of the subject of the article, you can simply stick the Cleanup template at the top of the article, to show that it needs some tender love and care. You do this by writing at the top of the article.

Spamming the recent changes list
To avoid spamming of the recent changes list, use the button called Show preview (it's right next to the Save page button, so it's not hard to spot) to make sure that all the links, templates, tables, etc. you have are working properly. Making dozens of minor edits on the same page with 30 seconds in-between, because something didn't work and you're "trying again" by making a change and saving, is annoying to other users and make possible vandals harder to catch, if they vandalize a page in-between 10-11 minor edits made by someone who didn't want to use Show preview or simply neglected it for reasons unknown. Of course, slip-ups, typos, etc. occur and it's perfectly understandable if someone misses it the first time around and fixing those will not be considered spamming the list. This also applies for Templates, as the effects of changes to the template has had on articles it is included in can only be seen after the page has been saved.

I'm bored... Have any articles I could make or expand?
Well, if you don't know what to do, the absolute best place to check out would be the To-Do List. There, you can see a list of the most important things that needs to be made. This can include finding images, finishing articles, making templates, write walkthroughs, you name it. If you are more in the mood for adding stats and such, try checking out the Articles with Incomplete Tables. For minor article expansion not noted in the to-do list, you can check out the Articles to be Expanded or the Stubs.

Userpages
Userpages are personal pages which are accessible when you create an account. It is also this page that will be linked to, when ever you sign a comment by using four tildes, i.e. ~. It is not required that you make a userpage, but it is somewhat advised to drop a line or two about yourself.

Objectivity
On your own personal userpage, you get to throw objectivity out the window. Write about anything you wish. About yourself, about what games you like, what games you don't like, why something is better than something else and so on. Go nuts with it. The only thing we don't accept are comments that are directly insulting to a specific person or a group of people, i.e. racist comments, insults to people's religion, etc. So please use common sense when it comes to that.

Userboxes
"A picture says more than a thousand words", and a Userbox says at least 10 or 15. Userboxes are quick and simple ways to get a point across, as most users will start off by looking at the userboxes to get information about someone. Next to the userbox is a code, which must be inserted between a set of curly brackets (since they act like templates). For instance, for the User rc userbox. It is generally advised that they be put in a table, due to not all templates having the same height, which can lead to problems with white spaces. The correct way to put up this would be (example uses six of the same userboxes, results can be seen on the right, the actual setup on the left):

However, if you have your userboxes in a section on its own, changing  style="float:right " to  align="center"  is advised.

For more advise on how to make a userpage, go here.

Example


...will create...

Note: Color variables will take either color names, as per HTML, or hexidecimal. Click here to see the color chart.


 * Summary
 * 1) Create your talk template the same way you create an article: by typing, without quotation marks, "Template:your talk template name" in the Search box. Press Go, then click on the red link of the "You can create this page " up there. We advise you to choose a short name for your talk template.
 * 2) Copy the coding of the talk template you wish to follow and paste it into your empty talk template page.
 * 3) Fill out the coding after the "=" sign accordingly. E.g. "image=your image's name" or "color=your desired color". Leave the "time=" and "text=" parameters alone.
 * 4) Save and you are now ready to use it. Just type, without quotation marks, " " to leave your message.

Personal Images (for userpage-usage)
Due to changed policies in the Wikia community, external images are now shown as links to the images, rather than the images themselves. Because of this, you may now upload as many personal images as you want to, for any reason (please remember to categorize them though). Fanart is prohibited unless it's your fanart, or you have permission of the author to use it.

Before uploading
The most important things to do before uploading are: It is important to do this, so that we don't have several copies of the same image taking up space.
 * 1) To perform a search (enter a keyword and click "search"). Make sure that categories and images are part of your searching criteria. These can be marked either every time you search at the bottom of the search page or by default in Special:Preferences (requires that you have an account).
 * 2) To check Category:Images. There will be subcategories leading to a specific game, e.g. Final Fantasy X, and again subcategories leading to type of image, e.g. characters, locations, etc.

During (or after) uploading
When uploading the image write replacing the "??" with the number of the game, i.e. 2 or 3 in the "Summary" box to make sure the image is categorized, e.g. Category:Dead or Alive 3 Screenshots (it is case-sensitive). If it's a spin-off/sequel/prequel, please write the entire title. To check the titles to use for each respective game, see the sub-categories of Category:Images. If you forget to add the category during upload, please be so kind as to click the "edit" tab and add it then.

New uploads
On the left side of your browser, you will see a box named "Toolbox" with a link called "Upload file". Click the button next to the empty space. The name of it changes to fit the language setup of the computer (For English-speakers, it's called "Browse..."). Then simply locate the file and upload it. Of image formats, you will be able to upload .JPG, .PNG and .GIF (the last one is not listed on the upload page, but it is possible).

Over pre-existing images
First and foremost, the only times you may upload over a pre-existing image is if the image you wish to upload is either of better quality or a more reasonable size of the exact same motif.

If the image fits these criteria, here's how you do. Go to the existing image, e.g. Image:Bass.jpg. At the bottom will be a link called "Upload a new version of this file". Click it. The Destination filename will already be filled out; do not change it. Select the image you want to upload and make sure it has the same extension as the existing image, i.e., if the existing image is .jpg, your image has to be .jpg as well. When you have selected the image you want to upload, click the upload button. You should now get a warning message saying that a file of this name already exists. Ignore it and click the Save file button. After a minute or two, the change will be visible.

Naming!
It is absolutely vital that you give an image a name that makes sense. This is because images cannot be moved/renamed. So once you've found the file you wish to upload, using the "Browse..." function, the destination filename will automatically be the same as the filename on your computer. You can manually change this. Giving it a good name will help reduce duplicate images and makes it easier to find, should you forget its name (as it will pop up during searches). Example of a good name would be the before-mentioned Image:Bass.jpg. You can tell from its name that it is an image of a Bass. An example of a bad name would be Image:128.gif. You would have no way of knowing that this was an image of, lets just say, Kasumi by just viewing its name. The sole exception for this rule applies to images not to be used in articles, e.g. wallpapers or userimages. However, as a common courtesy, it should be mentioned in the description what it is for.

But most importantly, never EVER include a + in the name, because this will make it impossible for anyone to gain access to the image.

How to insert in pages
For help on how to insert images properly into articles, please go to Help:Images.