Constructed Worlds:Namespaces

 

The Constructed Worlds Wiki features a number of namespaces, which are sets of pages whose names are prefixed with a specific word which is recognized by the MediaWiki software, followed by a colon. By default, all pages without a prefix are considered "main space" articles (i.e. pages linked as [[Article]]). Articles that appear on the main space are encyclopedic articles which are included in the wiki's article count.

In addition to the main space, the Constructed Worlds Wiki features 22 namespaces and their corresponding talk namespaces and 2 virtual namespaces. A list of namespaces is available in two clicks: do an empty search, then click Advanced under the search box. The list also makes itself available where needed in the dropdown menus of, for example, Special:Prefixindex, Special:Allpages, Special:Recentchanges, and Special:Contributions.

Subject namespaces

Namespaces are a core feature in MediaWiki software. They allow for the organization and separation of content pages from administration pages. On Miraheze, wiki administrators are permitted to create as many namespaces as desired without requiring oversight or review by the development team. As such, the Constructed Worlds Wiki features a number of custom namespaces, including the default namespaces that come with MediaWiki software.

Default

• Main namespace (no prefix): contains all encyclopedic articles, lists, disambiguation pages, and encyclopedic redirects. Sometimes referred to as "mainspace" or "Article".
• User namespace (prefix: User:): contains user pages and other pages created by Conworlders for their own personal use. Also contains personal sandboxes, which are pages intended for storage or content meant for later transfer onto the main namespace.
• Constructed Worlds namespace (prefix: Constructed Worlds:): contains all administration pages related to the Constructed Worlds Wiki itself.
• File namespace (prefix: File:): contains description pages for media files (images, videos, and audio files). A link starting with [[File: will display the media at that position on the page instead of showing a wikilink that leads to the specified file description page. If one wants the latter effect, use a link beginning with [[:File: (the colon trick). Namespace alias: Image:
• MediaWiki namespace (prefix: MediaWiki:): contains interface texts and messages that appear on automatically generated pages. These pages feature technical information about the wiki and are permanently protected from regular users by default.
• Template namespace (prefix: Template:): contains templates, which are pages intended to be transcluded or substituted onto other pages to insert standard text or boxes such as infoboxes or navigation boxes.
• Help namespace (prefix: Help:): contains pages which provide helpful information for both Constructed Worlds editors and readers
• Category namespace (prefix: Category:) contains category pages, which are curated lists of related pages, files, and subcategories, along with optional additional text. A link beginning with [[Category: has the effect of adding the page the link appears on to the specified category; it will not result in a wikilink to the category page itself. If one wants the latter, use the colon trick: [[:Category:.
• Portal namespace (prefix: Portal:): contains reader-oriented portals that help readers find articles related to a specific topic
• Module namespace (prefix: Module:): contains Scribunto modules, which are Lua scripts implementing special-purpose parser functions for use in templates, beyond the default set included with MediaWiki and its extensions.

Custom

• Book namespace (prefix: Book:): contains in-universe text (excluding roleplay) such as documents, stories, narratives, and non-encyclopedic entries. Its function is analogous to Wikisource articles.
• Forum namespace (prefix: Forum:): a deprecated namespace containing forum pages which allow users to discuss about matters related to the wiki.
• Roleplay namespace (prefix: Roleplay:): contains in-universe roleplaying content, usually written in narrative form.
• News namespace (prefix: News:): contains in-universe news articles. Its function is analogous to Wikinews or online news websites.
• Quote namespace (prefix: Quote:): contains in-universe quotes of individuals. Its function is analogous to Wikiquote articles.

In addition to the aforementioned namespaces, the Constructed Worlds Wiki uses Semantic MediaWiki, a feature only available upon request within Miraheze, which features a number of built-in namespaces: Property:, Concept:, Rule:, Page:, Index:, Campaign:, and smw/schema:. These namespaces do not have any substantial utility or function for the general editor or reader, and are generally created automatically, especially in the context of categorization.

Talk namespaces

Each of the above namespaces (but not the virtual namespaces) has an associated talk namespace—these are also known as discussion pages. The talk namespaces are designated by appending the word talk to the namespace name. For example, the talk namespace associated with the user namespace has the prefix User talk:. The talk namespace associated with the article namespace is Talk:.

Most of the pages in the talk namespaces are used to discuss changes to the corresponding page in the associated namespace. Pages in the user talk namespace are used to leave messages for a particular user. The user talk namespace is special in that, whenever a user's talk page is edited, that user will see an orange box saying "You have new messages" on the top of every page that they view until they visit their talk page. By default, logged-in users will see a red notification square and a small orange box on the top right hand corner of the page; IP users will only see a wide orange box spanning the top of the page. (For logged-in users, the new-message bar may be disabled in Special:Preferences.)

Virtual namespaces

In addition to subject namespaces, and their corresponding talk pages, there are two virtual namespaces (without corresponding talk pages) for specialist purposes:

Special

The Special: namespace consists of pages (called special pages) that are created by the software on demand, such as Special:RecentChanges. These pages can be linked as usual, as with Special:RecentChanges, except when they have parameters. To use parameters, the full URL must be given as an external link. For example, https://wiki.conworlds.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Recentchanges&days=3&limit=10, which returns the last ten changes in the last three days.

You can create a redirect to a Special page, but the redirect will not be followed automatically.

For a list of special pages, see Special:SpecialPages.

Media

The Media: namespace can be used to link directly to a file, rather than to the file description page.

Interwiki links

Interwiki languages are not true namespaces but their prefixes enable links to be pointed towards pages on other wikis outside of the wiki.conworlds.org or altverse.miraheze.org websites. They can be linked and formatted in the same manner as namespaces on the wiki.

Below is a list of all supported interwiki links on the Constructed Worlds Wiki:

Wikimedia Foundation wikis

• wikipedia: and w: – Wikipedia (the template {{w}} can be used as well)
• wiktionary: and wikt: – Wiktionary (the template {{d}} can be used as well)
• wikibooks: – Wikibooks
• wikidata: – Wikidata
• wikinews: – Wikinews
• wikisource: – Wikisource
• wikispecies: – Wikispecies
• wikiversity: – Wikiversity
• commons: and c: – Wikimedia Commons
• mediawikiwiki and mw: – MediaWiki

Non-Wikimedia Foundation wikis

• meta: and m: – Meta Miraheze
• althistory: – Alternate History Wiki on Fandom
• conworld: – Constructed Worlds Wiki on Fandom