Pixar Cars Wiki:Maintenance
Just as the winningest NASCAR drivers need regular pit stops to stay in tip-top shape, the wiki demands frequent maintenance – that is, attention to certain administrative tasks related to keeping the wiki organized.
This page tracks the most important of such tasks. They may seem intimidating at first, but are actually quite simple in nature; however mundane, the responsibilities are ultimately among the most principal. Anything helps, even if it only falls under one category - in fact, users are encouraged to follow their interests and help however suits them best!
To detail
Regular
- Categories - should link to one another
- Templates
- Images
Administrative
- Category:Articles pending deletion
- Category:Articles pending merging
- Category:Articles pending protection
- Staff noticeboard
Article maintenance
To ensure we always have a handle on what needs to be, the wiki has a few crucial, working systems set in place. Compared to more universal MediaWiki maintenance problems, which are automatically tracked via built-in software, there are a few custom processes implemented by the community, and thus it's up to us to keep hold on them. Fear not: Doing so is extremely simple! Our site uses a straightforward "flag-and-fix" system, with a simple combination of notice templates and categories. When a user identifies a problem with an article, all they must do is add the appropriate template call (see below) at the very top of the page. Once this is done, the article will automatically be added to a respective category, which houses all articles flagged for that same reason.
| Template call | Type | Description | Worklist |
|---|---|---|---|
| {{stub}} | Stub | Articles or sections which are excessively short, and typically lacking basic, crucial information. These are distinguished in order to limit excessive input of unhelpful, low-effort content. Users who create a new stub should be issued a new stub reminder, advising them of the policy and showing them how to improve their future articles. |
Category:Stubs |
| {{unlicensed_image}} | Unlicensed images | Images missing a proper copyright tag, to indicate their compliance with the copyright policy. One way to keep tabs on this is to check additions to the new files list. | Category:Unlicensed images |
| {{construction}} | Construction | Articles or sections that are not yet finished. Construction can be assisted by moving the project to completion – however, it is generally considered good etiquette to not edit another's incomplete article unless it is clear they do not intend to finish it themselves. | Category:Articles under construction |
| {{rewrite}} | Rewrite | Poorly-written articles or sections, ridden with grammar mistakes and other errors. These should be re-written to properly reflect the standards detailed in the Manual of Style. | Category:Articles to be rewritten |
| {{image-request}} | Image requested | Articles in need of one or more images to illustrate the subject. A new file can be uploaded to the page, or an existing one could be added. | Category:Articles in need of images |
| {{cite}} | Citation needed | Articles missing a citation to verify unclear information. | Category:Citation needed |
| N/A | Uncategorized | Articles or any content without an appropriate category. All articles must be categorized for organizational purposes, and to group related articles together. These do not need to be marked, as they are tracked across several individual lists. | Special:UncategorizedPages Special:UncategorizedFiles Special:UncategorizedTemplates Special:UncategorizedCategories |
| N/A | Navigation Templates | Currently, many navigation templates use outdated code. Most were designed prior to the introduction of Dark Mode or even some more recent mobile updates, and did not account for more than one layout style, resulting in a now-ugly presentation. | Category:Navigation templates |
Other maintenance
As mentioned above, some types of maintenance are automatically accounted for and tracked by the default MediaWiki system once a day, a scan of the content system is performed, and a series of report pages are updated. Because of the automation, you don't even need to add a notice template - they're already tracked! Just visit the respective reports page. Maintenance categories of this sort typically deal with basic, universal Wiki problems, such as link issues or redirects.
| Type | Description | Worklist |
|---|---|---|
| Wanted pages | Articles which are linked by others, but do not exist yet themselves. These are displayed as a redlink instead of the typical blue. Pages that are "wanted" the most appear at the top of the list. | Special:WantedPages |
| Orphaned pages | Articles which are not linked by any other article, making them to difficult to find, counter-intuitive to the wiki's purpose. To resolve this, at least one article should be edited to link toward it. | Special:LonelyPages |
| Dead-end pages | Where orphaned pages suffer from not being linked to, dead-end pages endure the opposite problem: They do not link away from themselves, leaving the reader at a dead-end. This is fixed by editing the article in question, to link toward at least one other article. | Special:DeadendPages |
| Double redirects | Redirects leading to one (or more) additional redirects, rather than the intended destination. This can be resolved by pointing both individual redirects to the target page, or if a particular redirect is not necessary, flagging it for deletion. | Special:DoubleRedirects |
| Broken redirects | Redirects that do not lead to any destination page. These should be pointed to the correct, existing target page, or if one does not is not necessary, flagged for deletion. | Special:BrokenRedirects |
| Unused files | Files not used anywhere. Per image policy, all files must be transcluded at least once across any content space, even if only in the userspace. Lonely files should be relocated to a proper home, or if one cannot be found, flagged for deletion. | Special:UnusedFiles |