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There are a finite number of article types here on Lostpedia.

Contents

Style Edit

The main body of each article on Lostpedia can be categorized as having one of the following styles:

  • Simple list - Bullet list or simple table of items, with minimal pictures
  • Structured list - Very organized list of items, usually with one picture per item
  • Simple portal - Simple set of images that each link to a main article
  • Structured portal - A structured list that also serves as a portal
  • Prose - Multiple paragraphs that convey a story

More info in the sub-sections below.

Simple list

Simple list

Characteristics:

  • Bulleted lists or very simple tables
  • Organized into sections
  • Some pictures; usually zero or one picture per section. Each item does not have a picture.

Sub-types:

  • Season - Sectioned by season, and sorted by episode
  • Character - Sectioned by character, and sorted by episode
  • Alphabetized - Short lists of alphebetized articles (like disambiguation articles)
  • Other - Sectioned by type (e.g., animal), and sorted by episode

Benefits:

  • Simple for viewers to quickly navigate to main articles (if there is any)
  • Easiest type of article for editors to maintain

What to look out for:

  • Will become unorganized over time, and will need cleaned up. Making the rules for the article easily apparent to editors can help this issue.

Examples:

MichaelsPaper.jpg


Structured list

Structured list

Characteristics:

  • Each item in the list has related characteristics that can be described in separate fields.
  • Each item has its own header, and usually one representative picture.
  • Often uses the Template:Sectionbox template, or one of its children.
  • The majority of the items do not have their own article pages (see also: #Structured portal).

Sub-types:

  • Mini-articles - A list of things that do not have their own article pages
  • Mixture - A few items in the list have their own article pages

Benefits:

  • Information is structured for the viewer
  • Since the same formatting is used for each item in the list, editors do not need to worry as much about the presentation of the item.

What to look out for:

  • Organizing all the fields can be confusing for editors. Using a template can help, but can also scare away new editors.
  • The article may become very large and unmanageable as a single article (e.g., Character secrets).
  • The TOC can get very long.
  • Articles with the subtype mixture can cause confusion for both viewers and editors: Which items are merely summaries of the main article, and which items are mini-articles? Items with their own article should be highlighted in some way.

Examples:

John locke dob.jpg


Simple portal

Simple portal

Characteristics:

  • Each item contains a title, small image, and an optional very brief summary

Sub-types:

  • Chart - A chart of titled images that link to main articles. A summary is not included.
  • Mini-gallery - A list of items, with tiny representative pictures. Each item can have a very brief summary.

Benefits:

  • Simple for end users to find main articles
  • Can be visually appealing

What to look out for:

  • Editors must create and maintain the required images

Examples:

Sublymonal2.JPG


Structured portal

Structured portal

Characteristics:

  • Same as the #Structured list, but most or all of the items also have main articles.

Sub-types:

  • none

Benefits:

What to look out for:

  • Same issues as a #Structured list and the same issues as a #Simple portal
  • The structured information could be redundant to the information in its children articles. Editors may have to manage the same information in multiple places.
  • A structured portal could make it hard for people to get to the main article: 1. User finds structured portal page; 2. User clicks TOC link which shows the user a summary; 3. User clicks link in summary which finally shows the main article. This is a bad experience if the user is forced to do this repeatedly.

Examples:

Char locke.jpg


Prose

Prose

Characteristics:

  • Multiple paragraphs of related information.
  • Organized into sections.
  • Contains some lists when appropriate.

Sub-types:

  • none

Benefits:

  • Tells a story most effectively

What to look out for:

  • Hard for editors to add new information
  • Editors must follow existing conventions of previous writer, or must rewrite whole article to follow a new convention

Examples:

  • "I Do", and all other article pages
  • John Locke, and all other character pages
GilgameshTablet.jpg



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