Help:Player Pages

Player pages account for the largest percentage of wiki content. At the time of writing this article, almost half of all wiki pages are player pages. It is expected this category will continue to grow faster than any other part of the wiki. This also makes it one of the most labor-intensive jobs when it comes to ensuring these pages fit the correct format of the wiki. This guide is designed to help page editors create or maintain player pages properly in the first place.

Creating Player Pages

All player pages should begin with Template:infobox contact. Though the template page describes how this template is used, it is also one of the most improperly used templates of the whole wiki. The blank copy of the template is there for a reason, and the whole template should be inserted into a page, even when you will not be using all the fields within it.

The reason behind using the template in its entirety, is that it saves new editors from having to check the main template page for fields which somebody may have omitted in the first place. All fields in infobox contact are optional. If you do not fill in the field, nothing will appear. Do not fill in unused fields with --, n/a or anything of that nature.

The bottom line is, you'll be doing everyone a favor if you cut and paste the whole thing into a new page.

Using {{infobox contact}}

You should always check the Template:infobox contact page for the latest version of the template (in case it ever changes) and copy the 'blank copy'.

Data Fields

Field	Description	Example
game	This field is reserved for people who hold staff positions within the game. Valid positions would include Game Developer, Forum Moderator, Wiki Editor, etc.	|game = Wiki Editor
alliance	The full name of the player's current alliance. This should always link to the appropriate clan page(s) of the player.	|alliance = [[clan 1]], [[clan 2]], [[clan 3]]
alliance_pos	If the player holds a staff position within the alliance, it should be listed here, along with the abbreviated clan name.	|alliance_pos = HFA (clan 1), TL (clan 3)
icq	The player's ICQ number.	|icq = 123456789
msn	The player's MSN address.	|msn = foobar@live.com
aim	The player's AIM screen name.	|aim = foobar
forum_pm	A direct link to pm the user on the forums. Find the player's sid # by going to the forums and finding a message the player wrote. Click on the player's name. Click the link Send Private Message. Note the page you are linked to: http://forums.earthempires.com/Messages.php?sid=###. In the field, replace ### with the user's sid	|forum_pm = [http://forums.earthempires.com/Messages.php?sid=### message]
former	Former alliances the player has been a member of. It should follow the same formatting as alliance.	|former = [[clan 1]], [[clan 2]], [[clan 3]]
former_pos	List positions a player has held in former alliances. It should follow the same formatting as alliance_pos.	|former_pos = Pres. (clan 1), IA (clan 2)
gameprofile	If a player has enabled their game profile to be public, a small page-like icon will be shown next to their name in the forum. Note the page link: www.earthempires.com/gameprofile?id=###. Replace ### in the template with the user's id.	|gameprofile = [http://www.earthempires.com/gameprofile?id=### profile]
alias	Any other names a player may go by, or have gone by in the past.	|alias = name1, name2, name3
joined	The date or approximate time the player began playing.	|joined = December 1999

Note: In the template's blank copy, the forum and game profile links are surrounded by <!-- and -->. In geek-speak, this is called "commenting out". Anything between, and including <!-- and --> will not be displayed on the page. It is important to remove these if you want links to be visible.

Page Content

Each player page should have at least a few lines of content about the player themselves. There is no set format or strict limit of what that may entail, but it is highly recommended that player pages contain more than just an infobox. Pages with very little, or no content other than infobox contact should be appropriately marked (at the top) with the {{stub}} template.

Rules

1. No abusive or hateful content directed toward any player will be tolerated.
2. No extremely foul language.
3. The wiki is not to be used as a tool for any type of political meandering.