Forum:ToC overhaul
Since the release of NetHack 3.6.0 there has been a push to update all of the version-specific articles to be consistent with the 3.6 series. Many features have not changed, so not all pages need changes in content. However, if you wanted to make any general improvements to all articles on the wiki, this would be a good opportunity.
Earlier this year I tried out ADOM for the first time and, while I am still fond of NetHack, I'm impressed by the amount of organization in the other roguelike's wiki. All pages for objects and monsters (that I have seen) have a consistent table of contents. For example, every monster has a section on what happens if you eat its corpse, even the monsters that don't leave corpses (in that case, it simply says that the monster doesn't leave one).
Many NetHack features already have essential information like this in their articles, but there is a lot of variation in the names and contents of the sections, so unless the information is in the infobox or clearly signaled by a subheading, you may have to search through the body text to find it. I think it would be helpful to have a standard organization scheme for feature-centered articles on this wiki.
There is a proposed standard table of contents on the NetHackWiki style guide, which I think logically organizes the contents of many articles:
- Generation
- Map(s)
- Messages
- Strategy
- Mythology / Origin
- History
- Encyclopedia entry
- See also
- References
- External links
Obviously not every section will be used in any given article—"Maps" is not usually relevant to articles about items or monsters—and some articles might require additional sections and subsections for completeness. But I think this is a good start.
I'd like to propose a few tables of contents that tweak this basic framework to fit different types of features (items, monsters, special levels). I've put some of these section headings in articles I've edited, but this is my first attempt to standardize them into an organization scheme.
What do you think? --Cherokee Jack (talk) 20:37, 12 November 2016 (UTC)
