How to contribute to the wiki

This page contains the rules on editing pages, how to set up certain pages quickly and easily, and how to fix wikia's new visual editor being terrible.
You shouldn't need a Wikia account to do any of this, but it's highly recommended for security reasons. If you need any help, ask Winter or Sali.

## Rules on editing

Whenever you edit/create a page you must follow these rules.

* While certain characters and locations are very adult, please be careful about using images containing nudity/adult content, as Wikia has a policy against such things.
* Refrain from first or second person writing for the bulk of articles. Third person only. If you wish to write in first person, (e.g. an IC diary entry from a character) then make sure it's clear that it is a quote or similar.
* When you edit a page, you MUST do a change-log. If you edit a page without a change-log it may get rolled back! A very brief description of what you did is acceptable.
* All pages should be without plurals when possible and appropriate. You would not have an article called "Humans" instead, it should be "Human"
* If you create a page that is your PERSONAL content (e.g. Your characters or species you created and designed) then you should categorize the page under your username(discord username). If you do not, then others have the right to edit it.
* All pages that are related to Out of Character information should be categorized OOC. All pages that are related to In Character information should be categorized IC. All pages should be categorized appropriately.
* Any and all images that you upload, must be legally available for you to use! Do NOT under any circumstances take a picture from somewhere if you don't have permission to do so. This includes google image searched results. If you want character art, make sure you either make it yourself, pay someone to make it for you, or ask the artist for permission.

## Editor freezes/hangs while saving/loading

This is because Wikia's New Visual Editor is terrible! It's highly recommended you change your personal preferences to use the classic editor, as the classic editor does not ruin everything.

To do this, you may need to register for an account.

**How to change settings**
1. Go to http://really-big-ship.wikia.com/wiki/Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-editing
2. Choose, "Wikia's classic rich text editor" from the Preferred Editor dropdown list.

**Note:** The infobox provided with character page templates can only be edited with the New Visual Editor. If you want to edit a page JUST to edit the infobox you don't need to change your preferences, just click the arrow next to 'edit' on a page, and select Visual Editor

## Character Pages

How to make a Character page.

1. If not already done, add your character to the Character Database. (Edit the page, add a new row to the table, fill in the fields, and make the species name into a link by highlighting the name and clicking the link button.)
2. Make a new page/article. Either do this by clicking on a red link on the Character Database list, or by using the Contribute drop down menu found top-right on any page.
3. Name this article appropriately, after the character. Try make it short and simple if the character has a long/complex name. There will be room to put the character's proper name on the page.
4. Edit/Open the editor of the the new article. Enter Source Editor mode.
5. When in Source Editor mode, simply type in/paste:
```
{{subst:RBS Character Page}}
```
6. Save/publish the page. Exit the editor. It should now have a whole bunch of filler text and layout on the page for you to work with.
7. Edit the page again, and remove the filler text, replacing it with information relevant to your character. Don't forget to add anything you might want that the template doesn't include.
8. Add the categories: IC, Characters, <Species of character>, <your discord username>. Example: IC, Characters, Humans, Dudebro69

## Species Pages

How to make a Species page.

1. If not already done, add your species to the Species Database. (Edit the page, add a new row to the table, fill in the fields, and make the species name into a link by highlighting the name and clicking the link button.)
2. Make a new page/article for your species.Either do this by clicking on a red link on the Species Database list, or by using the Contribute drop down menu found top-right on any page.
3. Name the article appropriately, after the species. Do not use a plural of the species for the title. Try to make it short and simple if the species name is long/complex. There will be room on the page for the proper name.
4. Edit/Open the editor of the the new article. Enter Source Editor mode.
5. When in Source Editor mode, simply type in/paste:
```
{{subst:RBS Species Page}}
```
6. Save/publish the page. Exit the editor. It should now have a whole bunch of filler text and layout on the page for you to work with.
7. Edit the page again, and remove the filler text, replacing it with information relevant to your species. Don't forget to add anything you might want that the template doesn't include.
8. Add the categories: IC, Species. You may also add your discord username as a category if it is your own personal species. Others can use the species but not decide important information about the species.

### Hybrids

If your species is a hybrid race, then do NOT make a page specifically for that one hybrid. Make pages for the multiple species involved in the hybrid, unless the end result is something entirely new and unlike the multiple species it was combined from. You can also add sections on normal species pages referring to the specific hybrids. If you feel that specific hybrid is unique enough to warrant it's own page by itself, then do not refer to it as a hybrid race by title or category. Just make note of the species origin on the page.

**Example:** Human-Reptilian hybrid. You would not have a page for that specific hybrid, rather a page for Humans and Reptilians seperately. If you wanted to have a specific race for the hybrid itself then you could call it Sneople and make a section about how the species came to be.

## Other editing tips

Optional: To add an image anywhere, including infoboxes, it must be uploaded to the wiki first. You then reference it with File: and then the filename including the extension. Example:

```
_File:file_name.jpg

```