Mozilla Wiki Categories

As part of the Wiki Working Group's goal to revitalize the Mozilla Wiki (WikiMo), we have created this guide on Categories.

This guide shows how to:

The guide will also describe the WWG's Categories Project, an effort to improve WikiMo information architecture by reviewing existing categories.

Why Categories?

There is a lot of information on WikiMo, much of it admittedly not easy to find. Categories are the prime way to make WikiMo more searchable.

What are Categories?

Categories are essentially tags added to pages. These tags organize information on Mozilla Wiki. Unlike Namespaces, categories can be created by WikiMo users. They look like this in wikitext:

[[Category:Category_name]] 

or

[[Category:Category_Name]]

In read mode, categories are displayed at the bottom of the page:

How to Create a Category

First: do you need to create one? Sometimes a category very similar to the one you are about to create already exists. Search Special:Categories for similar categories.

If you do not find a similar category or want to add another categorization:

To create a category just type

[[Category:Category_name]]

or

[[Category:Category_Name]]

at the bottom of the wiki page you are editing.

Please do not create categories like this

[[Category:Category/Name]]

or

[[Category:Category:Name]]

or

[[Category:Category:LongerName]]

Category names that are incorrect will be changed to the appropriate format

Once saved, the wiki page will now display your new category like the image example above.

You will also be able to locate your new category under Special:Categories. In both instances, the link will be in red text.

A red category link indicates that its page has not been created. A blue category link indicates that a page for that category exists.

Using Categories with Templates

Categories are most powerful when included within templates. Let's look at the Spam template as an example.

When a page is flagged with the spam template {{Spam}} it is automatically filed in [[Category:Spam]]. How? When an editor creates or edits a template, they can add a category to it just like any content page. Once a category has been added to a template, whenever that template is invoked it's member categories are as well.

How to Add a Category to a Template

When creating a template, just include the category within the <includeonly> tags:

<includeonly>

[[Category:Category_name]]
[[Category:Another_category_name]]

</includeonly>

Category Pages

Category page links are automatically generated, however the pages are not automatically saved. The generated links only show the listing of all the wiki pages that are tagged with that category. In order to create a category's page, the page needs to be edited and saved like any other WikiMo page.

Category Page Guidelines

Category pages should only include:

a brief definition 

What does this category mean?

its purpose 

Why was this category created?

an example 

Provide a link to a page that provides good context of when to implement the category

How to Add an Existing Category

To add an existing page, just go to Edit at the top of the wiki page, and add [[Category:Category_name]] to the end of the page within the wikiText editor.

Subcategories

A subcategory is a category belonging to another category. Subcategories are useful when a contributor wants to group pages by an event date. For example, [[Category:Great_Mozilla_Conference]] can be a main category while each event year should be a subcategory.

How to Create a Subcategory

In the edit mode of a main category page, declare a category as you would on a regular content page. Once saved, the main category page will now display its new subcategory and the pages belonging to that subcategory.

How to Use Categories

It seems obvious: add as many categories to a page as the content allows. However, sometimes it is not clear if a project is still being documented on WikiMo.

What a Category Should Not Be

Categories are not personal or project pages.

Please do not add any user information. Please, do not add specific project information to a category page. 

A category page should only include a

• brief definition
• its purpose
• an example

Please, do not add categories to user pages. 

The Verified Users category that lists all WikiMo users is controlled by admins.

Categories that are date specific should be subcategories. 

For a category about an event, for example [[Category:Opensource_conference]], if you want to separate the event years, create a subcategory. We are deprecating/merging categories that include a specific date. For example, Fosdem 2008 and Fosdem 2009 will become Fosdem.

What to Do if a Page has been Miscategorized

If a page has been miscategorized, tag the page with the {{Miscategorized}} template. With this template, the category will be filed within the Miscategorized category for designated admins or bureaucrats to review.