View source for Draft:Stub

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{{Subcat guideline|editing guideline|Stub|BTW:STUB|BTW:STUBS|BTW:STB}}
{{Nutshell|An article too short and incomplete to provide more than rudimentary information about a subject should be marked as a '''stub''' by adding a '''stub template''' from the list [[BattleTechWiki:WikiProject Stub sorting/Stub types|here]] to the end of the article. Anyone can edit a stub article, or remove a stub template from an article which is no longer a stub.}}
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A '''stub''' is an article deemed too short and incomplete to provide encyclopedic coverage of a subject. 

This page provides a general guide for dealing with stubs: the first section, ''[[#Basic information|Basic information]]'', contains information that is recommended for most users; and the second section, ''[[#Creating stub types|Creating stub types]]'', contains more specialized material. 

Existing stub categories can be found at [[BattleTechWiki:WikiProject Stub sorting/Stub types]].

==Basic information==
{{Shortcut|BTW:STUBDEF}}
A '''stub''' is an article that, although lacking the breadth of coverage expected from an encyclopedia, provides some useful information and is capable of expansion. Non-article pages, such as disambiguation pages, lists, categories, templates, talk pages, and [[BattleTechWiki:Redirect|redirects]], are not regarded as stubs.

If a stub has little [[BattleTechWiki:Verifiability|verifiable]] information, or if its subject has no apparent [[BattleTechWiki:Notability|notability]], it may be [[BattleTechWiki:Deletion policy|deleted]] or be [[BattleTechWiki:Merging|merged]] into another relevant article.

While a "definition" may be enough to qualify an article as a stub, BattleTechWiki is not a dictionary. The distinction between dictionary and encyclopedia articles is best expressed by the [[w:use–mention distinction|use–mention distinction]]:
* A dictionary article is ''about'' a word or phrase and will often have several ''different'' definitions for it
* An encyclopedia article is ''about the subject [[w:denotation|denoted by]] the title'' but usually has only '''''one definition''''' (or in some cases, several definitions that are largely the ''same'') but there may be ''several equivalent words (synonyms) or phrases for it''.

Sizable articles are usually not considered stubs, even if they have significant problems or are noticeably incomplete. With these larger articles, a cleanup template is usually added instead of a stub template.

==Stub Articles==
Many articles may only have very little information pertaining to the subject. Such articles are referred to as "Stub" articles, and may be tagged with '''<nowiki>{{stub}}</nowiki>'''.
:''Note: '''In a deliberate change to previous user consensus, Stub Articles are now deemed acceptable.''' Whereas these were discouraged in the past, and summary list articles were proposed instead, User Consensus in early 2019 decreed that everything should have its own article, and that the Sarna.net BTW should abandon the practice of referring to subjects as "minor". In this regard, "Stub" articles are now preferred over having no article at all, and all summary list articles should be turned into individual articles for their individual entries as a general rule.''

==Sub-Stub Pages==
While it is one of BattleTechWiki's stronger philosophies that all things BattleTech rate placement on the site, a bare minimum of notability is required. That minimum is that an article, when initially completed, must provide information about the subject of the article that encompasses more than just the name itself. In other words, articles must serve a greater purpose than simply providing evidence of existence of the article's subject.

"Sub-stub" articles are those that list no information, or extremely limited information, such as only a reference, a mostly-empty infobox or a seemingly obvious statement (e.g. "a military unit", "an Inner Sphere company", "some character"); they are less useful than even extremely simple articles ("stubs") and provide no pertinent information to the article's perceived subject. If the subject of the article is not notable enough to be provided an acceptable amount of context by the initiating editor, then it is not notable enough for inclusion on Sarna.net BTW.

In order to prevent the proliferation of these sub-stubs, when a page that clearly fails to meet article status and has not seen any recent edits, later editors may add the article deletion template ('''<nowiki>{{deletion|1}}</nowiki>'''), prompting a discussion regarding the article's value and possible immediate deletion. Many editors will contact the editor that initially created the article, or request an Admin makes contact to check if further work is planned to bring the article up to standard.

==Creating stub types==
{{Shortcut|WP:NEWSTUB}}
{{WikiProject Stub sorting navbar}}
'''Please propose new stub types at [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Proposals|WikiProject Stub sorting/Proposals]] so that they may be discussed before creating them.'''

In general, a ''stub type'' consists of a ''stub template'' and a dedicated ''stub category'', although [[Wikipedia:Glossary#Upmerge|"upmerged" templates]] are also occasionally created which feed into more general stub categories.

If you identify a group of stub articles that do not fit an existing stub type, or if an existing stub category is growing very large, you can propose the creation of a new stub type which is debated at [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Proposals]].

===Example===
An example of a stub template is {{tlx|Website-stub}}, which produces:

{{Website-stub}}

The stub category, [[:Category:Website stubs]], lists all articles containing the {{tlx|Website-stub}} template.

===Guidelines===
Several guidelines are used to decide whether a new stub type is useful. These include the following:
# Is there a stub type for this topic already? (Check [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Stub types]].)
# Will the new type be well-defined? (Stub categories are a tool used by editors to expand articles. Good topic definition makes stubs easier to sort accurately.)
# Does the new stub type cover ground not covered by other type, or create a well-defined subtype that does?
# {{anchor|numerosity}}Will there be a significant number of existing stubs in this category? (Ideally, a newly created stub type has 100–300 articles. In general, any new stub category should have a ''minimum'' of 60 articles. This threshold is modified in the case of the ''main'' stub category used by a [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProject]].)
# Would your new stub type overlap with other stub types? (Stub types form a hierarchy and as such are usually split in specific ways. Compare other stub splits at [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Stub types]].)
# If you are breaking a subtype out of an existing type, will the new creation reduce the size of the parent by a significant amount? (This is not an absolute necessity, but is often a catalyst for the creation of stub categories. Stub categories containing over 800 articles are typically considered to be "over-sized", and in need of such sub-types.)

If you think you have satisfied these guidelines, it is ''highly recommended'' that you propose the new stub type at [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Proposals|stub type proposals page]]. This allows for debate on matters relating to the stub type that may not have occurred to the proposer, and also allows for objections if the split does not satisfy stub guidelines. If there are no objections within five days, you may create the new stub type.

===New stub templates===
After the creation of a new stub type has been discussed at [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Proposals]] and agreed upon, a template can be created. The name of this should follow the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Naming guidelines|stub type naming conventions]], and will usually be decided during the discussion process.

All stub templates should link to a stub category. This may be a category specific to the topic of the template, or the template might be "upmerged" to one or more less specific categories&nbsp;– for example, a template for Andorran history might link to a stub category for European history and a general Andorran stub category. This is often thought to be desirable when a stub type is proposed in anticipation of future use, but is not currently over the size threshold; or where an existing stub type has a finite number of well-defined subdivisions, with some numerically viable as subtypes, and others not. 

As stub templates can sort articles into more general categories, the bar for the creation of a stub template is not as high as the bar for the creation of a dedicated stub category; a template should still be used on more than just one or two pages, but does not necessarily require 60. In fact, the creation of a stub template may be a helpful tracking tool for determining whether the topic is approaching the 60-article minimum to justify a category, as the template's "what links here" can be used to count how many articles are using the template.

Adding a small image to the stub template (the "stub icon") is permitted, so long as the image is [[public domain]] or has a free license—[[fair use]] images must not be used in templates. Stub icons should be small, preferably no more than about 40px in size.

The standard code for stub templates is found at: {{tl|asbox}}. This template can be used ('''without''' substitution).
<!-- THESE TEMPLATES ARE NOW DEPRECATED; USE ASBOX: Standard code for stub templates is found at {{tl|metastub}}:
:<code><nowiki>{{subst:metastub | article=article related to [[foo]] | id=foo-stub | category=Foo}}</nowiki></code>

which produces this:
<div class="notice metadata plainlinks" id="stub" style="clear:both;">''This article related to [[foo]] is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by [{{fullurl:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|action=edit}} expanding it].''</div>

And, if an image is appropriate, use {{tl|metapicstub}}:
:<code><nowiki>{{subst:MetaPicstub|article=article about [[foo]]| id=stub | category=Foo| image=foo.svg | size=40 | alt=Foo}}</nowiki></code><br />
which produces this:
{| class="notice metadata plainlinks" id="stub" style="background: transparent;"
|-
| [[File:foo.svg|40px| ]]||''This article about [[foo]] is a stub. You can [[Wikipedia:Stub#Ideal stub article|help]] Wikipedia by [{{fullurl:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|action=edit}} expanding it].''
|}

'''''Be sure to {{tl|subst}} the template code when creating the template!'''''
-->

===New stub categories===
The name of the stub category should also have been decided during the proposal process and will also follow the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Naming guidelines|naming guidelines]].

The text of a stub category should contain a definition of what type of stubs are contained in it and an indication of what template is used to add stubs to it. The {{tl|WPSS-cat}} template should also be placed on the category, to indicate that it has been created after debate at [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Proposals]]. The new stub category should also be added to the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting/Stub types]] list.

The new stub category should be correctly added into other categories. These should include at least three specific categories:
* The analogous permanent category ("permcat")
* At least one higher level ("parent") stub category
* [[:Category:Stub categories]]

Thus, for example, [[:Category:France stubs]], should be in an equivalent permcat ([[:Category:France]]), parent stub category ([[:Category:Europe stubs]]), and [[:Category:Stub categories]].

The creation of stub categories can be partially automated by using {{tl|Stub category}} as follows:
<code><nowiki>{{Stub category|article=[[A]]|newstub=B|category=C}}</nowiki></code>
:<code>A</code>: Insert the description of the category here.
:<code>B</code>: Insert the name of the new stub template here.
:<code>C</code>: Insert the name of an appropriate parent non-stub category.

In the example given above, the formatting would look like this:
<code><nowiki>{{Stub category|article=[[France]]|newstub=France-stub|category=France}}</nowiki></code>
which would produce this:
{{cmbox
| type = notice
| image = [[File:Puzzle stub cropped.png|40px]]
| text = This category is for stub articles relating to [[France]]. You can help by expanding them.

{{#if:France-stub|<br />To add an article to this category, use {{tl2|France-stub}} instead of {{tl2|stub}}.|}}
}}

This syntax also automatically adds the new category to [[:Category:Stub categories]], though parent stub categories and {{tl|WPSS-cat}} still need to be added manually. It also automatically [[Wikipedia:Glossary#Piped link|pipes]] the stub category with "Σ", so that appears at the end of the list of subcategories in non-stub category C. This effectively moves it away from navigation categories to place it alongside other editing- and cleanup-related categories.

'''''If you have some doubts or comments regarding any part of the process, do not hesitate to address them or ask for assistance at [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Stub sorting]].'''''

==Stubbing existing articles<!--wp:stubify redirects here-->==
{{Shortcut|WP:STUBIFY}}
On occasion, an article may have significant problems that create opportunities to remove most of its content. This may be done in response to an article that is heavily [[Wikipedia:NPOV|biased]], either [[Wikipedia:SPAM|for]] or [[Wikipedia:ATTACK|against]] its subject; in response to an article that has some verifiable material but is otherwise full of [[Wikipedia:OR|original research]], [[Wikipedia:SELF|self-published]], or [[Wikipedia:PRIMARY|primary]] sources; in response to a [[Wikipedia:VRT|VRT complaint]]; or a variety of other reasons.

If enough content is removed that all that remains is a stub, a stub template should be added to the article, if it does not already have one.

==Stub types, WikiProjects, and assessment templates==
{{Shortcut|WP:PROJSTUB}}
[[File:M8WestStreetRamps.jpg|thumb|This stub really needs expansion.]]

When a new [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProject]] commences, one of the first things its creators often do is decide whether or not a specific [[Wikipedia:NEWSTUB|stub type]] should be created for it. Often there is no real problem, as WikiProject topics frequently coincide with subjects of specific stub types. On other occasions, there will be no specific stub type, and thus a new type should be proposed.

Occasionally, a WikiProject will seek to have a stub category which is too small, or a stub type which runs contrary to the way stubs are normally split. This can create conflict between that project and WikiProject Stub sorting, or, more importantly, between that one stub type and one or more ''other'' stub types. Even where there is an existing stub type, there may be conflict, as often the definition of a topic as used for stub sorting may not be identical to that used by its specific WikiProject. It should be remembered in cases like this that, while a specific WikiProject may be looking for a solution for its concerns, WikiProject Stub sorting is attempting to make a coherent and cohesive system that works for ''all'' editors. The system needs to be as compatible as possible with the needs of ''all'' WikiProjects, and also with the needs of casual editors, and others who are participants in any WikiProject.

[[Wikipedia:Assessment|Assessment templates]] are a way around this problem, and more often than not a far more useful tool for WikiProjects. Assessment templates have several distinct advantages over stub types for WikiProjects. The templates are placed on article talk pages, where they are less likely to be seen as controversial (the placing of stub templates on controversial articles has frequently been a source of [[Wikipedia:Edit warring|edit warring]]). They allow all articles within a topic area to be assessed and catalogued by a related project—not just stub articles. They allow an indication to be made of exactly what work needs to be done on an article. They also allow workgroups that are subgroups of WikiProjects to have their own specific templates that are better suited to their tasks.

==See Also==
* [[BattleTechWiki:WikiProject Stub sorting/Stub types|List of stub templates]] (or the easier-to-load list of subpages [[BattleTechWiki:WikiProject Stub sorting/List of stubs|here]])
* [[BattleTechWiki:Requested articles]], 
* [[BattleTechWiki:Most-wanted articles]],
* [[BattleTechWiki:Writing better articles]] for help expanding stubs

[[Category:How-to|Stub]]
[[Category:Stub categories| ]]