Help:BiographyStyle

From Eliafamily

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Revision as of 15:37, 15 October 2006

Biographies are one of the main kinds of pages on the site. They should be written in third person (even if they are autobiographies) because any one can contribute. They can contain whatever content you want.

How To Start A New Biography

With the exception of new births, all of the Elia members are listed on the appropriate lineage. If you wish to start a new biography for someone already listed on one of the lineage, the best way to do so (assuming you have already logged in) is to go to the lineage in question and click on the name of the person who's biography you will create. This will take you immediately to an editing page where you can begin your writing.

If the person is not yet listed on a lineage, you can easily add their name to the lineage page first. Be aware of a couple of things before you do so. First, check out the lineage style guide. When you are then ready to add the new name to the lineage, add the person's name as a link. For example, if the person's name was Harry Elia, you would add the link as:

[[Harry Elia]]

Remember, however, that how you type the person's name on the lineage become the name of the page for the biography, and the page name will also be displayed in large type at the top of the biography. The style for such pages is first name followed by a space followed by last name (no middle names or maiden names are used in page titles). But you should consider, for example, whether to use Harry Elia or Harold Elia.

Page names must also be unique. Thus, if Harry Elia is the son of Harry Elia, you cannot simply add another Harry Elia to the lineage. You must use either Harry Elia Jr. or Harry Elia II. Harry Elia could be added to the lineage like this:

[[Harry Elia II|Harry Elia]]

The text after the pipe (|) will be what shows up on the page, but when clicked the reader will be directed to a page titled Harry Elia II. It is on this page that you can then enter the biography for Harry Elia II.

How To Edit A Biography

If you merely want to add to a pre-existing biography, or edit its text, just go to the biography page that you want to edit. This is usually easiest to do by finding the right lineage page, but you can also click on the person's name wherever you find it to be directed to the biography. If you only need to add to or amend a small setion, use the edit link next to the section title of the section you need to edit. If you need to make multiple edits, use the edit link at the very top of the page (the tab in between discussion and watch).

Biography Template

In order to maintain a consistent style across the website, it is desirable to have all of the biographies written in a similar style. If you are creating a new biography, a helpful way to proceed is to copy the text below and fill in the blanks as described on this style guide:

== //person's full name// ==

{{FamilyTree|
  name=//person's name//|
  photo=//photo file name or 'none on file'//|
  dob=[[//birth month//|//birth month and date//]], [[//birth year//]]|
  lineage=[[//name of lineage//]]|
  parent=[[//parent - list one who is Elia descendant//]]|
  siblings=[[//eldest sibling - this should be page name of biography//]]//delete this if one sibling or add '<br> followed by additional siblings in double brackets [[]] as first sibling//|
  children=[[//eldest child see notes above for siblings//]]|}}

//Enter biography here.  Feel free to use subheadings like ===Early Life=== and ===Adulthood=== if desired; 3 equals signs are code for subheading//

== //spouse's full name; delete section if no spouse// ==

//see notes above for spouse's biography//

== Synopsis of Dates ==

//birth dates, anniversaries, and dates of death go here in format 'First Name's Brithday:' and "Wedding Anniversary:'//
//dates in the following format://
//First Name's Birthday:// [[//Month|Month Date//]], [[//Year/]]<br>
//Note: end every line with <br> to make each date appear on a new line//

== External Links ==

//Place a list of links here - can be links to personal web sites, business web sites, hobby web sites, photo galleries, etc. - anthing interesting.  Links should be listed as follows:
[http://www.websiteurl.org //Title of site//] - //extended description//<br>

[[Category:Biography|//Last Name, First Name//]]