Wikipedia:Lists

• Basic principles
• Article
• Topics
• System Naming convention
• Disambiguation
• Categories
• Lists

• 2.1 designation
• 2.2 Introductory text
• 2.3 Design
• 2.4 Division into sub-lists
• 2.5 Notes for good lists
• 2.6 Categorization

The purpose of lists

Lists are intended to provide the reader with an overview of a complex subject and to supply him with further links to the deepening of information about a topic. There is usually a product that represents a topic in detail. Lists can then be to provide a comprehensive overview or an exemplary supplement. For example, the description of the history and award criteria of a literary prize to be completed with a list of the winners. Or to represent the literary culture of a country exemplified known representatives are listed.

Continuous text counterproductive list

For other information, however, the list may well be the right choice. So the winners can also be installed with a short description and the justification for the award in the text about the history of the price in an article about a literary prize though. But this has its limits when the clarity suffers. With a larger number of winners, the structure of the text is repeated and the names are scattered throughout the text. Here we recommend a listing within the article with a link to the winners. But even this has its limits in the article length. Increase collections across multiple screens within an article, the charging time, make articles are confusing and reader unfriendly. In this case, the outsourcing in a separate, marked as a list item is recommended.

Nevertheless, the transitions between text and list items are fluid and it is not always clearly define what is what. It may be, for example, that so little information is available about a topic that an independent body text article is not meaningful. In this case, only a list with an explanatory introduction will be used. However, it may also be that for each point of a list as much information available that they each represent a separate paragraph. Then, although these are actually sub-chapter to the main topic, but formally they are arranged in a list.

List contrasting category

It is therefore not useful

Categories also have significant drawbacks:

• They list only the pure article title
• They can only sort items alphabetically
• They can only show what is actually present
• It can only be the articles of a category level are displayed at once, one must, therefore, possibly by several sub-pages click until you will find it

Lists can be designed in accordance flexible in order to compensate for these disadvantages ( see also notes for good lists ). Then they can also serve as summary pages for a category. This has the additional advantage that it makes you lay down and can also control the inventory and the designation of the article.

Create lists

Before you are new mess a list, you wonder if this list is really useful. As a guide, the following questions might be:

• What information content owns the list? (Cf. list of all 2 -letter combinations and list of the Roman emperors of antiquity. )
• If you can not better convey the information in complete sentences?
• Is the content in an article? Justify the extent a swap? This is to decide in individual cases, even small lists may be eligible for systematic reasons.
• If there are duplicates or overlaps with other lists? This is particularly important for the subsequent maintenance of lists: How likely is it that a new item to an expressionist poet actually both in the "List of Poets", the "List of German poet ," the " list of poets of Expressionism " and the " list of important personalities of Expressionism " is entered? (Examples intentionally not linked. )

Designation

As a lemma, a parent name may be used in the plural, which characterizes the listed objects, such as Greek temple in Sicily or mayor of the imperial city of Aachen. Alternatively, it is also the designation of " list " is possible, where the rules of the German language observed and correct genitive should be used. For example, it says " list of German lyric poet ," not " list of German poets ," and certainly not "List of German-language poets " (because so a complete list is likely to be expected that there can not be in this case). For complete lists, however, the definite article can be used, for example, list the districts of Munich. Often started with "List of ... " - - Forwarding of an undetermined Listenlemma on a lemma with " list of ... " or vice versa because of the discoverability sense. When you move the resulting redirects should not be deleted.

Introductory text

If the topic of the list is not clearly defines the content, as well as a general definition of the content is recommended so that the reader can classify the selection.

Construction

More complex lists can be created in a table (see Help: Table ). This not only makes the representation of multiple information for each list point more clearly, a great advantage in the sortability of tables by column contents. Basically, however, the representation should be chosen as simple as possible, so that less experienced users to edit is possible.

Lists should be sorted out regularly from " old to new " or alphabetically if no sortable table will be used.

Extensive lists should be divided and given a table of contents or a navigation bar. An alphabetical table of contents can be generated with { { TOC }} (see templates). For this, the page alphabetical headings like to Styles represented included.

Division into sub- lists

Possibly, a splitting be considered when the list for a reasonable consideration has become too long (guideline 32 k, from this value, an article in some browsers will not be processed ). The sub-pages, etc. can be applied, for example, according to the pattern list of examples / A -M.

For very large lists a systematic breakdown of equal criteria may be useful, eg alphabetically by first letter, time after centuries, decades or years or spatially to countries, constituent states, counties or municipalities. For a quick change between the sublists navigation bars can be used. If at such a reasonable allocation justified individual parts lists have only one entry, this is exceptionally permitted. Examples of such exceptions are:

• In alphabetical division: List of figures of Greek mythology / W, List of ancient place names and geographical names / Oi ( in the generally rare letters Q, X and Y can use the template: SubTOCeasy also the combinations of letters PQ and XYZ are included in the navigation, see, eg, list of lakes in Germany / PQ list and Munich street names / XZ )
• In chronological breakdown: Summer Olympic Games 2004/Teilnehmer ( Liechtenstein ) (as temporal partial list of participants at the Olympic Summer Games of Liechtenstein )
• In geographical distribution: Summer Olympic Games 2004/Teilnehmer ( Liechtenstein ) (as spatial partial list of participants in the 2004 Summer Olympics ), list of monuments in Old Zachun ( as an example of a community list of Category List ( cultural monuments ) )

Advice for good lists

A list consisting only of a sequence of blue (or red ) cross-references is not particularly informative. For more information the reader gets only when he clicks through the various references.

Lists that offer added value over categories are obtained, for example, when

• On the individual links, additional information is given, the finding of articles help the reader (eg persons nationality and dates )
• Articles not alphabetically, but shown in a different, meaningful order are, for example, chronologically
• The selection of the linked article is focused on a full or at least comprehensive presentation of the subject matter, regardless of the Availability
• They represent complex relationship structures ( hierarchy) clear at a glance (without linking )

As with good articles you should think also in lists, how to structure them, and illustrate. Long lists can be subdivided if necessary, lots of information per line may be in tabular form ( see Help: Table ) more clearly illustrate this in turn can visually separate with subtle colors. Among the most important elements of the list might be also find pictures or illustrations. In the foreground, but should always have the information.

Categorization

Lists are classified as all other items in the respective ( n ) Theme (s). They should be stored with SORT or pipe under the main keyword of the lemma, since they will be sorted otherwise under L (as List ) and are not meaningful to find. If the list is wholly or partly an overview of the products in the category and thus the category theme, it should be placed at the beginning of the category display by prepending the! Character. ( Exact Statement Help:. Categories # sorting of pages in a category)

In addition, they are in the category strand Category: registered list, there are subcategories generally formed with parentheses, not with "of", eg Category List ( places ) and not Category: List of villages. Indicates that the parenthesis a subject that he is in the singular, eg Category List (geography). Identifies the text in parentheses enumerated objects, eg the plural category is used: list ( places ) or Category List ( mountains). A too fine subdivision of the Categories list, but should be avoided, especially to be built no complete parallel system of categories. For example, assignments are purely according to spatial criteria such as a Category List (Munich ) no (see the delete check list to various categories).

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