explain xkcd:Editor FAQ - Revision history

FaviFake: /* How do I add references? */ i added the bold but it looks bad

2026-02-01T08:34:27Z

‎How do I add references?: i added the bold but it looks bad

FaviFake: /* How do I behave on the talk page (discussion)? */ copy paste with rewrite of IP's comment explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests

2026-02-01T08:33:17Z

‎How do I behave on the talk page (discussion)?: copy paste with rewrite of IP's comment explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests

42.book.addict: updating policy

2026-01-28T22:10:04Z

updating policy

FaviFake: i'm sorry but that's just incredibly specific. also, commands are not a thing on mediawiki, and if they were, there's no need for a notice, just insert it in the prose

2025-11-19T15:10:29Z

i'm sorry but that's just incredibly specific. also, commands are not a thing on mediawiki, and if they were, there's no need for a notice, just insert it in the prose

DollarStoreBa'al: Ported TemplateTutorial over

2025-11-18T20:39:07Z

Ported TemplateTutorial over

DollarStoreBa'al: /* One or two spaces after a period? And what about newlines? */

2025-11-14T20:22:50Z

‎One or two spaces after a period? And what about newlines?

DollarStoreBa'al at 20:09, 14 November 2025

2025-11-14T20:09:16Z

DollarStoreBa'al at 20:09, 14 November 2025

2025-11-14T20:09:05Z

DollarStoreBa'al: New section about templates.

2025-11-14T20:03:26Z

New section about templates.

FaviFake at 11:20, 8 November 2025

2025-11-08T11:20:54Z

@@ Line 64: / Line 64: @@
 <span id="ref"></span>
 ==How do I add references?==
-'''You don't.''' It is preferable to link the source you want to cite in the sentence that needs sourcing itself ([[#How do I enter links to other pages?|see this section to learn how]]).
+You don't. It is preferable to link the source you want to cite in the sentence that needs sourcing itself ([[#How do I enter links to other pages?|see this section to learn how]]).
 ==How do I enter links to other pages?==

@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 <blockquote>Often a list is best left as a list. Before reformatting a list into table form, consider whether the information will be more clearly conveyed by virtue of having rows and columns. If so, then a table is probably a good choice. If there is no obvious benefit to having rows and columns, then a table is probably not the best choice. </blockquote>
 ==How do I behave on the talk page (discussion)?==
-Everybody can add here any thoughts about the comic and more. Consider it as the comments section of a blog, because that’s how it has always been (see [[explain xkcd#History]]), just more flexible. Please follow the common netiquette and don't be rude. Unless a comment is vandalism, spamvertising, or illegal content, please do not remove it. Unless you are replying to a previous comment, in which you should add a colon before your comment, you should add comments at the bottom. Every comment has to be signed at the end with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> or just click the sign button [[File:Button sig.png]] at the top of the editor.
+Everybody can add here any thoughts about the comic and more. Consider it as the comments section of a blog, because that’s how it has always been (see [[explain xkcd#History]]), just more flexible. Please follow the common netiquette and don't be rude. Unless you are replying to a previous comment, in which you should add a colon before your comment, you should add comments at the bottom. Every comment has to be signed at the end with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> or just click the sign button [[File:Button sig.png]] at the top of the editor.
 ==What does the incomplete tag mean?==

@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 <blockquote>Often a list is best left as a list. Before reformatting a list into table form, consider whether the information will be more clearly conveyed by virtue of having rows and columns. If so, then a table is probably a good choice. If there is no obvious benefit to having rows and columns, then a table is probably not the best choice. </blockquote>
 ==How do I behave on the talk page (discussion)?==
-Everybody can add here any thoughts about the comic and more. Consider it as the comments section of a blog, because that’s how it has always been (see [[explain xkcd#History]]), just more flexible. Please follow the common netiquette and don't be rude. Unless you are replying to a previous comment, in which you should add a colon before your comment, you should add comments at the bottom. Every comment has to be signed at the end with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> or just click the sign button [[File:Button sig.png]] at the top of the editor.
+Everybody can add here any thoughts about the comic and more. Consider it as the comments section of a blog, because that’s how it has always been (see [[explain xkcd#History]]), just more flexible. Please follow the common netiquette and don't be rude. Unless a comment is vandalism, spamvertising, or illegal content, please do not remove it. Unless you are replying to a previous comment, in which you should add a colon before your comment, you should add comments at the bottom. Every comment has to be signed at the end with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> or just click the sign button [[File:Button sig.png]] at the top of the editor.
 ==What does the incomplete tag mean?==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 This FAQ is a short description about editing pages at this wiki. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to ask them in the [[explain xkcd:Community portal|Community portal]] or enter them into this FAQ's [[explain xkcd talk:Editor FAQ|talk page]]. For general questions about wikitext, please read first the MediaWiki help pages about [[mw:Help:Editing pages|Editing pages]] or look at the full overview here: [[mw:Help:Contents|Help Contents]]. You also can use your preferred search engine by entering "MediaWiki mytopic". Change mytopic to the theme you're searching for, i.e. "MediaWiki tables" will show you many useful sites about editing tables. Please always use the Preview button to verify your edit before finally pressing the Save button. This FAQ focuses only on topics related to this specific wiki.
@@ Line 122: / Line 120: @@
 ==One or two spaces after a period? And what about newlines?==
 Two or more spaces are always rendered as only one, so multiple consecutive spaces can only be seen in the editor. This means it's usually best to only use one space after a period. Furthermore, a single newline is also just rendered as a space, as two newlines are required to form a paragraph. If you want to force a newline without space in between the lines, use <nowiki><br></nowiki> at the end of a sentence.
 [[Category:explain xkcd]]{{explainxkcdmeta}}

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 <span id="table"></span>
-==How do I insert a template?==
+==How do I insert/make a template?==
 Templates are quick shortcuts to insert commonly used things. While templates can be used in both userspace pages and explanations, some templates should be kept to a certain type of page.
 To insert a template, insert <code><nowiki>{{ExampleTemplate}}</nowiki></code> where you wish to use the template. This displays the content of the template rather than a link to the page. If you wish to link to a template's page rather than use the template, typing <code><nowiki>[[Template:ExampleTemplate]]</nowiki></code> will link to the template's page. For further guidance on how to use templates, as well as how to create one, see the [[Template:TemplateTutorial|Template Tutorial]].
 ==Tables are so cool! Can I use them everywhere?==

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:09, 14 November 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	{{notice\|For more general advice on editing, such as how to insert commands, please see Wikipedia's {{w\|Help:Wikitext\|Wikitext help page.}}	+	{{notice\|For more general advice on editing, such as how to insert commands, please see Wikipedia's {{w\|Help:Wikitext\|Wikitext help page.}}}}

	This FAQ is a short description about editing pages at this wiki. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to ask them in the [[explain xkcd:Community portal\|Community portal]] or enter them into this FAQ's [[explain xkcd talk:Editor FAQ\|talk page]]. For general questions about wikitext, please read first the MediaWiki help pages about [[mw:Help:Editing pages\|Editing pages]] or look at the full overview here: [[mw:Help:Contents\|Help Contents]]. You also can use your preferred search engine by entering "MediaWiki mytopic". Change mytopic to the theme you're searching for, i.e. "MediaWiki tables" will show you many useful sites about editing tables. Please always use the Preview button to verify your edit before finally pressing the Save button. This FAQ focuses only on topics related to this specific wiki.		This FAQ is a short description about editing pages at this wiki. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to ask them in the [[explain xkcd:Community portal\|Community portal]] or enter them into this FAQ's [[explain xkcd talk:Editor FAQ\|talk page]]. For general questions about wikitext, please read first the MediaWiki help pages about [[mw:Help:Editing pages\|Editing pages]] or look at the full overview here: [[mw:Help:Contents\|Help Contents]]. You also can use your preferred search engine by entering "MediaWiki mytopic". Change mytopic to the theme you're searching for, i.e. "MediaWiki tables" will show you many useful sites about editing tables. Please always use the Preview button to verify your edit before finally pressing the Save button. This FAQ focuses only on topics related to this specific wiki.

@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 As implied by the section name, it's just trivia, consisting of unimportant odds-and-ends related to the comic. Since this wiki focuses on explaining this section is not part of the default layout. If a word has been misspelled in the comic or title text, or the image was originally broken at xkcd and reuploaded... basically, the things that don't belong in the explanation but should still be mentioned should be written in the trivia section. To learn how to create a trivia section when Randall updates a comic, [[#Randall updated a comic, how do I upload the new image here?|click here]].
 <span id="table"></span>
 ==Tables are so cool! Can I use them everywhere?==
 In the transcript, tables should never be used. Even when there is a table in the comic image, it must be described using text if possible.

@@ Line 84: / Line 84: @@
 This wiki isn't a picture book. Use this feature only sparingly and reduce the size as much as possible. An example can be seen here: [[1400: D.B. Cooper]]. The syntax in this case is <code><nowiki>[[File:DBCooper.jpg|thumb|150px|Cooper]]</nowiki></code> and the picture is taken from Commons, the main source for Wikipedia images. The full syntax can be found at [[mw:Help:Images|MediaWiki]].
-You also can upload pictures directly to this wiki by using the 'upload file' button on the left-hand toolbar. But do not violate any copyright rules or it will be deleted. And when the picture is available at Commons there is no need to upload it here.
+You also can upload pictures directly to this wiki by clicking the [[Special:Upload|Upload file]] link on the left-hand toolbar. Do not upload copyrighted images or they will be deleted. If a picture is available at Commons, there is no need to upload it here; it can be linked normally.
 ==How do I enter mathematical or chemical formulas?==