Sonic Wiki: Page Structure & Elements

Basic Structural Elements

Every Database record creation/edit page has the same basic fields that help make up the elements you see in the record view. Each field has a description underneath it that helps offer guidance on best practice, but the information below may also help give further detail.

Record URL

This is probably going to be the first thing you see when you create or edit a Database record and its usage is optional. By default, a record will create a URL slug that will match the text found in the Page Title field (detailed below) plus an additional "rXX" record identifier. For example, a record titled "Super Sonic Sounds" would create a URL slug of "super-sonic-sounds-r102". The number at the end corresponds to the Database ID of the record.

The "rXX" suffix can only be removed manually at this time. Editors can enter a custom URL slug which can omit the "rXX" identifier, but please be mindful that this will have side-effects: no two Database records can have the same custom URL slug, even if they are organised into different categories. If this happens, attempting to visit or click a link to the record will either direct the user to a different Database record, or present them with a 404 error.  

Page Title

This is obviously where you write the title of the Database record. Keep this concise and strictly to the point of the item/product of focus. In order to disambiguate a record that could have the same name as another (i.e. "Sonic The Hedgehog") you should add a qualifier suffix in brackets to the title (i.e. "Sonic The Hedgehog (2006)" or "Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Series)").

Tags

You can assign tags to a Database record, so that it can be searchable by users across the entire Sonic Stadium website. Only relevant tags must be used; console platform, product title, studio or publisher, etc. Tags will appear at the bottom of a record page. Unlike other places on the Sonic Stadium, you cannot set Prefix Tags to a Sonic Database record.

Position

This field allows editors to specifically organise the Database record within its category. By default, records are sorted in the category view by Position number. The intended first record in a category should be numbered "1.00", the second "2.00" and so on. Each Database record must be set a unique Position number in its category, otherwise it will cause issues with sorting and 'Navigation' (see below).

However, there are two decimal places in the field that can be utilised if a record entry is created that needs to fit between two existing records high up in the sorting order (i.e. records for "Sonic 3" and "Sonic Adventure" are created on 1 January with Positions "4.00" and "5.00" respectively, but a new record is created on 5 January for "Sonic R" with a Position "4.50").

The "Position" marker will also have an impact on the order of links at the very bottom of a Database record under the 'Navigation' header; there is a currently a bit of a quirk with this section, in that any Database record that is set with an identical number to another (including the default "0.00") will either not appear in the Navigation section or will cause the entire Navigation links area to disappear. It's something we're looking into but for now, please ensure each Database page in the same category is set with its own unique Position number.

The 'Position' field has been deemed to be a little clumsy and is planned for deprecation when we next update the Wiki platform. You can freely ignore this field, but make sure a value is set within the field (i.e. 0.00) and is not empty when creating a new record, otherwise it may throw up errors.

Publish Date

This is a field exclusive to Admins, available in certain categories, allowing them to hold the visibility or publish of a Database record until a certain date or time.

Record Image (Banner)

This is the "Image" field that appears at the very bottom of a Database record creation/edit page. This allows you to set the 'Hero Banner" that appears at the top of the record's page and in category/listing pages. These banners can be quite narrow in height (830 pixels wide x 150 pixels high at its largest resolution) so it is worth considering how these banners will look on desktop and mobile devices.

Summary Area

One of the dynamic elements that you can find on a Sonic Database record includes the Summary area, which features a block of introduction text, a table of contents (if applicable) and an information box containing quick-fire statistic about the record's object of focus. This area appears above the main body of content for a Database record (the main content field is titled, "Page Main Content"), and can appear different depending on the type of content (or lack of content) input into the following fields:

Summary Text

This is a block of text that appears above the Table of Contents on a Database record. This field should be used to develop a concise and compelling series of paragraphs introducing the record's object of focus. In much the same way a Wikipedia record entry would, Sonic Database editors are encouraged to succinctly cover as much ground as possible about the what the record's object of focus is about, how it came to be and its general significance. This field can be as long as editors deem necessary.

Hero Card (Stats Box Image)

This is a field where editors can upload an image that is placed at the top of a Database record's "STATS" box (seen on the right hand side in the page screenshot, above). The image only displays if there is any content input into the following 'STATS Box' field. "Hero Card"s, as the name implies, should be a portrait-oriented image, but a Database record can accommodate landscape images too. This should not be confused with the "Hero Banner" record image field detailed further above on this page.

'Stats' Box and Meta Fields

This is an information box that mimics the Wikipedia infobox element. On a Sonic Database edit page, it is presented as a general WYSIWYG text field. Use Header 2 (H2) and Header 3 (H3) to format the STATS Box properly; you can find these font elements in the 'Format' dropdown in the post editor (see the screenshot in the below section for an idea where you can find this dropdown).

H2 should be used for overall headers within the STATS Box, and is the first thing an editor should use when writing content into this field. Generally, you can title it simply 'STATS' but if you prefer to use something more specific (i.e. "Production Information") this is acceptable. You can use multiple H2 headers to segment the information you'd like to include.

H3 should be used to title certain segments of information within an H2 section (i.e. under an H2 "Production Details" header, H3 headers could include "Director", "Studio", and/or "Producer"). Hit the Return key after typing an H3 header to input your information using correct formatting (H3 should use a themed-colour header text, while the information itself should use standard text colours [black for light mode, white for dark mode]). Information that has multiple companies/platforms/dates involved should be displayed in an unordered bulletpoint list. See the example image above for a good example of how information in a STATS box should be displayed.

STATS Box: Reviews

This is a sub-section within the STATS box that displays an official Sonic Stadium review score for a record's object of focus (if one exists in the Sonic News archive) and/or the overall review score from the Sonic Stadium community. Not every Database record will (or should) allow user reviews - enabling this is a toggle field in the Database record edit page, available only to Admins.

Table of Contents

This is not an editable field, but rather a custom block that is dynamically created from Headers typed into the Page Main Content field. More details about how this works in the section below.

Main Content Area

The "Page Main Content" field is where any and all in-depth information about the record should be placed. Do not use the Summary or Stats box text fields for this purpose as they are not built for it. The Main Content field should start with an H2 header marking the first information section of the record page. Please see below for formatting guidance for this field.

Headings & Table of Contents

You can create sections of content within a database page by using Headings. The top-most Heading that should be used within a content page is H2, with each following Heading style (H3, H4, H5 and H6) a child of the preceding one. Do not use Heading 1.

Headings can be accessed using the Format box in the post editor, illustrated below.

Content sections must be structured with ordered Headings. H2 must be the first-most used, with H3 headings used within them to further section content. If you wish to section content further within an H3 heading, use H4. H5 headings are used within H4 segmentations, and so on. Do not, for example, use an H5 heading directly within an H3 heading, or use an H3 heading for a brand new section of content.

The 'Headings & Table of Contents' title above is an example of H2 Heading.

H3 Subheading

This is an example of H3 Subheading.
It should only be used underneath an H2 Heading.

H4 Subheading

This is an example of H4 Subheading.
It should only be used underneath an H3 Subheading.

H5 Subheading

This is an example of H5 Subheading.
It should only be used underneath an H4 Subheading.

H6 Subheading

This is an example of H6 Subheading.
It should only be used underneath an H5 Subheading.
Although as you can see, it is pretty small.

~~~~~

A Table of Contents will be dynamically generated through the use of Headings. Sub-headings H3 and H4 will also be displayed in the Table of Contents as sub-items. H5 and H6 Subheadings will not be displayed. If a section of content is notable enough to warrant an anchored link at the top of the page, then consider using a Heading as appropriate.

Be responsible with the use of Headings relative to the resulting Table of Contents that is generated, and consider the user experience that might occur from a Table of Contents that is unnecessarily long. If you are writing about objects found in a game, does every item in your list need to be linked at the top of the page? Or will a single link to the overall 'Items' H2 section suffice? In instances like these, consider using Bold and Underlined text instead to separate your content.

Using Images on Pages

You can upload and embed images to a Sonic Database record in much the same way you can on the Sonic Stadium forums - it all uses the same editor form and setup. Images should only be uploaded and used in the "Page Main Content" field of a record. You can add images by simply drag-dropping an image to the light 'Attachments' area underneath the post edit area of the field (example below):

Any uploaded images to the Database record will be displayed in thumbnail format. To add them to the text of a record, simply click on the image when your text cursor is situated where you would like the image to go. Unfortunately, at present you can only insert one image at a time (you cannot insert multiple images in a gallery-style format), so bear this in mind. Any uploaded images that are not manually inserted into the text in some way will be automatically inserted at the bottom of the text area when the Database record is saved.

Images uploaded and used in the Page Main Content area, as above, should be for the purpose of illustrating against the text. Editors should not use this area to upload multiple screenshots or artworks with the intention of inserting a media gallery. We are working on a separate Media Gallery system built specifically for the purpose of collecting and displaying screenshots, artwork, scanned material and more en masse.

• EXCEPTION: The only exception to the above rule is in an instance where the Database record in question is so niche that it does not warrant its own set of media galleries. This will be settled on a case-by-case basis by Database Curators, but an example of this would be a niche merchandise item for which one magazine advert has been discovered/scanned. While it would make little sense to set up entire media galleries just for this one item and one scanned material, it would be allowed to be uploaded to and inserted directly into the Database record page itself.

Linking Database Records

You can link individual records with others in the Sonic Database, or even other Sonic Stadium databases (in future). This is done by completing the "Related Database Entries" field on a create/edit page: all editors need do is start typing the title of a Sonic Database record to search for it - results will dynamically appear underneath the field. Click the name of the correct record to link the records together. Multiple records can be linked together in this way (for example, you might want to link the "Sonic Boom (Archie Comics)" record and the "Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice" record to the "Sonic Boom (TV Series)" record, so that they are all connected.

At present, the practical uses of this feature is limited - as the Database evolves, we will look at ways we will meaningfully tie connecting Database records together visually.