CZ:Catalogs

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Coders: for this we need a script: a table template generator!

What are Catalogs?

CZ Catalogs include lists, lists of lists, annotated lists, glossaries and indices relating to the subject cluster. As subpages are new to the project, their scope is still being defined. For now, writers and editors are asked to use their best judgement when organizing such material, and to seek the input of others. Currently, catalogs take several forms. See the original discussion thread at [1] for ideas. Some examples are provided as a guideline below.

Some catalogues in development

A well laid out catalogue using the definition template

• http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Civil_society/Catalogs

A well laid out catalogue using tables

• http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Famous_tennis_players

A catalogue with annotations but not citations

• http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Catalog_of_religions

Simple annotated catalog

• http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Flower/Catalogs

Catalog with definitions and annotations

• http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Catalogue_of_gardens

Where the cluster is large or complex, the catalogue may list subcatalogues

• http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/History/Catalogs
• http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Christmas/Catalogs

Purpose

The purpose of CZ Catalogs is to provide supplemental information to a cluster article, without disrupting the flow of the article. The body of articles should not contain excessive definitions or exhaustive lists; these are handled in ‘’catalogs’’.

Heading and format standards

Catalogues should not stand alone, they should be linked to a specific topic as subpages of that topic. This was not clearly defined at the beginning of the project, so you may still find a "list of..." floating out there. If any of these relate to a topic you're working on, by all means MOVE or REDIRECT them, if you can, or ask for help. Likewise, if you create or have already created a "List of...", do not be offended if someone moves it to an appropriate cluster.

e.g http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Famous_tennis_players has now been redirected to: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Tennis/Catalogs/Famous_players.

Note that the titles of catalogues should not be redundant, so this table is not called "List of Famous Tennis Players".

As our project grows, some clusters will become complex, and there will be instances of crossover. Some of the issues we have to decide is, when does a topic merit its own cluster, as opposed to being a subtopic in another cluster? Literature provides some interesting cases: let's look at one of them. Suppose you wanted to read or write about the 1951 filmed version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens? Well, it is listed in http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Christmas/Catalogs under the film section. But it actually lives in the Christmas Carol cluster, at: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/A Christmas Carol/Catalogs/Plays and films based on A Christmas Carol, and you can access it from either the Christmas cluster or the A Christmas Carol cluster. Perhaps one day it will be references at Charles Dickens and Literature as well.

There is an article at Scrooge (1951 film), its correct title. A Christmas Carol (1951 film) should have a REDIRECT.

Guidelines for editing

You cannot create a properly-linked catalog unless there is a metadata page, which generates subpages. The catalog page does not appear by default; you must click on the TALK page tab, chose "show unused subpages" in the blue box, and then select "catalog".

Catalogues may contain lists, lists of lists, annotated lists, glossaries, indices, charts and tables.

The default spelling is "catalog", but you may use "catalogue" in your writing (though not for naming) if you write in a variant of Commonwealth English.

Clusters and subpages are still new at Citizendium, so policy is developing. Please use the forums and the discussion pages, and feel free to contact an editor for help.

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