WikiBird:Handling Regional Information

From WikiBird

Goal

The goal for this site is to have both a national (or World) bird guide and regional information combined so that each bird will not have to be edited separately for each region yet it can contain region specific information and discussion.

Structure of Lists and Bird Pages

This describes the structure to enable lists with different common names that link to a bird page where the common names on the bird page reflect which list it was selected from.

The current lists have a top level page with a list of family links that lead to individual family pages. The family pages have common name links to the pages named with the common name. This small common name page includes a parameterized "template" page with the page name being the binomial name.

Structure Example

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[[Gaviidae (NA)|Loons]]	This is a link on the North American list of families page. Notice that the name of the page being linked to, Gaviidae, has " (NA)" appended to it to make it unique from other list pages. The World family list page has a " (W)" appended to it.
[[Red-throated Loon]] (''[[Gavia stellata]]'')	On the family list page the first link for the Red-throated Loon goes to the common name page which has the name "Red-throated Loon". The second link, "Gavia stellata", is there for convenience in going straight to the template page where most of the content exists.
{{:Gavia stellata|stellata=Red-throated Loon|arctica=Arctic Loon|pacifica=Pacific Loon|immer=Common Loon|adamsii=Yellow-billed Loon}}	This is on the common name page. The page Gavia stellata is included as a template from the "main" namespace (as opposed to the Template namespace). Template parameter are passed so when something like {{{immer}}} is used in the template it will be replaced by "Common Loon". On a British list the common name page would be named Red-throated Diver and "immer=Great Northern Diver" would be passed to the template and the text when {{{immer}} is used would be replaced with "Great Northern Diver".
...Lacks jagged border present on the {{{immer}}}...	The is some text on the Gavia stellata template page where the {{{immer}}} is replaced by the parameter "immer=Common Loon" passed from the North American family page link.
[[Gavia stellata]]	The template page Gavia stellata also has contains a link to itself so when it is included in a common name page it will be easy to select for editing.

Adding Regional Bird Information

A region can be large, like a continent or smaller like a city or a park. The region can have its own bird list by adding the structure listed above. In addition, regional information can be added to the individual bird pages as by creating a page for the bird where the name has a region code added to it. This page will then include the regular common name page as a template. The region specific page will have information for that area followed by information from the regular bird page that is common to all lists.

Example with the Red-throated Loon on a Texas region list:

[[Red-throated Loon (US-TX)|Red-throated Loon]]	On the Texas family list page this link goes to a region specific page for the Red-throated Loon. The (US-TX) indicates this is from Texas in the United States.
== Regional Information == === Range, Abundance, and Seasonal Variations === These are very rare in Texas. === Directions and Maps === == Bird Guide Information == {{:Red-throated Loon}}	The Texas Red-throated Loon page contains regional information followed by the inclusion of the Red-throated Loon page. A list in Britain would include the Red-throated Diver page instead.

If there was a Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge list in Texas it might have a family page with the link [[Red-throated Loon (US-TX-LANWR)|Red-throated Loon]]. The Red-throated Loon (US-TX-LANWR) page could include the Red-throated Loon (US-TX) which in turn includes the regular Red-throated Loon page. So you have the bird information from the refuge, the State, and the regular Red-throated Loon/Gavia Stellatta page, all on a single page.

After editing the local page and saving you are returned to the local page. However, after editing the Gavia stellata page and then saving you are returned to the it instead of the local Red-throated Loon page.

The discussion content for each region is kept separate.