Wikipedia Initiative/Writing Wikipedia bios
International Game Developers Association
Table of contents |
[edit] Gather information
Compile a list of references. Links to news articles or books about the subject, a list of their works, anything else that you can find. Personal interviews can also be helpful. Good questions to ask to help give background for an article:
- When and where were you born?
- What were your parents' names? What were their professions?
- Any siblings?
- Where did you grow up?
- What high school did you graduate from?
- What college did you attend? What degree did you get, and when?
- What were major influences on you as you were growing up?
- What was your first game industry job?
- What awards have you won?
- Which of your works are you most proud of, to make sure we mention it?
- Have you written any books or articles?
- What articles/books have you been featured in?
- What picture can we put into the public domain, so that it can be used on Wikipedia?
- Would you like your spouse/children's names in the bio?
- Anything else non-game-related that should be mentioned? Any famous relatives?
[edit] Organize the information
A good wikipedia bio will follow this kind of format:
- An opening paragraph with who/what/where/when - Who is the article about, what did they do that makes them famous, where (what country) are they from, when were they born?
- Biography: Some info about their birth, their parents, their schooling
- Career: The works that they are best known for
- Works: List the major ones
- References: Books/articles/websites that confirm the information on the Wikipedia page
- External links: Anything else of particular interest (no more than 3 or 4 links is best)
- Categories
[edit] Create a "sandbox" page
Here on the IGDA wiki, make new bios as a subpage of this initiative. For example:
[edit] Get another pair of eyes to look at it
Contact one of the "Participants" on the initiative page, or someone else who has Wikipedia experience.
[edit] Move the page over to Wikipedia
Either ask one of the experienced participants to do it, or go ahead and create the page yourself.
Important: Do not worry if other Wikipedia editors immediately start editing the page that you created. This is the Wikipedia way, that one person starts a page, and then others jump in. Some may come in within a couple hours, or a page may stay untouched for weeks. But it's important to remember that no one single person ever "owns" a page. Also, keep in mind, especially for articles about game developers, that there are a lot of teenagers on Wikipedia who may come in with less than constructive comments. Don't worry too much about them -- stay mature and polite. If any of the teens do pose a serious challenge though, such as nominating an article for deletion, check for help from one of the more experienced Wikipedia editors (such as User:DuninElonka) as to how to navigate the process. The important thing is to keep your cool, even if you feel like you've just stepped into a noisy insane asylum. Ride out any controversy, and the way that you handle yourself will give you more credibility in future controversies. Keep the long view, for how you wish your personality and character to be perceived. Stable and mature always wins out in the long run, over immature hotheads. ;)
