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Sarkarverse:Article size: Difference between revisions
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{{redirect2|WP:AS|WP:SIZE|information on the size of | {{redirect2|WP:AS|WP:SIZE|information on the size of Sarkarverse|Sarkarverse:Statistics}} | ||
{{subcat guideline|editing guideline|WP:SIZE|WP:LENGTH|WP:LIMIT|WP:TOOLONG|WP:TOO LONG!}} | {{subcat guideline|editing guideline|WP:SIZE|WP:LENGTH|WP:LIMIT|WP:TOOLONG|WP:TOO LONG!}} | ||
{{nutshell|Articles should be neither too big nor too small.}} | {{nutshell|Articles should be neither too big nor too small.}} | ||
{{Guideline list}} | {{Guideline list}} | ||
[[File:Johannesburg - | [[File:Johannesburg - Sarkarverse Zero - 258A9925.jpg|thumb|Users of Sarkarverse Zero]] | ||
This page contains an overview of the key issues concerning '''article size'''. Three measures are key: | This page contains an overview of the key issues concerning '''article size'''. Three measures are key: | ||
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==Readability issues== | ==Readability issues== | ||
{{See also|Readability}} | {{See also|Readability}} | ||
Each | Each Sarkarverse article is in a process of evolution and is likely to continue growing. Other editors will add to articles when you are done with them. This is not a technical problem, because, for most practical purposes, Sarkarverse has unlimited storage space; however, long articles may be more difficult to read, navigate, and comprehend. | ||
An article longer than one or two pages when printed should be divided into sections to ease navigation (see [[ | An article longer than one or two pages when printed should be divided into sections to ease navigation (see [[Sarkarverse:Manual of Style]] and [[Sarkarverse:Layout]] for guidance). For most long articles, division into sections is natural anyway. Readers of the [[Mobile Web]] version of Sarkarverse can be helped by ensuring that sections are not so long or so numerous as to impede navigation. | ||
A page of about 30 kB to 50 kB of readable prose, which roughly corresponds to 4,000 to 10,000 words, takes between 30 and 40 minutes to read at [[reading speed|average speed]], which is right on the limit of the average [[Attention span|concentration span]] of 40 to 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-aP30hEFB6sC&pg=PA231#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Management for Engineers, Scientists and Technologists |author= John V. Chelsom, Andrew C. Payne, Lawrence R. P. Reavill|page=231|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|date= 8 Apr 2005 |accessdate=20 February 2013}}</ref> At 50 kB and above it may benefit the reader to consider moving some sections to other articles and replace them with summaries per [[ | A page of about 30 kB to 50 kB of readable prose, which roughly corresponds to 4,000 to 10,000 words, takes between 30 and 40 minutes to read at [[reading speed|average speed]], which is right on the limit of the average [[Attention span|concentration span]] of 40 to 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-aP30hEFB6sC&pg=PA231#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Management for Engineers, Scientists and Technologists |author= John V. Chelsom, Andrew C. Payne, Lawrence R. P. Reavill|page=231|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|date= 8 Apr 2005 |accessdate=20 February 2013}}</ref> At 50 kB and above it may benefit the reader to consider moving some sections to other articles and replace them with summaries per [[Sarkarverse:Summary style]] - see [[#A rule of thumb|WP:SIZERULE]] for "a rule of thumb". Comprehension of standard texts at average reading speed is around 65%. | ||
Articles that cover particularly technical subjects should, in general, be shorter than articles on less technical subjects. While expert readers of such articles may accept complexity and length provided the article is well written, the general reader requires clarity and conciseness. Most articles do not need to be excessively long; however, there are times when a long or very long article is unavoidable, though its complexity should be minimized. ''Readability is a key criterion.'' | Articles that cover particularly technical subjects should, in general, be shorter than articles on less technical subjects. While expert readers of such articles may accept complexity and length provided the article is well written, the general reader requires clarity and conciseness. Most articles do not need to be excessively long; however, there are times when a long or very long article is unavoidable, though its complexity should be minimized. ''Readability is a key criterion.'' | ||
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===Lists, tables and summaries=== | ===Lists, tables and summaries=== | ||
{{Shortcut|WP:SPLITLIST}} | {{Shortcut|WP:SPLITLIST}} | ||
Lists, tables, and other material that is already in summary form may not be appropriate for reducing or summarizing further by the [[ | Lists, tables, and other material that is already in summary form may not be appropriate for reducing or summarizing further by the [[Sarkarverse:Summary style|summary style]] method. If there is no "natural" way to split or reduce a long list or table, it may be best to leave it intact, and a decision made to either keep it [[WP:Embedded lists|embedded]] in the main article or [[Sarkarverse:SPINOFF|split it off]] into a [[WP:Stand-alone lists|stand-alone sub-article]]. Regardless, a list or table should be kept as short as is feasible for its purpose and scope. Too much statistical data is against [[WP:NOT#STATS|policy]]. | ||
==Technical issues== | ==Technical issues== | ||
{{See| | {{See|Sarkarverse:Browser notes|l1=Browser notes}} | ||
Total article size should be kept reasonably low, because many users edit from low-speed connections including [[dial-up]] connections, [[smartphones]], and low-end broadband connections. The text on a 32kB page takes about five seconds to load for editing on a dial-up connection, with accompanying images taking additional time, so pages significantly larger than this are difficult for older browsers to display. Articles of about 200kB (~30 pages) are not uncommon for topics that require depth and detail, but it's typical that articles of such size get [[WP:SPLIT|split]] into two or more sub-articles. | Total article size should be kept reasonably low, because many users edit from low-speed connections including [[dial-up]] connections, [[smartphones]], and low-end broadband connections. The text on a 32kB page takes about five seconds to load for editing on a dial-up connection, with accompanying images taking additional time, so pages significantly larger than this are difficult for older browsers to display. Articles of about 200kB (~30 pages) are not uncommon for topics that require depth and detail, but it's typical that articles of such size get [[WP:SPLIT|split]] into two or more sub-articles. | ||
[[Mobile browser]]s can be a problem because these devices usually have little memory and a slow CPU; long pages can take too much time to process, if they can be fully loaded at all. When using slow connections, e.g., a desktop computer with an analog modem dial-up or the wireless connection of some mobile devices, long articles can take too much time to load. For notes on unrelated problems that various web browsers have with MediaWiki sites, and for a list of alternative browsers you can download, see [[ | [[Mobile browser]]s can be a problem because these devices usually have little memory and a slow CPU; long pages can take too much time to process, if they can be fully loaded at all. When using slow connections, e.g., a desktop computer with an analog modem dial-up or the wireless connection of some mobile devices, long articles can take too much time to load. For notes on unrelated problems that various web browsers have with MediaWiki sites, and for a list of alternative browsers you can download, see [[Sarkarverse:Browser notes]]. | ||
The maximum limit for | The maximum limit for Sarkarverse is set by the MediaWiki software [[mw:Manual:$wgMaxArticleSize|default article size limit]], 2048 kilobytes. | ||
==Splitting an article== | ==Splitting an article== | ||
{{shortcut|WP:SPINOUT|WP:SUBARTICLE}} | {{shortcut|WP:SPINOUT|WP:SUBARTICLE}} | ||
{{main| | {{main|Sarkarverse:Splitting}} | ||
{{details| | {{details|Sarkarverse:Summary style}} | ||
Very large articles should be [[ | Very large articles should be [[Sarkarverse:Splitting|split]] into logically separate articles. Long [[Sarkarverse:Stand-alone lists|stand-alone list articles]] are split into subsequent pages alphabetically, numerically, or subtopically. For non-mainspace articles, consider splitting and [[Sarkarverse:Transclusion|transcluding]] into the split parts. | ||
When you split a section from a long article into an independent article, you should leave a short summary of the material that is removed along with a pointer to the independent article. In the independent article, put the {{t1|SubArticle}} or {{tl|Summary in}} tag on the talk page to create a banner that refers back to the main article. | When you split a section from a long article into an independent article, you should leave a short summary of the material that is removed along with a pointer to the independent article. In the independent article, put the {{t1|SubArticle}} or {{tl|Summary in}} tag on the talk page to create a banner that refers back to the main article. | ||
To conform with [[WP:C| | To conform with [[WP:C|Sarkarverse's licensing requirements]], which permit modification and reuse but require attribution of the content contributors, the new page should be created with an [[Help:Edit summary|edit summary]] noting "split content from <nowiki>[[article name]]</nowiki>". ('''Do not omit this step or omit the page name.''') A note should also be made in the edit summary of the source article, "split content to <nowiki>[[article name]]</nowiki>", to protect against the article subsequently being deleted and the history of the new page eradicated. The {{tl|Copied}} template can also be placed on the talk page of both articles. | ||
===No need for haste=== | ===No need for haste=== | ||
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===Breaking out trivial or controversial sections=== | ===Breaking out trivial or controversial sections=== | ||
{{details| | {{details|Sarkarverse:Content forking}} | ||
A relatively trivial fact may be appropriate in the context of the larger article, but inappropriate as the topic of an entire article in itself. In most cases, it is a violation of the [[ | A relatively trivial fact may be appropriate in the context of the larger article, but inappropriate as the topic of an entire article in itself. In most cases, it is a violation of the [[Sarkarverse:Neutral point of view|neutral point of view]] to specifically break out a ''controversial'' section without leaving an adequate summary. It also violates the neutral point of view policy to create a new article specifically to contain information that consensus has rejected from the main article. Consider other organizational principles for splitting the article, and be sure that both the title and content of the broken-out article reflect a neutral point of view. | ||
===Breaking out an unwanted section=== | ===Breaking out an unwanted section=== | ||
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| style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center;"| < 40 kB || Length alone does not justify division | | style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center;"| < 40 kB || Length alone does not justify division | ||
|- | |- | ||
| style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; width:10%;"| < 1 kB || If an article or list has remained this size for over a couple of months, consider combining it with a related page. Alternatively, why not fix it by adding more info? See [[ | | style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; width:10%;"| < 1 kB || If an article or list has remained this size for over a couple of months, consider combining it with a related page. Alternatively, why not fix it by adding more info? See [[Sarkarverse:Stub]]. | ||
|} | |} | ||
;Please note<nowiki>:</nowiki> | ;Please note<nowiki>:</nowiki> | ||
These rules of thumb only apply to readable prose (found by counting the words, perhaps with the help of [[User:Shubinator/DYKcheck|Shubinator's DYK tool]] or [[User:Dr pda/prosesize|Prosesize]]) and ''not'' to wiki markup size (as found on history lists or other means). It also applies somewhat less to [[ | These rules of thumb only apply to readable prose (found by counting the words, perhaps with the help of [[User:Shubinator/DYKcheck|Shubinator's DYK tool]] or [[User:Dr pda/prosesize|Prosesize]]) and ''not'' to wiki markup size (as found on history lists or other means). It also applies somewhat less to [[Sarkarverse:Disambiguation|disambiguation]] pages and naturally do not apply to [[Sarkarverse:Redirect|redirects]]. They also apply less strongly to [[Sarkarverse:List guideline|list]] articles, especially if splitting them would require breaking up a [[Help:Sorting|sortable]] table. | ||
==Content removal== | ==Content removal== | ||
{{main|WP:Content removal}} | {{main|WP:Content removal}} | ||
Content should not be removed from articles simply to reduce length; see [[ | Content should not be removed from articles simply to reduce length; see [[Sarkarverse:Content removal#Reasons]] for acceptable reasons. | ||
==How to find articles by markup size== | ==How to find articles by markup size== | ||
The largest articles (by markup size, ''not'' readable prose size on which the above size guideline is based) are listed at [[Special:Longpages]]. | The largest articles (by markup size, ''not'' readable prose size on which the above size guideline is based) are listed at [[Special:Longpages]]. | ||
You can find the size of the markup of a page in [[byte]]s from its [[WP:page history|page history]] (near the bottom). Also the [[ | You can find the size of the markup of a page in [[byte]]s from its [[WP:page history|page history]] (near the bottom). Also the [[Sarkarverse:Searching|search]] box entry: <code>intitle:Article title</code> will show both number of words in the article and the size of the article in kilobytes. In most cases these are not reliable indications on their own of whether an article should be split. | ||
Note that the ability to [[ | Note that the ability to [[Sarkarverse:Section|edit a section rather than the entire page]] decreases wait time, removing some of the many, oversized-page problems for ''editors''; however, ''readers'' with slow modems will still have to wait for the entire page to load. | ||
You can set your preferences (by changing the "Threshold for stub link formatting" under the "Appearance" menu) to make links to pages smaller than a certain size appear in a different colour. | You can set your preferences (by changing the "Threshold for stub link formatting" under the "Appearance" menu) to make links to pages smaller than a certain size appear in a different colour. | ||
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If you have encountered an article that is so long you can't edit it, or if your browser chops off the end of the article when you try to edit it, there are a few ways you can solve the problem. | If you have encountered an article that is so long you can't edit it, or if your browser chops off the end of the article when you try to edit it, there are a few ways you can solve the problem. | ||
The best permanent solution is to simply upgrade to a more modern web browser, if possible. No major modern web browsers have this problem on their recent versions, and there are many other benefits to upgrading to their latest version: more recent versions will be considerably more secure, will do a better job displaying content written to more modern HTML (and other standards), and will have fixed many bugs, besides this one. Many articles on | The best permanent solution is to simply upgrade to a more modern web browser, if possible. No major modern web browsers have this problem on their recent versions, and there are many other benefits to upgrading to their latest version: more recent versions will be considerably more secure, will do a better job displaying content written to more modern HTML (and other standards), and will have fixed many bugs, besides this one. Many articles on Sarkarverse may be longer than 32kB on a permanent basis, so you will continue to have occasional problems with article length as long as you are using an older browser. | ||
As a temporary solution, you should be able to edit the article one [[ | As a temporary solution, you should be able to edit the article one [[Sarkarverse:Section|section]] at a time by using the "Edit" links you see next to each header in the article. This should work as long as none of the ''sections'' are longer than 32kB, which they really shouldn't be. You can edit text ''before'' the first section by editing the first section, then changing the <code>§ion=1</code> part of the URL to <code>§ion=0</code>. (See [[bugzilla:156]] and two JavaScript workarounds: [[Sarkarverse:WikiProject User scripts/Scripts/Edit Top|1]], [[Sarkarverse:WikiProject User scripts/Scripts/Add edit section 0|2]].) You can insert a new section either by using the "{{MediaWiki:Addsection}}" link (if there is one) in the "Views" section, or by editing an existing section and explicitly adding a second header line within it. See also [[Sarkarverse:Section#Section editing|Section editing]] and [[meta:Help:Section#Editing before the first section|Editing before the first section]]. | ||
If you find a section too long to edit correctly and safely, you can post a request for assistance on the [[ | If you find a section too long to edit correctly and safely, you can post a request for assistance on the [[Sarkarverse:Help desk|help desk]]. Follow the "New section" link, which will allow you to post a new comment without editing any existing text. | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*[[ | *[[Sarkarverse:Abundance and redundancy]] | ||
*[[ | *[[Sarkarverse:Article series]] | ||
*[[ | *[[Sarkarverse:Scope]] | ||
*[[WP:TOPIC]] | *[[WP:TOPIC]] | ||
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{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
{{ | {{Sarkarverse policies and guidelines}} | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Sarkarverse page help|{{PAGENAME}}]] | ||