Guide to a Wiki-Style Factbook, Embassies, and Consulates

[Indian Empire]

http://www.nationstates.net/nation=indi ... /id=225667

forgot the link, sir.

[Anollasia]

Can anyone suggest any changes to mine?

What Indian Empire said, plus putting a few more visuals can't hurt.

[Araucia]

What do you think about my factbook? I think I did a decent job, but it's mostly because I blatantly and unashamedly plagiarized several Wikipedia pages. Anyway, I'm looking for a good RP region, I'm open to any suggestions.

[Indian Empire]

What do you think about my factbook? I think I did a decent job, but it's mostly because I blatantly and unashamedly plagiarized several Wikipedia pages. Anyway, I'm looking for a good RP region, I'm open to any suggestions.

Hmmm....

Not bad, how long did you spend on that thing?

[Araucia]

Hmmm....

Not bad, how long did you spend on that thing?

2/3 days, most of which were actually spent doing other stuff.

[Anollasia]

What do you think about my factbook? I think I did a decent job, but it's mostly because I blatantly and unashamedly plagiarized several Wikipedia pages. Anyway, I'm looking for a good RP region, I'm open to any suggestions.

Good, except for the fact that you plagiarized and that you added [nation] and [region] because those don't look so good.

[Araucia]

Good, except for the fact that you plagiarized and that you added [nation] and [region] because those don't look so good.

My plagiarism of the Wikipedia pages of Argentina and Chile actually makes some sort of sense, since Araucia's based on a short-lived nation that actually existed IRL in that region. It's one of those states that should've had a better fate, and not just because it was founded by an adventurer whose life would make a great movie. Alas, history doesn't always go the way you want it to go.

[Federation of Trelatche]

.

you should split up that history section a bit with subheadings, so that each "era" is more clearly defined and easier to read

[Indian Empire]

Hmmm....

Not bad, how long did you spend on that thing?

2/3 days, most of which were actually spent doing other stuff.

I spent 6 hours on my one finished one. Totally worth it.

[Anollasia]

It doesn't matter how quick you do it, but the quality of it matters.

[Jute]

Again, thank you so much for it - the layout is awesome!
http://www.nationstates.net/nation=jute ... /id=308624

[North South West Somalia]

Can someone explain how to insert a photo?

[North South West Somalia]

Ponderosa’s Guide to a Wiki Style Factbook

How often have you come across a bloggy factbook, consisting of multiple articles with only a few sentences each? A wiki-style factbook allows you to condense a lot of information in only one factbook, and looks much more professional.

Wiki style factbooks are inspired from Wikipedia articles and other wikias. In this guide, I will show you how to create an article that is highly informative, organized, and visually appealing.

Disclaimer: This guide is designed for the gameside factbooks, found on your nation page. Some codes and templates do not work well on forumside factbooks. If you have any questions, please submit them in the thread here. I prefer not to receive telegrams with questions.

Contents

Sidebar
Title and Introduction
Table of Contents
Body
Images
Template Source Code

Sidebar
This is a major part of a wiki factbook. It provides quick facts and statistics about your nation.
What to Include

- Nation name and pretitle
- Flag
- Motto
- Anthem Title
- Small map or orthographic showing where your nation is located (no details!)
- Capital and Largest City
- Demonym
- Government (e.g., national leader, legislature, etc)
- Geographic Statistics (land area, water percentage, etc)
- GDP
- And more. See my factbook or Wikipedia entries to draw inspiration.

How to make it
The sidebar will be the very first thing in your factbook code. It will involve the use of [box] and [floatright] tags.
1) Put a [box] and a [floatright] tag at the beginning of the code.
2) Start filling in information! Use small images for your flag and orthographic, and divide each section with underscores or [.hr] tags.
3) Finish the sidebar with the appropriate end tags

Sidebar Template

Code: Select all

[floatright][box][center][b]The PRETITLE of NATION[/b]
[hr]

INSERT FLAG HERE
[b]Flag[/b]
[hr]

[b]Motto: [/b]
[hr]

NSERT SMALL MAP OR ORTHOGRAPHIC
[b]Location[/b]
[hr][/center]

[b]Population:[/b]
[b]-Density:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Capital:[/b]
[b]Largest City:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Official Language:[/b]
[hr]
[b]National Language:[/b]
[hr]
[b]Demonym:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Government[/b]
- President:
- Vice President:
- Speaker of the House:
- Chief Justice:
[hr]

[b]Legislature[/b]:
- Upper House:
-Lower House:
[hr]

[b]Establishment:[/b] from (INSERT OTHER NATION)
Independence: INSERT FOUNDING DATE
[hr]

[b]Land Area:[/b] mile²
                          km²
Water Area: km²
Water %:
[hr]


[b]Elevation[/b]
Highest Point:
Lowest Point:
[hr]

[b]GDP (nominal):[/b]
[b]GDP (nominal) per capita:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Human Development Index (NS Version):[/b]
[hr]

[b]Currency:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Time Zone:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Drives on the:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Calling code:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Internet TLD:[/b]

[/box][/floatright]

Title and Introduction
The title of your factbook is automatically set across the top of the page. There is no way to remove it. If you’d like a second, more colorful title, feel free to add it.

Your introduction section is basically a summary of your nation. The first paragraph is typically a description of where your nation is located, which nations border it, and a list of territories. The second paragraph (often merged with the first) is a brief description of your nation’s geography, usually including land area and population.

The next few paragraphs are often a summary of your nation’s history. If you’re like me and can’t be bothered to write a very detailed history of your nation, leave it all for the body.

The final paragraph of your introduction describes your nation’s position in the present day. It is essentially a ego-rub that brags about your nation’s economic status, positions of world power, and freedoms. If you’d like, you could otherwise use this space to talk about how dirt-poor your nation is. It doesn't matter. Nobody’s going to read it anyway.

Remember, leave details to the body paragraphs!

Table of Contents
If you want a bit of a challenge, you can add a table of contents to your factbook. This typically comes after your introduction. This involves the use of [anchor] and [url] tags.

1) Write your Table of Contents without any BB code. Just a list format.
2) Put [box] and [floatleft] tags at the beginning of the list, and put the necessary / tags at the end of the list.
3) Publish your factbook and obtain the url (or internet address).
4) Go back to the editing page. Put [url]tags at the beginning of each item, and paste the url into the tag.
5) Add a hashtag and some other word that will identify the part of the wiki that the table of contents will link to. The code for your table of contents should look something like this:

Code: Select all

[box][floatleft][b][center]Contents[/center][/b]
[url=http://www.nationstates.net/nation=ponderosa/detail=factbook/id=97589#Ety]1 Etymology[/url]
[url=http://www.nationstates.net/nation=ponderosa/detail=factbook/id=97589#Hist]2 History[/url]
[url=http://www.nationstates.net/nation=ponderosa/detail=factbook/id=97589#Geo]3 Geography[/url]
[/box][/floatleft]


6) Go to each section of your factbook and add [anchor] tags to each section’s title. [anchor=] will allow you to link each section to the table of contents. For example, to link to the table of contents above, use the code below.

Code: Select all

[b][u][size=150][anchor=Ety][/anchor]Etymology[/size][/u][/b]
[b][u][size=150][anchor=Hist][/anchor]History[/size][/u][/b]
[b][u][size=150][anchor=Geo][/anchor]Geography[/size][/u][/b]


Body
This is going to be the meat of your factbook, where all the tiny details you excluded above will now be recorded. If you have even more in-depth articles, you can add an indented link to your “main article” like so:

Code: Select all

[list][i][url=http://www.nationstates.net/nation=ponderosa/detail=factbook/id=97593]Main Article: Religion and Religious Policy in Ponderosa[/url][/i][/list]

Main Article: Religion and Religious Policy in Ponderosa

The body can really have whatever you want in it, but popular sections include Etymology, History, Geography, Demographics, Government, Military, Economy, Infrastructure, Culture, and more.

Images
I've received several questions on how to post images in your factbook, and I will attempt to answer them. You will need to upload your images to an image-sharing site, such as Photobucket, Tinypic, or Imgur. For the purposes of this guide, I will demonstrate how to use Imgur to upload images.

1) Go to [url=imgur.com].
2) Under the "Upload images" header, you will see a link that says "Computer." Click on that.
3) A window will open, allowing you to search for and select your file from your computer. Select your file, and click "Open."
4) After uploading the image, you will arrive at a new page on which your image is in the center. If you like the image, copy the code under the heading "BBCode (message boards & forums)."
5) Paste the code into your factbook.

Now you have your image! However, you may not like the size. Luckily, back on step 4, there is a link in the upper-right that says "Edit image." After clicking that, you can resize your image using the box in the upper-right. Make sure the proportions are locked! Once you've set the image to the preferred size, click "Apply", then "Save."

Template Source Code
As part of this guide, I have included the source code for a wiki factbook template. If you don’t understand this guide, or just don’t want to read it, you can simply copy/paste this template and fill in the information.

Code: Select all

[floatright][box][center][b]The PRETITLE of NATION[/b]
[hr]

INSERT FLAG HERE
[b]Flag[/b]
[hr]

[b]Motto: [/b]
[hr]

NSERT SMALL MAP OR ORTHOGRAPHIC
[b]Location[/b]
[hr][/center]

[b]Population:[/b]
[b]-Density:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Capital:[/b]
[b]Largest City:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Official Language:[/b]
[hr]
[b]National Language:[/b]
[hr]
[b]Demonym:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Government[/b]
- President:
- Vice President:
- Speaker of the House:
- Chief Justice:
[hr]

[b]Legislature[/b]:
- Upper House:
-Lower House:
[hr]

[b]Establishment:[/b] from (INSERT OTHER NATION)
Independence: INSERT FOUNDING DATE
[hr]

[b]Land Area:[/b] mile²
                          km²
Water Area: km²
Water %:
[hr]


[b]Elevation[/b]
Highest Point:
Lowest Point:
[hr]

[b]GDP (nominal):[/b]
[b]GDP (nominal) per capita:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Human Development Index (NS Version):[/b]
[hr]

[b]Currency:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Time Zone:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Drives on the:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Calling code:[/b]
[hr]

[b]Internet TLD:[/b]

[/box][/floatright]
[size=200][b]NATION NAME[/size][/b]
[hr]

The PRETITLE of NATION commonly called NATION, is a GOVERNMENT TYPE in LOCATION. It is bordered on the north by OTHER-NATION, on the south by OTHER-NATION, by the east by OTHER-NATION and on the west by OTHER-NATION. NATION covers LAND AREAsquare kilometers and has has an estimated population of POPULATION. NATION comprises of NUMBER SUBDIVISIONS and NUMBER TERRITORIES.

DESCRIPTION OF YOUR NATION’S ROLE IN THE WORLD

[floatleft][box][center]Contents[/center]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#Ety]1 Etymology[/url]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#Hist]2 History[/url]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#Geo]3 Geography[/url]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#Demo]4 Demographics[/url]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#Pop]4.1 Population[/url]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#Lan]4.2 Language[/url]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#Reli]4.3 Race[/url]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#City]4.4 Largest Cities[/url]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#Govt]5 Government[/url]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#FRM]5.1 Foreign Relations and Military[/url]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#Econ]6 Economy[/url]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#Cult]7 Culture[/url]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#Infra]8 Infrastructure[/url]
[url=INSERT-FACTBOOK-URL#Energy]8.1 Energy[/url]
[/box][/floatleft]

[b][u][size=150][anchor=Ety]Etymology[/anchor][/b][/u][/size]

DESCRIBE ORIGIN OF NATION NAME

The standard way to refer to a citizen of NATION is as a "DEMONYM."

[b][u][size=150][anchor=Hist]History[/anchor][/b][/u][/size]

DESCRIBE HISTORY

[b][u][size=150][anchor=Geo]Geography[/anchor][/b][/u][/size]

DESCRIBE GEOGRAPHY

DESCRIBE CLIMATE

DESCRIBE ENVIRONMENT

INSERT MAP

[b][u][size=150][anchor=Demo]Demographics[/anchor][/b][/u][/size]

[b][u][anchor=Pop]Population[/anchor][/b][/u]
DESCRIBE POPULATION

[u][b][anchor=Lan]Language[/anchor][/b][/u]
DESCRIBE LANGUAGE

[u][b][anchor=Reli]Religion[/anchor][/b][/u]

DESCRIBE RELIGION

[u][b][anchor=Race]Race[/anchor][/b][/u]
DESCRIBE RACE

[u][b][anchor=City]Largest Cities[/anchor][/b][/u]
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)

[b][u][size=150][anchor=Govt]Government[/anchor][/b][/u][/size]

DESCRIBE GOVERNMENT

[b][u][anchor=FRM]Foreign Relations and Military[/anchor][/b][/u]

DESCRIBE DIPLOMACY

DESCRIBE MILITARY

[b][u][size=150][anchor=Econ]Economy[/anchor][/b][/u][/size]

[floatright][box]
[center][b][u]Economic Indicators[/b][/u][/center]
[b]Rank:[/b]
[b]Currency:[/b]
[b]Fiscal Year:[/b]
[hr]
[b]GDP (nominal):[/b]
[b]GDP (nominal) per capita:[/b]
[b]Labor Force:[/b]
[b]Unemployment:[/b]
[/floatright][/box]

DESCRIBE ECONOMY

[size=150][b][u][anchor=Cult]Culture[/anchor][/size][/b][/u]

DESCRIBE CULTURE

[size=150][b][u][anchor=Infra]Infrastructure[/anchor][/size][/b][/u]

DESCRIBE INFRASTRUCTURE

[b][u][anchor=Energy]Energy[/anchor][/b][/u]
DESCRIBE ENERGY

Template by [nation=Ponderosa]


Previous thread located [url=http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=13419]here[/url].

I am having a hard time adding photos. Any advice?

[Todlichebujoku]

1. Upload your photo to an image hosting site (for example imgur or Photobucket) or use a picture's URL.
2. Copy the direct URL and paste it between the [img] tags; make sure the picture is below 900 pixels tall and wide (not sure about factbook limit actually, this is the forum limit).

[Federation of Trelatche]

not sure about factbook limit actually, this is the forum limit

Factbooks can handle unlimited image sizes, if it's too big to fit in the window, then it'll automatically shrink to fit

[Todlichebujoku]

not sure about factbook limit actually, this is the forum limit

Factbooks can handle unlimited image sizes, if it's too big to fit in the window, then it'll automatically shrink to fit

Oh, that's nice to know.

[Stormwrath]

I did some revisions on my wiki entry. What do you think?

[Anollasia]

I did some revisions on my wiki entry. What do you think?

You could have more visuals.

[Union Of Canadorian Socialists Republic]

Creating a factbook page for my largest city. Estimated time for completion: 2 years. Damn my procrastination.

[Federation of Trelatche]

Creating a factbook page for my largest city. Estimated time for completion: 2 years. Damn my procrastination.

At least you've started I guess

[K viesis]

I am redoing my nation's factbook. Thank you for this. The part that you put in the end was perfect. It made my job of being lazy a whole lot easier!

[Roherst]

not sure what's up with this but trying to get the side bar set up and it won't work, the box I might have messed up, but the main unsolvable issue is it won't hang right like I've seen on Pondarosa's and be smaller

[Todlichebujoku]

not sure what's up with this but trying to get the side bar set up and it won't work, the box I might have messed up, but the main unsolvable issue is it won't hang right like I've seen on Pondarosa's and be smaller

Is the sidebar too big? If so, make the longest line or widest image in it shorter and it should shrink, depending on how many long lines/wide images you have.

[Roherst]

not sure what's up with this but trying to get the side bar set up and it won't work, the box I might have messed up, but the main unsolvable issue is it won't hang right like I've seen on Pondarosa's and be smaller

Is the sidebar too big? If so, make the longest line or widest image in it shorter and it should shrink, depending on how many long lines/wide images you have.

thanks, its fixed now

[Prokhogorsk]

I'd like to say a massive thanks to Ponderosa for this amazing template and also a thankyou to Daskoxian for creating his edit version which I also found to be a great addition!

http://www.nationstates.net/nation=prokhogorsk/detail=factbook/id=314671

This is mine, which is coming along very nicely, if anyone would like to take a look at it.