Forgotten Realms Wiki:Help-Converting from Wikipedia

Although in principle there is no reason why articles can't be taken from Wikipedia, some work is most likely required to make sure that the article fits in here.

Use the Wikipedia template
Because the page history is lost when the article is initially taken from Wikipedia, a link should be provided back to the original article so that its history and contributors can be seen. This can easily be achieved with the use of the   template, as follows:

This produces:

Fix broken images
If you copy across an article, the images won't automatically be copied. You have three options where images are concerned:
 * Bring the images across from Wikipedia (subject to copyrights)
 * Supply alternative images to replace the ones that were in the original Wikipedia article
 * Remove the images altogether

The list is, in general, in order of preference. Only remove the images from the article if you cannot bring them across from Wikipedia and cannot find any suitable alternatives to use.

Fix broken templates
Many templates on Wikipedia are also applicable to this wiki, but not all. However, just because a template exists on Wikipedia does not mean it exists here. You have a few options here:
 * Bring the template across from Wikipedia
 * Find another suitable way of representing the information in the template
 * Remove the template and the information it contains

The list is, in general, in order of preference. It is quite likely that a direct copy of a Wikipedia template won't work here, for any of the following reasons:
 * The version of MediaWiki here is earlier than that at Wikipedia
 * The template relies on other templates that don't yet exist here
 * The template uses stylesheet information from a Wikipedia stylesheet that is not in the stylesheets here

If you cannot get the template to work, it would be preferrable to rewrite the template in a feasible way. If this is still beyond your ability, you will have no choice but to leave it out.

Fix broken categories
It's likely that your article will be in Wikipedia categories that do not exist here. Do not simply create these categories! Most of them are not appropriate. For example, Artemis Entreri on Wikipedia is in the "Fictional assassins" category, but this category would simply be called "assassins" on this wiki&mdash;that is, if the category is needed at all.

If you are in doubt about what category an article should be in, prefer existing categories rather than creating new ones, because these are hard to remove and can cause problems if lots of articles end up in the wrong category. If you cannot find any suitable existing categories, simply do not categorize the article. Someone else is bound to sift through the uncategorized articles and categorize it for you.

Change article context
Articles in this wiki should be written, where possible, from the point of view that the Forgotten Realms are real. Most articles on Wikipedia will not be written like this, and most contain additional clauses to clarify that the article is about the Forgotten Realms, which are not needed here.

Example Wikipedia excerpt
"Artemis Entreri is a fictional character in the Dungeons & Dragons-based Forgotten Realms setting. Entreri is depicted as a ruthless assassin and the arch-nemesis of Drizzt Do'Urden, the protagonistic dark elf."

Example with context changed
"Artemis Entreri is a ruthless assassin and the arch-nemesis of Drizzt Do'Urden, the protagonistic dark elf."

Fix broken links
Note that this does not mean "get rid of all the red links"&mdash;this wiki still has many missing articles and red links are inevitable at this stage. Some links on Wikipedia need to be disambiguated because there are other articles with similar names, but that might not apply here.

Example Wikipedia link
In this example, there are other articles on Wikipedia with the name "Damara" so this link refers to the Damara article concerned the Forgotten Realms. Damara

Example with link fixed
Since we are only concerned with the Forgotten Realms at this wiki, the only article with the title "Damara" must be the one that relates to the Forgotten Realms! Damara

Discuss!
This is what the talk page is for! If you create an article but you need help to get it looking the way you want, or you have any other difficulties or questions, you can use the article's talk page. Don't be hesitant to express yourself on the talk pages&mdash;this wiki is not quite as formal as Wikipedia!