Help:Sub-wikis

A sub-wiki is a subject’s own home page and collection of nested articles inside lolcow.city. Accounts, permissions, editing tools, and revision history are shared with the main site.

Choose a page layout

Open an existing article’s Page options tab. Choose Regular article or Sub-wiki home, then save. A person, community, project, or general article can use either layout.

A regular article uses the standard wiki presentation. A sub-wiki home adds a landing-page design and local tools for browsing and creating pages beneath it. Switching layout keeps the article’s text, revision history, child pages, and existing addresses. Child articles keep their regular layout; change the collection’s layout on its standalone home page.

Create a new sub-wiki

1. Open Create a page and choose the appropriate subject type.
2. Under Page layout, choose Sub-wiki home.
3. Enter the subject’s name and start editing.
4. Write a sourced introduction and save.

New pages default to Regular article without a timeline. You can change both choices later in Page options. Confirmed editors can change these options, and ordinary page protection still applies.

Page types

Choose a page type before opening the editor. Existing articles can be reclassified with Change page type beneath their title or Page type in their tools. The page's text, address and history are preserved. Page type and page layout are separate choices: a Person profile or Community can use either layout.

Optional timelines

In Page options, check Show a timeline on this page to add the Timeline tab and event section. On the page-creation form, the equivalent choice is Include a timeline. Each page makes this choice independently.

Turning a timeline off hides its tab and embedded event section. It keeps all saved events, sources, locks, Trash, and revision history, so turning it on again restores the same timeline. Saved events remain readable at the existing timeline address while the feature is off. Events must be edited through the timeline editor; administrators continue to manage locks and recovery.

The site main page cannot have a timeline. An existing timeline with saved data stays enabled unless an editor explicitly turns it off.

Add articles and nested topics

Use Add a page in the hub’s local menu. Keep the hub selected as the related subject. Enter Media/The Act to create two levels beneath the home page. Names become readable address segments, with spaces converted to hyphens. The form previews the resulting address.

Inside a topic, Add a subpage here pre-fills that topic as the parent. You can nest up to eight levels. Timeline is reserved for managed event data; create and edit it through the event editor.

Navigation and discovery

• The hub’s All pages directory searches titles only within that sub-wiki and loads 40 entries per page.
• Breadcrumbs link back through parent topics.
• The compact navigation within each sub-wiki provides its home, directory, optional wiki timeline, source library, recent changes, and page creation.
• The site sidebar has one shared Sub-wikis section with links to explore, start a sub-wiki, and read this guide. Individual sub-wikis use their local navigation, keeping the sidebar compact.
• Hub and child-page edits continue to update the profile’s position in the main site’s recently updated list.
• Explore sub-wikis lists the available homes.

Edit the top bar and home page directory

Click Edit navigation on a sub-wiki’s bar. The same editor has two tabs:

• Top bar: rename the navigation title and links, choose destination pages, and move links up or down.
• Home page directory: rename groups, arrange their links, and add or remove groups. This directory appears automatically on the sub-wiki home.

Choose an existing page from the suggestions, or enter its path beneath the subject. The preview updates as you edit. Use Undo removal if you remove a link or group by mistake. Nothing changes publicly until you select Save navigation.

Each sub-wiki has its own navigation. New sub-wikis start with links to their overview and existing pages. Timelines remain optional. Confirmed editors can save changes, subject to normal page protection, and earlier settings can be recovered using Navigation history.

Choose a sub-wiki to edit its navigation.

Home-page layout

Use Template:Sub-wiki card inside a sh-card-grid container for topic cards. Keep the page editable: add internal wiki links and references rather than hardcoding a second website.

Addresses and history

The friendly address is a route to the native MediaWiki page. Editing, talk pages, protection, history, and the API continue to use normal page titles. Existing native links still reach the same article. Images and templates remain shared with lolcow.city.