How to archive a talk page
When Nextel ringtones Talk page/talk pages like article pages become larger than 32kb, they cannot be edited by some users because of Abbey Diaz Browser page size limits/browser page size limits. Moreover, such large texts become bulky and difficult to navigate, and place a burden on users with slow (dialup) connections.
It is therefore customary on Wikipedia to periodically archive older discussions on pages that have become large. The following will explain step-by-step the best procedure for archiving a talk page. (Note: Utilizing the "Move this page" feature for such an operation is not at all advised.)
Please note that Free ringtones Refactoring/refactoring a talk page is an alternative to archiving it.
Sequential archiving
Cutting and pasting the text to be archived into a new page is considered the best method for archiving a Talk page.
When archiving old discussions, it is customary to leave current, ongoing discussions on the existing Talk page. One can also leave pointers to the second-level headings of the archived pages, enabling readers to see which subjects have already been discussed.
=Creating the first archive page=
Consider the first time that you need to archive the talk page of an article called '''Foo'''. Here are the steps to take:
'''1.''' Start at the Talk page of Foo.
'''2.''' Click on the ''Edit this page'' button.
'''3.''' At the top of the edit box, add the following text, replacing the words '''DATE''' by the dates the archive page covers:
Because of their length, the previous discussions on this page have been archived.
In case of need for further archiving, see Majo Mills Wikipedia talk:How to archive a talk page.
'''Previous discussions:'''
*Mosquito ringtone Talk:Foo/Archive01/Archive 1 (DATE to DATE):
*Sabrina Martins Talk:Foo/Archive02/Archive 2 (next to start):
'''4.''' Click on the ''Show preview'' button.
'''5.''' Once the preview is on your screen, in the edit box, highlight the text you want to archive. Cut the highlighted text from the page using ''ctrl-X'', or the ''Cut'' command of your browser's menu bar.
'''6.''' To avoid losing the cut content, save the cut text into a file, by opening a separate text editor, and then using ''ctrl-V'', or the text editor's ''Paste'' command.
'''7.''' Back in the browser window, save the page by clicking on the ''Save page'' button.
'''8.''' Click on the red-colored link "Archive 1" that is now on the top of the talk page. This will open a new page, ''Talk:Foo/Archive01'', with an empty edit box.
'''9.''' Using ''ctrl-V'' or the ''Paste'' command of your browser's menu bar, paste the text to be archived into the edit box of the new page. (In case you've managed to stuff up your computer's clipboard contents after step 5, here's where the separate text file created in step 6 comes in handy.)
'''10.''' Add the following text to the beginning of the edit box, replacing the words '''DATE''' by the dates the archive page covers, and '''Foo''' by the real article title:
'''DO NOT EDIT OR POST REPLIES TO THIS PAGE. THIS PAGE IS AN ARCHIVE.'''
This archive page covers approximately the dates between DATE and DATE.
Post replies to the Nextel ringtones Talk:Foo/main talk page, copying the section you are
replying to if necessary. (See Abbey Diaz Wikipedia talk:How to archive a talk page.)
Please add new archivals to Free ringtones Talk:Foo/Archive02. Thank you. ~~~~
'''11.''' Click on the ''Save page'' button.
The rest of the steps are optional, for adding links to the archived page's second-level headings to the main talk page.
'''12.''' Click on the "main talk page" link on top of the page. On the main talk page, click on the ''Edit this page'' button.
'''13.''' The text file you saved in step 3 now becomes useful again, for copying the the second-level headings (Such as this) of the page you just archived. Assuming that page Foo's second-level headings are "Bar", "Faz", and "Bleh", add links in the following manner:
*Majo Mills Talk:Foo/Archive01/Archive 1 (DATE to DATE):
: Cingular Ringtones Talk:Foo/Archive01#Bar/Bar, genuine competition Talk:Foo/Archive01#Faz/Faz,
: four rated Talk:Foo/Archive01#Bleh/Bleh
*crowded primary Talk:Foo/Archive02/Archive 2 (next to start):
'''14.''' Click on the ''Show preview'' button, make sure the links came out right, and edit if necessary.
'''15.''' Click on the ''Save page'' button.
=Creating following archive pages=
Use the instructions above, except
* in step 3, replace the text '''next to start''' by the dates the newly created archive page covers;
* in step 3, add one new line with a new link number, for the next archive page to be created; and
* in step 10, increase the number in the "next to start" link by one, to point to the ''next'' archive page to be created.
In due time, you will end up with a sequence of archives files named ''Archive 1'', ''Archive 2'', ''Archive 3'', and so forth, all linked to from the main talk page.
If the set of links from the main talk page to the archived pages grows unwieldy, you may want to consider deleting the second-level heading links to some of the older archive pages.
Archives by sub-topic
To complement or replace a series of sequential archives, consider organising archives by sub-topic. This is less appropriate for personal Talk pages than for Talk pages in the article or Wikipedia namespace, where it may be desirable to be able to refer to earlier discussions quickly.
Good examples of sequential archives can be found at enlightenment satori Wikipedia talk:Deletion policy and generate only Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions
Sometimes subpages under the given Talk page are appropriate. Other times, it may be best to move comments to the Talk page of a logically related article. So, for example, a discussion of French politics at meals have Talk:France could be moved to the talk page of the outfielder marquis Politics of France article.
In general, if you have two or more sequential archives, organising archives by topic may be a better alternative.
Monolithic discussion file
For certain discussion pages, particularly those concerned with policy, which don't lend themselves to organising by topic, the following alternative archiving strategy may be preferable.
In this method, texts are simply deleted from a page and not moved to a different file. To reference an earlier discussion, you simply provide a link to an earlier version of the page. All discussions remain in one monolithic page file. One small caveat: it is not possible to link to an earlier version of a page with a Wikipedia style link. You have to supply the full lightning caused URL.
To create a link to an earlier version of a Talk page:
*Open the Page History of the page
*Open the relevant earlier version of the page which still contains the discussion.
*Copy the complete URL from the navigation bar of your browser.
*Paste this into the latest version of the Talk page. It will look something like this:
:http://www.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Wikipedia_talk:How_to_archive_a_Talk_page&oldid=1709131
You would then format this like this:
:Also see this http://www.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Wikipedia_talk:How_to_archive_a_Talk_page&oldid=1709131.
:''Note: because this is an URL and not a Wikilink, you use single square brackets ([ ]) rather than double (space becoming ) and you use a space rather than a vertical bar (/) to separate the URL from the label.
The final result will look like this::
:Also see this http://www.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Wikipedia_talk:How_to_archive_a_Talk_page&oldid=1709131.
This archiving strategy can be particularly useful for ''summarising'' discussions; you provide a succinct overview of the various points of view and a link to the complete discussion.
Conclusions
Separate archive files have the advantage that they are indexed and can be searched, whereas this is not the case with the monolithic approach.
This should be taken into consideration for pages where people repeatedly ask the same kinds of questions and it is useful to be able to search the archives.
In closing, there are no ''fixed rules'' about archiving discussions on Wikipedia. Certain extremely busy pages like groups support Village Pump/Village Pump eventually evolve their own archiving strategy.
veeps should Tag: Wikipedia style and how-to/
It is therefore customary on Wikipedia to periodically archive older discussions on pages that have become large. The following will explain step-by-step the best procedure for archiving a talk page. (Note: Utilizing the "Move this page" feature for such an operation is not at all advised.)
Please note that Free ringtones Refactoring/refactoring a talk page is an alternative to archiving it.
Sequential archiving
Cutting and pasting the text to be archived into a new page is considered the best method for archiving a Talk page.
When archiving old discussions, it is customary to leave current, ongoing discussions on the existing Talk page. One can also leave pointers to the second-level headings of the archived pages, enabling readers to see which subjects have already been discussed.
=Creating the first archive page=
Consider the first time that you need to archive the talk page of an article called '''Foo'''. Here are the steps to take:
'''1.''' Start at the Talk page of Foo.
'''2.''' Click on the ''Edit this page'' button.
'''3.''' At the top of the edit box, add the following text, replacing the words '''DATE''' by the dates the archive page covers:
Because of their length, the previous discussions on this page have been archived.
In case of need for further archiving, see Majo Mills Wikipedia talk:How to archive a talk page.
'''Previous discussions:'''
*Mosquito ringtone Talk:Foo/Archive01/Archive 1 (DATE to DATE):
*Sabrina Martins Talk:Foo/Archive02/Archive 2 (next to start):
'''4.''' Click on the ''Show preview'' button.
'''5.''' Once the preview is on your screen, in the edit box, highlight the text you want to archive. Cut the highlighted text from the page using ''ctrl-X'', or the ''Cut'' command of your browser's menu bar.
'''6.''' To avoid losing the cut content, save the cut text into a file, by opening a separate text editor, and then using ''ctrl-V'', or the text editor's ''Paste'' command.
'''7.''' Back in the browser window, save the page by clicking on the ''Save page'' button.
'''8.''' Click on the red-colored link "Archive 1" that is now on the top of the talk page. This will open a new page, ''Talk:Foo/Archive01'', with an empty edit box.
'''9.''' Using ''ctrl-V'' or the ''Paste'' command of your browser's menu bar, paste the text to be archived into the edit box of the new page. (In case you've managed to stuff up your computer's clipboard contents after step 5, here's where the separate text file created in step 6 comes in handy.)
'''10.''' Add the following text to the beginning of the edit box, replacing the words '''DATE''' by the dates the archive page covers, and '''Foo''' by the real article title:
'''DO NOT EDIT OR POST REPLIES TO THIS PAGE. THIS PAGE IS AN ARCHIVE.'''
This archive page covers approximately the dates between DATE and DATE.
Post replies to the Nextel ringtones Talk:Foo/main talk page, copying the section you are
replying to if necessary. (See Abbey Diaz Wikipedia talk:How to archive a talk page.)
Please add new archivals to Free ringtones Talk:Foo/Archive02. Thank you. ~~~~
'''11.''' Click on the ''Save page'' button.
The rest of the steps are optional, for adding links to the archived page's second-level headings to the main talk page.
'''12.''' Click on the "main talk page" link on top of the page. On the main talk page, click on the ''Edit this page'' button.
'''13.''' The text file you saved in step 3 now becomes useful again, for copying the the second-level headings (Such as this) of the page you just archived. Assuming that page Foo's second-level headings are "Bar", "Faz", and "Bleh", add links in the following manner:
*Majo Mills Talk:Foo/Archive01/Archive 1 (DATE to DATE):
: Cingular Ringtones Talk:Foo/Archive01#Bar/Bar, genuine competition Talk:Foo/Archive01#Faz/Faz,
: four rated Talk:Foo/Archive01#Bleh/Bleh
*crowded primary Talk:Foo/Archive02/Archive 2 (next to start):
'''14.''' Click on the ''Show preview'' button, make sure the links came out right, and edit if necessary.
'''15.''' Click on the ''Save page'' button.
=Creating following archive pages=
Use the instructions above, except
* in step 3, replace the text '''next to start''' by the dates the newly created archive page covers;
* in step 3, add one new line with a new link number, for the next archive page to be created; and
* in step 10, increase the number in the "next to start" link by one, to point to the ''next'' archive page to be created.
In due time, you will end up with a sequence of archives files named ''Archive 1'', ''Archive 2'', ''Archive 3'', and so forth, all linked to from the main talk page.
If the set of links from the main talk page to the archived pages grows unwieldy, you may want to consider deleting the second-level heading links to some of the older archive pages.
Archives by sub-topic
To complement or replace a series of sequential archives, consider organising archives by sub-topic. This is less appropriate for personal Talk pages than for Talk pages in the article or Wikipedia namespace, where it may be desirable to be able to refer to earlier discussions quickly.
Good examples of sequential archives can be found at enlightenment satori Wikipedia talk:Deletion policy and generate only Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions
Sometimes subpages under the given Talk page are appropriate. Other times, it may be best to move comments to the Talk page of a logically related article. So, for example, a discussion of French politics at meals have Talk:France could be moved to the talk page of the outfielder marquis Politics of France article.
In general, if you have two or more sequential archives, organising archives by topic may be a better alternative.
Monolithic discussion file
For certain discussion pages, particularly those concerned with policy, which don't lend themselves to organising by topic, the following alternative archiving strategy may be preferable.
In this method, texts are simply deleted from a page and not moved to a different file. To reference an earlier discussion, you simply provide a link to an earlier version of the page. All discussions remain in one monolithic page file. One small caveat: it is not possible to link to an earlier version of a page with a Wikipedia style link. You have to supply the full lightning caused URL.
To create a link to an earlier version of a Talk page:
*Open the Page History of the page
*Open the relevant earlier version of the page which still contains the discussion.
*Copy the complete URL from the navigation bar of your browser.
*Paste this into the latest version of the Talk page. It will look something like this:
:http://www.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Wikipedia_talk:How_to_archive_a_Talk_page&oldid=1709131
You would then format this like this:
:Also see this http://www.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Wikipedia_talk:How_to_archive_a_Talk_page&oldid=1709131.
:''Note: because this is an URL and not a Wikilink, you use single square brackets ([ ]) rather than double (space becoming ) and you use a space rather than a vertical bar (/) to separate the URL from the label.
The final result will look like this::
:Also see this http://www.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Wikipedia_talk:How_to_archive_a_Talk_page&oldid=1709131.
This archiving strategy can be particularly useful for ''summarising'' discussions; you provide a succinct overview of the various points of view and a link to the complete discussion.
Conclusions
Separate archive files have the advantage that they are indexed and can be searched, whereas this is not the case with the monolithic approach.
This should be taken into consideration for pages where people repeatedly ask the same kinds of questions and it is useful to be able to search the archives.
In closing, there are no ''fixed rules'' about archiving discussions on Wikipedia. Certain extremely busy pages like groups support Village Pump/Village Pump eventually evolve their own archiving strategy.
veeps should Tag: Wikipedia style and how-to/
posted at 7:06 PM
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