Help:Namespaces
From KCpedia
Page titles in MediaWiki are composed of two parts: an optional namespace name, and the remainder of the title. For example, this page has the title [[Help:Namespaces]], so it is in the Help namespace. A title without a colon, for example [[Goings-on]], is in the main namespace.
Each wiki using the MediaWiki software has 16+2 namespaces: the main namespace, where page names have no prefix, 15 additional namespaces, each with its own prefix, and two pseudo-namespaces. One of these is the project namespace, which uses as prefix the project prefix (variable {{ns:4}} below). Some projects have additional custom namespaces.
Note: namespace prefixes should not be confused with prefixes for interwiki linking.
If a page title contains a colon, but the initial part of the title is not one of the pre-defined namespaces, that page is considered to be in the main namespace.
Namespace uses
Namespaces among other things allow a separation of content from policy and discussion. They encourage separation of the pages of a wiki into a core set intended for public viewing, and private information intended for the editing community.
This core set is the main namespace. Other namespaces that are useful also for people who are just viewers are:
- the image namespace (with the full-size images)
- the category namespace (for navigation)
- the help pages and the preferences page (as far as they concern viewing)
By default, searches and the random page feature are restricted to the main namespace, thus the user interface is directed towards readers who are not part of the community. Note that this separation of community and readership is not a feature of many wiki engines. It may not be required for your editing community. You are always free to put discussion and policy in the main namespace, if you desire.
On most Wikimedia wikis, pages in the main namespace and a few other ones are actively policed by the community, with inappropriate content being quickly removed. The rules for the other namespaces are generally more relaxed.
- Special:Allpages can be applied to a namespace of choice
- Searching can be restricted to any subset of namespaces
It is possible to customise the visual appearance of pages by namespace; also enabling the subpage feature can be done for selected namespaces.
List of namespaces
The two pseudo-namespaces, main namespace and 15 auxiliary namespaces in this project (Meta) are as follows (the variables for them are also shown):
| Variables | Alternate syntax | Name, linked to list of all pages | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| {{ns:-2}} | {{ns:Media}} | "Media" | pseudo-namespace for images and other files themselves, as opposed to the image description pages; see also below |
| {{ns:-1}} | {{ns:Special}} | "Special" | pseudo-namespace for special pages (list: Special:Specialpages) |
| - | main | main namespace, no prefix, or optionally a colon (this is needed when using the page as template) | |
| {{ns:1}} | {{ns:Talk}} | Talk | see Help:Talk page for this and the following odd-numbered namespaces |
| {{ns:2}} | {{ns:User}} | User | logged-in users (list: Special:Listusers) have a user homepage User:username (linked to by the system from user names in lists of edits, e.g. on page histories, and from signatures on talk pages); this and subpages of it can be used to present oneself, for project-related bookmarks, and for drafts, tests, and other working material. One can put here material to give oneself one-step access to it from any page in the same project, and one can put here links to give oneself two-step access to the link targets from any page in the same project as the user page. For users who do not log in, the same applies, with the IP as username. Dynamic IPs are a complication. |
| {{ns:3}} | {{ns:User_talk}} | User talk | |
| {{ns:4}} | {{ns:Project}} | KCpedia | the project namespace for matters about the project, such as guidelines and discussions; see also the Help namespace |
| {{ns:5}} | {{ns:Project_talk}} | KCpedia talk | |
| {{ns:6}} | {{ns:Image}} | File | images and other uploaded files, with image description pages (list: Special:Imagelist) |
| {{ns:7}} | {{ns:Image_talk}} | File talk | |
| {{ns:8}} | {{ns:MediaWiki}} | MediaWiki | system messages (list: Special:Allmessages), editable by users, or if protected, by sysops |
| {{ns:9}} | {{ns:MediaWiki_talk}} | MediaWiki talk | |
| {{ns:10}} | {{ns:Template}} | Template | the default namespace for templates: the wikitext code {{name }} refers to and includes the page Template:name |
| {{ns:11}} | {{ns:Template_talk}} | Template talk | |
| {{ns:12}} | {{ns:Help}} | Help | typically used for the MediaWiki User's Guide, with the wikitext a frequently refreshed copy of the master version on Meta-Wikipedia, but with project-specific templates |
| {{ns:13}} | {{ns:Help_talk}} | Help talk | |
| {{ns:14}} | {{ns:Category}} | Category | each page (list: Special:Categories) represents a category of pages, with each category page displaying a list of pages in that category and optional additional text. |
| {{ns:15}} | {{ns:Category_talk}} | Category talk | |
Note that all characters of namespace prefixes are case-insensitive, so one can write e.g "mediawiki".
