Help:Namespaces

Pages on LIMSwiki are orgainized into namespaces. Namespaces are a mechanism for grouping/separating wiki pages, differentiating between the purpose of the pages at a high level. Pages in certain namespaces can have special properties or behave differently when they interact with other pages. Namespaces are indicated in page titles by prefixing the page name with "namespace:", so the prefix "Help:" in this page's title ("Help:Namespaces") indicates that this page is in the Help namespace. A page whose name is not prefixed by a namespace lies in the mainspace.

Please note that namespace prefixes always end with a colon.

Organizing Your Content

LIMSwiki is organized into different namespaces to accommodate different needs:

Main
The mainspace of the wiki is primarily used to present an "organized, documented, up-to-date, standardized body of knowledge (BoK) regarding all aspects of laboratory informatics, bioinformatics, and health informatics." Registerd users are encouraged to add to or edit any page in the main space, though verifiability and neutrality must be maintained. No prefix

LIMSWiki
The LIMSWiki namespace is used solely for providing policy and guidance as it directly relates to the wiki. Examples include the site's citation guidelines, vandalism policy, and no-tolerance policy on marketing speak and puffery. Prefix: LIMSWiki:

Help
The help space is provided for documentation, support guides, technical manuals, and other similar content. This page is an example of documentation appearing in the "`namespace:`" namespace. The training material found at Help:MediaWiki basics is another strong example of how this namespace is used. Prefix: Help:

User
The user space is typically auto-generated with a red link when a new user is created in the system. The user page doesn't exist until a user chooses to edit their user page and save the changes. Of particular use on a user page is the creation of a "sandbox," a place a user can practice using wiki code without interfering with the system. To create, simply add `[[/sandbox\|My sandbox]]` to the user page. Prefix: User:

Organization Policies

Each namespace on the UBC Wiki serves a different purpose and may have slightly different policies:

Main space

The root, or mainspace, of the wiki is primarily a shared community space and articles in this section should be encyclopedic in nature, appeal to a broad audience, and be reflective of UBC. Titles should be as specific as possible and not use abbreviations or acronyms. Each article should start with an introductory sentence describing what the page is about. Articles that do not meet this criteria may be moved. Pages in the mainspace belong to the wiki community and anyone should feel free to edit them. The Main Space does not support subpages.

Course space

The course space is for instructors, students, and individuals to post, organize, and collaborate on course content. Content should be organized under the class number using subpages. While any individual (including the instructor) does "own" any particular class space, this is still an area that can be used as an individual work space for class projects, collaborative work, and the like. Outside editing of articles in this namespace shall be minimal.

Documentation space

The documentation space is for user manuals, documentation, support and other similar content. Outside editing of articles or pages in this space shall be minimal.

Sandbox
The Sandbox is is a personal notebook space that can be used for building draft pages, working on personal or group projects, or just playing the wiki. It is a casual, unofficial space and you should not edit a page there if you have not be invited to do so.

In addition, LIMSwiki includes a few other semi-reserved namespaces:

LabLynx KB: reserved for LabLynx, Inc.'s body of knowledge
LabCourses.com: eventually this namespace will be designated for handling documentation for public domain online course site LabCourses.com