NeoDex:About

The Neodex - sometimes rendered NeoDex - is an online encyclopaedia filled with articles about Neopets. Its name is a portmanteau of Neopets and codex. It operates on the MediaWiki software, the same programming that Wikipedia runs on, which empowers visitors with the ability to edit pages to help build comprehensive articles - everyone is an editor of the NeoDex.

It was created on 17 August 2005 initially as a new home for the PinkPT article that was removed from Wikipedia. Since then, it has aimed to become the most in-depth, comprehensive, and articulate repository of Neopets information on the internet.

Staff

Articles are built by volunteers from around the world. As part of the wiki format, any visitor can edit and expand articles. Visitors can edit before they sign up for an account, where they are identified by their IP address which is specific to their internet connection. As this address will change if that connection is broken and reconnected or if the user accesses the site from a different location, and can be re-assigned to someone else if they receive the same IP, an editor is encouraged to register for an account and log into that to edit. This also makes it easier to keep track of a user's contributions.

Registered users are also able to upload images.

Certain editors have been working on the Neodex a long time and are elevated to the rank of sysop or bureaucrat. This status indicates that the editor is familiar with how the Neodex works and is a trusted editor. They have certain additional powers, including the power to move or delete pages, or block other users, but are equal to normal editors in terms of editorial responsibility. A sysop's word isn't law - but it does have a lot of clout.

How can I help?

There are several ways you can help expand the Neodex, the most basic of which is correcting spelling and grammar errors. If you are familiar with Neopets, you may also be able to add in new information. You are encouraged to be bold and collaborate with other users in our goal. You do not need to fear accidentally damaging NeoDex when you add or improve information, as other users are always around to revise or to advise on errors. Reversion of editorial errors is easy to perform, both by regular editors and sysops should anything go wrong.

To learn more about wikicode - the syntax of coding used when editing articles to create bold or italic text, to insert images, etc - you may wish to read the MediaWiki User's Guide. Further information - about wikicode, wiki-related concepts, and the NeoDex - can be found in the NeoDex's Help section, that is always available from the menu.

To experiment with wikicode, try using the sandbox. If you are looking to find some articles marked as being in need of some improvement, you can visit the Under Construction category.

Are there rules to follow?

There are few formal regulations, but there are more unspoken rules of decency and etiquette which all users are expected to follow. As Neopets has a large children audience, use of obscene or defamatory language is prohibited. Vandalising an article - by removing large amounts of appropriate content or adding in excessive irrelevant gibberish - is also frowned upon, and hurts the community that works hard to create the articles contained here. Verbal assaults or libellous comments directed at editors or members of the community are strictly prohibited.

Content added to articles of the Neodex should be relevant to the subject matter and to Neopets. Articles should try and maintain an authoritative, formal tone and neutral point of view.

If necessary, editors can be blocked from editing the Neodex by sysops for extreme behaviour - such as repeated spamming or vandalism - should it be deemed necessary. Do not let this put you off contributing in a good manner, as sysops take into account whether an inappropriate act is likely to be caused accidentally.

For a quick understanding of some of these rules, read Wikipedia's Wikiquette section, which covers a lot of information on what is and isn't acceptable on a wiki. While some of the suggestions offered are relevant only to Wikipedia, many of them apply to any wiki and should be taken to heart.

Further Information

Further information about the current goals or happenings of the Neodex can be found at the Community Portal. Talk pages (the 'discussion' link at the top of an article) can be used for discussing improvements an article. Please remember to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~) on Talk pages.

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Thank you for visiting Neodex. We hope you'll feel welcome here amongst fellow Neopians and editors, and look forward to joining us in our goal.

As of Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 18:14 (server time) - the last time the server's cache of this page was cleared - there are 2,567 articles on the NeoDex.