TechInfoDepot:Portal

{| style="clear:both; background:none;" Contents What are portals? · How to find portals · How to create a portal ·
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How to make a good portal · How to categorize a portal ·

How to get involved · See also
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What are portals?
The idea of a portal is to help readers and/or editors navigate their way through TechInfoDepot topic areas through pages similar to the Main Page. In essence, portals are useful entry-points to TechInfoDepot content.

Portals originated in the Polish and German TechInfoDepots. In early 2005, the concept was imported to the English TechInfoDepot and the first Wikiportals were established. Later that year, a special namespace (Portal:) was created for portals.

Portals are subject to the five pillars of TechInfoDepot, and must comply with TechInfoDepot's core content policies like TechInfoDepot:Neutral point of view, TechInfoDepot:No original research and TechInfoDepot:Verifiability.

At present, there are  featured portals, of a total of portals on TechInfoDepot.

How to find portals
All portals should be listed at the directory of portals, which also details their founding dates and whom you can contact with regard to a particular portal. If you have created a portal, you must list it here. Portal:Contents/Portals lists all portals of reader-ready quality.

Portals are also largely inter-accessible with users able to navigate from one portal to another. Universal features, such as the browsebar (which links to top-level portals), and the portals template (which links to Portal:Contents/Portals), allow for convenient browsing. Moreover, portals are also categorised according to hierarchy. Portals, in most instances, also link to their Related portals (those lateral to them) and their Subportals (those that descend from them).

Top-level portals are linked from the Main Page, while individual portals are linked by placing portal on a page. In the main namespace, these templates are often found at the top of an article's talk page, being integrated into WikiProject banner templates. Per WP:ALSO, they may also be placed in the "See also" section of articles.

How to add portal links to articles
These links go in the See also section. Entering the link at the top of the section will allow it to sit on the top right. Add a portal link by typing   for example  . If more than one portal is to be linked use a second parameter, for example   (illustrated on right). If there are problems with the regular Portal causing undesired layout effects use Clear, Portal bar (below), Portal-inline, or a icon-free text link  * Energy portal ,
 * Energy portal

How to create a portal
There is no single standard design for portals, but the most widely used layout is the "box portal". The use of this design is recommended due to the ease with which it can be created and maintained. For further ideas on portal design, browse existing portals and see the featured portals. For step-by-step instructions on how to set up a new portal, refer to the instructions page. Unlike WikiProjects, portals should not be created for article maintenance category, but only for encyclopedic topics.

Once you have created the portal, please update Number of portals.

How to make a good portal
Most portals contain the following for readers:
 * A selected article and/or picture
 * Links into the main category for the topic and possibly subcategories (some portals actually appear in the description page for the main category)
 * General info about the subject, or links thereto
 * Links to other portals (using templates) and for editors.
 * Links to related WikiProjects. You can use Sister project links to add Wikimedia Sister Projects' links to your portal (links to news, images and so on).


 * Links to specific articles or tasks
 * Collaboration of the week, month, etc.

You may want to embark on an effort to fill the related categories with appropriate articles if this has not been done already (or add it to the portal's "todo" list so visitors can help out).

How to categorize a portal

 * For a simple portal, simply add a specific subcategory of Category:Portals to the bottom of the portal page.
 * For a complex, multi-page portal, a portal category is needed.
 * Portal categories are generally named  where the portal itself is named.
 * Portal categories are categorized under Category:Portals subcategories just like portals.
 * Portals with their own categories are only categorized in that category, which in turn is put into the other categories that the portal would have been in.

How to get involved
Just as with TechInfoDepot at large, portals can be edited by anyone. However, it is important to pay due regard to the established work of others. Editors are always needed to maintain individual portals; if you would like to participate in the upkeep of a particular portal, note your intention on its talk page, list yourself as a maintainer in the directory of portals, and get to work!

A WikiProject on Portals has been founded to coordinate portal activity. The current objectives are to develop standards for all portals and to ensure maintenance. Other tasks include the integration and categorisation of portals.

Immediate attention is needed at portals listed in Category:Portals under construction and Category:Portals needing attention.