View source for Help:Country and regional directories

This guide explains how to create and maintain country and regional paintball directories on WikiPaintball.

Country and regional collections should use consistent page titles, category names, navigation and category relationships. Their content must reflect documented paintball activity.

== Purpose ==

A national or regional directory helps readers find articles about:

* Teams
* Tournaments and leagues
* Fields and venues
* Organisations and clubs
* People
* Equipment manufacturers
* Media and archives
* Businesses
* Geographical areas
* Historical periods

A directory provides navigation. Detailed histories of teams, people, businesses and competitions belong in their own articles.

== Before starting ==

Check the existing wiki before proposing new pages or categories.

# Read the relevant continental directory.
# Search for an existing country or regional directory.
# Check existing categories, including alternative names and spelling variations.
# Identify existing articles that should belong to the collection.
# Compare the structure with established directories such as [[Paintball in New Zealand]], [[Paintball in Australia]], [[Paintball in Malta]], [[Paintball in Malaysia]], [[Paintball in Thailand]] and [[Paintball in Singapore]].
# Where available, check previous WikiPaintball research and conversations for corrections and established naming decisions.

Existing directories provide structural examples. Their historical content, geographical divisions and decade categories should not be copied into another country's collection.

Do not describe a page or category as new until its existence has been checked.

== Naming conventions ==

=== Directory pages ===

Use:

* Paintball in Country
* Paintball in Region

Examples include [[Paintball in Singapore]], [[Paintball in Thailand]] and [[Paintball in Asia]].

Use the usual English geographical name, including an article where appropriate, such as “the Philippines”.

Check for ambiguous place names before choosing a title. Add geographical qualification when necessary to distinguish places with the same name.

=== National subject categories ===

Use the established national adjective where one is available.

{| class="wikitable"
! Collection
! Naming pattern
! Example
|-
| National history
| Category:National-adjective paintball history
| [[:Category:Singaporean paintball history]]
|-
| Teams
| Category:National-adjective paintball teams
| [[:Category:Singaporean paintball teams]]
|-
| Organisations
| Category:National-adjective paintball organisations
| [[:Category:Singaporean paintball organisations]]
|-
| People
| Category:National-adjective paintball people
| [[:Category:Singaporean paintball people]]
|-
| Companies
| Category:National-adjective paintball companies
| [[:Category:Singaporean paintball companies]]
|-
| Media
| Category:National-adjective paintball media
| [[:Category:Singaporean paintball media]]
|-
| Tournament series
| Category:National-adjective paintball tournament series
| [[:Category:Singaporean paintball tournament series]]
|-
| Leagues
| Category:National-adjective paintball leagues
| [[:Category:Singaporean paintball leagues]]
|-
| Clubs
| Category:National-adjective paintball clubs
| [[:Category:Singaporean paintball clubs]]
|-
| Players
| Category:National-adjective paintball players
| [[:Category:Singaporean paintball players]]
|}

Do not invent an unfamiliar national adjective. Where the appropriate form is unclear, check existing WikiPaintball usage and record the chosen convention before creating the collection.

=== Geographical subject categories ===

Use the place name for these categories:

* Category:Paintball in Country
* Category:Paintball tournaments in Country
* Category:Paintball fields in Country
* Category:Paintball equipment manufacturers in Country

Examples:

* [[:Category:Paintball in Singapore]]
* [[:Category:Paintball tournaments in Singapore]]
* [[:Category:Paintball fields in Singapore]]
* [[:Category:Paintball equipment manufacturers in Singapore]]

Do not create competing categories such as “Singapore paintball teams”, “Paintball teams in Singapore” and “Singaporean paintball teams” for the same collection.

=== Continental and regional categories ===

Follow the existing parent collection's naming pattern.

For example, the Asian structure uses:

* [[:Category:Asian paintball history]]
* [[:Category:Asian paintball teams]]
* [[:Category:Asian paintball organisations]]
* [[:Category:Asian paintball people]]
* [[:Category:Asian paintball media]]
* [[:Category:Paintball tournaments in Asia]]
* [[:Category:Paintball fields in Asia]]
* [[:Category:Paintball equipment manufacturers in Asia]]
* [[:Category:Paintball leagues in Asia]]

For a new region, check whether an established regional adjective is suitable. If it is not, use a clear geographical form consistent with neighbouring collections.

=== Existing exceptions ===

Some established categories may use older naming patterns, including magazine categories such as [[:Category:Australian magazines]] and [[:Category:Malaysian magazines]].

Check existing usage before creating an equivalent category. Do not create a second category simply to introduce a different naming pattern.

Propose any wider naming changes separately, with a list of affected categories and article memberships.

== Standard category hierarchy ==

=== National history category ===

The national history category is the main subject umbrella.

For example:

<pre>
Category:Singaporean paintball history
    → Category:Asian paintball history
</pre>

Its description should link to the national directory and the national subject categories.

=== National geographical category ===

The geographical category connects the country to the geographical hierarchy.

For example:

<pre>
Category:Paintball in Singapore
    → Category:Singaporean paintball history
    → Category:Paintball in Asia
    → Category:Paintball by country
</pre>

These are three parent memberships, not a sequence of categories nested inside one another.

A subnational geographical category normally belongs beneath its country category:

<pre>
Category:Paintball in Bangkok
    → Category:Paintball in Thailand
</pre>

Do not put provinces, cities or other subnational regions directly into Category:Paintball by country.

=== Main subject categories ===

Each main national subject category belongs beneath the national history category and the corresponding continental subject category where one exists.

For example:

<pre>
Category:Singaporean paintball teams
    → Category:Singaporean paintball history
    → Category:Asian paintball teams
</pre>

<pre>
Category:Paintball fields in Singapore
    → Category:Singaporean paintball history
    → Category:Paintball fields in Asia
</pre>

Use an existing global subject category where a suitable continental category does not exist. For example, national company categories may belong to Category:Paintball companies.

Do not link categories to themselves or create circular parent relationships.

=== More specific subject categories ===

Use the established relationships:

{| class="wikitable"
! Category
! Parent categories
|-
| National paintball tournament series
| National tournaments category; Category:Paintball tournament series
|-
| National paintball leagues
| National tournament-series category; relevant continental leagues category
|-
| National paintball clubs
| National organisations category; Category:Paintball clubs
|-
| National paintball players
| National people category; Category:Paintball players
|-
| National paintball magazines
| National media category; Category:Paintball magazines
|}

Check that the intended parent categories exist. Identify missing parents explicitly rather than silently creating a new naming system.

== Standard directory structure ==

Use the following order where the sections are relevant:

# Concise introduction
# Explore national or regional paintball
# Explore by location
# Historical periods
# Selected tournament and league articles
# Selected team and venue articles
# Historical records and resources
# Help preserve national or regional paintball history
# About this collection
# Related directories
# Navigation footer
# Category membership

Omit sections that have no useful, verified content.

=== Introduction ===

Identify the page as WikiPaintball's directory for the country or region.

Explain briefly that it links to articles about the area's paintball teams, competitions, venues, organisations, businesses, media and people.

Do not add unsupported claims about when paintball began, which team was first or how important the country was to the sport.

=== Subject navigation ===

Use a two-column wikitable with the headings “Subject” and “Browse articles”.

Use this subject order:

# Teams
# Tournaments and leagues
# Fields and venues
# Organisations and clubs
# People
# Equipment manufacturers
# Media and archives
# Businesses

Keep the wording and link destinations consistent with the category titles.

A category description defines its scope. Creating a category does not establish that a qualifying team, manufacturer, publication or organisation has been documented.

If an empty category is proposed to complete the navigation framework, identify it as such in the accompanying editorial notes.

=== Geographical navigation ===

Link to the national geographical category.

Add local-area categories when documented articles justify them. Use suitable geographical divisions for the country concerned.

Do not copy another country's provinces, states, districts or regional structure.

For city-states or small territories, a national geographical category may be sufficient.

=== Historical periods ===

Create decade categories when articles document relevant activity.

Use names such as:

<pre>
Category:2000s in Singaporean paintball
Category:2010s in Singaporean paintball
</pre>

Each decade category should belong to:

* The national paintball history category
* The corresponding global decade category, where it exists

A decade category covers documented activity during that decade. A publication date or archive capture date alone does not establish when the activity occurred.

Do not add a standard list of decades without checking the available articles.

=== Selected articles ===

Link only to articles whose existence and titles have been checked.

Keep selected lists short. Categories provide the wider collection.

Do not describe an article as existing merely because another page contains a link to it.

=== Historical records and resources ===

Link to relevant national collections such as tournament series, leagues, clubs, players and media.

Global tournament-results and rankings categories may also be linked where useful.

=== Preservation invitation ===

Invite contributions of historical records such as results, rosters, programmes, photographs, videos, magazines and archived websites.

Explain that firsthand recollections must be distinguished from information verified through contemporary records.

=== Navigation footer ===

Use the established footer, adapting the parent directory as appropriate.

For an Asian country:

<pre>
----

'''WikiPaintball navigation:''' [[Main Page|Home]] · [[Paintball in Asia|Asia]] · [[Special:Categories|All categories]] · [[Special:AllPages|All articles]] · [[Special:RecentChanges|Recent changes]]
</pre>

=== Directory categorisation ===

Place the national directory in its national paintball history category.

Use the geographical category page to supply the country and continental geographical relationships.

Do not automatically repeat every ancestor category on the directory article.

== Writing category descriptions ==

Every category page should contain:

# A concise statement defining what belongs in it
# Any necessary distinction from related categories
# A link to the national or regional directory
# The appropriate parent category tags

For example:

<pre>
This category contains articles about competitive and recreational paintball teams based in Singapore or representing Singapore in international competition.

For the national directory, see [[Paintball in Singapore]].

[[Category:Asian paintball teams]]
[[Category:Singaporean paintball history]]
</pre>

Do not add unsourced historical claims to category descriptions.

=== Linking to categories ===

Use a leading colon when linking to a category in prose, lists or tables:

<pre>
[[:Category:Singaporean paintball teams|Teams]]
</pre>

Use a category tag without a leading colon to assign category membership:

<pre>
[[Category:Singaporean paintball teams]]
</pre>

Confusing these forms can accidentally categorise a page instead of displaying a navigation link.

== Categorising articles ==

Use the most specific applicable categories supported by the article.

* Teams belong in the appropriate national team category.
* Player biographies belong in the appropriate national player category.
* Other biographies belong in the national people category where relevant.
* Playing venues belong in the national fields category.
* Field-operating businesses may also belong in the national companies category.
* Manufacturers require documented design or manufacturing activity.
* Retailing or importing equipment alone does not establish manufacturing activity.
* Temporary tournament venues should be identified as temporary venues.
* Historical subjects remain eligible for categorisation; closure does not remove their geographical connection.

Avoid adding every parent category when membership is already supplied through a more specific category.

=== International competitions ===

Categorise tournaments by their documented locations.

A Singaporean team's participation in a Malaysian event does not make that event a tournament in Singapore.

A recurring international competition may belong to several national tournament collections when rounds in those countries are documented.

Document overseas participation in the relevant team and event articles.

=== People and national connections ===

Use documented connections to the country's paintball community.

Do not infer nationality, citizenship, residence or team representation from a name, photograph or isolated event appearance.

== Existing historical articles ==

Check the content of an existing national page before replacing it with a directory.

If it contains substantive historical material:

# Preserve a copy of the complete existing text and references.
# Identify how that material will be retained.
# Where appropriate, propose a separate article such as “History of paintball in Country”.
# Check that the proposed history article does not already exist.
# Obtain the editor's agreement before removing or relocating substantial historical content.
# Update links and category memberships if a separate history article is created.

Do not discard historical content merely to make the directory resemble another country's page.

A directory conversion and a historical accuracy review are separate tasks. Do not present retained historical claims as newly verified unless their sources have been checked.

== Duplicate and alternative categories ==

Choose one canonical category title for each collection.

Where an alternative category already exists:

# Check its description, members and parent categories.
# Identify the canonical destination.
# Prepare the appropriate redirect or migration proposal.
# Update article memberships and navigation links.
# Check that the old category has no remaining unintended members.

Category redirects do not automatically transfer article memberships.

Do not create unused alternative categories merely to redirect them.

== Research and sourcing ==

Structural navigation normally does not need citations. Historical claims do.

Research historical claims using contemporary records, official sources, archived websites, tournament results and paintball publications.

* Distinguish first documented appearances from confirmed founding dates.
* Do not infer closure or dissolution from missing records.
* Do not invent rosters, results, sponsors or relationships.
* Keep historical detail proportional to the evidence.
* Use neutral language and British English.
* Use day-month-year dates.

Where references are needed, use WikiPaintball's manually numbered format:

<pre>
The documented statement appears here.[1]

== References ==

# [https://example.org/source Source title], publication, 1 January 2010.
</pre>

Reuse citation numbers for repeated sources. Do not use ref tags, references tags or citation templates.

== Required delivery format ==

When preparing a country or regional update, provide:

# A short audit of existing pages, categories and naming conflicts.
# The proposed page and category titles.
# Complete replacement wikitext for every affected page.
# A separate copy-and-paste edit summary for each replacement, or one shared summary where appropriate.
# A list of article memberships requiring manual updates.
# A separate copy-and-paste summary of the overall changes.

Show the exact destination title above each wikitext block.

Do not provide insertion instructions, fragments or “keep the rest unchanged” placeholders when complete replacements have been requested.

Separate pages that can be prepared now from optional categories awaiting research.

Never claim that pages have been published or categories migrated unless those actions have actually been completed.

== ChatGPT prompts ==

Replace the text in square brackets before using these prompts.

=== Create a country collection ===

<pre>
Read and follow this WikiPaintball help article:
[URL of Help:Country and regional directories]

Prepare the country directory and category structure for [country], starting from [continental directory URL].

Check the live wiki for existing pages, categories, article memberships and alternative names. Compare the structure with the established country directories named in the help article. Check previous WikiPaintball project research and conversations where available.

Use consistent naming, British English and the category hierarchy defined in the help article.

This task concerns directory and category structure. Do not add unsupported historical claims or conduct a full national history project.

Preserve existing historical content. If restructuring would remove or relocate substantive content, explain the proposed treatment and obtain my agreement before doing so.

Provide:
1. A concise audit of what already exists.
2. Exact proposed page and category titles.
3. Complete, copy-and-paste-ready MediaWiki replacements for every affected page, including the continental directory where needed.
4. Category descriptions and parent category tags.
5. Separate copy-and-paste edit summaries.
6. A list of existing articles needing category changes.
7. A separate copy-and-paste summary of the overall changes.

Identify optional categories awaiting research. Do not publish changes.
</pre>

=== Create a regional collection ===

<pre>
Read and follow:
[URL of Help:Country and regional directories]

Prepare a directory and category structure for [region], within [country or continent].

First establish whether this is a continental, cross-border or subnational region. Check existing WikiPaintball pages, geographical naming and relevant parent categories.

Use the established naming and navigation conventions. Do not put a subnational region in Category:Paintball by country. Do not assume that a cross-border region belongs to only one country.

Preserve existing historical content and avoid unsupported claims.

Provide exact page titles, complete replacement wikitext, category descriptions, parent memberships, edit summaries, any article recategorisation required and a separate overall summary. Identify unresolved geographical or naming questions explicitly. Do not publish changes.
</pre>

=== Audit an existing collection ===

<pre>
Use this help article as the standard:
[URL of Help:Country and regional directories]

Audit [country or region] starting from [directory URL].

Check page titles, national adjectives, subject categories, geographical categories, historical-period categories, parent memberships, navigation links, duplicate categories and article categorisation.

Distinguish confirmed inconsistencies from optional improvements. Check whether linked pages exist.

Prepare complete replacement wikitext for pages requiring changes, plus edit summaries and a separate overall summary. List category migrations and article membership changes separately.

Preserve existing sourced historical content. Do not publish changes.
</pre>

=== Add research to an established collection ===

<pre>
Follow:
[URL of Help:Country and regional directories]

The directory and category framework for [country or region] is already established at [URL].

Research [specified subject or period] using credible sources, including contemporary and archived material where available.

Check existing WikiPaintball articles and previous project research before proposing new articles. Use the established page names and categories.

Create only evidence-supported content. Distinguish first documented activity from founding dates, and do not infer closure from missing records.

Deliver complete MediaWiki articles with manually numbered citations, matching numbered references, appropriate categories and separate edit summaries. Propose directory changes only where the new articles justify them.

Do not publish changes.
</pre>

=== Request complete replacements ===

<pre>
Return complete page replacements for every affected page.

For each page, give the exact title, the entire replacement MediaWiki wikitext and a separate edit summary. Do not give section fragments, insertion instructions or placeholders.

Preserve existing content unless its removal or relocation has been agreed. Finish with a separate copy-and-paste summary of the overall changes.
</pre>

== Final checks ==

Before handing over or publishing an update, confirm that:

* Existing pages and categories have been checked.
* Names follow the established country or regional convention.
* Category links use a leading colon where appropriate.
* Parent memberships are correct and contain no circular relationships.
* Local-area and decade categories have a documented purpose.
* International events are categorised by documented locations.
* Existing historical content has been preserved or its treatment agreed.
* Historical claims have supporting sources.
* Every requested replacement is complete.
* Category redirects are accompanied by any necessary membership changes.
* Edit summaries and an overall summary are supplied.

[[Category:WikiPaintball help]]