Template:Campaign Setting Rating/meta

Rule 0

No rating given is ever, under any circumstances, given for "liking" or "not liking" a particular setting. Rating on flavor would be impracticable, and ratings fall directly in line with the established guidelines, which are as follows:

Rating Guidelines

1/5

These are very minimal pages, and most likely are stubs. Anything rated as a 1/5 is marked as a stub. This could be a pageholder that someone intended to work on and never got back around to, or it could be just very very basic information with nothing supporting it.

2/5

These have some sparse information, but large amounts of material are missing. A setting rated 2/5 will, as the guideline states, have some information here and there, but mostly lacking in terms of usable content. As an additional personal reference, if the setting does have a lot of "non-setting specific" information (i.e. races, classes) but not a lot of "setting specific information (i.e. world reference), it'll still be included as a 2 instead of a 3 — as the setting specific information is still very sparse.

3/5

These have some, but often sparse, information in most categories. Ratings of 3/5 have usually been worked on enough so that the basic framework is up, but it may be missing anything in-depth or setting flavor. One may be able to run with the idea, but the entire idea of the setting may not come across properly. If the information is available, but the wiki formatting is such that navigation is still hard, I'll include it as a 3 instead of a 4. Simplistic navigation will allow users to get to the information they need, without having to "wade" through things they don't. Keep in mind that even though you, as a setting creator, may know what each section is for — the user won't. So if you're using subsections labeled with Setting Terminology, make sure to list basic terminology as well so users can locate the material they need in a prompt manner.

4/5

These are complete in many aspects, but information is sparse in a few categories. If a rating received a 4/5 rating, it is close to being completely comprehensive. One can typically run entire adventures through settings rated this high, though they may need to occasionally "fill in the blanks" as a few bits of information may be missing.

5/5

These are very comprehensive in most aspects. The "top rated" 5/5 settings should be comprehensive enough that users can run entire campaigns within the world, formatted so that wiki browsers can easily and sensibly get to pertinent material, and have enough flavor to make the world its own.

Frequent Comments/Questions

I'm still working on my setting, so why is it rated and/or can it be rated later?

Even though you're still working on a setting, it may already qualify for a rating. As you add to it, it should "move up" through the rating system. Waiting to rate it actually may cause your setting to be missed by users who are navigating through our 3.5e Campaign Settings or 5e Campaign Settings pages.

I don't agree with the rating.

This is absolutely understandable, especially if the rating is "low," as we all like to think of our material as worthy of the best. If you still disagree after reading the above listed reasoning for the particular rating, remove the rating and then bring up your exact concerns/thoughts on it's talk page and it will be discussed. Also, ask any other active user to have a look at the setting and see what they think.

I've added/improved/changed my setting since it's last rating.

Settings are rated occasionally, and other users may swing in at any time to rate. If, by some chance, your Campaign Setting gets missed over after applicable changes/improvements/addons, just remove the rating.

What do you think of my setting?

As Rule 0 above notes - whatever one thinks about your setting should have no reflection on it's rating. The rating is more of a "how complete is this section of the wiki" tool than a "what do others think of this setting" tool. However, feel free to ask users for comments either on the user's individual talk page or by open invitation on the talk page of your campaign setting's main page.

Notes on Creating Campaigns

Namespaces

The main page of a campaign setting should be formatted so that it is titled MySetting (MyEdition Campaign Setting). Subpages should then be titled with the additional namespace of (MySetting Supplement). For example, if a campaign settings name is WikiWorld and it belongs to both 3.5e and 4e, then the main page would be WikiWorld (DnD Campaign Setting) and a page with racial information for that setting may be titled Races (WikiWorld Supplement).

Edition Specific Information

Campaign settings may be built to be usable in any edition, or may be specifically designed to work within a particular edition of Dungeons & Dragons. In each of these cases, there is a pre-defined way to identify the page's edition for use with the campaign setting features here on D&D wiki.

If a campaign setting is designed to work within a particular edition, then the main landing page of the setting should use the appropriate identifier. Using the above name example, these would be either "WikiWorld (3.5e Campaign Setting)" or "WikiWorld (4e Campaign Setting)".

For settings that can be used within any edition, then one should use the identifier "(DnD Campaign Setting)". So, if a campaign setting was named "WikiWorld", then the main page would be "WikiWorld (DnD Campaign Setting)". Now, even though the campaign in general may be usable in any edition, there may be specific information, such as equipment or races, that are built for particular editions. In this case, the subpages can read "4e Races (WikiWorld Supplement)" or "3.5e Races (WikiWorld Supplement)". Remember that these particular edition specific pages should have the proper categories and breadcrumbs, which will be slightly different than the other pages.

Categories

The main page of your campaign setting should include the category Category:Setting which will also list it on the appropriate Campaign Settings page. None of the subpages of your setting should include this category. Instead, subpages (and your main page) will have a special category that you will create. Using the above WikiWorld example, that category could be Category:WikiWorld Setting and Category:Supplement (do designate that they are supplemental material to the main setting).

Breadcrumbs

At the bottom of established Campaign Setting pages, you should notice a "back to" footer. This is what we call a breadcrumb and you should use it appropriately on all pages of your setting, allowing users to navigate through page after page of your setting. Think of it as a computer's file path directory (i.e. C/Windows/My Documents/My Music) for wiki users (i.e. D&Dwiki/Campaign Settings/Rated 3/5/My Setting/Races (My Setting Supplement)). For help on coding one of these, just copy and paste/alter from other setting breadcrumbs or ask for help

Helpful Know-How

If you are willing to help rate CS's you may list yourself here to assist other users. Of course those listed here are only those that wish to be listed here, and this is by no means those who do and do not help the settings.

Hooper

I'm a huge fan of world creation, and from time to time I check in over at the wiki's Campaign Settings main page in order to clear out any unrated settings and to check on any recently updated/improved settings. This is to assist users in navigating between the numerous settings available here on the wiki.

If you're viewing this page, then I have most likely recently "rated" your campaign setting, and you are here to ask a question related to that. Please scan through this page first, and if your question is not already answered, then drop me a line at my talk page.

Please keep in mind that these are just guidelines I use, and I am no more special than any other wiki user. Other users may rate slightly different, and their opinions are just as valid. This page only exists because I am typically the individual doing the rating, not by mandate but by practice.

Hooper will also provide formatting help for settings. If you have any questions about breadcrumbs, he is more then willing to help.

Helpful Sites

See also Help:Campaign Settings.