User:ThatOneReaper/File Submission Guide

This page is for a (planned) guide on submitting files to the Files subsection of the wiki. Content may change frequently and become irrelevant/outdated

The guide will eventually be moved over to the Community section of the wiki when all text is done

Introduction

The Files section on PCGamingWiki serves as a major cornerstone for all wiki articles. They allow for a reliable source of downloadable patches, fixes, demos, and everything else in between.

However, just like articles, consistency is a major issue. Quality in content can vary wildly with file names, actual download content and descriptions.

The following guide is meant to serve as a constant framework for all submissions made in the Files wiki subsection.

When to submit a file

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General

This section is for editing guidelines that apply for the wiki as a whole.

The 6 basic rules of wiki editing

1. All writing in the wiki should be formal, clearly written, and neutral in nature. Statements on subjective elements without proper referencing should be avoided.
2. Text should be free of grammar and spelling errors.
3. Text should always be written in the third person (i.e. never directly reference the reader).
4. Research the topic thoroughly. Wikipedia and any search engine are the greatest tools available to a contributor.
5. When in doubt, leave the field blank/unknown.
6. Ask the moderators for help if needed. They will be happy to assist.
   • They can normally be found on the wiki's IRC channel

Description Formatting

Spelling

Spell checking before submitting is a good idea, especially for readers whose first language is not English and may rely on translating articles or for those who use screen-readers. All major browsers and text editors included spell checking functionality built-in.

Common English spelling mistakes

Mistake	Explanation
Then / than	Then — used in reference to time. Than — used in comparison.
Neither or	There are two combinations: Either... or and Neither... nor!
It's / Its	It's = it is Its = The thing the belongs to it. Same as his or hers.
Their there they're	Their = The thing that belongs to them There = They happened to be there They're = They are
Who's / Whose	Who's = Who is. As in "Who's with me?!" Whose, as in "I will have to fix the car whose engine I ruined"
Donut / Thru	Correct spelling is Doughnut and Through
Aluminum	Correct spelling is Aluminium

See also: 10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling (The Oatmeal)

Grammar and Punctuation

Proper grammar and punctuation will help make text on the wiki far easier to read. It will also help cut down on time spent editing fixes in the future. There are countless guides online for English grammar, but here are some places to start:

• English Grammar Guide (Edufind.com) - General guide.
• Guide to Grammar and Writing - Another general guide.
• How To Use An Apostrophe (The Oatmeal) - Visual guide on using apostrophes properly.
• How to use a semicolon (The Oatmeal) - Visual guide on using semicolons properly.
• When to use i.e. in a sentence (The Oatmeal) - Visual guide on using "i.e." and "e.g." properly.
• How and why to use whom in a sentence (The Oatmeal) - Visual guide on using "whom" and "who" properly.

Names

Names of both games and operating systems should be written out in full. Not only does this increase clarity, but it allows for wiki articles to be more prevalent in search results. For example, Windows XP should be written out in full, never as WinXP or other variants.

Units

All units should be written down correctly for consistency and clarity.

Bad:1ghz
Good: 1 GHz

It is important to note that units follow defined international standards. All numbers require a space before the units. Units written out in full must be all in lower case, not in sentence case and not with numbers.

For a paragraph describing technical details about CPUs, the frequency would be written out as megahertz or gigahertz, not Megahertz and not GigaHertz.

"The "clock rate" of a central processing unit, CPUs, is measured in hertz, typically megahertz and gigahertz. For example, some CPUs have a clock rate of 700 MHz or 4.2 GHz."

Also make sure the correct units are used for sizes! The units for size are: b, bit; B, Byte. The latter is the one that is most likely to be used and it is eight times bigger than the former.

For Frames per second (FPS), they are provided as whole numbers. If a number is a decimal, round up to the nearest whole value (ex. 60.57 FPS becomes 61 FPS).

Further reading

• Wikipedia article on units
• megabit
• megabyte
• mebibit
• mebibyte

Piracy

Might be more suited as a "Code of Conduct" rule

While PC games are our specialty, pirated versions of them are not. Please do not add in links, files or information specific to pirated or cracked copies of a game. They will be removed otherwise.

If a pirated game is experiencing a problem, in most cases the best fix available is buying the game through a legitimate channel.

File submission specifics

This section is for guidelines and advice specifically related to finding and submitting a file.

Finding the file

There are countless places to download files. However, knowing the right places can make a difference between uploading a fix and uploading malware.

Here is a list of all the known trustworthy file databases:

• FilePlanet
  • The lack of a search bar, coupled with broken links, will make traversing the site difficult. It is recommended to use a search engine to find the required files (ex. search for "<Game name> Fileplanet")
• GameFront
  • Download link from FileFront will point to entries in this site
• GamersHell.com
• Internet Archive
  • The files found here are in most cases not gaming specific. Mostly demos.
  • It should be noted that they have a near complete archive of the entirety of FilePlanet.
• The Patches Scrolls

Other sites can be used, but file safety is not guaranteed. Please check the integrity of the file before submitting it.

WARNING: UPLOADING A FILE CONTAINING MALWARE WILL RESULT IN A BAN!

Submitting the file

Once the file has been properly packaged up, it can now be submitted into the PCGamingWiki Files database.

Step 1: Click the "Upload File" button in the Files section of the site

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Step 2: Select a file category

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To help keep the database organized, all files are placed under a common category that best describes their purpose.

Here is a full breakdown of the file category hierarchy:

• Applications (for standalone applications and software)
  • General (a catch-all for anything that doesn't fit in the other sub-categories that are available)
  • Demos (official game demos and shareware go here)
  • Full games (for complete and (legally) free games. Pirated software and abandonware are not proper submissions!)
  • Dedicated servers (for software needed to run a dedicated multiplayer server for a game)
  • Tools (for applications that have specific and technical uses)
• DLL files (any file with a dll extension goes here. Due to the inherent security risk with DLLs, please contact a mod or admin before uploading a DLL file)
• Game fixes (for game-specific fixes)
  • General (a catch-all for anything that doesn't fit in the other sub-categories that are available)
  • Official patches (for patches officially provided by the developer)
  • Unofficial patches (for patches created by the community)
  • Gamepad configurations (for controller-based fixes and custom button mapping files)
  • Scripts (***Check back later***)
• Extra game content (for extra developer and community-created game content)
  • Official content (for developer-created content)
  • Community content (for smaller community-created content like map packs, models, etc.)
  • Mods (for community-created game modifications. This is NOT the same as the Community content sub-section!)
• Other (for anything that doesn't fit in any of the other categories)

Step 5: Submit the file

Once all the file details are filled out, click the "Add Submission" button to finalize the submission.

Once the file has been submitted, it will need to be approved by a mod or admin before it can be viewed publicly. If the file gets approved, the file submission is now complete!

However, should the submission be rejected, please contact a mod (either through the wiki's IRC channel or PM) for details.