 | This is aWikiProject, an area for focused collaboration among Wikipedians. New participants are welcome; please feel free to participate! |
 | This page in a nutshell: Here, we build outlines! To supplement searches, for when the search box isn't enough. |
Outlines are hierarchically structured topics lists.
If you like one or more of the following:
Then, you've come to the right place! For, Wikipedia's outlines are all of the above.
Wikipedia's goal is to provideknowledge. But knowledge is only useful if you can find it and make sense of it. The main limitation of a search box is that it can only look for what you already know exists: it is not a map. Like with a map, the function of an outline, and the mission of this WikiProject, is to show readers what exists and help them get to where it is — except that, in this case, the destinations are Wikipedia articles rather than physical locations. Outlines serve assite maps of Wikipedia, by subject. And while maps help navigate thelandscape, outlines show theknowledgescape of a subject.
An outline is also like a table of contents or a menu, except that, instead of listing chapter titles in a book or food dishes in a restaurant, outlines present the topics in a subject.
Another useful metaphor is that each page in Wikipedia is a teleportation chamber. To use the search box for teleporting, you specify your destination subject. An outline is a teleportation chamber with its own destination registry. Each outline lists the available target topics, and clicking on one instantly takes you there. You don't need to know where you are going in advance — the list helps you choose.
Outlines present the topics belonging to a subject as atree structure, using sections, subsections, and indented item entries to signify branching of the tree. As tree structures, outlines provide the following benefits:
Outline of caves (featured list)Outline of lichens (featured list)Outline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (featured list)Each outline article is a list of a subject's topics arrangedhierarchically to show the relationships between them: those that are the most important, general entries and those that give more specialist detail. Outlines show the structure of articles about a subject, opening another way besides searching, for navigating it. They could be considered Wikipedia's equivalent toBrittanica'sPropædia.
Each outline is intended to help the reader become familiar with the subject it presents, and also serves as a table of contents or site map to that subject's coverage on Wikipedia. Outlines are different from portals or indexes. While a portal focuses solely on well-developed featured content, an outline's main purpose is to direct readers through a subject's related articles. Indexes are intended to be comprehensive alphabetical lists of articles related to subject, but finding something in an alphabetical index can be difficult if one does not know the article title (and if one does, one hardly needs the index). Outlines might not list every article in a subject, and often their links lead to lists or other outlines to provide further detail. For an example, comparePortal:Japan,Index of Japan-related articles, andOutline of Japan.
If a draft goes six months without an edit, it is subject to routine deletion. To learn when each draft was last edited, see this WikiProject'sdraft tracker.
These are relatively new outlines, and while they are well past the stub stage, they still need development:
The outline of the week is:
Please help improve it.
This project is served byArticle alerts, which can be seen in this section directly below, or atWikipedia:WikiProject Outlines/Article alerts. This lets us to know about any AfDs (Articles for deletion discussions) on outlines, requested moves, or other outline-related discussions without having to rely on manual notifications. To have the alerts show up on your user page or user talk page, include this code on that page: {{Wikipedia:WikiProject Outlines/Article alerts}}
It's best to create outline drafts as sub-pages of your user page, such as in your sandbox, and not in the draft namespace. That's because drafts in the draft namespace disappear after a certain period of time with no edit activity.
The outlines need watchdogs, to keep an eye on them and make sure they are secure and well maintained.Here are some tips for effective monitoring of this valuable resource:
Place this project's articles alerts template on your talk page in such a way that it floats at the bottom, so that you see it every time you read a message there. To do so, copy and paste this code near the top of your talk page:
<ref>{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Outlines/Article alerts}}</ref>
This will allow you to easily keep track of outline deletion discussions at AfD, requested moves, featured list nominations, and other formally tagged outline-related nominations.
Note: Article alerts doesn't catch everything, like page edits and untagged discussions. For those, we have watchlists...
There's a comprehensive outline-related watchlist atWikipedia:WikiProject Outlines/Watchlist using Related changes.
Follow the instructions at the top of that page.
Also feel free to keep that page up to date by adding new outline-related pages to it.
In the desktop view of Wikipedia, one tool available to monitor activity on outlines isrelated changes.To use it on outlines, go toWikipedia:Contents/Outlines and click on "Related changes" in the tools menu.
In order for this to work on all outlines,Wikipedia:Contents/Outlines must be kept up to date.
Beware: "Related changes" looks a lot like "Recent changes", and it is easy to accidentally use the latter by mistake.
Related changes works on the variousCategory:Wikipedia outlines pages, too.
Here are some things you can do to help (listed directly below, and in the subsections that follow):
{{subst:BLT|topic uncapitalized|topic capitalized}}.{{[[Template:Outline of knowledge coverage|Outline of knowledge coverage|subject}}.Sometimes, when an outline is created, the author forgets to add its title, and a description, to the main list of outlines. You can help by placing them there, in the appropriate section.
Here are the titles missing fromWikipedia:Contents/Outlines:
Outlines here need to be converted to the standard outline format. Only after a page has been converted to outline format should it be renamed toOutline of. Otherwise, others may assume the formatting is correct, and emulate it.
Examples of outlines with good picture support include:
To start a new outline...
Most outlines are incomplete, because subjects change over time, and so does Wikipedia's coverage of them.
SeeWikipedia:Contents/Outlines, and choose a subject that interests you, and start adding links.
The outlines that have been deleted over the years need to be developed from the ground up in draftspace.
Please see if you can finish these up:
If you'd like to get involved, and help with outline-related tasks, please add your username below:
See also:Category:WikiProject Outlines participants
| Wikitext | userbox | where used | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [[Category:WikiProject Outlines participants]] | none | linked pages | ||
{{User WikiProject Outlines}} |
| linked pages | ||
{{User WP Outlines}} |
| linked pages | ||
{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Outlines/Userboxes/User member}} |
| linked pages |
To award editors who've made significant contributions toOutlines and/or the Outlines WikiProject, here are some award templates you could use. Other awards work well too. Feel free to use your imagination.
 | The Outline Barnstar | |
| message ~~~~ |
 | The Outline Barnstar | |
| message ~~~~ |
Below are awards and thanks received by editors for special contributions to the outlines and thereby to the encyclopedia as a whole. Without further ado, here they are...
    |
| The"I'm Really Impressed"Barnstar Barrage! |
| For graphic design, workin' hard, and diligent relentless non-stop editing week after week on thecontents pages of Wikipedia, including but not limited toContents,Overviews,Fields,Glossaries,Basic topics,Topics,Tables,Portals, andCategories... Quiddity is hereby awarded this fireworks display of barnstars! On behalf of the Wikipedia community,thank you. –The Transhumanist 09:34, 22 October 2006 (UTC)[reply] |
|
| The"I'm Really Impressed"Barnstar Barrage! |
For graphic design, workin' hard, and diligent relentless non-stop editing week after week on thecontents pages of Wikipedia, including but not limited toContents,Overviews,Fields,Glossaries,Basic topics,Topics,Tables,Portals, andCategories... RichardF is hereby awarded this fireworks display of barnstars! On behalf of the Wikipedia community,thank you. |
(To The Transhumanist)
| The Tireless Contributor Barnstar | |
| I,Diligent Terrier, award you this "Tireless Contributor Barnstar" for your work in starting theList of basic American Civil War topics article from scratch. Great Job!DiligentTerrier •talk |sign here22:17, 12 January 2008 (UTC)[reply] |
(To The Transhumanist)
List of basic space exploration topics
Hi there TTH, Just wanted to thank you for your labors on this page, which is a great resource for us. BillWwheaton (talk)17:48, 29 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]
(To The Transhumanist)
Nice work -- I will withdraw the AfD nom. – ukexpat (talk)00:55, 15 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
 | The Barnstar of Recovery | |
| For savingList of basic Canada topics from being deleted, I -Milk'sFavoriteCookie hereby award you this Barnstar! Congrats! -Milk'sFavoriteCookie01:16, 15 March 2008 (UTC)[reply] |
 | The Bio-star | |
| is hereby awarded toEarthdirt for doing an outstanding job producing theList of basic cell biology topics, and for going far beyond expectations by including a definition for each presented topic. Thank you for creating such a useful resource for newcomers to this subject. It's fantastic!The Transhumanist03:50, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply] |
Hi Transhumanist, I wanted to note that I saw all of your work on the List of Basic France topics, and I appreciate it!Lazulilasher (talk)02:12, 8 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]
(To The Transhumanist)
I think......you need a barnstar for all of the hard work you have put into theWP:WPOOK!
 | The Barnstar Barnstar | |
| You deserve two!at-210discovered elements ∞what am I?20:21, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply] |
Transhumanist my friend,
It's about time you deserve a barnstar for all your contributions to outlines on Wikipedia, and also for being the promoter that you are for outlines. If it wasn't for you we might not have outlines as they are, so it is my honor to present to you the Special Barnstar because no other barnstar could merit what you do for outlines on Wikipedia. :-)Burningview (talk)03:42, 8 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]
 | The Special Barnstar | |
| This barnstar is presented to Transhumanist for all the hard work, contributions, coordination, and promotion he does in advancing the idea, coverage, content, and quality of Outlines on Wikipedia. For this he deserves a Special BarnstarBurningview (talk)03:42, 8 August 2009 (UTC)[reply] |
 | The Teamwork Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toPenubag for working so well with everyone on theOOK WikiProject, in the utilization of feedback on graphics creations, and jumping in to help wherever needed. Thank you!The Transhumanist21:54, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply] |
 | The Geography Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toTiamut for exemplary development work on theOutline of Palestine.The Transhumanist23:18, 25 July 2009 (UTC)[reply] |
 |  | |
The Wikipedian known asBuaidh is hereby recognized by his peers as aWikipedia World Developer, for his exemplary and extensive work on the outline articles of every country of the world and of every state of the United States (including the creation of a historical outline for every state), and for greatly improving Wikipedia'sOutline of Knowledge. Presented on this, the 4th day of August 2009, by —The Transhumanist , penubag ,Willscrlt,NW,Gimme danger,Minnecologies,Stefan,Sswonk, –Juliancolton,MacMed,+sj+,Highfields,Tarheel95,RichFarmbrough,TheEarwig,Quiddity,andat-210 |
(To The Transhumanist)
| The Special Barnstar | |
| This award is in appreciation of the excellent work you have done supporting the development of Outlines on WikipediaThruxton (talk)18:59, 5 December 2010 (UTC)[reply] |
(To The Transhumanist)
I just wanted to tell you (probably not the 1st ^^ ) that your are an incredible wikipedia member, your userpage is simply amazing and your contribution is...gigantic? huge? Incredible? not for the number edits (still high) but rather over the appropriateness of the things that you have created, especially the outline project. I wont give you another award, you already have billions, but simply a modest "Bravo!". --
Offiikart (Talk)05:23, 21 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]
| The Geography Barnstar | |
| By expanding theOutline of Quebec and creating lists oflandforms,mountain ranges, andhospitals in Quebec, Offiikart has improved Wikipedia's navigation system, helping its readers to virtually tour the world. He is hereby awarded The Geography Barnstar.The Transhumanist10:49, 29 June 2011 (UTC)[reply] |
 | The WikiProject Barnstar | |
| ToThe Transhumanist who created the outline project and tirelessly continues to improve it. A special thanks for your help and your recognition.OffiikartTalk13:54, 29 June 2011 (UTC)[reply] |
(To The Transhumanist)
 | The Chess Barnstar | |
| Awarded for many contributions to chess articles, especially theOutline of chess.Bubba73You talkin' to me?16:34, 18 October 2011 (UTC)[reply] |
(To The Transhumanist)
 | The Original Barnstar |
| Thanks so much for your work on theOutline of domestic violence, it is so much better that it's astounding how far it's come along. Thanks for making my first outline "sing"!CaroleHenson (talk)11:11, 21 November 2011 (UTC)[reply] |
 | What a Brilliant Idea Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toCarole Henson for creating and developing theOutline of domestic violence, a hub of knowledge that many will no doubt find very relevant and helpful in times of personal crisis. I commend you, Carole, on making such a valuable resource available to the public worldwide. Kudos to you. Sincerely,The Transhumanist23:00, 21 November 2011 (UTC)[reply] |
(To The Transhumanist)
 | The Copyeditor's Barnstar |
| Thanks for the ndashes on theApple outline article.Zach Vega (talk)00:58, 13 April 2012 (UTC)[reply] |
You've done a fantastic job so far creating theoutline of globalization.
Keep up the excellent work. It's a damn nice addition to the outline collection: you're filling in a gap that badly needs filling. I look forward to reading the outline as you develop it to completion.
For an example of the progression of development of an outline,view the edit history of Outline of cell biology, and look at every 10th version, starting with the first version.
If you need my help with anything concerning outlines, or if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Sincerely,The Transhumanist06:33, 5 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]
 | The Outline Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toMeclee, for the creation and development ofOutline of globalization. —The Transhumanist 15:23, 6 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
(To The Transhumanist)
 | The Barnstar of Diligence |
| For your efforts on updating, improving and organisingOutline of human anatomyLT910001 (talk)06:39, 2 January 2014 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Bio-star | |
| is hereby awarded toTheProfessor for creating and developing theOutline of evolution. Thank you, and keep up the good work!The Transhumanist07:00, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply] |
(To The Transhumanist)
 | The Tireless Contributor Barnstar |
| For your work on "Outline of space science"Tetra quark(don't be shy)05:55, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply] |
 | The Original Barnstar | |
| Is hereby awarded toMindfrieze for creating theOutline of sailing, which is now in article space. Keep up the good work!The Transhumanist00:26, 12 July 2016 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Original Barnstar | |
| Is hereby awarded toMarikafragen for creating theOutline of adoption, which is now in article space. Thank you for creating this outline!The Transhumanist22:43, 12 July 2016 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Original Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toCSJJ104 for creating theOutline of the Cold War, which is now in article space. Thank you for making such a good start in filling this gap in the navigation system!The Transhumanist05:06, 15 July 2016 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Original Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toBroter for creating and developing theOutline of Joseph Smith. A very fine job indeed.The Transhumanist19:14, 10 August 2016 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Original Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toPKT for creating and developing theOutline of New Brunswick. Well done. Thank you.The Transhumanist04:33, 12 August 2016 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Original Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toLakun.patra for creating and developing theOutline of Assam. A very nice addition tothe collection. Keep up the good work. Thank you.The Transhumanist08:14, 21 August 2016 (UTC)[reply] |
(To The Transhumanist)
| The Tireless Contributor Barnstar |
| Great work with the Outlines :)Pratyush (talk)21:07, 26 September 2016 (UTC)[reply] |
(To The Transhumanist)
Love the outlines
Hi there! I just wanted to let you know that I think your planet outlines are really cool. I have long thought it was a shame that only Wikipedians seem to know about Books or Portals, because they are really great tools for structuring knowledge (while everyone loves diving down the Wikipedia rabbit hole, we couldreally do with some better content organization). The outlines strike me as a great way to bring that sort content organization to mainspace, where it will actually reach a large number of readers. I notice that I am the first one to edit them besides yourself, and I hope you know that I do so with love.
| What a Brilliant Idea Barnstar | |
| Great idea with the outline articles - a great solution to a need for better mainspace-based content structuring!I see fromWP:Outlines that you actually came up with this concept some years ago, but this is the first I've noticed it.A2soup (talk)02:46, 8 February 2017 (UTC)[reply] |
 | The Portal Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toCertes for enhancements to the entire portal system in the form of the templatesTransclude lead excerpt andTransclude random excerpt. With great anticipation, I look forward to your future contributions to portals. Sincerely, —The Transhumanist 06:32, 2 May 2018 (UTC)[reply] |
 | The Cannabis Outline Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toBri for creating and developing theOutline of cannabis. A very interesting topic, indeed, with much coverage on Wikipedia that this outline makes easier to find and navigate. Keep up the good work. Thank you. —The Transhumanist 22:15, 30 November 2018 (UTC)[reply] |
(To The Transhumanist)
| The Original Barnstar | |
| message Ambuj Shukla 19:16, 2 November 2019 (UTC) |
You have made immense contributions to outlines over the years, and have encouraged many more Wikipedians to follow your lead. The impact of your contributions are great. Keep doing the good work!— Precedingunsigned comment added byAmbujshukla2004 (talk •contribs)19:16, 2 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
(To CSJJ104)
| The Original Barnstar | |
| The article you created,Outline of the wars of the Three Kingdoms, is very useful. Thanks for contributing a great outline. // Timothy :: talk 18:39, 5 August 2020 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Outline Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toXTheBedrockX, for incredible attention to detail in the creation, development, and maintenance ofOutline of the Iraq War. Keep up the great work! —The Transhumanist 01:41, 6 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Outline Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toTimothyBlue, for the creation and monitoring ofOutline of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. Keep up the excellent work! —The Transhumanist 01:47, 6 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
|  | The Outline Barnstar and Featured List Medal | |
| are hereby awarded toMeegsC, for improvingOutline of lichens to featured list status. The outline has earned a star, and now, so have you! Keep up the great work. Sincerely, —The Transhumanist 01:53, 6 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Outline Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toJerium, forthe creation ofThe Outline Barnstar, which provides theOutlines WikiProject the increased capability of awarding editors who have contributed to the improvement of outlines and outline coverage on Wikipedia. Thank you. Sincerely, —The Transhumanist 02:24, 6 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Multi-Outline Barnstar | |||||||
| is hereby awarded toPbsouthwood, for the creation, development, and maintenance of: for work on: and for extensive work on: Keep up the excellent work! —The Transhumanist 08:35, 6 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
| The City Outline Barnstar Barrage |
is hereby awarded toCote d'Azur, for the creation of the following multitude of city outlines:
And for extensive work on:
|
 |  | The Outline Barnstar |
| is hereby awarded toEpipelagic, for the creation and development of the collosalOutline of fishing, parts of which were split off to become theOutline of the fishing industry andOutline of fisheries. Thank you. —The Transhumanist 08:17, 8 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Outline Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toMarikafragen,for annotating the entirety of theOutline of fishing. Thank you. —The Transhumanist 08:18, 8 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
 | The Outline Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toMinnecologoies,for extensive work on theOutline of forestry. Thank you. —The Transhumanist 08:37, 8 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Outline Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toDASonnenfeld,for extensive work on theOutline of forestry. Thank you. —The Transhumanist 08:39, 8 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Outline Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toThruxton, for creation and development of theOutline of motorcycles and motorcycling. Thank you. —The Transhumanist 08:52, 8 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
 | The Article Rescue Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toGuywan for saving theOutline of natural language processing from deletion, after it was already deleted, bytaking the matter before Deletion Review. —The Transhumanist 11:50, 10 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
Cool template
...which is now in use on over 8,200 pages. Nicely done.
 | The Template Barnstar | |
| is hereby awarded toPbsouthwood, for the creation and development of theAnnotated link template, which enables significant enhancement and ease of construction to embedded lists, including those in outlines. Kudos. —The Transhumanist 13:02, 10 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
| The Outline Barnstar | |
| Hello The Transhumanist, you are receiving this award for the creation and continued dedication toWikiProject Outlines. You deserve this barnstar more than anyone.Jerium (talk)19:18, 12 November 2023 (UTC)[reply] |
For a job wonderfully done...
 | | The Classical Music & Outline Barnstar |
| is hereby awarded toGor1995, for the creation and development of the comprehensiveOutline of classical music, providing a much needed navigation aid for this extensive subject and a valuable expansion to the outline system. Thank you. —The Transhumanist 15:36, 19 January 2024 (UTC)[reply] |
