Conservapedia:How to write good WIGO:CP entries
From RationalWiki
This is a short guide to writing entries on the What is going on at CP? page, intended for newcomers at RationalWiki, or for anybody who finds their additions regularly voted down.
[edit] Ten + 1 Golden Rules Guidelines for good WIGO entries
[edit] 1 - Know who is who and what is going on.
If you've just discovered Conservapedia, or RationalWiki, then it might be best to watch WIGO:CP (and WIGO talk:CP) for a while, before adding to it. Sadly, what might seem outrageous to you at first is often run-of-the-mill behavior from the likes of Andrew Schlafly, Ed Poor, TK and others. You don't need to know everything about everybody, but it helps to know a little about the main players and their habits, as well as what they've been up to recently.
[edit] 2 - Read other WIGO entries.
It helps to give a background to what's going on, and to avoid repeating entries. It's also good to pick up on the style of humor that appeals to other RationalWikians, and any of the odd memes and in-jokes that are sometimes used.
[edit] 3 - Use WIGO talk.
There's usually as much happening on the talk page as on WIGO:CP itself, and it's a lot more social. If something mildly interesting is going on at CP, but you're not sure whether it's funny or intriguing enough for a WIGO entry, bring it up on the talk page instead. It's also the place for discussion or feedback of any WIGO entries.
[edit] 4 - Include links.
Always. If the WIGO mentions two or three things happening, give a link for each. Usually, any edit or talk comment you are highlighting should have a difflink, and any article or talk page should have a permanent link, since the page may later get changed. An experienced contributor can make the mistake of using some of the short cut linking methods such as [[cp:article|article]] to link to an article. This causes problems for Capturebot2 and will result in you being voted down by its operator.
[edit] 5 - Don't repeat WIGOs - update them.
Check to see whether what you've just noticed isn't already been mentioned on WIGO, or the talk page. If it's something that relates to another recent WIGO (in the first few entries), it's better to add it onto that as an update (use bold to draw attention to it) than as a new entry.
[edit] 6 - Keep it short and sweet.
Brevity is the soul of wit. Usually what is funny or shocking about the link will speak for itself - you just need a snappy summary or a jokey message to highlight it. If you need to explain what's funny or interesting about it, then maybe it wasn't all that funny or interesting in the first place.
[edit] 7 - WIGO is not a soapbox.
It's about the lulz. Don't add a long-winded editorical critique about exactly why Andy is a hypocrite to the WIGO entry. Chances are most people at RW will agree with you, but that won't stop them finding the entry tedious. Those kind of comments are best raised on the talk page.
[edit] 8 - Don't WIGO yourself.
It's self-indulgent and unbecoming, and usually pretty easy for other people to spot, even if your sock at CP has a different name. If you've said or done something devastatingly funny or subversive, then probably somebody else at RW will notice it. However, most of the WIGO fun comes from watching the antics of regular CP contributors, not minor socks playing or getting blocked for obvious reasons.
[edit] 9 - Don't WIGO wandalism or parody.
If you see wiki vandalism or spoof articles at Conservapedia which hasn't been noticed yet, keep them to yourself. CP admins regularly watch the WIGO page and will respond by deleting any wandalism that we draw their attention to. Furthermore, most wandalism is not that entertaining anyway, except to the person doing it. Vandal attacks may sometimes be worth mentioning on WIGO talk, but are only worth putting in a WIGO entry if they are especially clever, satirical or inventive and have already been found by a sysop.
[edit] 10 - Break any of these rules at any time.
They're only guidelines, and there are good exceptions to almost all of them. Except the one about including links. Always include links.
[edit] 11 - Keep the Monty Python references to a minimum.
Likely hilarious in the 1970's, still funny in the 1980's. Not so much now. Remember, comedy didn't exist before Christ. This comic should help illustrate what is wrong with repeating Monty Python jokes.
