User:Pknkly/WikiProject Chicago/Categories/Categories for encyclopedic articles

Chicago Project categories for encyclopedic articles provide an alternative navigation option that helps readers to find encyclopedic articles or group of articles related to Chicago or the Chicago metropolitan area. The Chicago Project supports the creation and the use of these categories. These encyclopedic categories are sometimes referred to as content categories.

Using the categories
Within the article page each article that is within the scope of the Chicago Project must at least have a category that is a subcategory of either ( a ) Category:Chicago for articles that are about or related to the City of Chicago, or ( b ) Category:Chicago metropolitan area for articles that are about topics outside of the City of Chicago but within the geographic boundaries given within the article Chicago metropolitan area.

After one of the above categories is assigned to an article additional Chicago Project categories may be added as needed. These additional categories may be found by looking within the subcategories for the two categories given above. In general, an article that is part of the project should be in a subcategory of one of these two categories and if it is in the main category subcategory placement should be sought instead.

Articles to which these Chicago Project categories are to be assigned should have within the talk page of the article the Chicago Project banner (it looks like the following).

If the banner is not in the talk page, add the following template to create the banner:


 * ChicagoWikiProject

Editors who add these categories are encouraged to go to the talk page of the article and complete an assessment by updating the Chicago Project assessment parameters for Class and Importance. The assumption is that these editors have read the article and have formed an opinion about the quality and the importance of the article.

Finding categories
Readers/editors of encyclopedic articles who which to use an existing Chicago Project category can look within the following category lists and portals:


 * Category:Chicago for categories related to the City of Chicago.
 * Portal:Chicago/Categories is an alternative method for navigating the :Category:Chicago list.


 * Category:Chicago metropolitan area for categories related to subjects that are beyond the city limits for the City of Chicago but are within a geographic area that is about 200 miles from Chicago. The specific area is defined within the category list - see largest cities, towns, villages, and counties.

Creating a new category
To create a content category follow the instructions given within wp:Categorization and:

(1) Assign the following template within the top of the talk page:


 * ChicagoWikiProject

(2) Within the category page assign (you can use a copy and paste) the following categories:


 * to group all the content categories.
 * and one of the bleow:


 * for categories that will hold only articles related to the City of Chicago proper, not areas outside of the city limits.
 * or
 * for categories that will hold only articles related to the area beyond the city limits of Chicago but within the Chicago metropolitan area.

(3) Within the category page assign other applicable categories that may or may not be related to the scope of the Chicago Project.

(4) If the new category is to be a subcategory, place the parent category within the category page.

(5) Use a category message box to let editors know what types of pages to assign to the new category.

(6)Place the category just created into the list of categories at WikiProject Chicago/Bot Category List. Use the same format as was used by the other categories.

Help and support
If editors creating a new category have any questions, they can post them either within this talk page or within the general talk page for the Chicago Project.