User talk:Dark jedi requiem/DYK tutorial

Interested in getting an article on the main page? One of the easiest ways to get an article featured on the main page is through the DYK process.

Starting an article
Generally one has five days to nominate an article. The sooner the better because the article is newer, but too soon and it doesn't recieve enough attention for an admin to place it in the DYK box. If you cannot dedicate enough time in a five day stretch it may be better to create a subpage and move it into the namespace upon completion.

There are millions of articles waiting to be written. Possiblilies for DYK include:

Did you know?
 * ...that the young Mimic surgeonfish are colored to look nearly identical to the Lemonpeel Angelfish?
 * ...that Rare Cuts and Oddities is a retrospective Grateful Dead album that consists of old demos, rehersals and cover songs which include Promised Land by Chuck Berry?
 * ...that Zsa Zsa Speck was the original keyboardist for the shock rock band Marilyn Manson?
 * ...that Lake Dorjan was home to several endemic species including Graecoanatolica macedonica which went extinct after a large outflow and an uncharacteristically hot summer which lowered the lake?

Once you find a notable topic, research it. No DYK is unsourced (External links do not count) although some slip through with two to three. Go to your local library, find authoritative websites. If you find little to no results, the topic may not be notible enough for an article, or be too poorly studied to fill a page. Write as much as you can, and don't forget to use The Manual of Style.

General rules for DYK pages
And most importantly:
 * Must be within five days old.
 * Sourced.
 * Not a stub.
 * NPOV.
 * The fact must be listed in the article.
 * It must be interesting!

Looking for pictures
Many articles would not be complete without a picture. While a notible album may be uploaded under "Fair Use" other subject maybe more difficult to find. Wikimedia Commons is a great place to begin searching, as well as Flickr and NASA. Most government works are public domain meaning your fish may have a picture at the Department of Fish and Wildlife website, or that your terrorist maybe found at the Central Intelligence Agency's website.

Another viable option: use teamwork. Some users will draw maps and diagrams while others may take pictures at Photo Matching Service. Although you may live in rural United States, users from Spain, Australia, Japan and many others are within a click of a mouse to help you.

Sourcing
The fastest way for your article to go no where is to not cite it. The easist way to source something is inline citations. The following is a very simple guide to using them.

Example of sourcing:

We will source an article with the book Broodstock Management and Egg and Larval Quality by Niall R. Bromage and Ronald J. Roberts. It was published in 1995 by Blackwell Science.

A simple reference tag looks like the following:    When we reference the aforementioned book, it would look like:   

Use this format the first time you cite a source. When refering to the same source, use:    or seen applied:    Once sourced, don't forget to add the following on the bottom of the page (generally above external links, but below the last information in the article):  

Nomination process
Once your article is completed, nominate your article at Template talk:Did you know. A typical nomination looks like:

...that the Nile tilapia makes up nearly 5% of all commercially farmed fish? (self-nom) User 12:34, 1 January 2000 (UTC)

Recently, editors (without sysop powers) are now adding nominated entries to Template:Did you know/Next update where admins copy and paste to the next DYK entry.

Return often
Return to your nomination as often as you can. Sometimes returning comments makes the difference between the excitement of seeing your work on the main page and disapointment at your article failing to make the grade. You can return to see comments, and through teamwork, reach your goal. It isn't uncommon to see things such as:

...that the Nile tilapia makes up nearly 5% of all commercially farmed fish? (self-nom) User 12:34, 1 January 2000 (UTC)
 * You are contridicting the article. Do you mean all tilapia, or just the Nile? Random Admin 12:35, 1 January 2000 (UTC)

...that of the nine species of tilapia that make up 5% of all commercially farmed fish, the Nile tilapia is the most popular?
 * Does this work better? User 12:36, 1 January 2000 (UTC)
 * Yes, on the main page now. Cheers. Random Admin 12:37, 1 January 2000 (UTC)

Celebrate
Once you've got your article on the main page, relax. Show your friends, family, neighbors, strangers, ect. If the admin is nice enough/not too busy, you might get a even box, saying congrats.

You can keep track of the number you do with the DYK userbox. Just add:

Next: have at it. Make more DYK pages, or better yet, make your DYK article featured!