Wikipedia:WikiProject Portals

Welcome to WikiProject Portals, dedicated to developing and maintaining portals and portal tools. New participants are welcome; please feel free to join.

This project collaborates to build, improve and maintain portals, their support pages, and portal tools.
 * 1) Maintaining portals means updating them, and fixing problems that arise.
 * 2) We also build new portals to fill gaps in the portal system, and expand the portal system's coverage of subjects on Wikipedia.
 * 3) Portal support pages include the portal guidelines, portal building instructions, and this WikiProject.
 * 4) Gaining community consensus for the WikiProject's activities in the Portal, Template, and Main namespaces.
 * 5) Fixing bugs and repairing formatting errors that emerge, placing links to the portals, etc.
 * 6) Administration of the WikiProject (updating support pages and guidelines, publishing the project's newsletter, managing tasks, posting announcements and invitations, etc.)
 * 7) Create new portals for all the core topics that have enough coverage to need a portal
 * 8) Keep existing portals fully upgraded and running smoothly

Portals status report

 *  Current all portals (this number automatically updates as pages are added to or deleted from Category:All portals)
 * Historical trivia: up through mid-2018, French Wikipedia actually used a bot to keep regular track of how many Portals were here, in English Wikipedia; the bot's report history is here.
 *  Current single page portals (new creations and restarts, net of deletions).


 * 1,485 The number of portals when we started the project reboot (April 2018)
 * 4,220 Added portals (at least) April 2018-Feb 13, 2019 (many of these were subsequently deleted at MfD)
 * 5,705 Approximate peak number of portals from Newsletter #29 on Feb 13, 2019 (many of these were subsequently deleted at MfD)

Focus: Portals
The focus of this WikiProject is portals, all existing and future portals on Wikipedia.

What is a portal?


"Portal" is an archaic word which means "doorway", so a portal is a form of entrance. A good synonym for a Wikipedia Portal is "signposted doorway to knowledge". Portals serve as entrance points for topics which extend across many related articles, but with more depth and engagement than a list of links. A portal focuses on a range of articles based on its title, and seeks to emulate a main page for that range. This helps specify more familiar articles and files, and narrows down searches for important and interesting, but otherwise more obscure aspects. Like a main page, a portal is not an article, but a passageway to many articles. Portals may vary in format and approach, but their main purpose is always to capture interest and provide various routes of topic exploration.

Here are a couple definitions for the word "portal" from Wiktionary:
 * 1) An entrance, entry point, or means of entry. For example: The local library, a portal of knowledge.
 * 2) A website or page that acts as an entrance to other websites or pages on the Internet.

Each portal name follows the subject covered, so we have a portal of "Geography", but all portals have a namespace, defined by adding "Portal:" to the title, so the geography portal is Portal:Geography.

The best portals are not simply domains of information, but nodes of knowledge and categorization complimenting the category, listing, and outline systems.

When a subject is covered by a range of articles, the parent portal can be considered a root article as related articles branch from it. Portals take us beyond the root article however to guide and encourage exploration of the branches. If there are too few branches, a portal is not appropriate because the root article is a better navigation tool.

As an example of how portals may be useful, the article mathematics summarizes its general subject in descriptive terms, but with over 40,000 articles on mathematics topics, navigating the various branches of the mathematics topic from the root mathematics article, or its categories and lists, can be somewhat awkward and unengaging. A portal expands the list based navigation concepts to make a subject more accessible. Portal:Mathematics, for instance, provides a selection of reading samples including more obscure and trivial topics, such as DYKs, chosen and structured to provoke interest, beside a guide to related on-wiki projects, all underscored by a comprehensive, collapsible link tree for users drawn deeper into the subject.

Portals begin as a basic template. But the design of the portal progresses and evolves to the stage where static content display transforms to dynamic user interface. With interactive components such as slideshows and rotating featured content (emulating a main page), portals aspire to be a go-to area for seeking knowledge in a particular categorical subject.

Good portals should fill a niche not covered by lists, categories, outlines or articles and improve dissemination of all categorical subjects. Innovation in the style and design of portals individually is both desired and encouraged.

Purposes of portals


Each portal on Wikipedia acts as an alternative entrance to a subject. Portals supplement the encyclopedia. They support their subjects in various ways, including but not limited to:
 * 1) Providing a variety of sample content of subtopics ("topic tasters"), from within each portal's subject, that the reader may find interesting. Kind of like a magazine. Like what Wikipedia's Main Page does in general.
 * 2) Aiding navigation - portals are one of Wikipedia's navigation subsystems, designed to help users find their way around the vast amount of knowledge on Wikipedia to material within a particular subject. So, in addition to sample content, a portal may also present in various ways, links, and lists of links.
 * 3) Providing bridges between reading and editing, and between the encyclopedia proper and the Wikipedia community, via links to pages in project space (and the other namespaces) that are relevant to the portal's subject. A portal may be associated with one or more WikiProjects; unlike a WikiProject, however, it is meant for both readers and editors of Wikipedia, and should promote content and encourage contribution. Note that portals are created for encyclopedic topics only and not for article maintenance categories.

Discussion announcements

 * Wikipedia talk:Portal guidelines § Second sentence contradicts WP:NOTCOMPULSORY policy, and should be removed
 * Wikipedia talk:Portal guidelines § Concerning the inclusion of "Related portals" section
 * Wikipedia talk:Portal guidelines § Concerning the inclusion of "Selected article(s)" section
 * Wikipedia talk:Portal guidelines § Concerning section: Recommended
 * Wikipedia talk:Portal guidelines § Concerning section: Article selection
 * Wikipedia talk:Portal guidelines § Concerning section: Required

Manual listing

 * Note that portal subpages are not included in the automatic alerts. For example, if a specific subpage is nominated for deletion.
 * For archives, see: Portals for deletion at MfD.

Watchlist
A list of all portal pages is provided below. (It is possible to get all portal pages into your watchlist, but it is difficult and tedious). The list is current as of 17 May 2022.

SearchSuite
Most older portals have subpages. Search is kind of cludgy for looking at these. you can use PrefixIndex for extracting subpages (Example).

SearchSuite enhances Wikipedia search results. It has a feature (menu item) that reformats search results to one-line entries, which is convenient for looking at portal subpages as a list. It has another menu item that formats the links (asterisk-style, with link delimeters) for copying/pasting into an editor. And another for sorting the results. Each feature works on the output of the others, and the script remembers the setting of each menu item between pages. When one is turned on, it stays on for all searches.

Navigation

 * WikiProject Portals/New (see box displayed to the right)

Markers
These markers control how a portal is edited.
 * nobots – tells bots not to edit the page.
 * Portal maintenance status – used to record various maintenance metadata for a portal

Portal components
Here's a portal displaying the components that can be used in each section:


 * WikiProject Portals/Components

Here's a list of components used to build portals. Their placement (left column, etc.) is suggested only.


 * Top of portal
 * – adds a standard short description
 * – standard portals navigation bar displayed in top margin, to browse top-level portals
 * – dynamic excerpt that always matches the source.
 * Left column
 * – same as above, but specify multiple sources for alternating display.
 * – shows a specific lead of an article for a specific time.
 * Quotes
 * – this template should be used when you need a layout for quotes.
 * – this template was used in the Portal:LDS Church to eleminate the need for subpages for quotes.
 * Right column
 * – shows wikinews about a subject.
 * – shows a slideshow gallery of specified files, in a randomised order
 * – shows Did you know? items for a subject.
 * Bottom of portal
 * – creates icon tables of related portals for portal pages. Friendly to wide and narrow screens, including mobile, and does not require hardcoding icons.
 * – creates a table of interwiki links related to the current portal.
 * – creates the "View new selections (purge)" link.
 * – explanatory and browsing links
 * Layout
 * – start of a layout box. The "#" is the number of a configuration subpage, each with a different pre-defined configuration.
 * as an alternative to the above, with automatic WP:WCAG compliant color selection.
 * – end of a layout box

For a full list of portal templates, see Portal templates navbox:

Userboxes and WikiAd
Show these off on your profile to let everyone know you contribute to the sustainment of the Portal namespace. Or you could just add directly.


 * User WikiProject Portals creates


 * User WikiProject Portals2 creates


 * creates

Project participants
If you'd like to receive task requests and project-related updates on your talk page, please add your name below. Also, please indicate if you are a user of AWB or JWB, and if you know Lua, JS, perl, and/or PHP. An asterisk following a name indicates they receive updates in the form of a link instead of the whole newsletter. Follow your name with two asterisks if you do not wish to receive any project-wide updates, not even a link. Those marked with 3 asterisks have not been confirmed as wishing updates due to unreachability.


 * (AWB)
 * (I use neither) (Admin)
 * (I use neither)
 * Use neither AWB or JWB. Has experience with Javascript and PHP.
 * Delighted to use my free time to improve WP
 * * (Admin) Used to maintain Portal:Scotland. Don't use AWB or JWB, but am delighted this initiative is underway. have now pretty much updated the Portal to self maintain/update.
 * (AWB)
 * * (AWB) - busy working on a new approach to make portals mobile-friendly.
 * (AWB)
 * (AWB)(JWB)(a little Lua)
 * (AWB) (A bit of Javascript)
 * - Limited time means I am not sure if I can be of much help, but I have edited a few portals from time to time and happy to keep doing so. Do not use any of the above.
 * – Lua (also AWB, but have not used it for a while)
 * I can use AWB, but usually I don't.
 * I want to learn how to make portals, maintain portals, etc.
 * - Very little experience with portals but willing to help and learn!
 * - I use neither, happy to take on small to mid-sized tasks to help
 * *** (Admin)
 * (just me)
 * - I know the background importance of portals to the site.
 * - use none of them.
 * (JWB)
 * - use none of them. already heavily edited a number of portals, so member by default
 * (AWB)
 * (Uses neither, trying to figure out JavaScript, bad at everything else)
 * (plans on being a maintainer of Society)
 * (I use neither)
 * (AWB)
 * * (Admin) - No AWB, no JWB, don't know Lua but wouldn't mind learning it
 * - I am learning Lua
 * (Admin)
 * (AWB)
 * (Admin) (old school clunky Wiki coder)
 * (Admin) – I am registered for AWB, but have hardly started to learn how to use it.
 * * No AWB, no JWB, no Lua, some JavaScript but been a while. Plan on being a maintainer of Portal:Oklahoma
 * - (Don't know AWB, JWB, or Lua)
 * — AWB (sometimes).
 * (Admin)
 * — AWB
 * (Admin)
 * Adding portal navigation bars and links to various areas consistently around encyclopedia, esp on annual timeline entries for specific countries.
 * (AWB)(JS)
 * **, no AWB, JWB, Lua Help to get the automatic update function in would be great, the main point why portals are considered "dead"; not automatically updated for Featured, DYK and Pictures.
 * - AWB
 * (Mossab) (AWB).
 * * No knowledge of AWB, JWB, or Lua but wouldn't mind learning it
 * , mostly working on making things accessible and mobile-friendly
 * Not AWB,JWB No lua. But would like to learn it!
 * - (Don't know AWB, JWB, or Lua)
 * — AWB (sometimes).
 * (Admin)
 * — AWB
 * (Admin)
 * Adding portal navigation bars and links to various areas consistently around encyclopedia, esp on annual timeline entries for specific countries.
 * (AWB)(JS)
 * **, no AWB, JWB, Lua Help to get the automatic update function in would be great, the main point why portals are considered "dead"; not automatically updated for Featured, DYK and Pictures.
 * - AWB
 * (Mossab) (AWB).
 * * No knowledge of AWB, JWB, or Lua but wouldn't mind learning it
 * , mostly working on making things accessible and mobile-friendly
 * Not AWB,JWB No lua. But would like to learn it!
 * - AWB
 * (Mossab) (AWB).
 * * No knowledge of AWB, JWB, or Lua but wouldn't mind learning it
 * , mostly working on making things accessible and mobile-friendly
 * Not AWB,JWB No lua. But would like to learn it!
 * , mostly working on making things accessible and mobile-friendly
 * Not AWB,JWB No lua. But would like to learn it!
 * Not AWB,JWB No lua. But would like to learn it!

WikiGnomes
If you prefer WikiGnome tasks and would like to receive WikiGnome-oriented updates on your talk page, please add your name below. Also let us know if you are an AWB or JWB user.


 * (AWB)
 * (AWB - can't get it to work for me, though)
 * (AWB, JWB, Lua, templates)
 * (AWB)
 * - (Already a WikiGnome in this area)
 * (JWB)
 * (AWB)
 * (JWB)
 * (AWB)
 * (AWB)
 * (AWB)
 * (AWB)
 * (AWB)

Specific portal maintainers
This is a list of editors who work on specific portal(s) or in specific areas, in case you need to contact someone about those.


 * – Portal:Bangladesh.
 * (Admin) – focus on Portal: Science
 * – Portal:Law
 * *, lead editor on most of Germany's state and regional portals
 * Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate
 * Rhön
 * East Germany, Holy Roman Empire, Alps, Mountains, Tyrol
 * – Coordinator for Portal:Colorado.
 * – Maintainer of Portal:American Civil War
 * * – Portal:Scotland Used to maintain it regularly until I became quite inactive. Have recently revamped it to autoupdate using current templates.
 * – Creator and maintainer of Portal:Washington, D.C..
 * I maintain Portal:West Sussex.
 * – maintainer of Portal:Byzantine Empire
 * – maintainer of Portal:London transport
 * * – Help to maintain Portal:Mathematics.
 * – Creator and one of the Maintainers of the Cheshire portal; I may help set up other county portals for England.
 * – Creator and maintainer of Portal:Victoria.
 * – Maintaining Portal:Current events; I am also the Current Events WikiProject coordinator.
 * – a maintainer of Portal:Cheshire & Portal:Viruses, & creator of Portal:Scottish islands
 * – Portal:Australian roads
 * – Portal:North Korea
 * – Portal:Organized Labour, reviving the project
 * – Portal:Nuclear technology. Been meaning to update this one for a while
 * – watcher of Portal:Australia and related state portals
 * (Admin) – Portal:Yorkshire
 * – Portal:Venezuela
 * * – sole editor of Portal:Poland
 * – no, never heard of, same
 * Will be working mostly off and on on Portal:Cars
 *  Light and Dark2000  (talk) 03:38, 3 May 2018 (UTC)
 * Working on the Tropical cyclones portal, and occasionally, a few other Science-topics portals as well. Would like to receive major/critical updates only.  Light and Dark2000  (talk) 03:41, 3 May 2018 (UTC)
 * – I don't believe anyone is maintaining the Portal:Astronomy so I have started to do so! Of course, others are welcome to help!
 * – Mostly focus on updating current storms and sometimes anniversary material in the Tropical cyclone portal
 * – sole editor and maintainer of Portal:San Francisco Bay Area, fixed up a number of others as well, not active on them
 * – I restored Portal:Shia Islam after it was deleted.
 * - Portal:Tennis, and Portal:Idaho, if I can get it resurrected. (Purveyor of Categories and Templates)
 * , for Portal:Horses, I'm the only person who even keeps an eye on the portal any more, the creator of the portal, who raised it to featured portal quality, has retired from WP.
 * – maintainer of Portal:Virginia.
 * – Alps Mountains, Mountains, Derbyshire.
 * (Admin) * – Generally sole editor and creator of Portal:Speculative fiction (featured), also sometimes edit Portal:Anime and manga, Portal:Studio Ghibli, and Portal:Japan
 * – maintainer of Portal:Olympic Games
 * , Trys to work on Portal:Telephone, most likely will need help
 * – Portal:Coffee, Portal:Food, Portal:Jamaica, Portal:Liquor
 * (Admin) One of several involved at Portal:College Football.
 * (Admin) – Lead editor on Portal:Underwater diving and associated subportals
 * , Maintaining Portal:Pakistan and its related Portals. I have updated many Pakistani Portals.
 * – Martial arts
 * (Admin) – taking on maintenance of Portal:Theatre
 * Updated Portal:Earth sciences.
 * (Admin) – Maintaining Portal:Weather
 * – I maintain Portal:Mesoamerica.
 * – General maintenance, especially on the war portal
 * (Admin) – lead editor on Portal:Trains
 * – Starting to take on maintenance of Portal:History. --Sm8900 (talk) 14:59, 31 January 2020 (UTC)
 * – Creating a portal for the 1940s decade.
 * – various, particularly world geography-related portals
 * – maintainer and one of the original creators of Portal:Opera
 * (Admin) – creator and maintainer of Portal:South East England and most of its sub-portals, with a specific focus on Portal:Hampshire. I can use both AWB and JWB but don't know Lua very well.
 * – Portal:Ireland, Portal:Philately
 * – Portal:Egypt
 * – Portal:Canada
 * – look after Portal:buses whilst it still exists.
 * – Portal:Traditional African religions, Portal:Pan-Africanism, Portal:Senegal, and Portal:The Gambia (only major/critical updates please)
 * (plans on maintaining Society)
 * Maintains Portal:maine

Other

 * SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  – Primarily interested for now in working on the draft WP:Manual of Style/Portals. I'm one of the longest-term MoS shepherds. Please consider me basically an ombudsman for how to craft that in a way to get it passed as an actual guideline. (Also AWB-approved and a Template Editor and Page Mover, if such geekery is needed, though I suck at Lua.) PS: I don't directly co-maintain any portals right now but have worked on several, including Portal:Snooker; would like to see a more general Portal:Cue sports.

Guidance

 * Portal
 * How to find portals
 * Portal guidelines
 * Style guidelines
 * Portal
 * Tip of the day/June 25 – Portals
 * Tip of the day/September 18 – Difference between wikiprojects and portals?

Newsletter archive

 * WikiProject Portals/Newsletter archive

Navigation

 * Portal:Featured content/Portals
 * WikiProject_Portals/Article_alerts Highly important alerts page, listing active discussions of Portals for deletion.
 * WikiProject_Portals/Article_alerts Highly important alerts page, listing active discussions of Portals for deletion.

General topical lists of portals

 * Former featured portals
 * List of country portals
 * List of shortcuts/Portal shortcuts
 * List of U.S. state portals
 * List of Wikipedians by featured portal nominations
 * Portal namespace (setting-up debate)
 * Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)/RfC: Ending the system of portals (Closed as no consensus; resulted in the reboot of WikiProject Portals.