Porn Base Central:So you made a userspace draft

So you made a userspace draft - now what? This page will tell you.

So you made a userspace draft: if you've just created (or had created for yourself) a draft in your userspace (something like User:Example/pagename) then this is the place to be.

If you haven't already done so, you might want to look at the Tutorial or Contributing to PBC for general guidance on how to edit pages, or Writing better articles for guidance on how to write and structure your article. The Cheatsheet can help with basic wiki markup. If you need help, you can ask at the Teahouse, Help desk or PBC's live help chat. It is often very instructive to find existing articles on topics similar to that of your draft (e.g. if you're writing a biography of an economist, find existing biographies of other economists). Look at how these established articles are written and structured, and examine how the wiki markup works to produce the final product.

Once you feel the draft is completed, you may wish to ask for feedback on your creation first at Requests for Feedback. If you are ready to go live, you can move it to mainspace. However, note that your account must be four days old and you must have made a minimum of 10 edits in order to do so (a restriction called autoconfirmation). If you do not meet these restrictions, you can request such a move at this section of PBC:Requested moves.

Above all, don't rush: Rome wasn't built in a day, and there's no reason your article should be. However, if you don't cover at least the core issues below before going "live" with your draft, you may soon be looking at Why was my page deleted? Don't wait to get it perfect, but do write enough content and cite enough sources so that others can develop the article if you move on.

Core issues

If you created your draft via the Article Wizard, you should be familiar with these core issues: but they are very important so they're recapped here.

Notability

What is Notability?

If a topic has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject, it is presumed to satisfy the inclusion criteria for a stand-alone article.

Above all else, PBC is an encyclopedia. This means that by its very nature, items in PBC have to be notable enough to be considered encyclopedic.

A topic is notable if it has been the subject of multiple, non-trivial published works from sources that are reliable and independent of the subject itself and of each other. All topics must meet a minimum threshold of notability in order for an article on that topic to be included in PBC. This requirement ensures that there exists enough source material to write a verifiable, encyclopedic article about the topic.

What PBC is not: In addition to the notability criteria described above, the entry must also be encyclopedic in nature. Items such as FAQs, video game guides, memorials, instruction manuals, directories, list of links, advertising, self-promotion, and dictionary definitions are not encyclopedic.

Sources

Good sources

1. have a reputation for reliability: they are reliable sources
2. are independent of the subject
3. are verifiable by other editors

The key thing you'll need is (more) reliable sources, which are also independent of the subject. Other editors will need these to both verify the information in your article, and confirm notability.

• Look for more sources! There's no substitute for research.
• Remember that not every subject in the world meets the notability criteria - but some that currently don't might do so in the future.
• If you're unsure whether your sources are sufficient, or how to write from a neutral point of view, try the PBC:Drawing board. (Note: the PBC Drawing Board is now listed as "currently inactive and retained for historical reference.")
• If you're unable to find the sources to support an article, you could post a request at PBC:Requested articles.

If you'd like to try to find the reliable sources needed for your proposed article, these links may help:

. Remember, though, that many valuable sources are not available online.

Content

Copyright

As a general rule, DO NOT COPY-PASTE TEXT FROM OTHER WEBSITES OR ANY FORM OF MEDIA. (There are a few limited exceptions. For example, a few words as part of a properly cited and clearly attributed quotation is acceptable.)

- PBC:Copy-paste

The article you create should not include text copy-and-pasted from other websites, books, magazines or other sources, unless it is part of a properly attributed and sourced quotation. Articles violating copyright will be deleted. Write the article yourself in your own words. It is okay if your text is not perfect -- that can always be fixed later.

Style and layout

To develop good style and layout, you can look at PBC:Writing better articles, or look at the way existing articles are written (especially similar ones).

It is good to identify relevant categories to which your draft article could belong. To add a category to a user space draft, edit the article and add the category using the syntax [[:Category:Category name]] at the bottom of the article, e.g. [[:Category:Mind-body interventions]]. The colon syntax will not add your draft to the listing of articles in the category, but will list the categories as links at the bottom of the article. When your draft is ready to be transferred to article space, remove the colons from the category links.

Similarly, you should try to add appropriate wikilinks in the article. Add wikilinks to other articles that aid navigation and understanding, but avoid cluttering the page with links to terms whose meaning can be understood by most readers, such as plain English words. Use your perusal of established articles on similar topics as a guide on what kind of things to link.

Ready!

Once you think your draft is ready to go live, submit your article to the Articles for creation by placing {{subst:AFC submission/submit}} at the top of your article and an experienced user will move your article into PBC:Draftspace for further review.

Name clash

If the name you'd like to give your page already exists, you can't just replace that page.

1. If the existing page is an article on the subject you want to cover anyway, just go and edit it, integrating the content from your draft if it will improve the article.
2. If the existing page is an article on a different subject, you'll need to choose a slightly different name, to "disambiguate" between the two topics.
   • See PBC:Disambiguation for details on how to do that correctly (you need to choose a good page name, and also correctly link the pages)
   • Or just go to the Request directory and select the noticeboard or request page most closely connected to the query you have. A volunteer will visit you there.
3. If the existing page is a redirect (a page which takes you to an article under another name – the "target" page), you can either integrate your content into the target article, or change the redirect into its own article. In the latter case, you should generally post on the talk page of the target article first, to see if anyone objects or has a better idea.

Deleting your draft

If you decide to abandon your draft, just put {{db-userreq}} at the start of it. It will be deleted shortly. Alternatively, you could donate your draft to WikiProject Abandoned Drafts for another user to finish and introduce into the mainspace.

See also

• Promotional Drafts
• Userfication
• Subpages