The community messages that appear on our community corner and the community portal can be updated by any logged-in user. The pop-up message alert can be sent independent of updating community messages (sysop only) and the content of the pop-up can be changed (sysop only). Here's how to do this.
Summary[]
Here's a brief overview of what to do to send a message. See below for more details.
- Add your message to Wiki News Archive or Headline Archive
- Put a short headline in MediaWiki:Communitymessages-notice-msg
- Edit MediaWiki:Community-corner to send the alert
How it works[]
There are two separate systems: the side bar and the alerts. The side bar is visible on the main page and some other pages, and shows users the latest blog posts and announcements. Meanwhile, the alert system allows you to display an alert in the bottom-right corner of everyone who visits the website. Because these systems are separate, you'll have to update the side bar and send the alert separately. You can also choose to edit the side bar without sending an alert, or you can send an alert without editing the side bar.
Side bar[]
The side bar consists of a whole bunch of templates. First, we have {{Community messages}}, which is the template that is transcluded on the main page. This template subsequently transcludes a few more templates, most notably Wiki News Archive and Headline Archive (which are actually portals, not templates).
The Wiki News Archive shows Nukapedia-related news and is usually used to advertise proposals and applications, while the Headline Archive shows Fallout-related news. To add, modify or remove messages from the community corner, you just edit the respective portal page. Open the editor on that page to view comments explaining what to do.
The entries on the portals are created using the {{LiveNewsBlogPull}} template. Just fill in the parameters and you're set. Note that the BlogArticlePage doesn't have to refer to a blog post; you can enter any page name you want. When you use this template, you'll notice that the page you link to will be included in the message. Use <onlyinclude> tags on the page you link to so that only the relevant information is included, not the whole page. For more information on how this works, check the transclusion documentation.
Example[]
{{LiveNewsBlogPull
|BlogArticlePage=Forum:Content Moderator Request - FDekker
|Byline=FDekker
|Headline=Content Moderator Request - FDekker
}}
By FDekker
Surprise surprise! I'm running for Content Moderator!
This application is suspiciously similar to my original Adminship Request. I've changed a few minor things here and there to make it up-to-date.
Read more >
Alerts[]
In order to trigger the pop-up alert, an edit to MediaWiki:Community-corner must be made by a sysop. The alert should only be sent when a new community message is added. It should not be sent when removing old messages or modifying existing messages.
To trigger the alert, follow the instructions on that page: Make a hidden edit on the page (bonus points for creativity) and publish the edit. This will prompt the script to send the alert pop-up to everyone.
Community messages notice[]
The content that is displayed in the community messages pop-up alert can be altered. Holiday wishes or special wiki news announcements can be displayed directly in the pop-up. MediaWiki:Communitymessages-notice-msg is the mediawiki page that holds the content of the message. To edit the content, you must have sysop rights.
The default message to display is
[[MediaWiki:Community-corner|Community messages has been updated]].
To change that message, you only need to edit the link display text; the part after the pipe (|). An example would be
[[MediaWiki:Community-corner|Grumpy old man is now Wiki Dictator]].
An image can also be displayed in the pop-up. Please keep image height to less than 50px. Here is an example of how to use an image:
{| class="va-center"
| [[File:VaultBoyFO3.png|50px]]
| [[MediaWiki:Community-corner|Dutchman is now your Overlord and Master]].
|}
This will display something that looks like this:
|
Dutchman is now your Overlord and Master. |
Closing words[]
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions on our Emergency Broadcast System, please leave them below.
This blog post was adapted from a now-deleted blog post by The Gunny.
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