BetaWiki:Guidelines

We would like to ask you to follow these common practices for creating and extending BetaWiki content to prevent any possible conflicts.

Breaking or abusing the rules, depending on the severity, can result in either a verbal warning on your talk page or a temporary/permanent ban on administators' discretion. Your article might end up in the Hall of Shame if you don't follow the guidelines.

By editing on BetaWiki you acknowledge that you have read these rules and guidelines.

Common rules

 * Use your common sense.
 * The rules are not exhaustive. Do not assume that not forbidden automatically means allowed. We are not going to tolerate spam, vandalism, or not-so-okay usernames. Proxies and Tor are allowed as long as they are not abused to break those rules.

General

 * Don't create blank articles. 
 * This also includes articles that only contain the WIP template. Articles need to have content. The WIP template is not a substitute for content.


 * It's not advised to copy and paste content from other sites.
 * It's always better to do your own research and write your article in your own words.


 * Add a build article only if you have a source of the particular build.
 * A source can be a leak, a screenshot, a file version, a mention in a warez CD list, mention in an antitrust document, etc. We document fakes aswell, so don't hesitate to make an article on a fake screenshot!


 * Make sure that you link to the articles you create!
 * If you don't, the article will get lost and probably will lead to another one being made, for no reason. Unlinked pages can be found here: Orphaned pages

Dates & times



 * When writing dates, always use the ISO 8601 format:
 * Also make sure to convert them to GMT to be consistent. However, with timestamps hardcoded as string (such as those in a buildstring), leave them as they are.

User pages

 * Advertise only on your own user page.
 * Articles on beta community projects will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.


 * Don't edit user pages of other users.
 * A very rare exception is staff removing inappropriate content.

Talk pages

 * Prefix new talk page threads with a header.
 * It makes an unnecessary mess from the page without these.


 * Sign your comments on talkpages.
 * If you want to be anonymous, make a user account, the signature will bear your username instead.


 * Keep talk pages fully intact, with all previously added threads present.
 * The only exception to this rule is a staff member removing a controversial thread.


 * Talk pages are not a private messaging service
 * Use a different service to request your builds.

Windows
The specification above is the most verbose one and isn't going to be used a lot. In most cases BetaWiki covers only one build with a particular build number, in that case the lab (if any) should be omitted from the page name. Use the name that's reported by the RTM build in the version field, i.e.,  ,. If the full build tag contains a lab name, make sure to create a redirect from the most verbose form above to the reduced form of the page name (without lab), i.e. ⇒.

In case there are several known builds with the same build number but from different labs, names of the pages should contain the lab name. To maintain a degree of consistency, the reduced name without a lab should be used for a disambiguation between the individual builds.

For Windows versions that just used a major and a minor version number, use them in the version field and omit the buildnumber completely, i.e. . For versions of Windows 2.x that had different 286 and 386 compiles, add the particular architecture to brackets, i.e..

Don't mention the full update name for builds of Windows 10 updates, just use a plain numeral 10, i.e.:. On the other side, it's encouraged to make separate build listings for the individual updates, whose names should contain the official name of the update, i.e.:. The YYMM update version should redirect to the full name, for example  would redirect to the Creators Update mentioned before.

Redirects
To make searching for build pages easier, BetaWiki maintains a couple more redirects aside from the ones mentioned above:
 * 1) If the build has got an official name, we should redirect it to the main page, i.e.  ⇒.
 * 2) If there are more official builds with the same official name, redirect it to the main version page, i.e.  ⇒
 * 3) The full buildtag, both including and not including the major and minor version must redirect to the main article, i.e.  ⇒,  ⇒ . If there is a build number conflict between two versions of Windows, make a disambiguation at the conflicting redirect name.
 * 4) For already existing articles, the old-fashioned page name should redirect to the new page name for the purpose of not breaking old links.
 * 5) If the build calls itself by a codename, the combination of the codename and the build number should also be a redirect, i.e.  ⇒

OS/2
, where vendor can be either Microsoft or IBM.

Omit the vendor part for OS/2 2.0 and later, make sure to redirect the name with a vendor to the actual page.

Infobox Windows build
Every page about a Windows build must contain the "Infobox Windows build" template. It has only two required values: buildtag (the whole known buildstring, for example 6.3.9431.0.winmain_bluemp.130615-1214 or 5.1.2428.idx01.010129-1827) and version (i.e. 8.1 or Server 2003). If you don't supply any image, Placeholder.png will be automatically used.

When you are renaming an article to conform to the new naming scheme, change the  template to  ! The old template has been modified to add pages that use it to a special category, doesn't have the version parameter and also is tied to the old naming scheme.

Reference for other values:

Infobox macOS build
Every page about a macOS build must contain the "Infobox macOS build" template. It has only three required values: brand (the OS brand, that is "System Software", "Mac OS", "Mac OS X", "OS X" or "macOS"), buildtag, and version. If you don't supply any image, Placeholder.png will be automatically used.

Reference for other values:

Rivals
Use when the build you're posting also has an article on BA wiki, has a build page on TCB or has a gallery on TCB.

BLItem
When creating buildlists, use the provided BLItem templates: - use when the build was leaked, released, or we have another confirmation from Microsoft. Private leaks don't count. - use when there is information avaliable, however no provided proof for it  - use when this build is fake, don't use if it's real and fake screenshots are also avaliable

When sorting buildlists, the first thing that matters is the build number. If there are several different builds with the same number, always sort them like this:
 * 1) winmain (& derivates like winmain_rtm or winmain_bluemp)
 * 2) partner recompiles (fbl_partner_out)
 * 3) other builds sorted alphabetically

Screenshots
Thanks to Foxlet for writing this! Screenshots should be "clean" (no extraneous borders outside the video area) and scaled to their true size. If possible, use the Windows screenshot feature (Print Src, Snipping Tool) to take pictures of the desktop, or use the screenshot feature if using a hypervisor/emulator. For "Full Screen" shots, if a cursor is present, it should be isolated in a corner of the background if possible (to show unique features of the cursor). All screenshots should be lossless (JPEG is not acceptable).

Article Screenshots
Each main article usually requires three components: the Desktop, the About window, and (sometimes) the Logo. In most cases, a Windows article only needs the first two. "Full Screen" shots (such as for the Desktop and Start Menu) should be 1024x768 in 16-bit color at minimum, unless the subject in question does not support such a video mode (for example, 1024x768 in 256 colors is fine for Windows 3.1 and Microsoft Chicago).

Desktop shots should be void of any extra windows, it should represent the state of the system when it is completely idle without any running programs. In the case that the OS shows a tool or special graphic (such as a welcome screen), that is known as a "First Boot" shot, and is separate from the Desktop shot.

Each article also contains a Gallery, where other associated shots are contained. Additional full screen shots belong here, such as the "Demo" (which shows off particularly unique features of a build). The remaining shots are usually those of programs unique to a build. Those shots should be cropped to the size of the program's window (including transparency and window shadows if such effects are present).