Help:Build-A-Bear Wiki maintenance
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As much as we would like to get everything right the first time so nothing has to be edited, it is inevitable that sometimes things will just have to be fixed later, and that's okay. This is where general maintenance comes in: tagging problematic elements so they can be changed later, and taking the time to fix those elements. In this guide you'll find explanations of the primary maintenance categories and how to use them.
Adding maintenance categories
Maintenance categories are added to pages in exactly the same way as normal categories: navigate into the page editor by clicking the "Edit" tab at the top right and insert the category name in double square brackets, traditionally at the end. The difference between maintenance categories and normal categories is that, because of the way maintenance categories are coded, they will not appear visible on the page they are placed on; however, the page will still be added to the list that appears when you navigate to the category. This makes them perfect for collecting lists of pages that need particular types of changes made to them.
Maintenance categories can be added to images in exactly the same way as normal pages.
Note: Please be generous with your maintenance category tagging! If you notice a page or image that needs a change and don't have the time to make the change, adding the maintenance category is still a huge help. Even if you can't take care of it yourself, adding the page to the maintenance lists will mean other bearchivists can see it and fix it when they have time.
Primary maintenance categories
A full list of maintenance categories can be found at Category:Build-A-Bear Wiki maintenance; the main ones for bearchivists are described here.
| Category | You type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Citation needed | {{Citation needed}} |
Technically, this is a template rather than a category, but adding the template anywhere on a page will automatically add the page to the Category:Articles with unsourced statements maintenance category. You'll want to insert this template directly following a piece of information you feel ought to have a source but doesn't. This can be claims you are skeptical about, or it can just be information you know could be sourced but that doesn't have a source present. |
| Category:Pages missing information | [[Category:Pages missing information]] |
This category is for non-furry-friend pages that are broadly missing information; it is a general note to editors to come back and try to research the topic further. |
| Category:Pages using old layouts | [[Category:Pages using old layouts]] |
This category is for pages with out of date layouts, templates that are no longer in use, etc; it marks them as needing to be updated to the most current version. |
| Category:Living pages | [[Category:Living pages]] |
This category is for pages that will need to be updated and maintained on an ongoing basis, such as collections that are not retired, countries Build-A-Bear is still in, and bears released in the current year. It helps bearchivists quickly locate pages that may need to be updated when, for example, a new furry friend is released. |
| Category | You type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Category:Bears missing birth certificate data | [[Category:Bears missing birth certificate data]] |
This category is for furry friend pages that are missing official height, weight, fur color, and eye color information that can be found on a birth certificate. |
| Category:Bears missing hangtag data | [[Category:Bears missing hangtag data]] |
This category is for furry friend pages that are missing tag names. |
| Category:Bears missing SKUs | [[Category:Bears missing SKUs]] |
This category is for furry friend pages that are missing SKUs. |
| Category:Bears missing product descriptions | [[Category:Bears missing product descriptions]] |
This category is for furry friend pages that are missing official descriptions from Build-A-Bear (or the company that sells them, in the case of corbearate exclusives). If there is bearchivist consensus that a particular bear is unlikely to have an official product description that can ever be found, it can be removed from this category. |
| Category | You type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Category:Bears missing stock photos | [[Category:Bears missing stock photos]] |
This category is for furry friend pages that are missing stock photos, i.e. the official photos taken by Build-A-Bear and used on product pages. |
| Category:Bears needing higher quality stock photos | [[Category:Bears needing higher quality stock photos]] |
This category is for furry friend pages that have stock photos in low resolution, but that we hope to be able to find higher resolution versions for. |
| Category:Bears needing community photos | [[Category:Bears needing community photos]] |
This category is for furry friends for whom we do not expect to ever be able to find stock photos (for example, in-store exclusives), or for whom the only stock photos we can find are very low resolution or low quality (for example, some of the oldest bears). We hope to be able to get permission to use nice photos from people who own these bears instead. |
| Category:Images needing backgrounds removed | [[Category:Images needing backgrounds removed]] |
This category is designed for community photos without solid white backgrounds. Not all community photos will need their backgrounds removed, but some sources may request it (to remove personally identifying information or visible mess, for example), and photos that are intended for use as the primary photo of a particular furry friend (for example, due to there being no available stock photo, or no available high quality stock photo) should have their backgrounds edited to white for consistency across the site. |
| Category:Images to re-crop to square | [[Category:Images to re-crop to square]] |
This category is for stock photos and community photos that have an irregular aspect ratio that should be edited in an image editing software to have equal height and width. This category is mostly intended for the primary photo of a given furry friend, as these photos will be the ones that are used in bear lists around the Wiki and the formatting of the bear lists can appear inconsistent with non-square images. |
| Category:Images to replace with community photos | [[Category:Images to replace with community photos]] |
This category is for photos that are being used without permission of the original owner. The Build-A-Bear Wiki strives to use only photos that are direct from Build-A-Bear official sources or that we have permission to use, but we also strive to have as complete a resource as possible, so sometimes we may have to use a photo that we have not gotten permission to use as a placeholder until we can find one we do have permission to use. All photos in this category are photos we hope to be able to replace. |
Using maintenance categories
The idea of maintenance categories is that they're something you can check when you have a little time to contribute to the Wiki but don't already have a plan in mind for what to do.
New bear released recently?
- Try checking Category:Living pages to see if it needs to be added to any of them.
Like to chat with other Build-A-Bear enthusiasts?
- Consider sharing the lists from Category:Bears missing birth certificate data, Category:Bears missing hangtag data, Category:Bears needing community photos, and Category:Images to replace with community photos to see if you can find someone with old birth certificates, bears with hangtags, or rare bears they might be willing to contribute photos of.
Love deep-diving on the Wayback Machine and internet search engines for specific pieces of information?
- Category:Articles with unsourced statements, Category:Bears missing SKUs, Category:Bears missing product descriptions, Category:Bears missing stock photos, and Category:Bears needing higher quality stock photos can help direct your search!
- You could also try scouring secondhand sale sites like Mercari, Ebay, Depop, or Vinted for listings featuring bears with birth certificates or hangtags. Remember to archive these listings on the Wayback Machine and cite the archived version so the source of your information is less likely to be lost!
Is deep-diving to learn every single thing you can about a topic more your jam?
- Try checking out the pages in Category:Pages missing information that could use your help!
Just want something low stakes and easy to take care of?
- Consider updating pages with out-of-date layouts.
- Or, if you have an art program and some competency at using it, consider recropping images with irregular aspect ratios or editing out the backgrounds from community photos.
Note: No one type of maintenance is more important than the others, but if you really can't decide where to direct your attention, feel free to reach out to other bearchivists for help!
