Would you like to start an edition of the Marvel Database in your language?
The following steps are intended to provide an easy guide to setting up a localized edition for Marvel Database. There are four main stages to launching a new version. Depending on various factors, they could take as long as five to ten hours of work.
Step One: Translate Core Pages
Translate the following pages:
Project Pages
- Main Page *
- Introduction *
- Overview *
- Database *
- FAQ **
- Community Portal **
- Gallery:Contents **
- Glossary:Contents **
Policy Pages
Help Pages
- How to edit a page **
- How to start a page **
Templates
- Character Template *
- User Page Template **
- Location Template **
- Comic Template **
- Team Template **
- Item Template ***
- Race Template ***
- Vehicle Template ***
- Event Template ***
Example Articles
These pages are essential to the basic framework of establishing a new project site. Before the Database Project can recognize the new version as ready to launch, these must be completely finished. This step is where most new projects fail; without a sturdy foundation, the tower will fall.
*These pages are required. We will not start a new edition until these are complete.
**These pages are critical. We can begin the new edition without their completion, but they should be done as soon as possible.
***Not critical, but every good wiki should have them.
Step Two: Submit Your Translations
Email us your translated pages, as required above, to begin the process. Your project and translations will be reviewed. If approved, the new project database will be created immediately.
Step Three: Gather a Community
Invite friends and online acquaintances (perhaps people you know from message boards or newsgroups) to help populate the initial pages of the new wiki. At this stage, the wiki is running, but it's mostly empty, and may be uninteresting or even confusing to new visitors.
You should now start translating other useful pages like these:
- Policies, Guidelines and associated pages
- Help and associated pages
- Categories for: Characters, Teams, Locations, Items, etc.
- Community Portal
- Current events
Step Four: Promote the New Site
Congratulations, your new edition is now ready for the public! Be sure to promote the new edition on appropriate message boards and mailing lists, being very sure not to 'spam'. Once the new database has a good amount of information in it, visitors will begin to arrive. While promoting the site is important to its success, filling its pages with information is much more important.
Step Five: Integrate into Existing Editions
A lot of traffic comes through the English edition, furthermore, a lot are non-English visitors. Creating reciprocal links between established English articles and the new article allows users to move between several translations of the same article, to find the language that suits them best.
For example, the Spider-Man (Peter Parker) page is currently available in many languages. If you proceed to any of them, you may see links available to take you to the others.