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Countdown:About

From Countdown

This is a wiki all about the game show Countdown. You are welcome to read and edit it at your leisure.

If you would like to get involved with editing and maintaining the wiki but aren't sure how to go about it, this page offers a simple how-to guide for editors who are keen to contribute but just starting out with using wikis.

Editing the wiki

To edit pages, click on the blue 'edit' link just above the page you wish to edit. This wiki uses the same notations as the English Language Wikipedia, so if you're familiar with that you should have no problem using this wiki.

Tips for first time wiki users

  • To write a heading, type the equals sign (=) twice, followed by the heading word or phrase, and followed again by another two equals signs. For example, the heading at the top of this section that reads Editing the wiki was achieved by typing ==Editing the wiki==. Typing three equals signs either side of the heading title will generate a sub-heading, four will create a sub-sub-heading, and so on.
  • To create a link to another article, put the link word in double square brackets - e.g., [[Countdown]]. This will automatically generate a link to the Countdown article via the word 'Countdown'. If you wish to link to an article via a word other than its title, follow the link location with a vertical bar (|) and then the link text to display. For example, typing [[Countdown|game show]] will show the words "game show" but link to the article Countdown.
  • Most of the links you will see on this wiki are blue, meaning that they go to existing pages. However, some links are red. Red links point towards articles that don't exist yet, or which never will. For example Gatwick Airport has absolutely no relevance to Countdown, so nobody will create that article and it will always remain a red link. However, where there is a red link which is relevant to Countdown, clicking that link would allow you to edit and create the article with that title. For instance, there is not yet a page for the (fictitious!) Countdown spin-off The Rachel Riley Show, and so this link will remain red until the relevant article is created.
  • You can use bold, italics, or even bold italics. These are achieved with the following markup: '''bold''', ''italics'' and '''''bold italics'''''. However, for headings it is always best to use the equals sign technique explained above, as this allows the automatic generation of tables of content, such as the one at the top of this page.
  • External links are generated with single square brackets (as opposed to the double square brackets used for internal links), and with a space separating the link and the phrase to be displayed in the article. For example, [http://www.google.com Google] produces Google.

Templates

  • Templates are indicated by double curly brackets, such as ({{template}}). Although they can greatly simplify the markup for complex tasks such as wiki recaps (see Countdown:Recap checking style guide for more information), templates can be difficult to use for inexperienced users as they incorporate many different fields of unclear purpose. If in doubt, it's best to copy the correct template from another article and then change the fields manually.

Images

  • Images can be uploaded in one of two ways. Either click on the 'Upload file' link on the left hand side on the screen (Special:Upload), or insert a red link for an image into an article and then click the red link to go to the same upload page. The markup for an image link is the same as a standard internal link, but prefixed with "Image:"; for instance, [[Image:Gatwick Airport.jpg]] will create a red link which can be clicked to upload an image of the airport. All images must be uploaded for use in either an article or a personal page. Unused images which just waste space are likely to be deleted.

Signatures

  • To sign and date your edits on talk pages only, follow your message with four tildes (~~~~). This will give: Example 09:41, 3 April 2009 (BST)

Notability of articles

This wiki is about the game show Countdown. It's primarily about the televised show and thus most of the articles are about episodes, players, Dictionary Corner guests and hosts of the show. However, Countdown is becoming more popular as a competitive game similar to Scrabble where competitions with cash prizes are organised. These tournaments and their players are also notable by our standards. Similarly, material related to online and real life tournaments is also notable - for just a few examples of this see Goatdown, Hypercountdown and anagram solver.

Importantly, please don't be shy in creating new articles. These can easily be modified by existing members and in very rare cases they can be deleted, although usually deletion is reserved for obvious spam non-Countdown pages. Additionally, please don't be worried if your article is modified. All articles grow and evolve over time to keep them and the wiki as a whole consistent and up-to-date.

If a contestant has changed their name between appearances, our general rule is name the contestant as what they were shown on their last appearance. This is the fairest solution as it should easily be a one-size-fits-all approach. Please note however that this can lead to edge cases like Tom Carey (who is usually known as "Thomas") or Danny Pledger (who changed their name after their last appearance). We don't alter these as we don't know the current whereabouts of all the many thousands of contestants and it would not be the work of a moment to track down every single one and ask about their marriages, abbreviations, and so on!

Further information