Preferred order for tables of contents?

[Mazryonh]

I'd like to know what kind of order the weapons classes should go in for pages with a table of contents for the weapons (I've helped the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and the Battlefield 2 pages with a table of contents, as well as the SWAT 4 page which I'm creating. Obviously these should normally be reserved for movies/TV shows or games with lots of real-life guns, but even so the "best order" for the weapons classes remains in doubt for me.

In my mind I would normally go from generally smallest to generally largest in physical size for firearms, then towards explosive devices and other categories. This would result in:

1. Handguns (semiautomatic and fully-automatic)
2. Submachine Guns/Personal Defense Weapons
3. Shotguns (because they can be both compact or very long, but are in general larger than SMGs)
4. Assault Rifles/Battle Rifles (because in general they are longer than SMGs or PDWs)
5. Sniper Rifles/Designated Marksman Rifles (where barrel length really counts)
6. Machine Guns (because they are considered to be "heavier" than rifles in military designation and are support weapons)
7. Hand-thrown grenades
8. Launchers (whether for grenades, rockets, or guided missiles)
9. Mounted weapons (for stationary mountings or vehicle mounted weapons)

I'm open to suggestions for differing opinions.

The Battlefield 2 page currently lumps in the vehicle-mounted weapons like the Bushmaster Chaingun into the Machine Guns section, but does a game like that really deserve its own "Mounted Weaponry" section? We really don't want to end up adding tank cannons or the like to this wiki, do we?

Furthermore, alphabetically arranging the weapons by name would help, but is it something the sysops here would prefer? The Modern Warfare 2 page, for instance, has a table of contents but is not alphabetically arranged for each section. Whichever the sysops do end up agreeing on, it should be posted somewhere prominent and the new policy readily enforced.

[MoviePropMaster2008]

Originally Posted by Mazryonh

1. Handguns (semiautomatic and fully-automatic)
2. Submachine Guns/Personal Defense Weapons
3. Shotguns (because they can be both compact or very long, but are in general larger than SMGs)
4. Assault Rifles/Battle Rifles (because in general they are longer than SMGs or PDWs)
5. Sniper Rifles/Designated Marksman Rifles (where barrel length really counts)
6. Machine Guns (because they are considered to be "heavier" than rifles in military designation and are support weapons)
7. Hand-thrown grenades
8. Launchers (whether for grenades, rockets, or guided missiles)
9. Mounted weapons (for stationary mountings or vehicle mounted weapons)

On large pages where there are tons of entries, that has been the case. This is pretty much the standard for large pages. Smaller pages are different. Sometimes they are listed in order of appearance (like in a movie where the ONLY weapons are handguns) but usually it's smaller to larger. Other pages, though don't have enough weapons to make sorting them worthwhile. It may be something users can do when the page is 100% complete.

The minimum is to try to group general types together, but sometimes the table of contents is affected by the prominence of the weapon. If the hero uses ONE particular type of weapon that they are associated with, then that usually is listed FIRST.

Your list is good and it embodies the standard for BIG pages.

[Mazryonh]

So, in the case of a page like Metal Gear Solid 4, the protagonist's (Solid Snake) signature weapons would go FIRST in each relevant section then, even if that's out of alphabetical order? By the way, those are the "Springfield Operator" pistol, the MK.2 Tranq pistol, and the M4 Custom Assault Rifle. Or would it be enough to simply put everything in alphabetical order and just say "this firearm is the signature weapon of this character" in the specific entry?

The Battlefield 2 page, for instance, has the "Machine Guns" section BEFORE the "Sniper/DMR Rifles" section. Should this be then changed to the order I mentioned?

Finally, if this order for large pages with many gun entries is indeed an "unspoken agreement," then it needs to become public knowledge prominently placed somewhere (preferably on a "guide to making new pages" section).

[MoviePropMaster2008]

Originally Posted by Mazryonh

Finally, if this order for large pages with many gun entries is indeed an "unspoken agreement," then it needs to become public knowledge prominently placed somewhere (preferably on a "guide to making new pages" section).

Yes, we had a secret meeting, but didn't invite you. We swapped secret decoder rings and have a club handshake.

It's not an agreement. It's just how some of the pages ended up. There are actually several ways to do a page, but that way seems to be the most prevalent, because it makes sense. There is no place for the 'rules' because we haven't even discussed it yet.

I will post a poll in the forum, but I suspect that pretty much, the membership will bow to the will of Landru and keep that system that you mentioned.

[MT2008]

I didn't really think there was much of an established order, though almost everyone seems to put handguns first. After that, it's usually anything goes, though it's pretty common to put either "shotguns" or "submachine guns" second, then "assault rifles", "sniper rifles", and others (i.e. "heavy weapons"). I never thought of it in terms of the physical size of the weapons in question. But seriously, it's pretty ad-hoc. I guess we should agree on a standard.

[Mazryonh]

Originally Posted by MT2008

I guess we should agree on a standard.

Yes, I think we should. This wiki should have rules that are prominently posted, easily accessed or referred to, and enforced.

Furthermore, there really ought to be a "how to make new pages" help section on the main page, with rules such as the standard for tables of contents clearly written down. It took me a while to figure out how to make new pages myself. I think more new pages would be of better quality if there was a guide for people on how to make them, including detailed write-ups on the rules they must follow when making new ones.