Talk:Symbol

Asking for help with image layout. I can't seem to get thumbnails to display below section text with a new line for the next section/text below it. In the current version, you can see the compromises ended up making, in either using an image without the "thumb" tag to display it below the related text, or using a thumb but getting some pretty ugly layout gaps/oddities. As each image directly relates to a section's explanation, it makes sense to have them aligned below (or above) the related text. The screenshots page says this is possible, but even using <'br/'>s as I saw on that page, didn't seem to work. Alpacalypse (talk) 20:51, 7 March 2023 (UTC)

Notes for editors:

1. I decided to go with the singular "Symbol" page name, rather than "Symbols" as currently this page covers many uses of the term, not just "Symbols" as displayed in the Fortress Mode menus.
2. I left in more verify tags than I would have liked, sorry about this. It was getting very time-consuming and convoluted, looking up the information for what little the page covers regarding this subject, which seems to have had little to no previous documentation.
3. The image layout is a bit of a mess (see above), I had to give up after beating my head against a brick wall for too long in trying to get it WAI.
4. There are some red links, but they are all for things I plan on creating pages for in the near future. (though don’t let me stop you)
5. Considering how many different features of dwarf fortress "symbol/symbols" could be referring to, and the fact that it was previously undocumented on the wiki, I decided to put it all on one page for now. For wildly different uses of the term (squad symbol and language?) maybe there is an argument, for future edits, either adding those to related page sections or creating a new page. (or making this a disambiguation page linking to new pages for each symbol "category".)
6. The terminology can be very clunky and confusing, due to all the different meaning of the word 'symbol', I suggest editing with this in mind and trying to naturally reach standardised terminology. For instance, "a symbol of and administrative or noble position" is obviously less than ideal, but without all those words it could be unclear what context 'symbol' is being used in. For this example, I have been trying to use "symbol of office" after the previous term has already been used in this context in an article (much more concise and still distinct from other 'symbol' terminology).

(These notes were accurate as of the following signature timestamp.) Alpacalypse (talk) 19:28, 8 March 2023 (UTC)

This page is hard to follow at the moment. When we have a name that means many things, the first thing a reader sees should be a clear disambiguation (or "For X, see Y" notes). I recommend replacing this page with a disambiguation page like icon. My suggestion would be the following list:

• "Custom fortress/group symbol", which can reasonably link to a subsection in Fortress name (perhaps renamed to Fortress Name and Symbol), or a standalone stub
• "Symbol of office" (standalone article)
• "Language symbol" (link Language_SYM.txt, and move the descriptive text about language symbols there)
• "Squad symbol" (move info to subsection of Squad)

Each item in the list should have a one-line summary of what it is. —OddballJoe (talk) 23:04, 8 March 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for the concise and informative feedback. This was a lot of information I was adding from scratch, and at the time I didn't realise just how many different references to the word "symbol" were relevant to the game. I realised it had quickly become a bit of an incoherent jumble of concepts on one page, and was already leaning towards a disambiguation page. Sometimes it really helps to have another pair of eyes to take a look, and a more experienced wiki editor to offer some guidance. You provided both, and I will start working on what you've suggested. Alpacalypse (talk) 15:34, 9 March 2023 (UTC)