Traveller:Referral Tree

A Referral Tree is a sort of thematic mini-index added to an article after the synopsis to make it easier for readers to find related AAB Library Data articles.

• It is a kind of Wiki Mechanic.

Description (Specifications)

A sample of a referral tree might look like this:

---- 
Please refer to the following [[AAB]] [[Library Data]] articles for further information: <br>
'''[[Starship]]:''' 
* [[Drive]]s
** [[FTL]]
** [[NAFAL]] ([[STL]])
* [[Starship|Starship Drives]]
** [[G-Drive]]
** [[HEPlaR]]
** [[J-Drive]]
** [[N-Drive]]
** [[Rocket Drive]]
** [[Z-Drive]]
----  

They are placed under an infobox (...if one exists for the article type) and also under the article's synopsis at the top of an article.

Content Selection

The goal of a referral tree is to point readers towards related articles that will increase understanding of a topic, help to enrich the setting, and bring the OTU and universe of Traveller alive, which is to say Charted Space.

A referral tree doesn't need to include pointers to every content page on a topic, just a selection of the most important and Illustrative articles. This is a very subjective matter.

Principle of Referral Minimization

It is possible for multiple referral trees to be added where possible, but it is preferred to minimize the trees whenever possible. It's a very subjective matter.

However, as a generalized principle, it is preferred to have subject matter content, over method categories, tags, references, or non-thematic content. Most articles will work best with a single referral tree menu, but larger articles illustrating the vastness of Charted Space may include any number of referral tree menus. Some existing foundation pages have half a dozen or more referral trees.

Referral Tree Branching Effect

One of the goals of a referral tree is to direct traffic and interest to lesser frequented pages. Each set of branches should idealy point to related pages allowing a user to easily and handily read across an entire topic. In this way, just like a biological tree, bigger branches lead to smaller ones.

History & Background (Dossier)

With several thousand articles spanning over 2,000 publications and 40 years, referral trees are necessity to enable readers to more easily explore a thematic Traveller subject.

Most referral trees are grouped around category tags that share common subject matter or themes. Themes such as Starship, Interstellar Exploration, Military Ship, or others can be more fully explored. Themes tend to be grouped around Thematic Leitwortstil.

Common Referral Trees

Two main placements of referral trees are used at the Traveller RPG Wiki:

1. Masthead AAB Library Data Referral Tree
2. Background Ship Directory Referral Tree

Other kinds of referral trees can be also found at the wiki.

Masthead AAB Library Data Referral Trees

TBD

Background Ship Directory Referral Tree

TBD

Referral Tree Best Practices

TBD

References & Contributors (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science