Manual:Creating Categories

Pages that use the same terminologies are organized and cataloged under Categories.

Categories can be inter-related by lexical or thematic meaning and when linked, they become subcategories of each other.

Creating a Category

Creating a category or subcategory is easy. Check out in the glosary the different sections of categories.

Preparation

1. First check whether a category already exists for your choice of word by searching "All Categories."

"All Categories" and "All Pages" can be accessed by the vaniquotes box on the left side of the screen.

Example...

You think the word "Assembling" might be a good category.

In the Vaniquotes Search box, type "assem."
You find the category "Assemble."
The terminologies in the category are: assemble | assembled | assembles | assembling
As "Assembling" is in the terminologies list you do not need to create a new category.

2. There are some special cases in which you may think a word should be added to a category that was created earlier.

It is possible that the word was not added to the terminologies list by some accidental circumstance.
You can add your word to the existing category, depending on the similarity/connection between the two. This situation is not very common, so you must evaluate very carefully if you believe this is the case.
If you are not sure whether you should add a word to an existing Category, contact your personal tutor.

Example...

You think the word "Concept" might be a good category.

In the Vaniquotes Search box, type "concep."
You find the category "Conception."
The expressions in the category are:

The word "concept" is not in the terminologies list. The plural form "concepts," however, is in the terminologies list. This means that your word should have been included in the terminologies list earlier. "Concept" was not added to the terminologies list by some accidental circumstance.
In this special case you should add your word to the terminologies list of the category. Therefore, you do not need to create a new category.

Search in Vedabase for potential categories

1. If your word is not already included in the terminologies list of a current Category, you should search Vedabase to determine whether to create a new category...

When you search Vedabase, remember to only search the sources listed in Vanisource. See Vedabase Contents menu
Open the Vedabase Query box (the Binoculars image on the top left) and type the word.

2. When you type a word in the Query box, the Word list will automatically scroll to it. Thus, you can find variations of your word on the Word list.

3. First double-click in the Word list the word you typed. Second, double-click all its variations. All the words you double-clicked will be automatically added to the Query box. They will be separated by a pipe (|).

4. Vedabase reports the number of hits...

Lots of Vedabase hits indicates that your word is significant. But this is not the only factor.
Some words are relevant for ISKCON or the Vaishnava tradition and should be represented in Vaniquotes, even if there are less than 40 hits.
A common English word should have a larger number of hits, unless Srila Prabhupada used the word in a particular, uncommon manner. This evaluation process can be a bit tricky. It requires firm knowledge of the English language, as well as firm knowledge of Srila Prabhupada's writings and his usage of the English language. The personal training and peer to peer association along with asking for input helps a lot to become expert in these circumstances.

5. In the Query box, delete all words with zero hits, and the pipe (|) just before the word you are deleting.

6. Click "Apply to All..."

You will automatically be directed to the first hit. Look quickly at the text to see how Srila Prabhupada uses the word.
Move forward through the hits by clicking the forward button (double arrow) on the top. You will get an understanding of the contents of your potential category, the way in which Srila Prabhupada uses the word, and the topics to which Srila Prabhupada commonly relates the word.

Example...

You think the word "Author" might be a good category.

In the Vaniquotes Search box, type "auth."
You find the categories "Authoritative," "Authority," and "Authorized."
Although none of these three categories is directly related to the word "author," you should nonetheless check the terminologies list to determine whether "author" is listed.
*Authoritative has listed: authoritative | authoritatively
*Authority has listed: authorities | authority | authority's
*Authorized has listed: authorize | authorized | authorizedly | authorizes | authorizing

The word "Author" is not in the terminologies list of any current category. Therefore, you might create a new category for this word.

Begin typing the word in the Query box. As you type, the Words list will automatically scroll to the word.
On the Words list, double-click on "author."
Double-click on all the variations of the word "author." They will automatically appear in the Query box, separated by a pipe. The Query box will look like this:

"Author" has 436 hits. "Authors" has 22 hits. "Author's" has 12 hits.
The other words have zero hits. Delete the other words.
The Query box will look like this:

author | authors | author's

Click "Apply to All." Look quickly at the text to see how Srila Prabhupada uses the word.
Move forward through the hits by clicking the forward button (double arrow) on the top. Look quickly at the texts to see how Srila Prabhupada uses the word. If you consider Author to be valid category, then you can create it.

Example...

The phrase "Spiritual Couple" is not a current category. Therefore, you might create a new category for this phrase.

Type "spiritual couple" in the Query box.
"Spiritual Couple" has only three hits.
In general, you would not create a category for a phrase with only three hits. But this phrase is very relevant to the Vaishnava tradition and could be represented as a category. It would be able to be searched both under categories and pages.

Choosing a title

There are a few different criteria to use when choosing a title for your category.

Check which word has the highest number of hits in Vedabase. This is generally the first choice for a Category title. There are some exceptions:

If the terminology receiving the highest number of hits is not your favorite choice for a title, you can look at the other criteria listed below.

Criteria

The terminology receiving the highest number of hits is a plural noun, and you prefer a singular noun

While you were quickly moving through the hits, you may have noticed a particular usage that best reflects Prabhupada's meaning.This might also be a good title for the Category.
If your new category is similar to a current category, you might want your title to be similar as well.

Capitalization of category titles

The first word of the title should always be capitalized.
Conjunctions (and, or, not) are generally not capitalized
Prepositions (at, by, in, of) are generally not capitalized
Articles (a, an the) are generally not capitalized
Helping verbs (is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been) are generally not capitalized
Other words (not conjunctions, prepositions, articles, helping verbs) are generally capitalized
Take existing categories into consideration.

Examples

Here are some examples to help you choose titles for categories and capitalization.

EXAMPLE: You are creating a category for the terminology "loving service."

There is only one terminology in this category: "loving service."
"Loving" is the first word of the title. The first word of the title should always be capitalized.
"Service" is not a conjunction, preposition, article or helping verb. It should also be capitalized.

EXAMPLE: You are creating a category for the terminology "repetition of birth and death."

There are three terminologies in this category:

"repetition of birth and death"|"repetition of birth death"|"repetition of birth old age disease and death"

"Repetition of birth and death" has 248 hits. "Repetition of birth death" has 70 hits. "Repetition of birth old age disease and death" has 2 hits.
You must decide which terminology to use for the title. "Repetition of birth and death" has the highest number of hits. The other terminologies have much fewer hits. This is probably the best title for the category.

Capitalization
*"Repetition" is the first word of the title. The first word of the title should always be capitalized.
*"Of" is a preposition. It should not be capitalized.
*"Birth" is not a conjunction, preposition, article or helping verb. It should be capitalized.
*"And" is a conjunction. It should not be capitalized.
*"Death" is not a conjunction, preposition, article or helping verb. It should be capitalized.

EXAMPLE: You are creating a category for the category "liberated souls."

There are two terminologies in this category:

"liberated soul" | "liberated souls"

"Liberated soul" has 183 hits. "Liberated souls" has 198 hits.
You must decide which expression to use for the title.
*"Liberated souls" has the higher number of hits. But because both expressions have approximately the same number of hits, we can look at the other factors as well.
*There are many categories that already contain the word "souls" in the title: Souls, Pure Souls, Great Souls, etc. All these other titles use the plural "souls." Therefore, you should consider using the plural "souls" as well.
Capitalization
*"Liberated" is the first word of the title. The first word of the title should always be capitalized.
*"Souls" is not a conjunction, preposition, article or helping verb. It should be capitalized.

EXAMPLE: The phrase "What is the Difficulty" is not a current category. Therefore, you might create a new category for this phrase.

Type "what is the difficulty" in the Query box.
You realize that the variation "where is the difficulty" has the same meaning. Add this phrase to the Query box.
The Query box looks like this:

"what is the difficulty"|"where is the difficulty"

"What is the difficulty" has 295 hits. "Where is the difficulty" has 318 hits.
Click "Apply to All." Look quickly at the text to see how Srila Prabhupada uses the phrases.
Move forward through the hits by clicking the forward button (double arrow) on the top. Look quickly at the texts to see how Srila Prabhupada uses the phrases.

You must decide which expression to use for the title.
*"Where is the difficulty" has the higher number of hits. But because both expressions have approximately the same number of hits, we can look at the other factors as well.
*"What is the difficulty" is a well-known phrase. "Where is the difficulty" is not as well-known. Therefore, you should consider using "what is the difficulty."
Capitalization
*"What" is the first word of the title. The first word of the title should always be capitalized.
*"Is" is a helping verb. It should not be capitalized.
*"The" is an article. It should not be capitalized.
*"Difficulty" is not a conjunction, preposition, article or helping verb. It should be capitalized.

Always keep in mind: The title of the category should reflect Srila Prabhupada's use of expressions.

Creating a Category

1. The easiest way to create a new category is by using the Vaniquotes menu "Search" box

In the "search" box on the left-hand side of the screen, type the following:

Category:The name of your category

Press the "Search" button or "Enter" on your computer keyboard
You will automatically be directed to a page that says: There is no page titled "Category:The name of your category". You can create this page
Press on create this page. A new Edit window will open.

2. There is a second way to create a new category. If you are in the Edit window of an existing page, you can create a new category for that page.

Add the name of your new category using the Wiki markup

After you press "Save page," you will automatically be directed to the Content window. Your new category will be in RED. Click on the title of your new category.
You will automatically be directed to a page that says "You've followed a link to a page that doesn't exist yet. To create the page, start typing in the box below (see the help page for more info)." The box below is a new Edit window.

3. Fill in the following information in the Edit window.

Return to the Vedabase Query box and copy all the terminologies.
Paste the terminologies onto the first line of the Edit window. This is your terminology list.

4. If you created a subcategory, you must link the new subcategory to its main category.

Write in a new line under the terms list. Use Wiki markup: [[Category:The name of your category]] and write the title(s) of the category(ies) you desire to link the subcategory to after the colon (:) sign.

5. Press the "Save Page" button below the Edit window.

6. You will automatically be directed to a page for your new category or subcategory.

Linking existing pages to your new category

After you create a new category, you should check whether any existing pages should be linked to your category.

1. Go to the search box on the left side in the Vaniquotes section. Type in the beginning of your category title, followed by an asterisk (* ).

The beginning of your category word should be common to all the words in your terminology list, and the asterisk (wildcard) is a replacement for all the possible word endings. In this way, the search will include all the words of your terminology list, and not only the category title.

You should perform a search typing labo* . Pay attention to the last word in the list - labour. If you perform a search on labor* , labour will not be found.

2. After you press Search button or Enter on your keyboard, the search results will appear.

First list is the "Page title matches", second, "Page text matches".
You are only looking for "Page title matches (meaning Pages that matched your keyword(s) in their title only).

3. If the "Page title matches" reads: No Page title matches, then you have no pages to link to your category. In other words, Vaniquotes does not contain any pages with a word in it's title that belongs to your category.

4. If there are hits of your category in the "Page title matches"

Open each page title (the blue link), and check if the page has been linked to the category you have created or are performing a search on.
If the answer is no, add your category title by opening the Edit button and using the standard Wiki markup:[[Category:category_name]].

Note: Some categories have subcategories. When you are linking pages, you should link only to one of those, not both since category and it's subcategory are usually closely related in meaning.

EXAMPLE: Category "Labor" contains a subcategory "Laborers". When performing a search on labo* , a page with the word "laborer(s)" in the title will appear as well. This page should be linked to a subcategory, not the category.

5. While adding a new title to a category list, make sure all the titles are in order corresponding to the title of the page. [See Manual: Wiki markup for example under number 5.]

6. While you are linking a category to pages, you should not only pay attention to the category you are performing a search on.

Check all the terms in each page title, and if there is a term not linked to a corresponding category, link it.
To check if a word from a page title belongs to an existing category, check the "All Categories" list.

7. The search results under Page title matches go up to number 20 per page (you can manually adjust the number of search results by clicking on a chosen number just above the title).

If the last search result is number 20, click on View (next 20) for more search results.

Note: After saving a page, if a category title appears in red, it may be for two reasons:

either you typed a non-existing category title,
or you have misspelled an existing category title. Double-check the correct title of the category you are adding (in "All Categories"), including the capital and lowercase details - the browser will not recognize a title if you forgot to use caps.
If you are not using the Wiki markup: [[Category:The name of your category]] but are writing it manually, make sure the category has capital C as well.

Redirecting a Category

In some cases a Category is synonymous to an existing main Category. In that case it is required to forward the user to the main Category. This is a very simple procedure entitled Redirecting:

Open the edit window of a category you want to redirect
Write the redirect command which reads:

#redirect [[:Category:Category_name]]

In written words, the command is as follows:

hash(#), redirect, space( ), double open brackets ([[), colon(:), Category, colon (:), Category title, double closed brackets (]])

Press Save Page button

The rest of the edit window should be blank, since the page does not exist as a category, it is only serving as a name link to another category

You should not link this category as a subcategory to others, or link it to existing pages, etc.
When one clicks on the title of this Category, the user will be automatically redirected to the desired Category

EXAMPLE: The four social orders (Brahmana, Kratriya, Vaisya, Sudra) contain the categories under a title beginning with the English translation of the varna, and containing the Sanskrit in parentheses:

Intellectual Class (Brahmana)
Administrative Class (Ksatriya)
Mercantile Class (Vaisya)
Laborer Class (Sudra)

They do however contain a Category with varna titles only in Sanskrit, and these are redirected to the above mentioned. When you open Brahmana, Intellectual Class (Brahmana) automatically opens. Under the title of the Category there is a small notification:

(Redirected from Category:Brahmana)

What is a Subcategory

A subcategory is a category tightly related to another Category. When one Category is placed under another Category it becomes its Subcategory. However it still remains a Category. It can contain it's own pages and/or subcategories. The reason it is linked to another category as a subcategory is because of a lexical or thematic relation.

1. When you are creating a new category, you may choose to create a subcategory to it. There are two types of subcategories according to their relation to the main category.

1) Subcategories related to their main category according to their meaning - thematic,
2) Subcategories related to the main one by being derived from the same word - lexical.

EXAMPLE 1: Category "26 Qualities of a Devotee" contains 26 subcategories, each being a quality of a devotee. They are all connected to the main category by meaning, or philosophical relevance.

EXAMPLE 2: Category: "Action" contains 3 subcategories, Act, Active, Activities, all being derivatives of the same word and in a grammatical way connected to the main word.

2. A Category can contain both types of a Subcategory. Also keep in mind:

A Subcategory can contain Subcategories.
While linking a page to a Category, a Subcategory is treated as a Category as well, it contains it's own pages.

Creating a thematic Subcategory

a) A thematic Subcategory can be created immediately when creating its Category, if you created a Category with an idea that it will contain a philosophically related topic within.

In the EXAMPLE 1, the Category "26 Qualities of a Devotee" was created with an idea of clearly presenting and explaining all the 26 qualities, therefore the creator immediately classified the 26 Qualities as subcategories.

1. Follow the procedure as explained in this manual for creating a category. Choose your subcategory title, copy and paste the terminology in the Edit window.

2. Add the main category title in a new line using Wiki markup: [[Category:name of your category]]. After you save the page, your subcategory will have a blue "Category:name of your category" link in the Categories: box at the bottom of the page.

3. Click on the "Category:name of your category" link and you should see your subcategory automatically added in the main Category list of Subcategories.

Note: When creating a Subcategory, always treat it as a regular category, the procedure is the same and the name is the same, i.e. while creating do not write "Subcategory:name of your category" but "Category:name of your category".

b) A Subcategory Type One can be additionally linked to another category after both have been created.

Because the Category and the Subcategory Type One do not necessarily share a same word or are derived from the same word, they can be created on different occasions.
One may encounter or create a Category, and after encountering another Category of a similar meaning, but broader, one may choose to link the first to the second as it's subcategory.

Creating a lexical Subcategory

A Lexical Subcategory is most commonly created when creating it's Category.

1. You are creating a category with more than one word in the terminology list. One of the words in the list, which is not the category title and does not reflect the exact meaning of the title, recorded a great number of hits.

EXAMPLE: Category:Appreciation has in the terminology list: appreciation | appreciations

2. You may perform a separate search on the second word(s) in the Vedabase (by clicking Apply to All).

If you perceive that the word is not used in the same paragraphs as other words from the category, and taking other criteria into consideration, you choose to make it a separate category.

3. When creating this subcategory in the Edit window, just add its main category in a new line using Wiki markup: [[Category:category name]]. The subcategory will be automatically added to the Subcategories list of the main Category. Then you can add in the terminologies list.

Considerations when naming Categories

To change a category name is more time consuming than changing the name of a page. A page name can be changed very easily. Whereas in order for a changed category name to take effect all of the pages linked under the old category name need to be manually edited with the new category name. Thus the creating of names of categories should be done with more care. A page name can be considered a working title with always the possibility as the compiling process develops inside the page to change the name of the page to a more appropriate title. A category name should be deliberated on before being chosen.