Editing Getting started with VRChistory (section)

== How to Write Your First Article ==

=== Step 1: Choose Your Subject ===

Pick something you can document with verifiable sources. A world you can find in the VRChat API. A creator whose Gumroad listing you can link. An event you attended and can source from official social media posts.

If you cannot source it, do not write it as fact. You can note it as community-reported or undocumented.

=== Step 2: Gather Your Sources First ===

Before writing a single word, collect:

* The VRChat world ID (if applicable) — from the URL when viewing the world in a browser
* The user ID (if applicable) — from the VRChat API or profile URL
* Links to creator pages: Gumroad, BOOTH, Jinxxy, Twitter/X, Discord
* Dates: when was the world created? When did the creator join? When did an event happen?
* Stats: visit counts, favorites, member counts, version numbers

The article writes itself once the data is assembled.

=== Step 3: Build the Infobox ===

Start with the infobox. It forces you to identify what facts you actually know and which are missing. Empty infobox fields are better than filled ones with invented data.

=== Step 4: Write the Opening Paragraph ===

One paragraph. Four sentences maximum. Subject + most important fact + historical significance + why it's in VRCHistory.

=== Step 5: Write Section by Section ===

Don't write from top to bottom. Write the sections where you have the most data first. Come back to thin sections later, or flag them as needing expansion.

=== Step 6: Add Every Internal Link ===

Go back through the completed article and link every mention of a subject that has its own VRCHistory page. Use the foundational pages list above. More links are almost always better.

=== Step 7: Fill the Closing Sections ===

References first (they're already in your browser tabs from Step 2). Then External Links. Then See Also. Then categories.

=== Step 8: Add the Last Documented Date ===

End every References section with:
<pre>* Last documented: [Month Day, Year]</pre>

This timestamps the article's archival state and tells future editors how current the information is.