Editing 23a:Miasma

{{quality|Exceptional|23:49, 13 August 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}

'''Miasma''' is a "noxious odor" or otherwise-poisoned air, once believed to spread disease.  The theory of miasma as the general cause of disease propagation was quite widespread prior to the 19th century, and although in some respects it is correct that some diseases may be transmitted via the air, not all diseases are transmitted by such mediums.

In Dwarf Fortress, the only impact a miasma will have is to disgust dwarves encountering it, giving them bad [[thought]]s.  However, one miasma can disgust a large number of dwarves, especially if it is in a main corridor.

The most common cause of in-game miasma are rotting corpses or body parts left inside. Often the corpses of small [[vermin]] killed by cats will cause a miasma. You can limit your dwarves' exposure to miasma by setting up a refuse pile outdoors or in an enclosed space.  Rotting items left outside will not generate miasma.

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 {{quality|Exceptional|23:49, 13 August 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}
-[[File:miasma_preview.jpg|thumb|260px|right|One of the well-known features of [[Boatmurdered]].]]
+'''Miasma''' is a "noxious odor" or otherwise-poisoned air, once believed to spread disease.  The theory of miasma as the general cause of disease propagation was quite widespread prior to the 19th century, and although in some respects it is correct that some diseases may be transmitted via the air, not all diseases are transmitted by such mediums.
-'''Miasma''' is a cloud of purple stench that makes your [[dwarf|dwarves]] [[Thought|unhappy]]. It only occurs underground, and it is caused by rotting items. It does not pass through closed [[door]]s.
-== Rotten items ==
+In Dwarf Fortress, the only impact a miasma will have is to disgust dwarves encountering it, giving them bad [[thought]]s.  However, one miasma can disgust a large number of dwarves, especially if it is in a main corridor.
-A '''rotten''' [[item]] is a [[corpse]], body part or an item of [[food]] that has spoiled, either from not being in a [[stockpile]] (if food) or just over time (if a corpse or body part).
-Often a job in a [[kitchen]], [[still]] or [[farmer's workshop]] will be canceled with the announcement {{DFtext|...needs '''unrotten''' (item)|4:1}}.  That doesn't mean you only have rotten ones, it means there is not an appropriate item that is available. Items that are [[forbid]]den, marked for [[chasm]]ing, or that have no [[path]] will be disregarded for workshop tasks.
+The most common cause of in-game miasma are rotting corpses or body parts left inside. Often the corpses of small [[vermin]] killed by cats will cause a miasma. You can limit your dwarves' exposure to miasma by setting up a refuse pile outdoors or in an enclosed space.  Rotting items left outside will not generate miasma.
-Prepared food will rot the same as [[meat]], [[cheese]], and [[fish]] (raw or prepared), but [[plant]]s will wither instead of producing miasma. The only place where food will not rot is in a container (such as a [[barrel]]), in a stockpile, in a [[trade depot]] (but not yet purchased), in somebody's inventory, or scheduled for use in a job (e.g. hauling).  While you'd expect [[milk]], [[fat]], and [[tallow]] to rot also, it seems that they do not, nor, similarly, do any of the other categories of food, including [[flour]], [[drink]]s, or [[seed]]s.
-Note that meat and fish gradually ''degrades'' over time in this version (e.g. a prepared [[cave fish]] becoming a "xcave fishx", "Xcave fishX", then "XXcave fishXX", before finally disintegrating into some bones), and this does '''not''' cause miasma.
-== Miasma propagation ==
-Once miasma has been generated (there is a purple square), it will spread for a while, eventually disappearing. This is true even if the original source has been removed: you can still have a spreading cloud of miasma even after you've cleaned up [[monarch butterfly]] remains. Miasma will pass through statues and impassable workshop tiles, but it can be stopped by doors, floodgates, and drawbridges.
-== Avoiding miasma ==
-To avoid miasma, either keep anything rotten outside, or alternatively have a subterranean [[refuse]] pile on its own in a room with several [[door]]s; this should halt the miasma's advance (although the room itself will still stink up).
-Of course, once you've dug deep enough, you can simply dump any unwanted garbage in the [[chasm]], destroying it before it has a chance to rot. Unless you've already filled the chasm with [[magma]], however, this may make its inhabitants unhappy.
-If you do encounter miasma coming from a kitchen, you can stop more by deconstructing the kitchen and making the area the kitchen was in a food stockpile. Miasma from a kitchen is (likely) caused by cooked food being left inside the kitchen because of not having food containers to put it in. Butcher shops suffer from the same problem.
-== Related bugs ==
-Note that dwarves interrupted in mid-meal will abandon their food. Food abandoned in this manner can never be interacted with (picked up, stored, or chasmed) by any dwarf ever again, including the dwarf who abandoned it. If the food is abandoned underground, it will eventually rot and generate miasma.
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-{{Category|Physics}}
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