Help:Manual of style

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*'''Header order''': most articles end up with the same three categories.  Please use this consistent order:
 
*'''Header order''': most articles end up with the same three categories.  Please use this consistent order:
 
**'''See also'''
 
**'''See also'''
**'''External links'''
+
**'''External links''' (if needed)
**'''References and notes'''
+
**'''References''' (if needed)
***Additionally, the "See also" and "External links" sections should be '''bulleted lists'''.
+
**'''Footnotes'''
 +
***Additionally, the "See also", "External links", and "References" sections should be '''bulleted lists'''.
  
 
*'''Mass deletion is frowned upon.''' If you feel the need to remove more than a sentence or two, please copy it to the talk page to discuss your reasons and let other people chime in.  Give them a day or two, at least.  Silence is not assent.
 
*'''Mass deletion is frowned upon.''' If you feel the need to remove more than a sentence or two, please copy it to the talk page to discuss your reasons and let other people chime in.  Give them a day or two, at least.  Silence is not assent.

Revision as of 20:07, 30 September 2008

Manual of style according to "me".

  • No unnecessary capital letters in article titles, headers, categories, text, etc. Some early counter-examples have not been repaired.
  • Use singular where possible in article titles. Categories are often plural because it makes sense (i.e., "dictators").
  • Feature the article title early in the introduction, and bold its first occurrence.
  • Write in complete sentences. Article should not open "Is my favorite Pokemon character."
  • Avoid abbreviations and shorthand. Use "and", not "&", write out full words and phrases, unless an acronym has been previously defined ("the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)...") in the article.
  • Do your best to find good blue links. Using preview and testing slightly different versions will often turn up gold. The "search" function can also be helpful.
  • Do your best to use good grammar and spelling, especially if you write a lot. Slowing down a bit and getting it right makes everyone's life easier - there's no chore worse than correcting typos all through something that otherwise seems well-written. Firefox (and perhaps other browsers) comes with a spellchecker that is a goatsend for this. It can be set to Commonwealth or Colonial spelling.
    • The spelling wars are best resolved by using a style appropriate to the subject. A topic that is geographically vague should be written in the version that was first used.
  • Dates are clearer if the name of the month is written. "7/12/59" means two different things. December 7 or July 12 are precise.
  • Write out short numbers. If a number can be written in two words or less, write it as text. Exception: mathematical equations. "Four score" is much more elegant than "80"!
  • Use headers to break up sections of articles. They make articles much easier to navigate and improve upon.
  • Please try to remember to add categories to articles you create.
  • Titles of published works are in italics. Portions of them, like chapters, or individual songs, are in quotes.
  • Header order: most articles end up with the same three categories. Please use this consistent order:
    • See also
    • External links (if needed)
    • References (if needed)
    • Footnotes
      • Additionally, the "See also", "External links", and "References" sections should be bulleted lists.
  • Mass deletion is frowned upon. If you feel the need to remove more than a sentence or two, please copy it to the talk page to discuss your reasons and let other people chime in. Give them a day or two, at least. Silence is not assent.
  • Try not to use Wikipedia as a reference. If you found a juicy fact there, they should have a reference they got it from. Track it down, check that is is indeed correct, and use that instead.
  • References should follow punctuation. Usually a "ref" tag or hyperlink citation looks better if it follows a comma or period that follows a word. If there is no punctuation, a space works well, too.
  • Any fact should be referenced. This doesn't mean "delete all unreferenced statements", it means to at least be prepared to do some homework and back up our assertions. Any fact that disparages a person or organization should be referenced as soon as possible.
  • Use appropriate capitalization of deities. If writing about a member of the Christian Trinity, correct style is to capitalize pronouns ("...when on the cross, He was thirsty..."). Likewise, use conventions appropriate to other traditions when referring to them ("His Noodly Appendage"). If referring to general deities lower case is more appropriate. An article that is more humorous than serious in tone might bend these rules quite comfortably. In the same manner, do not capitalize names of people like e.e. cummings or k.d. laing, out of respect for their broken shift keys.
  • Try to write useful edit comments. The person who wrote this is the worst offender, with over 25,000 edits, approximately seven of which are accurately commented.

Consistency

  • Whether an editor follows these guides or prefers their own style, one thing to maintain is consistency throughout an article. Spell words that have multiple English spellings the same way from beginning to end. If one decides to capitalize a word or phrase, do it every time it is used. This makes it so that even if an article is a bit "wrong", at least it doesn't look "stupid".
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