| This page is an Official Policy on the Storm and Silence Wiki.
The following illustrates standards of conduct which are widely accepted among editors and administrators and are considered standards that everyone should follow. Contact any administrators for any proposed changes. |
| POLICIES |
| General Policy |
| Manual of Style |
| Layout Guide |
| Categorisation Guide |
The following is the Storm and Silence Wiki's Manual of Style, which is to be upheld for all articles on the wiki. The purpose of this page is to assist editors in creating uniformed pages that follow a consistent format for clarity and cohesion. It is highly recommended to read this page for efficiency when editing/adding content to articles.
Do not worry if this page is confusing and following this format seems difficult. Being familiar with the guidelines will be quite helpful in the long run but is not required for readers or infrequent editors. Just be aware that edits might be adjusted by other users to fit this guide. Regular editors, however, must familiarize themselves with these rules. Reminders or tutorials may be left on user's walls to assist them but if these are blatantly ignored, then multiple offenses can be interpreted as vandalism and may be dealt with as such.
If there are any questions, concerns or issues, then please contact an Administrator.
DISCLAIMER: This manual is currently under construction. Anything written here is subject to change, and certain exceptions may apply.
Style
Spelling
- British English spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word usage will be the standard on this wiki's official content such as articles and templates, unless the official term or source is of another language. The central location of the story takes place in England and the series is written in British English– thus, the wiki will follow suit. For reference, use American and British English spelling differences on Wikipedia for a better understanding on the format.
- Spelling should be as accurate as possible, especially names of characters, places and book titles.
- Language usage is mandatory on all canon mainspace articles to be as encyclopaedic and formal as possible. Avoid colloquial language, this includes slang along with tones that are casual or conversational.
Capitalisation
- Article title — All words in an article title should be capitalised with the exception of article titles that match the title of a novel or work that follows a different capitalisation rule.
- Article section header — All words in an article section's header should be capitalised with the exception of words that are articles (‘a’), prepositions (‘in’) and coordinating conjunctions (‘and’).
- Article body — Everywhere else within an article should not have excessive capitalisation used, save for names, proper titles and the first word in a sentence.
Grammar
Proper grammar is crucial in maintaining coherence and formality required for a wiki. Editors should have similar grammar standards to ensure cohesion when writing articles.
Three C's
- When aiming to write a formal article, there are three aspects to consider: diction should be clear, concise and correct.
- Clarity asks that the message is conveyed straightforwardly and without ambiguity. It should be easily understood, with the meaning not questioned.
- Concision requests that the point is stated as briefly as possible. However, this should not be confused with leaving out crucial information. It is easier to think of it in terms of conveying as much as possible with the least amount of words.
- Correctness mandates that syntax is consistent and flows together through accuracy. It follows the standard rules of grammar by using proper tenses, punctuation and structure.
Formal Vocabulary
- Avoid using contractions, words such as ‘didn't’, ‘haven't’, ‘shouldn't’, etc. Instead, use the full forms of these words, such as ‘did not’, ‘have not’ and ‘should not’, etc.
- ‘It's’ is a contraction and is the shortened version of ‘it is’. It is not the possessive form of ‘it’– the possessive form of ‘it’ is ‘its’ and has no apostrophe.
- The titles of works such as books, newspapers, films, etc should be in italics, such as Storm and Silence.
Point of View
Neutrality
- All articles on this wiki must be written from a Neutral Point of View (NPOV) which means that content should be presented fairly and without bias. The NPOV itself is a point of view that neither supports or opposes its subject, but instead states the given information and leaves readers to form their own opinions from it.
- Statements such as ‘Lord Dalgliesh is so evil’ or ‘Lilly is really amazing’ are personal opinions and ergo, should be avoided.
Third Person
- To emphasise the NPOV when writing articles, everything must be written in third person perspective. Use pronouns such as he/she/they/it and not those from first person (I/we pronouns) or second person (you pronoun).
Formatting
Links
- Do not link an article page to itself. Article links should be used for other articles.
- On every article, article titles for other articles that appear should be linked to the respective articles once on every section it appears in. If it appears multiple times within a section, only link the first time it appears.
- For article links that are possessive, do not include the 's in the link. For example, use Lilly's instead of Lilly's.
Titles
- Articles should be titled to match their title within the series.
- Book titles and location titles should match exactly how they are officially titled as or referred to within the series.
- Character titles should include the full first name and last name of the character. An exception to this would be Lilly Linton, as she is more commonly referred to as ‘Lilly’ than ‘Lillian’.
- However, within an article body, the character should be referred to how they are currently addressed within the series. For example, Rikkard Ambrose would be referred to as ‘Mr Ambrose’.
- If the full first and last name is not given for a character, then the article should be titled to match how they are addressed or known as within the series.