This Manual of Style outlines a standard of clean, consistent formatting for articles on this wiki. These guidelines will never be unerringly perfect for every situation. However, please try your best to keep to the advice outlined in this policy to maintain consistency and so that others may use your edits as an example when creating and editing their own articles.
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Article Topics
This wiki is centered on the Space Dandy Anime. Therefore, all articles must be on-topic and within this scope. But there are many topics within the scope of the anime for which articles may be written.
Here at Space Dandy Wiki, we aim to include all major topics within this scope. This means that there should be articles for all characters, locations, alien species, episodes, and more. This list is not inclusive and can be enlarged to include any topic deemed to be significant and notable.
We also have a system of categories that aim to include all topics in a given area. However, categories do this alphabetically.
Spam, or articles purely created for the purpose of vandalism, should be deleted, as soon as possible. This can be done by informing an admin of the situation.
However, if you think an otherwise-legitimate page should be deleted for another reason, for example, if you feel it is not notable, or outside the Wiki's scope, use our deletion template as directed on the template itself to categorize it. You can expand your reasons or challenge the deletion as the template directs, on the talk page. If nobody challenges, an admin will delete it. If somebody objects, an agreement should be made regarding the page's future. In cases where deletion is justified, useful content should be merged into another article.
Appropriate Naming
All pages should be titled as they are in the anime, as this is likely to be the most searched for title. Character articles should also be titled as in the anime. Any potential variations on pagenames of a given weapon, should be redirected to the main article.
In the case of essentially the same subject appearing in multiple games under different names, the most prevalent name should be used, and any other names forming redirects to the page.
If you think a page should be moved, renamed or merged into another, type {{Merge|Reason}} at the top of the page to be moved, or in the case of a merge, both relevant pages. If nobody challenges, you can move/merge the page. If somebody objects, an agreement should be made regarding a move/merger. When moving, the automatic redirect should be kept. Any pages that are merged should be redirected to the new article
When uploading pictures, the only naming guideline is that they name of the picture should be tangibly related to the picture's subject. For example, if you took a picture, do not upload it under a name like 0001.jpg, use something more descriptive.
Article Layout
One of the most important parts of wiki editing is how to structure an article. The structure is a powerful thing: it dictates what information the reader reads and when he or she reads it. It can influence what people contribute, where it goes, and how it might be written. Structure has the power to inform or confuse the same way good or bad writing does. Keep a well structured article, and you're more likely to have a high quality one.
Organize sections in an article in a hierarchical structure like you would an outline. Keep it logical, but feel free to forsake strict logic for readability. Wherever possible, try to have an introduction for each section. Just like the article as a whole, the section should start with an introduction and then have its subsections below it. Try using a shallow structure rather than a deep one. Too many nested sections usually leads to a confusing or unreadable article.
Above all, keep your layout consistent. Don't throw your reader a curve ball too often. The following sections will offer some good advice on keeping your articles clean, consistent, and clear.
Lead Section
Unless an article is very short, it should start with an introductory lead section, before the first subheading. The lead should not have its own header. It should be between one or two paragraphs long, and should be written in a clear and accessible style so that the reader is encouraged to read the rest of the article.
The lead should introduce the subject, outlining any alternative names and it's importance in the Space Dandy anime.
The title should be the subject of the first sentence of the article. The first time the article mentions the title, put it in bold. Avoid other uses of bold in the first sentence, except for alternative titles for the subject.
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Table of Contents
A table of contents will automatically appear in articles with a minimum of four headings (unless forced by the below options). By default this will be left-aligned above the first section heading. The below options are only available in source mode editing:
- To the force a table of contents to appear, type: __TOC__ (contents will appear where this line is typed)
- To completely remove the table of contents from a page, type: __NOTOC__
Section Headings
Use level 2 headings for main headings. Do not use a level 1 heading as this creates a heading the same size as the page title. For subsequent, sub-headings, use progressively larger level headings, first 3, then 4
Always keep headings short and simple. Headings are guidelines to your page's structure and should inform the reader rather than confuse. To keep it short, avoid unnecessary words or redundancy in headings, i.e. avoid a, an, and the, pronouns, repeating the article title, and so on. Also, try to avoid giving identical titles to different sections, as this complicates the 'jump to' function in the contents.
Game details should be added under separate level 2 headings for each relevant game. Infoboxes should be used where applicable.
Headings should be arranged in a sensible order, such that the article flows coherently. Typically, this means listing sections by game in chronological order, or in the chronological order of the events described.
Trivia can be included as a separate level 2 heading, after all other content but before any other sections. Trivia should be bullet pointed.
Images and Videos
Images and videos make an article memorable and good looking. They can speak where words fail. At the same time, misplaced or untidy images or videos can detract from an article. When choosing images or videos, keep in mind placement, size, and appropriateness. Let images and videos flow with the text instead of break it up.
All such media, except for those in an infobox, should use the thumbnail option. Infobox images should be ideally set to 250px wide. All other media should typically be 100 to 250px wide.
When an article has too many images, or can be improved by having more, and having in-line images would detract from the readability of the article, the use of a gallery section is encouraged. Galleries are typically placed at the end of each sub-heading. If an entire article only relates to one item in one game, you may consider a level-2 headed gallery at the end of the article instead.
Wikia has the capacity to host .ogg and .ogv sound and video files. However, these do not work for all users, so their use is deprecated and YouTube videos are preferred. Where there are some of these files on the wiki, they should gradually be replaced with YouTube videos and phased out.
YouTube videos may be embedded in text, as thumbnails, but may also be placed in video galleries. Due to the size of video galleries, these should only be placed at the end of an article, not within sub-sections.
Graphics should always have captions, unless they are self-explanatory - for example, in an infobox. The text of captions should not be specially formatted (with italics, for example), except in ways that would apply if it occurred in the main text.
Tables
Tables should use a 'class' design when possible, and should include as little 'fancy' formatting as possible. Tables can also be made sortable by adding a 'sortable' class. 'Alt' class is discouraged.
Quotations
Quotations are discouraged. When quotations are included, they should use this template. Quotations should only be used when they clearly add context or information to an article, rather than just for the sake of it. Profane quotations should only be used in exceptional circumstances
End sections
If references are used, they should be listed using the reflist template. Reference lists should always be located below any content, but above any other headings.
The last sections, where applicable, should be 'See also' (for internal links) followed by 'External links' (for internet links), both under level 2 headings. Use bullets to list links.
Categories
No page - whether article, project page, template or category itself - should ever be uncategorized.
All relevant categories should be added to the end of articles, arranged, where applicable.
Article-containing categories should never contain pages from outside the mainspace, and vice versa.
The exception to this are categories themselves, which may be categorized in article-only categories in the interests of creating a sub-category.
Grammar and Formatting
Grammar is a writer's toolbox. You can't build good sentences without knowing how to use your tools. Since a wiki article must be as clear as possible for all the people reading it, editors must keep close to correct grammar standards to ensure clear communication.
As normally, only capitalize the start of sentences and then proper nouns thereafter.
Italics are used for the titles of works, such as novels, games, or other animes.
Where the subject of another article is referred to, the other article should be linked to. However, this should only be done on the first mention. Thereafter they should not be linked to.
Writing
We now come to the meat of an article: the words themselves. When you are editing wikis, you must be both academic and artistic. You have to be accurate, but you also have to be interesting. Neither one can dominate; you must skillfully balance both.
- Keep your writing concise. Don't use two words where one will do. Keeping your writing simple will make it easy to understand and easy to expand on. Use complete sentences whenever possible.
- Check your spelling and grammar. Do not use 'u' in place of 'you' or '2' in place of 'to'. Write the way you would for a class paper or a newspaper article. American English is the preferred spelling.
- Keep all of the topics you cover within the scope of the article. What that means is, you don't need to give a detailed history of humans on a page about Winston Churchill. Consider the article's title as your point of origin and write from that perspective. Make use of the wiki's ability to link to more detailed articles or external sources for more information.
- Write from an impersonal perspective. Do not use 'I'. Completely avoid drawing attention to the author (yourself). Do not use the impersonal 'you', either, which refers to the reader or player. When writing tips, say 'the player should' instead of 'you should'.
- Maintain article neutrality. All pages should be from a neutral point of view. Avoid pointless adjectives that insert personal bias into an article and do not definitively say that something such as a weapon is relatively good or bad unless it can be statistically proven.
- Don't make up words. English is one of the world's most comprehensive languages. There is bound to be a word to describe your needs. Remember, no wikian is Shakespeare. If stuck, use the Wiktionary.
- No 'IRL' or reality information. Articles are only to include 'IRL' or reality information in trivia if needed. It is not to be seen in main bodies of articles.
- No Speculation. Speculation is defined as any theory or concept of something that is not official. Speculation is allowed in discussion on talk pages, blogs, or forums but is prohibited from being on any article itself.