User:BadCatMan/Manual of Style 2

The Manual of Style is a style guide for writing, formatting, and organizing articles on the Forgotten Realms Wiki (FRW). It's based on the standard wiki style used at Wikipedia and elsewhere and on practices developed by FRW editors to suit the Forgotten Realms setting and the wiki's policies and goals.

Purpose
While a style guide may seem pretentious or nitpicky and the guidelines unimportant, all good wikis have them. If editors follow the same style, their additions will meld seamlessly. A wiki without a consistent style is messy and inconsistent, making it hard to read and find information on, while one with a consistent style appears neat and professional, raising its profile. A well-written, well-styled, and properly formatted article is more inviting and more enjoyable to read. This guide encourages a consistent, high-quality article style that suits wiki policies.

But this is less a strict checklist and more a set of strong suggestions to improve an article. Pages may vary and editors have different approaches and habits, each with their pros and cons, and putting different ideas into practice is the best way to determine which is better. If you have an idea, feel free to try it out, so long as it doesn't break policies or conflict with the overall wiki style, and another editor may either change it or adopt it. Feel free to discuss ideas with other editors or in the Forum.

Page Name
The page name (presented in large font at the top of each page, used for links, searches, and categories) should generally be the proper name of the subject, but there are a few things to consider so it is more easily recognized, searched for, linked to, and sorted in categories.
 * Most recent name
 * If the subject was renamed, use the latest known name. For example, Heliogabalus was renamed Helgabal, so it is detailed on the Helgabal page. Make sure any necessary redirects, such as Heliogabalus, are made.


 * Most common name
 * If the subject is much more commonly known by a different name than their proper name, then consider using the more common name. For example, Elminster, not Elminster Aumar, and mind flayer, not illithid. Again, redirects will still be needed under the full name, such as illithid and Elminster Aumar.


 * Common nouns in lower case
 * The names of common creatures, items, and most classes, spells, and magic items should be written in lower case, just as they would appear in a sentence in D&D sourcebooks, which favour lower-case names for classes, spells, and magic items. Proper nouns are capitalized as normal. For example, human, moon elf, longsword, enlarge or reduce person, and ioun stone, but Wong Fei's ioun stone and Congenio Ioun. Note that only the first letter of a page name is case-insensitive, so Human goes to the same page, but Enlarge or Reduce Person does not.


 * Skip "the"
 * Avoid the definite article "The" at the start of the page name, unless it is specifically part of the name. For example, the Scarlet Sheath tavern and the House of Good Spirits guildhall, but The Fish House and The Mysterious Harpers. However, if "the" is an essential part of the name and is needed make a page name sensible, then it may be retained, for example, the Vast and the Hand.


 * Unknown name
 * If no proper name is known, then you may invent one. Make this simple, descriptive, and in lower case, as it would appear in a sentence, so that it's not mistaken for a proper name. It can be based on descriptions or nicknames in the source or something to clarify it from others. For example, the second battle of Shadowdale, unnamed bandit leader, kittenlord, and one who waits. If a name is unknown and constructed, this should be explained in the article's Appendix. Do consider if an article for an unnamed topic even needs to be made, as it may not be notable enough.


 * Disambiguation
 * When two or more pages would have the same name, disambiguation is the process of deciding how do distinguish them. First, check if one has a more complete or up-to-date name it could be known by instead. If not, give the name to the most well-known or most commonly linked-to page. The other page should be named with a brief description of what it is in brackets. For example, darkvision (the ability, and most common), Darkvision (novel) (the book), and darkvision (spell) (you get the idea).
 * If there are only two such pages, use a otheruses4 or distinguish template at the top of the page to clarify which is which and link between them. If there are three, use either two other uses or otheruses and create a disambiguation page like darkvision (disambiguation) to list the different page names and meanings, followed by the disambig notice.
 * Disambiguation may also be done with pages with similar, but not identical, names and even when pages have better names to go by. In this case, use the templates and make a disambiguation page, but do not rename the pages. For example, see Helm (disambiguation).
 * The disambiguating term should be short, specific, a basic noun, and in-universe. For example, Snake (ninja) rather than Snake (character) (an out-of-universe term) or Snake (Aru) (the place Snake is found, which may be unfamiliar or confusing). Some situations may necessarily break this rule, such as Athosar and Athosar (Loudwater), two human clerics of Lathander distinguishable only by location.

Layout

 * Infobox
 * At the top of the page (but below disambiguating and top-of-the-page notices) is the infobox, a sidebar presenting basic information (e.g., a character's title, race, and home), statistics (a town's population or an item's value and weight), and some crunchy information (levels of characters, magic items, and spells), allowing the wiki to present important crunch while keeping it out of the main text. It also displays a key image at the top of the page.
 * Look through Category:Infoboxes for a suitable infobox; they are widely applicable but tailored to specific types of article. The most common are Person for non-player characters; Location for lands, realms, and wildernesses; Building for businesses, castles, and built structures; and Creature for races and monsters in general. Copy the template from the page and paste it at the top of your own, then start filling out the entries according to the infobox's instructions. They don't all need to be filled, and should only be filled when the information is known. References should always be included.


 * Lead
 * The lead (or lede) is the introductory sentence or paragraph of an article. It should give the name or names of the subject in bold at the beginning, together with any titles, and a brief explanation of what it is and its significance, if any, and when it existed. It quickly tells a reader what the article is about to help them decide whether to keep reading. In short, consider the basic who, what, where, when, how, and why of the topic. For long articles, the lead may even include a short summary. It should be referenced as normal.


 * Sections
 * Use section headings to break up walls of text and focus on specific aspects, such as Description, History, or Powers. This makes it easier to find specific information. Each of the infobox templates and "Help:Writing an article about…" pages give a set of commonly used section headings. These should be consistent from page to page, but their order is flexible. For example, you may put History first to give context to later sections, or put History last, to avoid spoiling something. Subsections may also be included to break sections down further in long articles and new sections may be created for specific issues. Sections may also be avoided in very short articles. Use title case, where important words are capitalized, not sentence case.


 * Appendix
 * End the article with Appendix sections. These give real-world information and background, footnotes, sources, appearances, external links, images, and navigation temples. Again, the infobox templates and "Help:Writing an article about…" pages will give standard Appendix sections.


 * Categories
 * Include a full categories tree at the bottom of the page. These sort the article into categories according to what it is, where it is found, key descriptions and crunch, etc. so it can be found by searching a specific category. For example, include Category:Bakers on a page about a baker, cake maker, or pastry chef, and someone seeking bakers in the Realms can look there to find them. Note that this is distinct from Category:Cooks (general cooks and chefs) and Category:Bakeries (shops where bread, cakes, and pastries are made). Look at similar pages and "Help:Writing an article about…" pages for a list of possibilities, copy-paste it, and adapt as needed. Check to see if category pages exist or are needed before making new ones. New categories can be created when needed, but should be general enough to cover multiple possibilities and specific enough to be useful. For example, a 'Pastry chefs' category will be created when there enough pastry chefs on the wiki to warrant one.

Writing Style
For all articles, we encourage a high-quality encyclopedic style, with an in-universe and past-tense point-of-view and a detached yet entertaining tone for all in-universe subjects.
 * In-universe point-of-view for in-universe topics
 * Everything that exists in the Forgotten Realms and Dungeons & Dragons settings should be written about from an in-universe point-of-view, that is, as if it was real and you and the wiki exist in Faerûn at some point in the future. This maintains a sense of immersion and encourages a more fleshed-out article. For example, not "Ildilyntra Starym is a character in Elminster in Myth Drannor who…" but "Ildilyntra Starym was the former matriarch of the Starym clan of Cormanthyr" and not "Impiltur is a kingdom is the Forgotten Realms setting" but "Impiltur was a wealthy kingdom on the Easting Reach."


 * Out-of-universe point-of-view for real-world topics
 * Naturally, real-world topics should be written about with an out-of-universe point-of-view, as normal. This includes articles about real people, books and other sources, and notes and backgrounds in the appendices of in-universe articles. (An exception is the Earth article, which is the fictional Earth of D&D and fourth-wall-breaking articles and fiction in the Forgotten Realms, not the real Earth we live on, we hope.)


 * Past tense for in-universe articles
 * All in-universe articles must be written in past tense, as per our past-tense policy to handle the Realms' evolving and uncertain timeline. In short, this is a narrative tense as used in most novels (particularly Forgotten Realms novels) and it does not mean anything is destroyed. For example, "Elminster slayed the dragon and flew to Cormyr." and "Ravens Bluff was a city in the Vast."
 * Apply the normal rules of grammar and tense. For example, for events that took place for a period of time but ceased at some point, use the past perfect continuous tense, e.g., "Smuggling had been occurring but guards stopped it in 1375 DR." Do not use a conditional future tense with "would", as in "Elminster would slay the dragon and would fly to Cormyr." as this sounds strange, suggesting these things were planned but did not necessarily occur. Avoid this except where appropriate for discussion, e.g., "Elminster would have slayed the dragon, but it was immune to his magic." (conditional perfect tense) or "They would go on to defeat the witch." (past tense of will)
 * Past tense should also be used for real-world and general topics for consistency, e.g., "The rapier was a sword." and "Mathematics was a field of study."
 * Present tense may be used in chronologies on years pages, following conventions in sourcebooks and Wikipedia. For example, from −286 DR, "The Xothol arcane college is closed." and "Wulgreth of Netheril settles in the ruins of Karse." Present tense may be considered for real-world perspectives, such as when information is lacking or the writer is forced to suggest or speculate, e.g., "The outcome of this battle is unknown" or "This may be due to the Time of Troubles." but this should be used only when vital and qualified with a note.


 * Past and present tenses for out-of-universe articles
 * Past and present tenses should be used as normal for articles about real-world subjects, such as books, games, and real people, with present tense for sources still in existence and people who are still alive and past tense for things that still exist or were done in the past, and for people who have passed away. For example, "Ed Greenwood is the creator of the Forgotten Realms setting", "Ed Greenwood wrote Spellfire in 1988", and "Spellfire is a novel by Ed Greenwood published in 1988." while "Jim Holloway was an artist of many illustrations."


 * US English spelling and grammar
 * Use US English spelling, grammar, and measurements throughout, because the Forgotten Realms and Dungeons & Dragons are owned and produced by American companies who use US English in their works. For example, "color" not "colour", "gray" not "grey", and "recognize" not "recognise", and the grammatical distinction between "that" and "which", and the use of feet and pounds rather than meters and kilograms. However, if a subject uses a non-standard US spelling or unit of measurement, then it should be retained, such as Grey Jungle. For convenience, the FRW provides SI metric conversions to measurements in US customary units, appearing in parentheses after the measurement, for example, "5 feet (1.5 meters)"; the SI and related templates may be used to automatically convert these.


 * Encyclopedic tone
 * The tone of the writing should be encyclopedic, detached, and clear to all readers, including those for whom English is not a first language. Present information in a straightforward and honest way, and leave out personal opinions and excessive embellishments. It's not necessary to describe how evil a villain is, it's enough just to say that he eats puppies. Nevertheless, this is D&D, not Wikipedia, and it's fine to describe a villain as evil or a set of events in dramatic terms when appropriate.


 * Old-fashioned tone
 * As the Forgotten Realms is a world of pseudohistorical fantasy, avoid strictly modern terminology that would be jarring to the reader's immersion. Try to describe a concept rather than using a modern label. You may use older words and concepts that would be avoided in modern communication, provided the meaning is still clear. Of course, this does not mean a "ye olde" cod-medieval style should be adopted or that a lot of unfamiliar in-universe terms should be used. It is also not a license to insert derogatory terms, nor modern political or social terms. The text should be clear and comprehensible to all readers.


 * Entertaining tone
 * Despite the above, the writing doesn't have to be dull. To entertain and reward the reader, you may include brief dramatic descriptions of events, clever and humorous turns of phrase, and witty remarks, provided they do not break the standard style. Avoid references to real-world topics, other fictional works, and memes, as these break immersion and are also lazy.


 * Avoid crunch
 * The FRW is a lore-focused wiki, while a lot of the rules information of each edition of D&D may be copyright infringing, so "crunch" should be avoided. Instead of mentioning a mechanical effect, describe what that would be in-universe. If giving the level, say if it is low, moderate, or high. That said, the FRW does list some basic crunch for comparison and organization purposes: with classes, levels, and alignments in infoboxes and +1 and similar ratings on magical items in text, but this is the limit.