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. This is 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 might sound pretentious or nitpicky and the guidelines unimportant, all good wikis have them. A wiki without a consistent style will be messy and inconsistent, making it hard to read and find information, while one with a consistent style appears neat and professional, raising its profile. A well-styled, properly formatted article looks nicer and is more inviting to read. This guide encourages a consistent, high-quality article style that suits wiki policies.

This is less a strict checklist and more a set of strong suggestions to improve an article. Certain pages may vary and editors may have different approaches and habits, each with their pros and cons, and putting different styles in use is the best way to determine which is better. If you have an idea for a new style, feel free to try it out, so long as it doesn't break our policies or conflict with the overall style of the wiki, and another editor may change it or pick it up. Feel free to discuss it with other editors or in the Forum.

Page Name
For the page name (presented in large font at the top of each page, used for links, searches, and categories), there are a few things to consider so that a page is more easily recognized, linked to, and searched for:
 * Most recent name
 * If the subject was renamed at some point, 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 has another name or a full name, but is much more commonly known by a different name, then consider using the more common name. For example, Elminster, not Elminster Aumar, and mind flayer, not illithid. Again, redirects will be needed under the full name, such as illithid.


 * Common nouns in lower case
 * The names of common creatures, things, 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 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 create 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. This 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, it should be discussed in the article's Appendix.

Layout

 * Lead
 * The lead (or lede) is the introductory sentence or paragraph of an article. It should give the name or names and any titles of the subject in bold at the beginning and then briefly explain what it is and its significance, if any. For long articles, the lead may include a short summary. This quickly tells a reader what the article is about and helps them decide if they should keep reading.

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
 * Write about everything that exists within the Forgotten Realms and Dungeons & Dragons settings 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 consistency and encourages 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 discussions in the appendices of the in-universe articles. (An exception to this is the Earth article, which is the fictional Earth of D&D and fourth-wall-breaking articles and comics in the Forgotten Realms, not the real Earth, 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's 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).
 * 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.


 * 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 and 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. The text should be clear and comprehensible to all readers.


 * Entertaining tone
 * Despite the above points, the writing does not have to be dull. To entertain and reward the reader, you may have 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 and memes, as these break immersion and 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. Giving the level of a spell, state whether 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.