Difference between revisions of "Manual of Style"

Latest revision as of 23:58, 12 June 2016

The Manual of Style (often abbreviated MoS or MOS) is a style guide for Founder's District articles that encourages editors to follow consistent usage and formatting. This main page contains basic principles. Subpages with greater detail are linked. If the Manual of Style does not specify a preferred usage, please discuss the issue on the talk page.

General principles

The Manual of Style is a guide applicable to all Founder's District articles. It presents Founders' house style, and is intended to help editors to produce articles with language, layout, and formatting that are consistent, clear, and precise. The goal is to make the whole site easier and more intuitive to use.

Internal consistency

An overriding principle is that style and formatting choices should be consistent within an article, and throughout the Wiki as a whole. Consistency within an article promotes clarity and cohesion.

Clarity

Writing should be clear and concise. Plain English works best: avoid jargon, and vague or unnecessarily complex wording.

Article Format

Titles

Generally, article titles are based on what reliable English-language sources call the subject of the article. There will often be several possible alternative titles for any given article; the choice between them is made by consensus. Avoid using superfluous words. Keep the title short and concise with just the right amount of words that a reader will understand what the subject of the article is about.

Sections and Subsections

Use sections and subsections to organize your article. This will automatically generate a table of contents. However, the first paragraph of every article should be the introduction paragraph without any section header. This will ensure that the introduction paragraph is displayed before the table of contents.

Pre-formatted Text Boxes

Be careful when using pre-formatted text. Long lines are not automatically wrapped to the width of the browser window. Don't allow line lengths to reach far to the right of a typical screen width. Keep the lines short enough so that a horizontal scroll bar is not needed. Use the Show Preview button often before saving your page. If the article looks ugly, continue editing until it looks right before saving.

Wiki Links

Be generous in creating wiki links for any words or concepts in the article that could use additional clarification to readers that are not quite as familiar with the content that you are. You can create the wiki links even if you don't intend to fill the article right away. The empty articles can be created at a later time either by you or someone else. The plentiful use of wiki links will make this a very powerful informational tool.

Using Templates

Needs Edit

Use this template at the top of any article that you feel requires additional editing, or contains information that is missing or out of date. The template format is:

{{Needs edit
  | reason=The reason this page needs additional editing.
  | date=Date you added this notice
}}

This article contains information that is missing or out of date. Reason: The reason this page needs additional editing Please edit this page and remove this notice. (Dec 2016)

Cleanup

Use this template at the top of any article that you feel is not consistent with this Manual of Style. The template format is:

{{Cleanup
  | reason=The reason this page needs to be changed.
  | date=Date you added this notice
}}

This article may require cleanup to meet Founder's District's quality standards. The specific problem is: The reason this page needs to be changed.. Please help improve this article if you can. (Dec 2016)

Note

Use this template anywhere in an article to add a note. The template format is:

{{Note | This is a note}}

This is a note

Administrator Note

If you are an Administrator, use this template anywhere in an article that you would like to add an administrative note. These notes may indicate a minor administrative issue that needs to be remedied. The template format is:

{{A note | Description or note to be displayed}}

 Description or note to be displayed:

Delete

Use this template to mark an article or section for deletion. The template format is:

{{Ambox
  | type=delete
  | text=This article needs to be deleted.
}}

This article needs to be deleted.

Move

Use this template to mark an article or section that needs to be moved. The template format is:

{{Ambox
  | type=move
  | text=Move this article to the Help: section.
}}

Move this article to the Help: section.