PvPGN:Manual of Style



This page lists the policies for creating and editing PvPGN wiki articles.

See wiki editing help if you are new to editing wikis.

Very important rules

 * 1) Always sign your name when posting a comment. Use four tildes: ~.
 * 2) Use the Preview button before saving a page.
 * 3) Refer to this page while editing pages.

General

 * Use the Preview button.
 * Follow the format of existing pages as much as possible.
 * Please use our sandbox to test code.
 * Test your wiki in multiple browsers if possible!
 * Add a descriptive summary when editing a page.
 * A "minor edit" is a fix to a typo or small change that does not affect the page. No summary required.

Discussion

 * Discussion and editor's commentary belongs on the Talk pages only.
 * Do not edit other peoples' user pages. Post on their user_talk page.
 * Sign your name at the end of your post by adding 4 tildes ( ~ )
 * Indent your post with a colon when replying to a previous post.
 * When posting an idea, create a new section with the + link at the top of the page.

Singular vs plural
When creating an article, imagine what will be searched for. e.g. A player wanting to know about industries will most likely search for "industries", not industry.

You can also create a redirect page for the singular to point to the plural:
 * 1) REDIRECT industries

When in doubt (which shouldn't be often), use singular.

Capitalization
Do not capitalize any letters in an article title, unless the title is a proper noun or acronym. The wiki will automatically capitalize the first letter.

MOTD Translations
Place the MOTD in the Internationalization: namespace. The title should be in the bnmotd_xxXX.txt, (xxXX being replaced its four character language code). Example:
 * Internationalization:bnmotd-enUS.txt

Test pages
When the sandbox is not enough for your test page, you can create a page as a "folder" in your user page. This helps keep the main namespace clean. Example:
 * User:Zuu/New_Main_Page_side_by_side_layout

Namespaces
If your article is not directly about the server, it probably belongs in a namespace. Examples:
 * PvPGN:Alliance Counsel
 * Internationalization:bnmotd-enUS.txt

Images
Use whatever format works best. This is typical:

Annotated screenshots
If you are posting screenshots to explain game concepts or junctions you should keep the amount of explanatory text in the actual image to a minimum and instead make reference to labelled parts in the main text. The labeled parts should be done in a contrasting colour (for temperate climate, white is good) using an anti-aliased sans-serif font in bold on a transparent background. Arrows can be used if needed but it is better to position the label near the item to be explained. The image on the right is an example of this format (but remember the labels don't necessarily have to be letters or numbers as long as they don't clutter the screenshot and leave the job of explaining what's going on to the main text).

Screenshots of windows
If you need to include a screenshot of a game window, try to make sure you crop it to exactly the edges of the window for a more professional appearance.

Walkthroughs
Use ordered or unordered lists to separate steps:

Server version
Concentrate on writing manual pages for the latest release version, not the nightly builds. Development pages can discuss nightly features. If you really must include a nightly feature, mark the section with the template.

American vs British English
It does not really matter if you use American English or British English, just that it is English.

Common templates
Main article: PvPGN:Manual of Style/Common templates

Add article to a category
Add your page to a category or 2 if appropriate. This makes searching easier. You can find a list of existing categories here: Special:Categories. Place the code at the very bottom of the article. However, you should first check what kind of article is using the category already - for example Category:Developers is only for listing active developers - not for any random person who submits a patch or bug. The idea is if users want a simple "unpolluted" list of who the active developers, they will go to the category.

In-Game Buttons, Menu Items etc
When quoting an in-game button, menu item, command etc. italics should be used, without quotation marks. For example:

To connect to a PvPGN Server click Battle.net.

Use of "meta" words
Avoid using the word wiki and other words describing the mechanics unless it's absolutely necessary. The name of what you are editing is documentation, manual, tutorial etc. - the wiki is just the medium for delivery, so ideally it shouldn't be mentioned.

A similar thing goes for things like "page", "section" or "link" when linking to other pages - you should use the page's title as the link text. A good way to decide on this sort if thing is to imagine it as a printed document and see if it makes sense - obviously the word "click" doesn't make sense in that context.

We are aiming for media-independent information here that's useful in whatever format it ends up as. Of course meta words can be appropriate if it's an article like this one about how to use the wiki.

Templates
Use the same format as. Include instructions for other users!

Pick the colour scheme best suited to the message you want to convey - red for impending doom (e.g. deletion), yellow for warning, green for current tasks, blue for information.

Categories
Use the same format as category:requests for deletion.