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Dinkum Wiki

The Manual of Style is the set of guidelines for producing exemplary articles with consistency, professionalism, and organization on Dinkum Wiki. The Manual of Style does not have to be followed, but it is recommended for success. All articles are subjected to the Manual of Style; articles not up to the standards will be revised to meet such standards.

To understand the Manual of Style, some guidelines will show correct or incorrect.

  • Correct will be colored green.
  • Incorrect will be colored red.

[Part of this Manual of Style is directly copied from Skylines Wiki. All attribution is given to the editor: Bermuda.
Last revision: 24 September 2015
]

Formality

As a professional database, formality is a necessity. Grammar must be proficient level, yet understandable. Words and acronym need to be spelled out completely, unless otherwise noted. Slang and non-official abbreviation must be avoided.

Furthermore, rarely shall the word "it" be used in an article as "it" is vague unless a subject is noted beforehand. The word "it" is not completely banned from the wiki, but we suggest using a more-appropriate, descriptive term in replacement.

Incorrect: It is colored red. (What is "it"?)
Correct: The stop sign is colored red.

Simplistic

Even though Dinkum Wiki is a professional database, be as simple as possible. English is not always the first language learned; not everyone will understand each word. Use simple, clever words rather than words that are too complicated, or otherwise too confusing.

Point of view

There are three types of point of view:

  • First-person - uses pronouns that describe the writer/narrator (I, me, we, etc.)
  • Second-person - uses pronouns that describe the reader (you, your, etc.)
  • Third-person - uses pronouns that describe the subject (he, she, it, they, etc.)

The point of view of Dinkum Wiki is third-person. Third-person writing allows for more flexibility, credibility, and objectivity. First-person and second-person should be avoided as it becomes narrative, directive, or opinionated (biased). As a professional wiki, information should be factual and unbiased (not favoring one or more sides) and should not narrate the writer or reader nor direct the reader to "take action".

Incorrect: I am helping Fletch. (First person)
Incorrect: You are helping Fletch. (Second person)
Correct: The player is helping Fletch. (Third person)

Quotes and dialogue are exempt from the third person point-of-view rule, as these must be written as given.

Biased vs unbiased

Dinkum Wiki is an unbiased source, providing factual information by being impartial, or "equal/fair", towards the subject rather than being biased by stating opinions, or "favoring one side", that can be argumentative. When an information becomes biased, it directs the reader to "join that side" instead of allowing them to "make their own judgment".

Incorrect: Franklyn is the best to befriend, because it unlocks more crafting recipes. (biased and argumentative, because it is insisting the reader to befriend Franklyn by stating he is "the best"; other readers may disagree)
Correct: Befriending Franklyn unlocks more crafting recipes. (unbiased, because it allows the reader to make their own judgment if they should befriend Franklyn; there is nothing to agree or disagree on as it is clearly only stating facts)

Capitalization

Capitalization is when all articles are subjected to sentence-case, where capitalization is written in a way it would be written in a sentence. Non-proper nouns need to be lowercased. Proper nouns or the first letter of a sentence need to be capitalized. Avoid unnecessary capitalization.

Incorrect: melvin sells Furniture.
Correct: Melvin sells furniture.

Places in-game are treated as proper nouns.

Incorrect: threadspace
Correct: Threadspace

Definite articles are the words "the", "a", and "an". Definite articles should not be capitalized, unless it is the first word of a sentence or title.

Conjunctions and prepositions should not be capitalized either, unless it is the first word of a sentence or title.

NOTE: In case there is a doubt, it is best to follow exactly as how it is written in the game, even if it is grammatically wrong.

Numbers

In most cases, numbers need to be written out as words or as numerals depending on the situation.

Numbers from one to nine (1-9) need to be written out completely. Some exceptions apply:

  • Dates (ex: Summer Year 3)
  • Currency (ex: 9,000 Dinks)
  • Items quantity (ex: Fern x20)
  • Or as noted by the editor, if appropriate

Numbers that contain more than four digits or more should be delimited for clarity by placing a comma after every third number starting from the right.

Example: 2,000 or 500,000 or 1,000,000

Articles titles and headers

Article titles

Article titles follow the same rules as if it were a sentence - titles need to be written in sentence case. Exceptions apply if necessary.

  • All titles need to be capitalized properly. The first letter of each title and proper nouns should be capitalized.
  • Titles should be in singular form at best. If completely necessary to be pluralized, then exceptions may be placed.
  • Use parenthesis to distinguish articles with the same name but different purposes.
  • See section #Capitalization for more information

Article bodies

The article body is the main content space of an article, including descriptive information, usage of various tools, and more.

Bold

Bold is the process of making a text appear like this. To bold, the text or texts should contain three single quote marks (') at each end. Do not use double quote marks (").

Example: '''Bold'''

Bolding is commonly used for the first appearance of the subject's name.

Example: '''Melvin''' is an NPC in Dinkum.

Bolding should not be used for emphasis or attention-grabbing. Do not bold surrounding punctuation marks.

Italics

Italics allows texts to appear like this. To italicize, the text or texts should contain two single quote marks (') at each end. Do not use double quote marks (").

Example: ''Italic''

Italicizing is commonly used for emphasis, quotes, or for long works. Do not italicize surrounding punctuation marks or words that do not require it.

Links

Links should be added to the first appearance of a word, if applicable. Do not link the same word or name multiple times in the same article.

  • To add a link, add double brackets on each end. For example: [[Fletch]]
    • To link to a category or file, add a colon before the prefix. For example: [[:Category:NPCs]] will be Category:NPCs.
    • To link a category or file without the prefix, add a pipe | at the end. For example: [[:Category:NPCs|]] will be NPCs.
  • Different names for links can be added for clarity if needed by adding a pipe | at the end of the article name and before the different name. For example: [[Fletch|different name]] will appear as "different name".
  • Be clear when adding links. Do not use a different name that puts the subject out of context.
Incorrect: This and this can be obtained from John's Goods.
Correct: Bug Net and Basic Axe can be obtained from John's Goods.
  • Blend linking are endings added immediately after a link (without a space after the link). These endings will be included in the link. For example: [[Apple]]s will appear as Apples.
    • Avoid linking unnecessary words or punctuation.
Incorrect: [[Fletch]] is OR [[Fletch|Fletch.]] will appear as Fletch is OR Fletch.
Correct: [[Fletch]] is OR [[Fletch]].

Section linking

Section linking can be used to direct the reader to the appropriate part of the page, rather than the beginning of the page. Section linking can be used on the same page or on a different page. Section linking is accomplished by placing a number sign # in the beginning of the link, after the opening brackets [[, or after the link name. However, to omit the # sign, you must use a different name.

If used on the same page, the # is added at the beginning of the section name.

For example, on this page, rather than Project:Manual of Style#Section linking, you can do #Section linking instead. Both accomplish the same task, but the latter is shorter and quicker.

If section linking to a different page, you must first include the page name followed by the # sign and lastly the section name.

For example, to link to the "Cooked Food" section of Consumables, use Consumables#Cooked_Food.

Files

Files are images, videos, or audio that help readers visualize the subject better. They should be high quality and pertain to the article. Avoid redundancy, irrelevancy, clutter, or otherwise unnecessary or obtrusive.

Articles do not need to have multiple images of the subject. If necessary, galleries can be used to place all relevant images together without cluttering the article body.

Additionally, follow these principles pertaining to files:

  • Avoid "sandwiching", or the act of placing text between two or more images.
  • Avoid "stacking", or the act of placing images on top of each other. If an image is right-aligned, the next image should be left-aligned, unless there is a clear amount of distance between each image.
  • Images should be the right size - size should not exceed half the page's width or be too small to see.
  • Captions should be clear and to-the-point.
  • File names should be clear, appropriate, and named properly. If you can't find an image through the search, then the file name is not appropriate. Name the file in a way it is relevant, clear, and can be easily searched in the wiki.
  • For specific items, the name should be exactly as written in the game.

Templates

Templates should be added when necessary and avoided where it would detract from the actual content.

  • The prefix Template: inside curly brackets {{ }} are not necessary.
  • Infoboxes should be placed at the top.
  • Maintenance templates, such as Template:Stub, should be placed at the bottom.

Trivia

Trivia are miscellaneous facts that are relevant to the article but do not meet the standards of being placed in the main body of the article.

  • Opinions are not allowed to be added. Opinions include but not limited to: "I think", "most players think", etc.
  • Do not be redundant. If the fact is already in the article, do not add it again.
  • All pertaining facts should be grouped together.
  • Do not add speculation.

Categories

Categories allow readers to navigate to different, related articles on the wiki. Add only related, relevant categories. Do not add redundant categories. Categories must be added at the end of the page, if typing in the page editor; if you are using the category tool on the right-hand side of the page editor, it will automatically put the category on the bottom.

To add a category, use the prefix Category: and an existing category page name. For example: [[Category:NPCs]].

Category pages

Category pages are the navigator pages of a wiki. They list all articles containing the category, allowing readers to read other related articles.

Like articles, category pages should be categorized under specific categories and should never be categorized under themselves.

Redirects

Redirects are pages that direct readers to another page if the initial page no longer exists or is applicable. Rather than being deleted, redirects help divert the reader to the correct page. For example, if the article was formerly named wrongly "The Dinkum" and was changed as a redirect to "Dinkum", old links that had linked to "The Dinkum" will redirect all readers to "Dinkum". You can also redirect to a section of a page, see section #Section linking.

To create a redirect, add #REDIRECT [[name of new page]].

For example, #REDIRECT [[Dinkum]]

Lists

Indentation

To indent a line, add a colon : at the beginning of the line. For further indentation, add more colons.

:This line is indented.
::This line is indented twice.
:::::This line is indented even more.
:This line is back to one indentation.

Would result in...

This line is indented.
This line is indented twice.
This line is indented even more.
This line is back to one indentation.

Numbered list

To add a numbered list, use a hashtag (#) at the beginning of a line. Do not separate each line with a space as it will break the numbering system.

Correct Incorrect
#Line 1
#Line 2
#Line 3
#Line 1

#Line 2

#Line 3

Bullet points

To create bullet points, use an asterisk (*) at the beginning of the line. Do not separate each line with a space.

Correct Incorrect
*Line 1
**Indented line 1
*Line 2
**Indented line 2
***Further indented line 2 of indented line 2
*Line 3
*Line 1

*Line 2

*Line 3
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