Pipsquad Wiki:Style Guide

*This page is a guide to writing articles on the Pipsquad Wiki. If you are new to the Pipsquad Wiki, please also read Pipsquad Wiki:Community Portal before you begin editing.*
Contributors to the Pipsquad Wiki should use this page as a guideline to maintaining the consistency of articles across the wiki. If you have questions or concerns about the policies on this page, please contact an admin.

## General Guidelines

Following are some general tips for editing any page on the Pipsquad Wiki:

* **American English**: To maintain consistency, American English spellings and grammatical conventions should be used throughout the Wiki.
* **References**: Reference tags **<ref> </ref>** should be used to create footnotes. These typically contain additional information or evidence about the body of the article, that would otherwise disrupt the narrative flow of the text. For instance, references to a particular chapter in which the information is found should be included in a footnote, rather than an in-text citation. That being said, sometimes it may be appropriate to write in the main text something like, "In *Mister McHottie*, Ambrosia Berger comes face to face with the #1 Dick on her Dick-list and he's her new boss..." etc., but any further textual clues like chapters or page numbers should be enclosed in the **<ref> </ref>** tags.
* **Titles of Works**: Most written works should be *italicized*, e.g. *Master Baker*. HOWEVER, novellas and short stories should be written in regular text within double quotation marks, e.g. "Honey and The Squirrel".
* **Writing Style**: If you're familiar with the way Wikipedia articles are written, you should have some idea about how to write articles in such a way that they are formal and dispassionate in tone, and include only factual information. Any speculation should be reserved for the Forum or article comments.
* **Original content**: All content published on this wiki should be original, not copied from other websites verbatim. When it is necessary to include content from an outside source, it is best to paraphrase or summarize, and link back to the original with a reference citation.
	+ Exception: Sometimes it may make sense to copy content from Wikipedia as a stopgap until original content can be written, usually for articles about real life people or events. When copying directly from a Wikipedia article, be sure to include the {{Wikipedia}} template at the top of the article.

## Page Layouts

### Character Pages

When creating a new character page, copy and paste the following into the Source editor to get started:

```
{{Character
}}
'''Name in Bold''' and brief introductory paragraph.

==Personal History==
==Events of the Novels==
==Personality==
==Physical Appearance==
==Relationships==
==Name==
==Trivia==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT: <!-- Last name, First name (If the character only has one name, this line is unnecessary.)-->}}

```

**NOTE: For the long list of book codes (mchottie=true|stud=true|rockaway=true etc.) only the books that are relevant to that character should be included. If you have questions about this, please ask Perfectjourney730.**

#### **Infobox**

* **Full Name** should contain all known given names and surname used by the character.
* **Alias** should contain any additional names or nicknames commonly used by the character.
* **Title** should be used for characters holding a title of nobility. Courtesy titles may be better placed under **Alias**.
* **Extended** (family) should include names of characters who are particularly relevant to the character of the article, rather than every known relative of that character. Family members that are associated by fact only and never in circumstance do not need to be added. Sometimes "See [< family article >]" may be used to point to more distant family.

#### **Article Sections**

* After the "}}" of the Infobox, write a brief summary explaining who the character is, starting with the character's name in **bold**. This should give just the basics about the character, ideally without revealing any major spoilers.
* **Personal History**: This should be a more detailed biography of the character, including events that occurred before the series' timeline. Should be written in past tense.
* **Events of the Novels**: Summary of the character's role in the books. Should be written in the historical present. Include subheadings for each book in which the character appears. For example:

```
==[[Girl Band Series]]==
===''[[Mister McHottie]]''===
===''[[Stud in The Stacks]]''===
==[[Thrusters Series]]==
===''[[Pilot and the Puck-Up]]''===
```

* **Personality**: Describe the character's known traits.
* **Physical Appearance**: Describe the character's appearance (as it is described in the books, not the television adaptation).
* **Relationships**: Describe the character's most important relationships. Use subheadings for each relationship.
* **Name**: Provide an etymological history of the character's name. This can be found on various sites around the web; Behind the Name is a decent resource, or you can try googling "[insert name] name meaning". Use reference syntax to cite your source.
* **Trivia**: This is a section where you can add fun and interesting facts about a character.

### Book Pages

The following (at minimum) should be included in an article about a book:

```
{{Book
}}
'''Book Title''' and a sentence or two in summary.
==Blurb==
==Main Characters==
==Plot==
==Book Covers==
==External Resources==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==See also==
{{NavBooks}}

```

#### Article Sections

* After the "}}" of the Infobox, write a sentence or two in summary, starting with the name of the book in bold. This should give just the basics about the book, ideally without revealing any major spoilers.
* **Blurb**: A short none spoiler blurb about the book.
* **Main Characters**: A listing of the major players and their role in the story.
* **Plot**: Describes major events and through-lines of the book, in more of a broad overview than a detailed, point-by-point outline. May contain spoilers.
* **Book Covers**: Covers other than the one used in the infobox. Currently the wiki does not seek to include covers other than those published in the US and UK. Interest in doing so may be proposed in the Forum for discussion.
* **External Resources**: Pages outside of the Wiki that may be of interest in relation to the book.