Manual of Style

The **Manual of Style** is a style guide for all Realm of Mordenheim Wiki articles. It establishes the house style, helping editors produce articles with consistent, clear, and precise language, layout, and formatting. The goal is to create an encyclopedia that is easier and more intuitive to use. Consistency in style, wording and formatting promotes clarity and cohesion; this is especially important within an article and across related media. For all this, edits that ignore this manual can be undone without further reason.

## Article Names, Sections, and Headings

### Article Names

Every article in the Realm of Mordenheim Wiki must have a name, chosen according to the **Naming Policy** of the wiki.

The following points are critical to formatting article titles:

* **"Title Case"**: The first letter of every word in a title must be capitalized, except for articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, prepositions and the "to" in an infinitive.
* **Singular form**: Article names should be singular as a general rule, however, some exceptions are accepted, such as members of a particular race ("Humans"), groups ("Raiders"), or lists ("List of Raider Missions").
* **Full names without ranks**: Articles about characters should avoid the title or rank, (e.g. King Thoryn, not King Thoryn).
* **Avoid definite or indefinite articles**: The definite article (the) and indefinite articles (a/an) should be avoided in article titles except if they are used as the official title.

### Article Sections

As a general guide, all in-universe articles should be structured as follows:

1. Infobox
2. Quote
3. Description
4. Main Sections
5. Appearances
6. Trivia
7. References
8. Categories

### Headings

#### Heading Format

In order to create Sections for an article, the `==` (heading) markup must be used headings, not the `'''` (**bold**) markup.

Example:

`===This is a heading===`
which produces:

**This is a heading**
Using this codes, a table of contents is automatically generated from the headings in an article. Sections can be automatically numbered for users with that preference set and words within properly marked headings are given greater weight in searches. Headings also help readers by breaking up the text and outlining the article.

#### Heading Rules

* Unlike Wikipedia and many other wikis, the Realm of Mordenheim Wiki uses the Title Capitalization rules
	1. Capitalize from the first to the last word.
	2. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions.
	3. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions.
	4. Lowercase the "to" in an infinitive.

* Links within headings should only be applied to the full title of the heading, never to a part of it.
* Headings must not contain images.

## Article Bodies

### Links

* **Internal Links**: Any internal article should be linked in every mention in another article's infobox, once upon its first mention in another article's intro, and once upon its first mention in each of other articles' sub-sections.
* **Unnecessary Punctuation**: Linking unnecesary punctuation should be avoided in the articles. Letters or words touching the link will be included in the link and should avoided as well (e.g. use [[Sandara Balova]]'s instead of [[Sandara Balova|Sandara Balova's]]).
* **Redirects and Piped Links**: All redirects in the Realm of Mordenheim Wiki serve a specific purpose, other than to facilitate searching for articles. Therefore, a redirect that falls in one of the categories considered in the Redirect Policy must be linked as such, instead of circunventing the redirect with a piped link (e.g. use [[Kristian Sanders]] instead of [[Alpha]]).
* **Do not add external links to other sites without permission.**
* **Do not use external links in the body of an article**: External Links must be reserved for the trivia, external links, and references sections.

### Images

* Images appearing in articles should avoid having external logos of the series/networks where it has aired.
* Avoid having text between two or more images (sandwich effect). or between an image and an infobox.
* Thumbnails shown in the article should generally be 200px/250px. Images containing important detail (e.g. a map, diagram, or chart) may need larger sizes than usual to make them readable.

### Templates

Templates should be added where it is necessary and removed when it is unnecessary. This specially includes the Maintenance templates.

* Do not add categories to an article that are automatically added by a templates.
* The prefix "Template:" does not need to be added, as long as you are using these form of brackets ({{ }}).
* Infobox templates (such as Template:Character) should always be at the top of the article.

### Trivia

Trivia helps readers learn more facts about the subject that is not originally in the main body of the article.

* Avoid redundancy. Always check to see if the article has the fact before adding.
* Decide whether the fact is more relevant in the body or trivia. If the fact is important, or there is a specific section to note it, it should belong in the body of the article. If it is only worth noting, it should belong in the trivia. (e.g. A character displaying a superpower or using a specific weapon belongs to either the "Powers" or "Equipment" section, respectively, not the Trivia section)
* Only post **relevant** information to the subject of the article. If it belongs on a more specific article or another topic, post it on the other article.
* If a trivia is related to another trivia, add an indented list below the parent trivia. If that should be the case, however, decide whether the facts are enough to generate their own main body paragraph.

### Categories

Every article must be categorized, adding one of the existing categories that can be applied to it. Consult the Layout Guide and its derived sub-pages in order to consult the categories that should be applied to each article. A list of categories can be found here.

Due to misunderstandings of the whole purpose of categorizing, we ask that you do not create new categories and add them to articles. Most of the time, if a category does not exist, it is not intended to exist, or there is already an existing category that covers its purpose. Please be sure to ask the Administrators before creating a category.

## Perspective

* If an article is **in-universe** or described as such, it belongs to the Realm of Mordenheim Wiki exclusively and *not to the real world*. Characters, for example, are in-universe, but the actors who play them are out-of-universe.
* Articles about any in-universe subject, such as characters, locations, items, vehicles, organizations or races, should always be written from an in-universe perspective, which means that must be written as if the writer was inside the Realm of Mordenheim Wiki.
* However, some sections in an in-universe article are out-of-universe *per se*, such as the **Appearances** and **Behind the Scenes** sections.
* Phrases like "*It is unknown*", "*At some point*", "*Some time later*", "*Somehow*"... are greatly discouraged, and ultimately not allowed to be used in articles, as from an **in-universe** point of view, for example, the event marked as "It is unknown" is surely known by the people involved in said event, or the point marked as "At some point in his life" can surely be exactly pointed to by someone related to the event.

## Bold and Italic Fonts

### Bold

When a text is in bold, it appears like **this**. It can be accomplished by typing three single quotes (') on both ends of a word or phrase.

* The name of the subject of the article must be bolded in its first mention.
* Alternate names for the subject of the article must be bolded in their first mention. This includes names of titles that redirect to said article.

### Italics

When a text is in italics, it appears like *this*. It can be accomplished by typing two single quotes (') on both ends of a word or phrase. Using double quotes will not make the word or phrase italicized.

* The proper names for a vehicle must be written in italics.

## Grammar

Grammar is a writer's toolbox. You can't build good sentences without knowing how to use your tools. Since a wiki article must be as clear as possible for all the people reading it, editors must keep close to correct grammar standards to ensure clear communication.

### Three C's

To best achieve a Good Article, writers here generally apply this rule of thumb: language should be **clear**, **consistent**, and **concise**.

* **Clarity** mandates that the language relay its message sharply, unambiguous, and be wholly self-evident. It is important to be as clear and neutral as possible so as to communicate the idea of a sentence effectively to the reader.
* **Consistency** ensures article *flow*, an important aspect in being *clear*. The article should be easy to read and predictable, while assuming a reasonable comprehension level.
* **Concision**, or **brevity**, is the art of using no more words than necessary to convey an idea, though it should not be misunderstood with "leaving out information". It is an important practice when writing so that you do not lose your audience — try to think "get to the point" as much as possible.

### Capitalization

Despite **unnecessary capitalization should be avoided**, it should not be reserved for proper names only.

#### Links

According to the **Naming Policy** of the Realm of Mordenheim Wiki, every word in an article's name, with few exceptions, must be capitalized. As such, all links must be capitalized even though they describe common names either in the first mention and every other subsequent mention. On the other hand, words included in a title must not be capitalized in subsequent mentions (e.g. "The project was very powerful, making the soldiers...")

#### Capitalization of "The"

In general, do not capitalize the definite article in the middle of a sentence. However, some idiomatic exceptions, including most titles of artistic works, should be quoted exactly according to common usage.

#### Human and Sentient Species

In all sections of in-universe articles, the word "Humans" or "Human" should be capitalized, just as the name of any other sentient species (Super-humans, Trolls, Atlanteans). Derived words such as "humanoid", however, should not be capitalized.

#### Ranks and Titles

Ranks and titles are to be capitalized when they immediately precede an individual's name. Do not capitalize ranks or titles when used as a substitute for the name or in a sentence. (e.g. "King Thoryn" or "Agent Wilmann", but "Raider agents" or "Stonehorn King")

#### Locations

Political or geographical units, such as cities, towns and countries, follow the same rules: as proper nouns they require capitals (Stonehorn); but as generic words they do not.

### Spelling and Punctuation

This Manual of Style is not intended to be detailed English guide. Knowledge of basic spelling and punctuation is automatically assumed. However, some cases have brought themselves up and are thusly considered noteworthy; and therefore suitable of being listed here.

#### Run-on Sentences

Aside from obvious, common rules for using full stops (.) and commas (,) there are some instances where you should review a sentence you wrote in "preview mode" to determine whether or not your sentence is a run-on sentence. Run-on sentences aren't good for several reasons, particularly when two separate thoughts (clauses) are not differentiated from each other thus causing a considerable amount of confusion. Similarly, some sentences are a single thought but are really long. Full stops, or periods, can be used to give the reader a resting spot.

However, **randomly adding a period or comma** in the middle of a sentence does not "fix" a run-on. A clause must still be an independent thought that above all, **makes sense**. Some users may request peer-review if they are unsure.

### Formal Vocabulary

**Formal use of language** is mandatory on all encyclopedia articles.

* **Contractions**: Uncontracted forms such as *Did not* or *He would* are the default in encyclopedic style; *don't* and *he'd* are too informal.
* **Contested vocabulary**: In encyclopedia articles, avoid such phrases as *remember that* and *note that*, which address readers directly in a less-than-encyclopedic tone. Similarly, phrases such as *of course*, *naturally*, *obviously*, *clearly*, and *actually* make presumptions about readers' knowledge, and call into question the reason for including the information in the first place. Do not tell readers that something is ironic, surprising, unexpected, amusing, coincidental, unfortunate, etc. This supplies a point of view. Simply state the sourced facts and allow readers to draw their own conclusions.
* **Familiar names**: Some characters are often referred to using familiar names or nicknames. However, their use in encyclopedic articles must be strictly avoided, and a character must always be referred to by its full name when first mentioned, and surname only in subsequent references. There are two general exceptions to this rule:
	+ For characters that use a "codename", the full codename may be substituted for the full name or surname wherever they are mentioned.
	+ When a paragraph or section refers to at least two members of the same family, characters can be referred to by their first name, in order to clarify which one of the characters is being discussed.

### Language and Spelling

Though the readers and editors of the Realm of Mordenheim Wiki speak many languages, the Realm of Mordenheim Wiki uses standard American English spelling, grammar and punctuation, as it is the variety of English used in the original releases of most canonical materials.

However, direct quotes should never be altered, even if they do not use American spelling or the English language at all.

### Paragraphs and Formatting

Inexperienced writers have a tendency towards "run on" paragraphs. Some of these may number dozens of lines and many column inches without a break. This makes the articles difficult to read as everything seems to flow together. It also makes it tough to quickly skim articles for data points.

A good paragraph (grammatically speaking) is two to five sentences in length on average. It covers *one* thought or idea or piece of information. Any time there is a change in the thought, idea, or piece of information, there should also be a paragraph change.

When formatting paragraphs, adding an empty line between paragraphs looks better in the articles than the traditional "paragraph indent" on the first line. It makes for a more definite "break point" visually, and allows the reader to more easily see that they are reading a *new* paragraph at that point.

Also, many writers tend to start paragraphs using the format "After (*insert event here*)", "When (insert character here)", "During (*insert event here*)" or similar choices of words. Those formats are greatly discouraged in the Realm of Mordenheim Wiki, as the initial context of the event must be referred in the title of the specific subsection in the main Biography / History section. Simply put, do not start any paragraphs with a sentence beginning with "After", especially if it is the first paragraph of a section.

### Terminology

Sometimes, the Realm of Mordenheim Wiki uses very specific words to refer to terms that could be described with different synonyms. In order to maintain consistency among every article, some words must be chosen instead of others that, apparently, had the same meaning:

* **Powers and Abilities**: The word **Powers** is specifically used to refer to what is commonly known as "super-powers", such as super-strength, super-speed, flight and many others, while the word **Abilities** is used to refer to a list of skills that include Martial Arts, Marksmanship, Acrobatics, Engineering, Scientific Knowledge, Business Management, Computer Hacking, Espionage, Multilingualism, among others. As such, while redacting an article and making reference to any of them, both words are **not** interchangeable, and cannot be used indiscriminately in case the word is repeated in a sentence.
* **Agents and Operatives**: Clandestine organizations, such as the Berserker Kingdom, use many different words to refer to its members, such as "members", "agents" or "assets", among others. The usual word that would be used to refer to them would be agents, using the literal etymology of the word, derived from the same root as the verb "to act". However, in order to distinguish its members from members of other organizations referred to as "Agents", understanding the word agent as "official member of an Agency", members of such clandestine organizations should be referred to using the word **Operatives**.

## Sourcing

As stated in the Sourcing Policy the Realm of Mordenheim Wiki does not accept original ideas or fanon, and all writing should be based on reliable sources, and therefore be referenced.