Lego City No Limits Wiki:Manual of Style

Welcome to the Lego City No Limits Wiki's Manual of Style.

Before editing, please make sure to read the wiki's rules!

Introduction

This page will answer many of your questions pertaining to articles on this wiki. If you can not find your answer, please ask an administrator.

Article do's and do not's

Do

Write in paragraphs
Use punctuation
Link
Add sources
Add categories
Fix grammar
Use templates

Do not

Forget capitalization
Add lists of attributes
Leave blank articles
Vandalize articles
Add speculative information
Add both appearance and personality in infoboxes

Article titles

It is advisable to refrain from creating articles with speculative titles. It is essential to ensure that the article's title for a particular subject is its official name and not a nickname or an alternate name. For instance, it is preferable to use "Mech Max" instead of "Main Character." When initiating an article, it is crucial to include a concise definition of the subject in the first sentence and bold the first instance of the article name. This practice ensures clarity and consistency in the article's content and presentation.

Language

To ensure consistency and align with the origin of this wiki in the United States, American English spelling should be used on main namespace pages. This guideline does not apply to talk or user pages. While users should not face harassment or punishment for using regional spellings, editors are encouraged to conform article text to U.S. spelling. If encountering a word spelled differently in another country, such as "colour" instead of "color," simply change it to the U.S. English spelling.

Special note

Please avoid the following:

"Counting” trivia.
Trivia that is likely to change in the future.
Referring to special playtimes/timecodes. Because not everyone has the same version of a particular video, these times are often unhelpful.
Tangential relations.
Non-factual information/opinions.
Speculation/theories.

Sections on character pages

Appearance and Personality

It is recommended to incorporate a dedicated section for both appearance and personality within an article, rather than solely relying on a character infobox. This approach allows for a more comprehensive and nuanced portrayal of the character, providing readers with a deeper understanding of their traits and motivations. By including a detailed description of the character's physical appearance and personality traits, the article can effectively convey their unique qualities and contribute to a more engaging and immersive reading experience. Therefore, it is advisable to prioritize the inclusion of these sections in any character analysis or profile.

Linking

Linking within articles is typically restricted to the initial occurrence of a word or phrase, excluding links contained within infoboxes. This practice is implemented to prevent an overabundance of wiki links, which can impede the readability of an article. Adhering to this guideline, it is recommended that a term not be linked more than twice on a given page. However, in lengthy articles where instances of a term are widely dispersed, multiple links may be deemed appropriate. Additionally, multiple links leading to distinct sections on the same page may also be permissible.

When linking to Wikipedia, please use this format:

✓ {{w|Fiji mermaid}}
instead of
✗ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiji_mermaid Fiji mermaid]

When linking to another wiki on Wikia, please use this format:

✓ {{Wikia|WIKIANAME:WIKIAPAGE|TEXT}}
instead of
✗ [http://WIKIANAME.wikia.com/wiki/WIKIAPAGE TEXT]

References

External references

Please use reliable external sources such as LEGO or crew pages. Avoid using unreliable, editable sources such as IMDB. To reference an external page, use the following format:

Note that the name allows you to reuse the same reference later in the article. If you want to reuse it, use the following format:

Source quality

Not all sources are created equal. Please consider the nature of the source you are citing. Websites that are editable by users are not considered reliable sources.

Good sources:

LEGO websites (including press releases and official social media pages)
Websites citing official press releases or specializing in television (e.g., tvguide.com)
Any verified Twitter account.
Tumblr accounts used exclusively by Series crew

Bad sources:

IMDB
TV.com
Wikipedia (unless it gives citations and you verify their accuracy)
Unverified Twitter accounts
Blogs, opinion pages, etc.
Unverified, leaked material.

Templates

Main article: Lego City No Limits Wiki:Templates

Spoiler template

It is advised not to directly add the "Spoiler" category to an article. Rather, it is recommended to append {{spoiler}} at the beginning of the article. This spoiler template should be included in the article of a recently aired episode and other articles that contain plot spoilers of the same episode. It is permissible to remove the template one week after the episode has aired.

Stubs

It is advised not to directly include the "Article stubs" category to an article. Rather, it is recommended to add {{stub}} at the start of the article. The classification of an article as a stub should only be done if it lacks fundamental information and is incomplete.

Cite web template

The Cite web template is used to create citations of web sources and thus have a better order in the references of the articles.

When adding a quotation

Use the Template:Quote for one-liners. Quotes should be memorable or illustrative of the character's personality. Please limit the number of quotes per page and only add the most memorable or illustrative quotes of the character. The quote template can also be applied to sections such as Appearance, Personality, and Relationships.

Specific issues

Straight vs. Curly (Smart) quotes

The preferred form of quotation marks for design purposes is the straight quote (' "), as it is readily available on standard keyboards and is commonly used in most articles. The use of curly or "smart" punctuation marks (‘ ’ “ ”) is not recommended, as these symbols are not easily accessible on standard keyboards and require additional effort to render using keyboard shortcuts. Therefore, the use of straight quotes is the most efficient and practical option for designers and writers alike.

Use of commas

As Lego City No Limits Wiki is an American television series, it is recommended to adhere to the American English convention of using the comma, commonly referred to as the "Oxford comma" or "serial comma", where applicable. This punctuation mark is typically used to separate the final two items in a series. It is advised to use this comma to ensure clarity and consistency in written communication.

Confused on when to use commas between adjectives? If the sentence contains adjectives, ask yourself:

Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written in reverse order?
Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written with "and" between them?

If you answer yes to both of these questions, then the adjectives are a coordinate set and should be separated by a comma. Examples of coordinate and non-coordinate adjectives:

He was a difficult, unfriendly frog. (coordinate) They have a white frame picture. (non-coordinate) She wore a wide silk dress. (non-coordinate) Your mother has a soft, friendly gaze. (coordinate) The relentless, powerful summer sun beat down on them. (1-2 are coordinate, but the third is non-coordinate.)

The relentless, powerful, oppressive sun beat down on them. (Both 1, 2, and 3 are coordinate.)

For more on the use of the comma, see this page by Connecticut Community College or this page by Purdue University.

Use of apostrophes

It is imperative to adhere to the proper English usage of the apostrophe, much like the comma. This has been a well-established practice for several decades, as evidenced by the correct usage of '90s instead of 90's/90s or 1990s instead of 1990's. It is crucial to maintain consistency in written communication, particularly in professional settings, to ensure clarity and accuracy. Therefore, it is recommended to exercise caution and diligence when using apostrophes in written English to avoid any potential confusion or misinterpretation.

It is important to distinguish between the usage of "its" and "it's". "Its" is a possessive pronoun that denotes the quality or object of a subject. On the other hand, "it's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has", which indicates the status or position of the subject.

When using apostrophes to make citations, leave out punctuation marks that are not part of the citation (ex: "Episode". instead of "Episode."); however, if they are part of the citation, they can go inside the apostrophes. For quotes, final punctuation marks must be inside apostrophes but note that this excludes non-final punctuation marks such as comma or colon.

Capitalization

In accordance with standard English capitalization rules, article titles and section headers should begin with a capital letter for the first word, but subsequent words should be lowercase unless they are proper nouns or require capitalization for other reasons. For instance, a section header should read "External links" rather than "External Links." However, there is an exception for character article titles, which should be capitalized in accordance with the character's name.

POV

The articles on this wiki are expected to be composed from a neutral standpoint, with a dispassionate tone that avoids any bias or preference, and refrains from giving undue weight to insignificant matters. This necessitates the inclusion of factual information, rather than personal opinions. The use of imperative form and second person (you) should be avoided, as well as statements regarding the beliefs of "some fans" when crafting articles.

Raw format

When emphasizing an article's title within the article, it is recommended to bold only the first occurrence of the title. However, if alternative names or nicknames for the title are used, the first instance of each should also be bolded. For instance, consider the following example:

A bag (also known regionally as a sack) is a common tool in the form of a non-rigid container. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being no more than lengths of animal skin, cotton, or woven plant fibers, folded up at the edges and secured in that shape with strings of the same material.

View the original article here.

When viewed in Source mode, this is what it would look like.

A '''bag''' (also known regionally as a '''sack''') is a common tool in the form of a non-rigid container. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being no more than lengths of animal skin, cotton, or woven plant fibers, folded up at the edges and secured in that shape with strings of the same material.

When referring to the names of media, such as the title of a television show, these should be italicized (e.g. LEGO City No Limits]) while things like episode names should be surrounded with quotation marks. (e.g. "Episode name" from Season 1.)

Verb tense

Works of fiction are generally considered to "come alive" for their audience. They exist in a kind of perpetual present tense, regardless of when the fictional action is supposed to take place relative to "now". Thus, generally you should write about fiction using the present tense, not the past tense.

Date and time formatting

Read this article from Wikipedia for more on date and time formatting and standards. Below are excerpts from that article.

Acceptable date formats: The following date styles are acceptable in Wikipedia articles, subject to rules included thereafter:

Format	Example	Scope
MMMM D, YYYY Full month name, space, numeric day, comma, space, full year	September 8, 2001	Everywhere
D MMM YYYY Numeric day, space, short month name, space, full year	8 Sep 2001	This format is only in references, tables, lists or areas where conciseness is needed.
MMM D, YYYY Short month name, space, numeric day, comma, space, full year	Sep 8, 2001
YYYY-MM-DD Four-digit year, hyphen, two-digit month, hyphen, two-digit day	2001-09-08

Unacceptable date formats: The following date styles are not acceptable in the Lego City No Limits Wiki except in external titles and quotes:

The ordinal suffixes, articles, or leading zeros (except for the YYYY-MM-DD format) are not used in the wiki. A comma is not inserted between the month and year, nor is a period inserted after the day (June 10, 1921); however, when using mdy format, a comma is required between the day and year. When a date in mdy format appears in the middle of text, include a comma after the year (The weather on September 11, 2001 was clear and warm). Type the full year string instead of using the apostrophe to abbreviate the first two digits of the year.

Incorrect	Correct
9 June 2001	June 9, 2001
9th June the 9th of June 9. June	June 9
June 9th	June 9
June, 2001	June 2001
9 June, 2001 09 June 2001	June 9, 2001
June 9 2001 June 09, 2001	June 9, 2001
'01	2001

An exception to this guideline is when a specific style of a date achieves notability within a culture, such as the Fourth of July (does not adhere to ordinal nor spelled out guideline, yet is acceptable).
Do not use year-final numerical date formats (DD/MM/YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY), as they are ambiguous: "03/04/2005" could refer to 3 April or to March 4. For consistency, do not use such formats even if the day number is greater than 12.
Do not use customized variations of the YYYY-MM-DD format. E.g., do not replace hyphen characters ("-") with any other character; do not change the order of year, month, or day. Use leading zeros for days or months when needed to make these fields two digits.
Yearless dates (March 5) are inappropriate unless the year is obvious from the context. There is no such ambiguity with recurring dates, such as January 1 is New Year's Day.
Do not use Roman numerals, such as "MMXII" for "2012", to denote years.

General tips

For tips on improving article writing and general quality guidelines, please read this article from Wikipedia.