Overlord Wiki:Standards

These are standards on how articles on the should be made.

Use the Edit Summary
When editing pages, try to fill in the "Summary" box above the Save/Preview buttons before saving, and make sure that you fill it in with something useful describing the edit you made and, if it's not obvious, why. For example, "fixed spelling error" or "added fun fact" or "reverted edits by 127.0.0.1" are all acceptable. Saying "made some changes" or just filling in the name of the page is not helpful, because it's information that we already have. Making your Summaries accurate and useful makes it vastly easier for the rest of us to keep track of Recent Changes and keeps everybody happy and helps prevent misunderstandings.

Use the Minor Edit Button
A check to the minor edit box, above the summary box is intended to signify that only superficial differences exist between the current and previous version: typo fixes, formatting, or otherwise rearranging text without changing content. A minor edit is a version that the editor believes requires no review and could never be the subject of a dispute.

By contrast, a major edit is a version that should be reviewed by other editors to ensure that everyone agrees on the change. Therefore, any change that affects the meaning of an article is not minor, even if the edit is a single word.

The distinction between major and minor edits is significant because editors may choose to ignore minor edits when reviewing recent changes; logged-in users might even set their preferences to not display them. If you think there is any chance that another editor might dispute your change, please do not mark it as minor.

An edit marked as minor is signified with a bolded "m" character (m) in the page history. Minor edits will also appear with the same bolded "m" in Special:RecentChanges.

Link Once
A given page should only contain one link to any other page. If a page links to Ray Starling in one place, then that should be the only link to Veldora Tempest on that page. Typically this link should be the first instance of the term in the article. But in the case of large articles, it's also ok to instead make one link in each major section instead of just once. Going with normal english, it's also a good idea to use a full name the first time you mention a character then use a shortened name such as Veldora to refer to Veldora Tempest.

Don't use conversational style
This is an online encyclopedia. It should read like an encyclopedia, not like your diary.
 * Check your spelling and grammar. Don't use internet slang (ex. "How r u?" or "c u 2nite"). If you're not 100% sure about the way a word is spelled, type it into Google or Dictionary.com. If you know that you're not the strongest speller, compose your edits in a word processor or web browser which has spell-checking (Firefox 2 and derivatives such as Lolifox, and Opera when ASpell is installed all work).
 * Set the Spell-Check language to British English.
 * Don't use "smileys" or "emoticons" in articles.
 * Don't "reply" to content others have posted. If you think a particular point warrants discussion, post on the article's Discussion page. If you're 100% sure that something should be changed and don't think a discussion is necessary, just change it. Dialogue goes only on articles' Discussion pages.

Article Creation

 * Do not create "Stub" articles intentionally. If you are running out of time, and want to finish it later or you don't know enough information, place the template on the page and finish it later.
 * To do so, just add this to the bottom of the content (A clear line above the tags):  . And people will know that it's a stub by looking at the stub category.
 * All articles should be created with proper grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. See the Manual of Style.

Neutral Point of View
The neutral point of view is a means of dealing with conflicting views. The policy requires that:
 * Where there are or have been conflicting views, these should be presented fairly, but not asserted.
 * All significant points of view are presented, not just the most popular one.
 * It should not be asserted that the most popular view or some sort of intermediate view among the different views is the correct one.
 * Readers are left to form their own opinions.

As the name suggests, the neutral point of view is a point of view, not the absence or elimination of viewpoints. It is a point of view that is neutral—that is neither sympathetic nor in opposition to its subject.

Debates are described, represented, and characterized, but not engaged in. Background is provided on who believes what and why, and which view is more popular. Detailed articles might also contain the mutual evaluations of each viewpoint, but studiously refrain from stating which is better. One can think of unbiased writing as the cold, fair, analytical description of all relevant sides of a debate. When bias towards one particular point of view can be detected the article needs to be fixed.

User Communication

 * Be polite and kind to other users. This is a no-brainier.
 * Do not talk down to another user. This also applies to sysops. Just because they have a few extra buttons, doesn't make them any better than the new user that has only been here an hour.
 * If you sense tension or an argument building, disengage from the conversation.
 * If there is a certain user you don't get along with, and you know it, avoid them.
 * Do not go looking to stir up trouble just because you dislike someone or something written on the wiki. Remember, your opinion isn't the law, and you don't have to force it down someone's throat.
 * Be helpful. If something you read doesn't quite make sense, or you have a great idea that would compliment one a user is writing on, tell them, but tell them in a polite, considerate manner.

Sysop Communication

 * Do not forgo warnings. If a policy requires a warning, or even two warnings, before action is taken, give them out. Ignoring that step is reserved for only the most extreme cases.
 * Be helpful. As a sysop, users regard you automatically as someone authoritative. Always help them out whenever you can.
 * Avoid bias. Do not reprimand one user for breaking the rules, but then overlook your buddy's own rule breaking.