Bulbapedia:Style primer
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This article is an official guideline on Bulbapedia.
Its contents are a strong recommendation for users and administrators alike. |
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This page is a small list of Bulbapedia's conventional styles. For a full, in-depth explanation, please see the complete manual of style.
Wikicode
As Bulbapedia is a wiki, a special sort of code is used here. To link to another Bulbapedia page, two square brackets on either side of the page title are used ([[]]). They may link to a page that does exist (such as Ash Ketchum) or a page that does not (such as Ash's Mudkip). If a page does not exist, it may be linked to anyway, as this is the primary way that a wiki's users know what new pages to make.
Templates are called with curly brackets, on most keyboards simply capital versions of the square ones ({{}}). Take note that this will include the template in the page, but not link to it. To do this, one would use the normal brackets to link to a page in the Template: namespace.
Link templates
- Main article: Bulbapedia:Link templates
Link templates are an important part of Bulbapedia; indeed, there is at least one on each page. The use of them is required for all editors. Most link templates are rather short, requiring rather few parameters, often no more than one. Their names, likewise, remain short, with many of them consisting of only one letter.
Like all templates, link templates are called with the curly brackets. Their base page name then follows, and afterwards is one or more parameters, separated from the template name and each other by a vertical pipe (|). In this way, linking to the proper page for the Pikachu species is {{p|Pikachu}}, rather than the lengthy [[Pikachu (Pokémon)|Pikachu]] or the incorrect [[Pikachu]].
Article titles
All article titles should not be in title case, but rather in normal sentence case, such as with the list of Pokémon by index number. An exception to this rule is if, in fact, the article is about something with a title, such as The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga.
The é and other special characters
When typing out certain words (most often "Pokémon" or something else beginning with "Poké"), editors ought to remember to use the accented é rather than a normal one. Windows users can enter a special code by holding down the Alt key and typing in 130 or 0233 on their keypad, while Mac users can hold the Option key and e, then press e again. Additionally, there is a character palette at the bottom of all editboxes if a user is unable to otherwise.
Japanese characters may appear as question marks (?) on some older computers. A patch is available for most operating systems to enable Japanese and other Asian languages' characters.
Grammar
Correct grammar is required of all editors. Pokémon should always be capitalized with an accented é, while words are spelled correctly, sentences are begun with a capital letter and ended with punctuation, and various other quirks. Essentially, follow the grammar that has been laid down before you, and if possible, improve an article that needs attention with this matter.
The use of second person pronouns ("you", "your", and so on) is discouraged on Bulbapedia, as it appears unprofessional to talk to the audience. Utilizing the passive voice instead will lead to an increase in professional appearance.
Bias
Articles on Bulbapedia are intended to be unbiased, with fan opinions like "Misty's Togepi ruined her character" not included in the article itself, but instead in the trivia, if it is an agreed-upon opinion. In addition, it is not to be stated as fact, but rather so that readers realize that it is in fact merely an opinion. For instance, as opposed to "Misty's Togepi ruined her character," write, "Many fans believe that Misty's Togepi ruined her character."
Talk pages
- Main article: Bulbapedia:Talk page
All articles in all namespaces have a talk page, which can be used to discuss the article, template, or policy in question. Users also have talk pages, which may be used by others to leave a message, but not to chat.
Other information
As this is not a complete instruction manual to using Bulbapedia, it lacks some information that is better discussed in full in the manual of style. However, neither is a perfect substitute for some lurking and learning through experience. A message on a talk page does not mean that a user is unwelcome on Bulbapedia, merely that they must try harder the next time they edit to follow its style.
