The Manual of Style, abbreviated as MOS or MoS, is an important document and policy which serves the purpose of maintaining consistency throughout the wiki in order to ensure that its articles are easy to read and edit for all. This Manual of Style should be followed by all editors in order to ensure clear and consistent language, layout, and formatting in all articles.
In situations that the Manual of Style does not cover, editors should contact an Administrator or Content Moderator for advice and guidance. Issues or suggestions regarding the Manual of Style can be discussed in the wiki Discord server.
Contents
Article layout
This section of the Manual of Style covers topics relating to the general layout and visual appearance of an article as a whole. If you are creating a new page, or attempting to refurbish an old article, then you should read though this section and adhere to it as much as possible.Page titles
Page titles, are the large headings displayed above the content of any article and found to the left of the edit button. They should always be the name or a description of the subject of an article.
Overall, article titles should aim to be:
- Recognizable
- Titles should be names or descriptions of the topic that are recognizable to someone familiar with (though not necessarily expert in) the topic.
- Natural
- Titles should be those which readers are likely to look for or search with, as well as those which editors naturally use to link from other articles. Such titles usually convey what the subject is actually called in English.
- Precise
- Titles should usually be names and terms that are precise enough to unambiguously identify the topical scope of the article, but not overly precise.
- Concise
- Titles are concise, using as few words as possible.
- Singular
- Titles should remain singular, not plural. For example, an article on toppers should be entitled "Topper", not "Toppers". The only exception is if the topic is always referred to plurally (Credits, for instance).
- Consistent
- Titles should follow the same pattern as those of similar articles. These patterns are documented in further detail below.
In addition, article titles should meet the following criteria:
- Use title case, not sentence case. Title case means only using capital letters for the principal words. Articles, conjunctions, and prepositions do not get capital letters unless they start the title.
- The above rule does not apply to categories. Categories should use sentence case.
- Generally, do not use punctuation in article titles.
- Article titles should not begin with coordinating conjunctions or articles.
- Article titles should be singular, not plural. Category titles should generally be plural.
When in doubt, ask an Administrator for help.
Infoboxes
Infobox templates are a handy way of displaying information in a structured format. Wherever possible, an infobox template should be used on a new article, ensuring that each field is filled in with the appropriate information.
These should be inserted at the beginning of an article, prior to the text in the lead section.
A list of available infobox templates can be found here: Infobox templates
Lead section
The lead section is the first section of an article. The lead section should never be titled with a section heading, and should be considered the introduction to the article. The section should contain a brief summary of the article's subject without detailing anything which will be visited later in the article. The name of the page should be highlighted in bold in the lead section through use of the "B" (bold) button.
Section headings
Section headings should be a short descriptive title of the section below, following the same guidelines for capitalization as page titles. Headings are used for the navigation of an article through the use of the table of contents, and for the organization of text on an article.
Important: Never [[link]] a section heading to another article.
Sections headings can be placed by selecting "Heading", "Sub-heading 1", "Sub-heading 2", or "Sub-heading 4" from the drop down box in the VisualEditor, and then filling the space above the created line with the heading. Alternatively, it can be placed by wrapping the heading between two to six equals symbols (=) on either side in source mode, depending on the sub-section heading you want to produce.
Sub-sections decrease in size as you increase the heading number. "Heading" is the largest section heading with "Sub-heading 4" being the smallest. This table shows which selections produce which heading. The top/bold selection represents the options available on the visual editor, whilst the bottom selection represents which code options are available in source mode.
| Selecting | Produces |
|---|---|
| Heading ==Text== |
Text |
===Text=== |
Text |
====Text==== |
Text |
=====Text===== |
Text |
======Text====== |
Text |
Images
- See also: Help:Images
Images are an important feature for helping detail a subject in articles, give examples of a subject, or just to make the article look more appealing. Images featured in an article must always be official and relevant; fan-made images, altered images, or images of modified content are generally not appropriate unless the subject matter of the article directly relates to fan-made or altered images.
Additionally, misplaced images can detract from the article, so images must always be placed in an appropriate manner within an article's text, such as the beginning of a new section, or within designated image zones such as galleries or information boxes.
Images should always be placed into an article using the file name tag – [[File:Rocket_League.png]] – as this links the image to its original file destination page. Several tags can be placed after the file name in order to change the shape and attributes of the image.
Example image caption.
When placing images within the article itself, the image must always be placed to the right of the text and converted into a thumbnail. This can be achieved by adding a |thumb tag to the end of a file name, such as: [[File:Rocket_League.png|thumb]]. This will result in the image as it appears on the right.
A caption should also be added to the image to explain what the image is trying to detail. Captions should be short and descriptive, and can be placed by adding a caption tag to the end of the file name, such as: [[File:Rocket_League.png|thumb|Example image caption.]].
Galleries
When multiple images can be placed on an article but doing so runs the risk of over-cluttering the article and detracting from the text, an image gallery should be used. Gallery images should always be set to no larger than 222px, and should always be aligned to the left with no forced changes to image shapes.
To ensure consistency within the wiki, it is advised that the following gallery code is used:
<gallery widths="222" bordersize="none" captionposition="within" orientation="square" spacing="small" hideaddbutton="true"> </gallery>
It is not advisable to use either "slideshow" or "slider" galleries, and any galleries found in this format may be reformatted to the above standard.
Videos
Unlike images, videos should not be placed within infoboxes or inline with the article text itself unless the subject matter of the article is about the video itself rather than the subject matter contained within the video. Otherwise, directly related videos should be placed within a gallery below the article's content.
References
Links
- See also: Help:Links
When to link
Links should be used within articles to link a word to its own page whenever linking to another page can save the editor from writing a larger explanation for the word. With the exception of citations, authors should always try to link a subject internally to another Rocket League Wiki page using a wikilink and never to an external website, unless the website contains detailed encyclopedic or other important information that can not or should not be replicated on the Rocket League Wiki.
Links should be used for the first occurrence of that word in the main article body. Links should also be used (without regard to whether the word appears/is linked in the main article body) for the first occurrence of the word in any infoboxes or image captions. Links should not be used for subsequent appearances of the word, except that in longer articles, editors may use their discretion to link the word again if several paragraphs have passed since the word was used.
How to link
Text can be linked by using the button on the top bar of the visual editor and then filling the appropriate fields before selecting ok. Alternatively you can link text internally by using the Ab button on the top bar of the source editor which will paste the following code: [[Link title]] - simply replace "Link title" with the article name you wish to link.
If the word that you want to appear to readers is not exactly the same as the article name, simply use the vertical bar character ("|") within the brackets to separate the article name from the word you want to appear. For example, entering the following:
[[vehicles|bodies]]
results in the following appearing in the article: bodies.
Most article names are singular, but you might want to use the plural when linking inside an article. Making a singular article name appear to be plural is even easier -- just add an "s" or "es" after the closing brackets without adding a space. For example, entering the following:
[[topper]]s
results in the following appearing in the article: toppers
Editors can link to individual pages on other Wikia sites using the same wikilink code, preceded by "w:c:(Wikia subdomain):". For example, to link to the "Cromulon" article on the Rick and Morty Wiki, one would enter the following:
[[w:c:rickandmorty:Cromulons|Cromulon]]
resulting in the following appearing in the article: Cromulon
Similarly, editors can link to individual pages on Wikipedia using the same wikilink code, preceded by "wp:". For example, to link to the Wikipedia page about video games, one would enter the following:
[[wp:Video game|video game]]
resulting in the following appearing in the article: video game
On the rare occasion where it may be appropriate to link to external websites within article text (rather than a citation), this can be done by pasting the following code into the source editor: [http://www.website.com Text], and replacing "http://www.website.com" with the website URL and "Text" with the text you wish to link. For example, to link to the official Bungie website, one would enter the following:
[http://psyonix.com/ Psyonix.com]
resulting in the following appearing in the article: Psyonix.com
Important style note: The text that appears inside a wikilink should be simple and provide a clear indicator as to where the page leads. Do not provide unclear wikilinks; this is not helpful for readers. Headings and titles should never contain links. Any external links which lead to vulgar websites or pages clearly intended for wiki destruction will be removed and the author banned on the premise of vandalism.
Categories
- See also: Help:Categories
All pages, files and templates on the wiki should be categorized using the category function. In turn, categories should be organized in a hierarchical structure to allow ease of navigation.
Duplication should be avoided where possible, therefore an item that appears in a subcategory should not also appear in that subcategory's parent category.
Correct:
- Browse
- Items
- Wheels
- OEM
- Wheels
- Items
Incorrect:
- Browse
- Items
- OEM
- Wheels
- OEM
- Items
Category names do not follow the same guidelines as article titles. They should be written in sentence case. Additionally, they are usually plural rather than singular.
Editing
This section of the Manual of Style covers topics relating to the expectations of users when editing an article. If you are writing a new section or article, or editing a section on a pre-existing article, then you should read though this section and adhere to it as much as possible.Copying and pasting
Editors should never copy and paste information straight from the source, unless the information is going to be used in a direct quote or official synopsis. Information should always be rewritten in a way that best reflects the style of writing on the wiki, and to ensure quality of clarity. Sources of information should always be referenced using standardized wiki referencing guidelines.
Speculation
Editors should avoid placing speculation into articles unless the article has very little information about an upcoming addition and there is enough evidence for speculation of future content. Again, sources of information should always be referenced using standardized wiki referencing guidelines.
Edit summary
The "Edit summary" field should always be filled in when making an edit, even if only a minor one. This allows other editors to easily understand why the changes have been made.
Enabling Prompt me when entering a blank edit summary under the Editing preferences tab will help to remind you that a summary should be provided.
Multiple edits
Multiple repeated edits to an article should generally be avoided unless necessary. Numerous small edits can be disruptive to an article's edit history, making it difficult to track prior versions. Numerous multiple edits to an article within a short period of time are generally discouraged, and users who do so regularly or persistently may be at risk of being warned or temporarily blocked from the wiki.
A general rule of thumb is to avoid performing more than three edits to an article within a period of 24 hours. If an edit really needs to be performed, but you have already performed too many edits, leave a message on the article's talk page for someone else to do it. Nor should users persistently perform triple edits to articles. Doing so may be considered harmful as well.
Editors are strongly encouraged to carefully use the preview button to ensure they have not missed any edits that they would need to return for.
Minor edits
Edits made for the purpose of correcting minor grammatical or spelling mistakes, or to add minor details/corrections to an article should be marked as a minor edit. To mark an edit as a minor edit, merely click the tick box on the top right of the "Edit summary" section before clicking the "Publish" button.
Alternatively you can enable Mark all edits minor by default under the Editing preferences tab, however it is important to remember to untick the "Minor edits" option when making larger wiki changes.
Language
This section of the Manual of Style covers topics relating to the language used when editing or writing an article. If you are writing any new content for an article then you should read though this section and adhere to it as much as possible.Use of English
This is an English-language wiki, and therefore English should be the only language used, except where foreign language usage is directly related to foreign languages used in Rocket League-related games, books, or other media. Talk pages, blog posts, the wiki chat, and the forums should be English only.
As Rocket League is created and published by Psyonix, which is a company based in the United States of America, American English is the standard dialect used on this wiki. British English, Canadian English, Australian English, and other dialects should not be used in articles unless the subject matter is directly related to the use of that dialect in games, books, or other media.
Spelling and grammar
Immaculate spelling and grammar are expected of an editor, and should meet the high expectations of any professional publication. Use correct American English spelling and grammar and ensure correct placement of punctuation. Punctuation should not be overused, such as multiple question marks, or exclamation marks. Memes and/or internet or text-message slang should never be used except if strictly necessary to the subject matter of the article.
Vulgar language must never be used except when strictly necessary to the subject matter of the article; any use of profanity or vulgar language without particular reason, such as its appearance in canon material, will be deleted and the user may be blocked.
Capitalization
In-article capitalization should only be used for the beginning of a sentence or for proper nouns.
Dates
Dates – unless specified in a template's syntax – should be written in the American format (Month Day, Year) when used in the content of articles, such as release dates, e.g. July 7, 2015.
Ordinals, such as "1st", "2nd", "3rd", etc., should be avoided:
- Correct:
- July 7, 2015
- Incorrect:
- July 7th, 2015