Stargate Wiki:Manual of Style

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Below are some basic Stargate formatting do's and don't's. Firstly, ONLY include information that is in canon material, extra information is not really required; e.g. if a weapon has a range of 100m then only write that if it is said inthe series or other canon material.

Layout guide

In-universe

All in-universe articles should be structured as follows:

1. Infobox
2. Main article
3. Stub template
4. Behind the scenes (notice the capitalization)
5. See also
6. External links
7. Succession box
8. Category

Please note that not all articles use every section.

Out-of-universe

1. Infobox
2. Main article
3. Stub template
4. See also
5. External links
6. Succession box

Episodes

1. Synopsis
2. Plot
3. References
   • Planets
   • Races
4. Quotes
5. Notes - only to be relevant to the episode itself such as certain references, not about actors other works
6. Goofs
7. See Also

Naming articles

There are some rules regarding how articles on Stargate Wiki should be named.

• Article names should be in singular form, not plural.
• The titles of articles about individual characters should be the name by which the character was most commonly known in the the Stargate universe, with later names preferred to earlier names, and full names preferred to partial names or nicknames. Titles, such as military ranks or titles of nobility, should be omitted.
• Unless the name of the article contains (or is) a proper noun, none of the words should be capitalized.

Perspective

In-universe

If something is in-universe, or is described as such, it belongs to the Stargate universe exclusively and not to the real world. Characters, for example, are in-universe, but the actors who play them are out-of-universe. Note that even articles on real-world entities that describe them within the context of Stargate, like Cheyenne Mountain or New York City, should be written from an in-universe perspective: that is, only what was revealed about them in Stargate canon should be present in the article. Pseudohistory is an integral part of in-universe treatment of canon material.

An in-universe perspective will strive for verisimilitude; that is, it will be written as if the author existed within the Stargate universe (imagine an in-universe archivist who lives through the events as they occur and treats the Stargate sources as documentaries on events that are very much real). Articles about any in-universe things, such as characters, vehicles, terminology, or species, should always be written from an in-universe perspective. If a section in the article is not, such as the listing of a character's published appearances or behind the scenes details, it should be tagged as such.

The only section where out-of-universe information is appropriate is the "Behind the scenes" section and its subsections of an in-universe article. See below for more details.

Out-of-universe

Out-of-Universe refers to the perspective in which an article is written; it is the opposite of in-universe. Something written from an out-of-universe (OOU) perspective is written from a real life point of view. It will refer, for example, to real life publications, actors, authors, events, and so on, acknowledging that its subject is fictional. In contrast,

Articles about real-life Stargate material should obviously be written from an out-of-universe perspective. In contrast, in-universe articles should never refer to Stargate by name, or any other real life things such as publications, actors, or the like — with the exception of "Behind the scenes" sections and references. These articles should ONLY contain information about Stargate.

Headings

Use the == (heading) markup for headings, not the ''' (bold) markup. Example:

===This is a heading===

which produces:

If you mark headings this way, 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.

• Capitalize the first letter only of the first word and of any proper nouns in a heading, and leave all of the other letters in lower case.
• Avoid links within headings.
• Avoid overuse of sub-headings.

Tense

All in-universe articles should be written with the "present" defined as of the most recent canonical work set in the Stargate universe. All the standard rules for handling living and dead people, operational and defunct organizations, etc. apply as on Wikipedia. For example, Richard Woolsey is the current commander of the Atlantis Expedition (as of Atlantis season 5), while Ra was the Supreme System Lord (now deceased).

All out-of-universe articles follow the standard Wikipedia conventions for both fact and fiction. This means, among other things, that plot summaries use the present tense and are free to refer to storytelling conventions and devices (for example, "This episode begins with the characters discussing a particular piece of technology previously seen in episode X").

Capital letters

System

When we name star systems, and when we link to them, the word "system" should remain in lower case.

Stargate

The word "Stargate" must always be capitalized, as an invented word which is spelled this way in official sources.

Human and other sentient species

In all sections of in-universe articles, the words "Human" and "Ancient" should be capitalized, just as the name of any other sentient species (Asgard, Goa'uld, Asuran) in the Stargate universe would be. The word "humanoid," however, should not be capitalized.

Please note that semi-sentient or nonsentient creature names must not be in capitals. As much as we don't capitalize "Dog" or "Cat" in real-life, we shouldn't capitalize fictional creature names.

Ranks and titles

A rank's name is not to be capitalized if it refers to the rank, not a person. "George S. Hammond was a well-known general." or "As a captain, he had many responsibilities."

However, if the word refers to a person, it should be in capitals. "As an experienced leader, General Hammond..." or "He never liked telling jokes to the Colonel."

There are some ranks the name of which should always be capitalized, no matter the semantics. Such titles are System Lord, First Prime, Prior, and so on.

Italics and miscellaneous grammar

Class and ship names

Names of specific spaceships should be:

• Capitalized
• Italicized
• Referred to by female pronouns (she, hers)

e.g.

"The Korolev was a Daedalus-class warship. Her commanding officer was Colonel Chekov."

The use of the definite article should follow the most common use for that ship in canonical sources.

Class names are italicized. The definite article may be used, but it is not required.

• When a ship's class is a modifier, use a hyphen:

"Daedalus-class warship"

• When it is a noun, do not use a hyphen:

"Asgard ships of the O'Neill class were formidable"

Numerical designations, such as X-302, are not italicized.

Quotations

Quotations should follow this general format:

• If the quote is less than a paragraph long, simply including it in the article's body with "quotation marks" will suffice.
• If the quote is at least a paragraph in length, or a dialogue, insert as a block quote:

"Block quotes are indented with a colon at the beginning of each new paragraph. Each paragraph needs only one colon, not a new colon for each line (word wrap will accomplish this automatically).

New paragraphs, however, do require their own colon."

Please be sure to provide as much information as possible (for instance: source, page if applicable, and characters speaking if applicable).

• Users should not correct the capitalization, spelling, grammar, or word usage within direct quotes taken from copyrighted sources as such modifications jeopardize our fair use claim on that material. Article quotes ought to be verbatim and any changes, edits, or exclusions should be explicitly noted by using square brackets ("[ ]"). Any errors made by the author may be noted by using "[sic]." This includes words such as Human, which the community has decided to capitalize in all other contexts, and the word galaxy, which is to be de-capitalized in all other contexts.
• Quotes that serve as introductions to article subsections should not contain internal links because they appear unprofessional and are generally distracting. The only exception to this rule would be in-universe words or phrases of an obscure nature (ie. blue milk).
• Redundant internal links should not be added to quotes because they serve little purpose beyond making the quotes appear cluttered and messy. Links should only be added to quotes if they contain a specific article's ONLY mention of a particular concept, but even then, it is better to integrate the internal link into the body of the article's text.
• Piped links should be avoided as much as possible. If the context of the quote is not readily apparent, it is best to add appropriate information to the quote attribution field of the quote template rather than adding piped links to ambiguous pronouns such as "you," "he," or "they."

Single quotation marks (' ') should only be used when there is a quotation inside a quotation: "I never liked 'Indeed.'"

A quote used in an article should only include:

1. Text that is presented within actual quotation marks, indicating spoken words.
2. Text that is clearly presented within the confines of someone's memoirs, journal, or diary. This includes in-universe written works.

A quote is NOT:

1. Narrative prose that is not actual spoken dialogue or a character's personal memoirs, journal, or diary. This means that thoughts are not considered quotable material.

Redirects

Redirects should only be used in extreme cases as redirects needlessly tie up scripting processes and slow the site. If in doubt ask an admin and they will either inform you what should be done or will create the proper name and delete the incorrectly named one. Instead, consider proper linking to articles (e.g. [[Jonathan J. O'Neill|Jack O'Neill]])

External links

Links to external sites with more information is not required but can be used to point users to places where they may be able to get a further grasp on certain concepts like Binary pulsar or Gravity.

List of allowed external link sites

• Wikipedia - Use the {{WP}} template.
• ShoutWiki - For links to articles about actors significant roles in other shows. (Use only one)
• Battlestarwiki.org - for links to actors significant roles
• Imdb - for actors
• TV.com - for actors
• Wikkii

List of forbidden external link sites

• Wikia
• Assume all other sites not mentioned here as allowed.