NetHackWiki:Style guide
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NetHackWiki |
Wikihack has no formal style guide as of yet, but there are a few conventions in use. The following is a list of them. Changes should be discussed on the talk page.
Contents
Tone
Wikihack is not just an encyclopedia of NetHack, but articles in the main namespace should be written in a largely encyclopedic tone. That means clearly separating facts from comments, by putting strategy tips in their own section, and comments on the talk page.
Article names
Try to be consistent with existing articles:
- Name most pages with lowercase letters, like scroll of identify, but use uppercase for proper nouns, like Amulet of Yendor.
- Prefer singular to plural (i.e. Unicorn instead of Unicorns)
- Redirect acronyms like YAFM to pages like Yet Another Funny Message. However, identification, scroll of identify, and spellbook of identify can be three separate pages.
The first time the article name appears in the main text, it should be bolded.
Redirects
When creating a new article, redirect variations on that name to it, to avoid someone duplicating the article under a slightly different title.
Capitalization
Use "Luck" when referring to the in-game attribute Luck, and "luck" when talking about a favorable outcome from the RNG.
Headers
The highest header level that should be used is ==This==. Do not use =These=, they are reserved for the article main title only. In each article, there should be a brief introduction before going into specifics. This introduction should not have a header, like ==Introduction==, because it is obvious and because when omitting it, the introduction appears before the table of contents as it is supposed to.
Section names
Some sections are common to many articles. Try to use one of these for the section header rather than a variant like "Messages given", "Behaviour in previous versions", or "External Links". Known standard sections are:
- Generation
- Map(s)
- Messages
- Strategy
- Mythology
- History
- Encyclopedia entry
- References
- External links
Generation should explain where and how the thing can be found or created.
The History section should be for explaining what the thing did in previous versions of NetHack. Actual history should go in Mythology.
The Encyclopedia entry should give the text of the thing's entry in the NetHack encyclopedia.
Categories
Each new article should have at least one category assigned to it.
Tables
Many of our tables are pretty tables, the prettytable class from MediaWiki:Common.css can be used like this:
{|class="prettytable"
!Header 1
!Header 2
|-
|Cell 1
|Cell 2
|-
|Cell 3
|Cell 4
|}
to make this:
| Header 1 | Header 2 |
|---|---|
| Cell 1 | Cell 2 |
| Cell 3 | Cell 4 |
Coloured NetHack glyphs
Use the 16-colour function templates for displaying individual monster symbols. They're padded, so they don't work for making ASCII screenshots. Yet.
Item pages
Put the templates Template:scroll, Template:potion, Template:ring, Template:wand, Template:spellbook, Template:weapon, Template:armor, and Template:tool at the top of the appropriate item page, or Template:item for any other type of item.
Caveat: these templates may not exist yet...
Each item page should also list the effects of the item, and any messages that item can generate. Tips and strategy relating to that item should go next, and if there is an entry from the nethack encyclopedia, that can go at the bottom. Use potion of object detection, scroll of amnesia and scroll of genocide as guides.
Source code
When writing a piece of factual information, you may wish to document it by linking to the source code like this:
The vibrating square level is not eligible to leave bones files <ref>[[bones.c#line32]]</ref>.
which looks like this:
The vibrating square level is not eligible to leave bones files [1].
Make sure you include a <references/> tag at the bottom of the page, to create a list of footnotes:
Annotations
If you are a source diver, you can add annotations to any source file simply by putting your comments below the relevant line. Try to limit annotations to explanations of the source code; long discussions belong on the Talk page.
Other useful templates
{{DOD}} should go at the bottom of every page which is based on a spoiler by Dylan O'Donnell.
{{disambig}} should go at the bottom of every disambiguation page, e.g. Fire. A disambiguation page is a list of links to articles all associated with the same title.
You can use {{stub}} on a page to plea for someone to expand it. From time to time, some editors will look over Category:Stubs for articles to expand. The template can take an optional parameter, for example:
{{stub}} on any page, or
{{stub|What's the strategy when dealing with him?}} on Wizard of Yendor
Namespaces
Anything to do with NetHack belongs in the main article space. Anything to do with Wikihack belongs in the Wikihack namespace.
User pages
You can create a vanity page in the main namespace if you want to, but unless you are famous or otherwise notable it would be a better idea to create a Wikihack account and put personal information on your own User page.
General principles
- Consider consulting Wikipedia's Manual of Style on the matter; some editors think that it is pretty good.
