Help:Guidelines

Before we get into editing articles, we need to talk about some basic editing guidelines concerning things like style, structure, and etiquette. Mistakes are okay, but let's do our best to keep the quality high by following these guidelines.

Style

General Style

Information, not opinion

The Coppermind is an encyclopedia and it should read as such. Contributions should be informative and fact-based with citations; not personal opinions. Personal commentary and interjections are irrelevant. Save all of this for the talk pages, when appropriate.

Theories and speculation

Speculation is discouraged in most cases. It should only be included when the article would not be considered content-complete without this speculative information. For more on this, see Help:Speculation.

Paraphrase sources

Do not quote sources extensively; this isn't a quote repository. Occasional direct quotations of the text may be appropriate, but you should generally strive to paraphrase things in your own words when adding to an article.

Limit links

You are encouraged to provide links to other articles as related terms appear in the text. In general, this can be limited to the first appearance of a term in a given article. (e.g. Don't link to the "Iron" article every single time "iron" appears in the "Allomancy" article.)

Word processors

Avoid preparing your contributions in rich word processors (like Word). The quotation marks, apostrophes, and dashes won't work properly here. Use two hyphens (--) instead of a dash.

Writing Conventions

Always use proper English. Here are a few other more specific guidelines:

Grammar

Never speak in first person and never address the reader directly.

Tense

In general, articles should be written in present tense. There are exceptions; most notably, history sections may be written in past tense when appropriate.

Capitalization

For of special terms, follow the rules here: Coppermind:Style#Capitalization.

Other

Use American English spelling.

In general, spell out the numbers 1-100 rather than using numerals. (e.g. use "four" not "4")

Use a single space to separate sentences. (not two)

References at the end of sentences should be placed after the period.

Article Structure

If you're starting a new article, don't worry about getting the structure right first time, it's more important that the information you are writing about is there than the structure or formatting of the article. The admins regularly scan through new edits and tweak structure where necessary.

Initial Templates

An infobox should be the first thing in most articles. This is directly followed by any relevant spoiler tags.

Summary

Article content should typically begin with a brief summary.

Article Body

Some recommendations of typical headings to use may be found here: Help:Article_structure. Find a similar article to the one you are working on and use it as a guide.

Notes Section

Article content should end with a "Notes" section. This section should contain a <references /> tag, to provide a home for references and citations.

Finish Up

The article should conclude with an article status tag, any relevant navigation boxes, and any extra categories.

Etiquette

Always treat other editors with respect and politeness. Assume that everyone has good intentions.

Be professional. Use proper English and avoid personal criticism.

Don't be combative or passive aggressive. If you have problems with an article then express them openly and respectfully. Collaborate.

Talk through major changes with other editors to make sure others agree with the changes. If you're making significant changes to an article that someone else has put a lot of work into, involve them in the process.