Manual of Style

The Manual of Style is a style guide for all articles on the HIStory Wiki. As everyone can edit most of the pages on this wiki, predefined requirements for the layout and structure of articles are needed in order to acquire and preserve consistency throughout the wiki.

This guide is used to assist editors in producing articles with a consistent layout, language, and formatting.

However, do not worry if you find the guidelines to be confusing. As this manual is still a work in progress, anything written here is subject to change, and certain exceptions may apply. If you are unable to follow the manual's rules, that's fine. Just keep in mind that your edits might be adjusted by an admin/different user to fit this guide.

However, remember that by editing this site, you are agreeing to our policies—and if you blatantly disregard them or repeatedly vandalize the wiki, your behavior will result in a warning. And if you, even after receiving a warning, continue to violate this wiki's policies and rules, you will be blocked.

If you have any questions, please contact an administrator.

Format

 * It is advised to switch to the Source mode editor for better and more effective editing as the Source mode editor allows easier and more precise editing than the VisualEditor does. Furthermore, pages with complex code can only be edited with the Source editor. To be able to effectively use this editor, please make yourself familiar with the Wikitext.
 * For examples of the layout for this wiki's articles and information regarding how they should be written and what they should include, please see the sample pages: Sample Character Article, Sample Season Article, more.
 * Changes and/or additions to the layout of the articles should be proposed to and discussed with the site site administration first. Only, then, the suggestion may or may not be implemented throughout the entire wiki.

Official Language
As HIStory is a web series from Taiwan, it does not make use of the English language. Therefore, this wiki will use American English since the subtitles of the official translation are in American English. However, the usage of it is only obligatory in mainspace articles (both in- and out-of-universe) and not on user pages, talk pages, discussions, or alike.

Furthermore, all mainspace articles should be written in an objective, neutral, and formal style.

This means any...


 * ...comments/remarks/ratings/opinions...
 * ...biases...
 * ...usage of phrases like "I think," "I believe," or "I liked/hated" and such...
 * ...usage of phrases like "some people" or "certain fans/readers" and such...

...are prohibited in the aforementioned mainspace articles. Please, only voice your opinions in discussions, your user page, or chats.

Present Tense
With exception of the History sections, every other article section has to be written in present tense as long as the article's topic is still alive or existing.

Capitalization

 * Please, avoid unnecessary capitalization. If the word(s) or the phrase is not a title or proper name, it should not be capitalized.
 * Do not capitalize articles in the middle of a sentence even if the article and the word it refers to belong together as a fixed term and can be linked to another page starting with "a" or "the." The only exceptions are titles of artistic works. For example, it should be "Jeff Beal is the composer of The Intro" and not "Jeff Beal is the composer of the Intro."
 * Proper names, titles, as well as terms capitalized in the novels themselves always have to be capitalized.

Punctuation
Please, always use the straight (or typewriter) apostrophe ( ' ) and not the typographic (or curly) apostrophe ( ’ ) as well as the straight quotation marks ( " ) instead of the typographic ones ( “ ” ).

Italicization

 * The novel and series titles as well as the titles of other artistic work from the real world like books, plays, or movies have to be italicized in articles.

In-universe writing
On this wiki, you can find:
 * In-universe articles which focus on the fictional world of Monk, such as Adrian Monk, San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), Mr. Monk and the Candidate, Adrian Monk's Flat, and Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse.
 * Out-of-universe articles which focus on the real-world, such as Andy Breckman and Tony Shalhoub.

In every in-universe article, it is obligatory to write in an in-universe perspective, meaning that the breaking of the fourth wall is prohibited.

Examples:

Pictures and videos
This wiki does not accept any images in .jpg format. Images uploaded in .jpg format will be promptly deleted and replaced by the same image in .png format.

Linking
Under every heading and subheading, link only the first instance a certain character/place/object/etc. is mentioned. If, for example, Natalie Teeger is mentioned multiple times in Adrian Monk's History section or in an episode article, provide only a link to Natalie's page when Natalie is first mentioned.

Internal links can be created by using double square brackets around the word(s) you want to link to.

Example: Natalie Teeger

If the displayed name and the page to which you want to link do not correspondent with each other, use the following code: (the displayed name)

Example: Later, Monk is in a session with Charles Kroger, his psychiatrist."

Furthermore, make use of interwiki links which can be created by using the following code: (Link's display name)

Example: Adrian Monk is loosely based on Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.''. instead of Adrian Monk is loosely based on Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.''.

For more information on links, please click here.

Fanfiction and fan-art
Fanfiction, fan-art, personal head-canons, and the alike are forbidden in all articles as this wiki, just like every other, should be built on facts.

Fan-art, personal head-canons, and theories, however, may be added to your own user page. Fanfiction, as it can be rather long and excessive, is prohibited in user pages as well. You may add links to your works, though, but only if it is properly marked and labelled.

Of course, you are allowed to talk about your theories and opinions in discussions, in chats, and on message walls.

New categories
As the creation of a new category requires the linking of said new category to another, the procedure may or may not be rather complex. Therefore, every suggestion for a new category has to be discussed with an administrator first.