GDWiki:Posting conventions
From GDWiki
| This page documents a proposed GDWiki policy. The policy is not yet in final form and is seeking further input on the talk page. Before editing this page, please make sure that your revision reflects consensus on the way the policy should be developed. |
Contents |
[edit] General
- Posts must be made in the English language. Links to non-English content is permitted, but only if the link text itself is in English, and if the linked content is somehow useful to English speaking readers (for example, source code is usually useful regardless of language).
[edit] Source code
- When posting code, be sure to enclose all code blocks with <code type="language"> and </code> tags instead of using the <pre> and </pre> tags. This will cause your code block to be displayed with syntax highlighting. In the language parameter, you can select from an extensive list of languages ("asm", "c#", "cpp", "python", and so on). See the Generic Syntax Highlighter website for the complete list.
- When posting general preformatted text, wrap it in <pre></pre> tags. This will cause your text to be displayed in a fixed-width font, with all whitespace preserved.
- When referring to variables from text outside of code, it is often helpful to use the <tt></tt> tag. This will display the term in a typewriter-style font, like this.
- When attempting to call attention to a specific word or phrase, do not use the standard HTML bold or italics tags. Instead use the wiki markup emphasis tags. Simply surround the word or phrase in double, triple, or quintuple single quotes: ''Like'' '''this''' '''''or this'''''. The results look like this or this.
- To create subject headings or subheadings, do not use emphasis tags. Instead use the wiki heading tags. Surround the heading with equals symbols, and place it on a new line:
=This would be a major heading.=
==This would be a sub-heading.==
===This would be a sub-subheading.===
- If you'd like to add links to outside websites to an article, please do so in a "Related links" heading at the bottom of the article. Please only post truly relevant links; all others will be removed! Outside links can be added like this: [http://google.com Google]
- Be sure to use templates where applicable; this keeps the wiki clean and consistant. For a list of templates, click here.
- If you're not confident in your wiki markup abilities and would like to practice, please do so on the sandbox page. Any edits you make on the sandbox page cannot harm the wiki, so feel free to test things out there!
To learn more about the wiki markup syntax, click here.
[edit] Adding a New Page
- If you've added an entirely new article to the wiki, feel free to post on the Current Events page to let everyone know what's new.
- Be sure to add your page to the proper category! This helps keep the wiki orginized and helps others find what they are looking for. For a list of categories you can add an article, click here.
- When creating templates, always start the page with the following code:
<noinclude>
{{Warning_Template}}
{{Note:Use|use=INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE}}
</noinclude>
- This will keep the wiki consistent, automatically add the new template to the template category, and tell others what purpose your template can be used for.
[edit] Modifying an Existing Page
- When making minor modifications to an article (such as a spelling or grammar correction), please be sure to check the "This is a minor edit" checkbox, above the Save page button. This will ensure that users who are watching for major page changes will not be flooded with minor edits.
- If you wish to make a major modification to an article that conflicts or disagrees with content already contained within the article, please use the Discussion page attached to the article to explain yourself. (Each article page has a Discussion tab at the top.) Once you've made your case on the discussion page, please visit the forums to inform other users of your intentions. If you do not see a response within a reasonable amount of time, then you may go ahead and make your changes.
[edit] Grammar and Style
Though any one way of presenting information is as good as another, it is best to stay consistent throughout the wiki. For this reason, the following sections will describe general grammar and style guidelines that should be followed whenever reasonable.
[edit] Avoid first person pronouns
Articles and tutorials should not be based on one person's opinions or experiences; and so, I is never used, except when it appears in a quotation. For similar reasons, avoid "we" in articles.
However, it is sometimes appropriate to use "we" when referring to a reader in tutorials, when the reader is expected to be participating. It is also acceptable to use "we" in articles to mean the modern world as a whole.
[edit] Use second person pronouns with care
Use of the second person is often ambiguous. Instead, try to refer to the subject of the sentence, or use the passive voice over using the second person.
[edit] Avoid contested vocabulary
Words and phrases like thusly, overly, whilst, amongst, as per, refute in the sense of dispute, along with several others, should be avoided because they are not widely accepted—at least in some of their applications.
[edit] Avoid contractions
In general, the use of contractions, such as don't, can't, and won't, is informal and should be avoided.
