Beware the Batman Wiki:Manual of Style


 * This Manual of Style was partially based off WoWWiki and DC Animated Universe Wiki's Manual of Style. We want to give credit where it is due.

This Manual of Style outlines a standard of clean, consistent formatting for articles on this wiki. The formatting described here is a guideline and can be overridden where circumstances warrant it. These guidelines will never be unerringly perfect for every situation. However, please try your best to keep to the advice outlined in this article so others may use your edits as an example when creating and editing their own articles.

These guidelines are a summary of the most important guidelines for this wiki, but a more expansive set of style guidelines can be found on Wikipedia at Wikipedia Manual of Style.

General
One of the most important parts of wiki editing is how to structure an article. The structure is a powerful thing: it dictates what information the reader reads and when he or she reads it. It can influence what people contribute, where it goes, and how it might be written. Structure has the power to inform or confuse the same way good or bad writing does. Keep a well structured article, and you're more likely to have a high quality one.

Organize sections in an article in a hierarchical structure like you would an outline. Keep it logical, but feel free to forsake strict logic for readability. Wherever possible, try to have an introduction for each section. Just like the article as a whole, the section should start with an introduction and then have its subsections below it. Try using a shallow structure rather than a deep one. Too many nested sections usually leads to a confusing or unreadable article.

Above all, keep your layout consistent. Don't throw your reader a curve ball too often. The following sections will offer some good advice on keeping your articles clean, consistent, and clear.

Articles

 * 1) The first appearance of the article's title within the text should be put in bold using three apostrophes —   produces article title. Avoid other uses of bold in the first sentence, except for alternative titles of an article; for example:

Batman, real name Bruce Wayne, is a vigilante who operates in Gotham City.

The titles of all games and comics should be in italics:

Gotham Streets is free-to-play game available at CartoonNetwork.com.

Do not put links in the bold reiteration of the title in the article's lead sentence. For example,

" Alfred Pennyworth  is Bruce Wayne's butler. " Versus "Alfred Pennyworth is Bruce Wayne's butler."

These should all appear in the introductory paragraph of the article.
 * 1) The History section of the main body of the article should describe the character from the first chronological appearance through the last chronological appearance.
 * 2) Words that are themselves titles of additional articles should be linked only on their first occurrence in each article section.

Perspective
This wiki is written in an "in-universe" perspective. Assume you are an omniscient inhabitant of the Beware the Batman Universe living at a point in time after all events in the Beware the Batman have already occurred, and you are writing an encyclopedia entry. Any "out-of-universe" info is written in an article's Trivia.

Articles that deal with exclusively real-world subjects should be written from "our" perspective. This includes all articles about episodes, comic book issues, actors, and staff.

Style and language
Formal use of language is mandatory on all any article. Articles on aim to be as encyclopedic and authoritative as possible, and this is not possible without appropriate use of language. For example, "Alfred use to be a secret spy for Britain" is not appropriate. "Alfred was once a part of M16, the British Secret Service" is appropriate.

Spelling
American spelling is preferred on all mainspace articles on, on any template transcribed on articles, and on all official announcements. This is because Beware the Batman is a show produced by Americans, and the fact that all material about Beware the Batman has been produced in the United States. Users' local spellings may however be used on any talk page or user page.

Grammar

 * For the possessive of singular nouns ending with just one s, add just an apostrophe.
 * For a normal plural noun, ending with a pronounced s, form the possessive by adding just an apostrophe e.g. his sons' wives.

Tense
For real world articles, whatever tense guidelines apply on Wikipedia will apply here. However, there are some policies that must be noted for in-universe articles.


 * Past tense must be used on any event articles, or sections of any in-universe article detailing past events, e.g. History sections. For example, Batman saves Alfred is incorrect on any in-universe article. It should be Batman saved Alfred. The only exception to this rule is episode articles and quotations, which should be written in present tense.


 * Present tense must be used on any location, creature, character article, a relatively unchanging quality, or a universal truth, where this does not conflict with the above guideline on sections of articles detailing past events. For example, Batman prefers to work alone.

Writing

 * “I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs” -- Stephen King

We now come to the meat of an article: the words themselves. When you're editing wikis, you're both academic and artist. You have to be accurate, but you also have to be interesting. Neither one can dominate; you have to skillfully balance both.


 * Keep your writing concise. Don't use two words where one will do. Keeping your writing simple will make it easy to understand and easy to expand on. Use complete sentences whenever possible. When you write, use grammar as a toolbox: know the rules, but only break them on purpose.


 * Check your spelling and grammar. Do not use 'u' in place of 'you' or '2' in place of 'to'. Write the way you would for a class paper or a newspaper article.


 * Keep all of the topics you cover within the scope of the article. What that means is, you don't need to give a detailed history of humans on the page about Survivors. Consider the article's title as your point of origin and write from that perspective. Make use of the wiki's ability to link to more detailed articles or external sources for more information.


 * Write from an impersonal perspective. Do not use "I." Avoid drawing attention to the author (yourself) as much as possible.
 * On encyclopedia articles, avoid such phrases as remember that and note that, which address readers directly in a less-than-encyclopedic tone. Similarly, phrases such as of course, naturally, obviously, clearly, and actually make presumptions about readers' knowledge, and call into question the reason for including the information in the first place. Do not tell readers that something is ironic, surprising, unexpected, amusing, coincidental, unfortunate, etc. This supplies a point of view. Simply state the sourced facts and allow readers to draw their own conclusions.


 * Be bold. If you know something is wrong, correct it. If you think you could word something better, write it. If an article has a glaring deficiency, fill it. Even if your first attempt isn't golden, you can fix it later or someone else will come along and fix it for you. Don't be afraid to screw up.

Images

 * See also: Beware the Batman Wiki:Images



Images make an article memorable and pretty. They can speak where words fail. At the same time, misplaced or untidy images can detract from an article. When choosing images, keep in mind placement, size, and the appropriateness of the image to the section. Let images flow with the text instead of break it up.

Large images such as screenshots should use the "thumb" (example: ) option which displays large images as thumbnails. Images should generally be right aligned to enhance readability by allowing a smooth flow of text down the left margin - the "thumb" option does this by default. If an infobox is not being used in an article, a right aligned picture in the lead section is encouraged.

The images that the users upload to the Wikia, should be ones without the logos of the series where it airs.
 * A picture is better than no picture. Where an article has only one image, do not remove this image, even if it doesn't conform to these guidelines, unless you replace it or the image is a copyright violation.
 * Images that are not part of an info box should have a caption (use the "thumb" function in the image tag).
 * Avoid sandwiching text between two images that face each other, or between an image and an infobox.

Info boxes
Images in a character's info box should be:
 * High quality: Ideally, profile images should have high-definition image quality.
 * Good angle: The image should preferably depict the character from a front angle, with the face and shoulders clearly visible. However, a 3/4 position is also acceptable. The character's face should not be tilting. The image should be no less than 200px wide and no more that 300px wide.
 * Suitable expression: The expression should depict the typical personality of the character. The character should not be talking.
 * Good lighting: Profile images should be bright enough so that the character is clearly visible. Avoid images that depict the character at nighttime or in poor lighting conditions.
 * Recent: The image should preferably depict the character's most recent appearance.
 * Image we want: Screencaps, not promotional images.

Character models
Character models should only be used if no clear screenshot exists (some characters with only cameo appearances fall into this category).

Source format
On the file page itself, use Imagebox properly filled out.

Conclusion
Every article can be improved (even this one). Following these guidelines will not ensure a perfect article the first time, but it will give the article a stronger skeleton. It's ultimately your job as an editor to put meat on it.