Warhammer 40k Wiki:Manual of Style

Learning to use a wiki definitely has a learning curve. We develop skills as we experiment with ways to use wiki markup to create our articles. Every post shows us new ways to express what we want to say. We all want to make our posts and our Wiki a comprehensive source of information about the Warhammer 40,000 universe. This is a guide to providing this information in a coherent and structured manner. If you are new to wikis, please check out the Wiki tutorial before returning here.

Methods

Here are some of the basics you need to be aware of to create credible and useful articles.

Structure

A solid and consistent structure aids in providing users a good experience and saves time in development. It is better to use headers than presentational markup. The reason for this is the wiki will automatically create a table of contents including each header label used.

This is an example of how structural information hierarchy works.

==Biography==

This (Header 2) is an overview of the biography

(This is the highest level of the document hiearchy.)

===Youth===

This (Header 3) is a section dealing with part of the person's life

This is the middle level of the document hierarchy

====Schooling====

This (Header 4) is a subsection dealing with a part of the person's youth.

This is a low level of the document hierarchy

====Friends====

This (Header 4) is another subsection dealing with a part of the person's youth.

This is the lowest level of the document hierarchy

The table of contents will look like this:

1. Biography

2 Youth

2.1 Schooling

2.2 Friends

Templates

There are a large selection of templates for page development. They make articles more uniform in structure and are not difficult to use.

Images

The Warhammer 40,000 Wiki maintains an image policy that concerns the proper sourcing and licensing of all images uploaded to the wiki.

Image Uploads

There may come a time when you need to add an image to an article.

Here is a list of special pages that you will need:

Special:Upload Use this page to upload a single image.
Special:MultipleUpload This page allows you to upload up to five images at a time.
Special:ImportFreeImages Use this page to search Flicker for images.
Special:NewImages This will let you preview the images uploaded on the wiki server.

Adding Images

Learn how to format images to fit into your page layout. A thumbnail is better than a full-sized image in an article. You can control the width, positioning and the wiki will format the image and provide the markup for enlarging the image.

How to Upload an Image

There are a number of methods you can use to upload images to WH40K Homebrew Wiki. Some are a bit more complex than others, but each one will ultimately allow you to populate your articles with images.

Special:Upload

The most common method used on the WH40K Homebrew Wiki is Special:Upload. The page can be used as follows:

Click Upload a new photo on your floating toolbar.
- For Monobook users, this will appear as Upload photo in the Toolbox under the search field of the sidebar.
Click "Browse" to find the image on your computer.
You can rename the image in "Destination filename" if you would like.
Copy the {{Disclaimer}} template from the Template:Disclaimer page and paste it into the "Summary" field.
Click "Upload file."

Once you do that, you can add the image to your article.

Add Images Tool

Another method is uploading an image directly via the edit box in an article.

Click "Edit this page" on the article you are adding the image to.
Click on the image upload button on the toolbar. It appears as a picture with a brown frame.
When the pop-up box appears, you can upload an image from your computer. Additionally, you can find images already on the wiki to add to the article, as well as images on Flickr.
On the next screen, add the details of the image, such as a new name (if needed) and the licensing template.

Note: You will need to return to the image to add the {{Disclaimer}} template.

Beneath the previous section is a section that allows you to customize the image’s size, choose a layout, and provide a caption.
Click "Insert file" for the image to appear on the edit page. Images can still be modified in edit mode by hovering over the image and clicking "Modify," and a pop-up window will appear.
Save your edit.
Once the image is uploaded, return to the image's technical page (this can be found by clicking the image and then clicking the magnifying glass in the lower right-hand corner) to add the {{Disclaimer}} template. Click "Edit this page" at the top and you can add the {{Disclaimer}} template (which you can copy from this page).

Anatomy of an Image Tag

This is the structure of a thumbnail image tag:

[[Image:filename.graphic format|position:left, right, or center|thumb|width in pixels|Image caption text]]

Here is a real life thumbnail tag:

[[Image:Mantis_Legion_Armor.png|right|thumb|240px|Mantis Legion's Color Scheme]]

Here is the structure of a basic image tag

[[Image:filename.graphic format|Image caption text]]

You can use any of the values except for thumb to add an image without the bordering. It works well when adding an image to an infobox.

Image Placeholder

Unless you have chosen not to see these in your preferences, many articles are created with image placeholders. Placeholders can also be added to articles by typing [[File:Placeholder]] in place of an image. If this is used, click "Add a photo" and follow the steps beginning at #3 from the previous "Add images tool" section.

Please refer to the section below for how to edit to add the all-important legal {{Disclaimer}} template, and to source and license your image. This is a very important section, and one would be surprised how often this part is overlooked, so you should probably take notes.

Creating a Gallery

Open the editor for any article page. Ensure that you are in Source editor mode, NOT 'Visual editor' mode. If you don't already have 'Source editor' set as your default, you can select which editing mode you want to be in, by clicking on the edit button. A drop-down menu option appears. Select 'Source editor'.
Ensure you add a section to your article entitled 'Gallery' using the following example:

==Gallery==

This will create an area on your article where you can create a gallery.

In the right rail, under "Add features and media," select Gallery.
A pop-up box will open.
Select "Add a Photo" and follow the instructions on the screen until you have added all of the photos you would like included. You can choose to either upload new photos or select from existing photos on the community.

Gallery Layout Options

Notice under the Layout tab...

First you have to choose the size of your pics for your gallery...
You usually want to select around 220px (pixels) as they'll look weird if they're any bigger.
Gallery Position - Typically, it's best to select Center, so that the gallery is aligned with the article.
Then No. of Columns (number of columns) - You can select from 3-6 columns of pics. Typically you'll want to chose the 'fit to page' option.
Photo Spacing - You'll want to select 'Small', but you can choose Medium or Large spacing, depending on your preference.
Photo Orientation - The usual option is to go with the first option to the far left. This leaves pics in their original shape.

Gallery Borders & Captions

Next, go to your 'Borders and Captions' tab. You can chose to align the position of the captions for your pics. Typically, you want 'Below' photo.
Alignment of caption text - The usual default is to orient your captions to the left, but you can choose center or right.
Caption Size - How big you want the captions. The best option is usually select Small.
Caption color - Pic the color of your caption.
Last two options - Leave them as-is.

Add Image to Gallery

Now, to add pics, click on the top left placeholder (looks like a blank box with a small pic and a plus sign)

Click Browse
Select your pic.
Pic the size of the pic. (Ignore this, as you already selected the default Gallery size in the layout option.
Add a caption describing your pic.
Click 'Add Photo'.
Then go to the next placeholder and add additional pics...repeats the above steps.

Publish Gallery

When you are satisfied you have enough pics in your gallery, click 'Finish'. Your photos will appear after you publish the page.

Adding Links

Adding links to terms in an article adds depth and easy navigation to related content. There is one problem though. If you do not point to the correct file name, you will get a link to a non-existent page. It gets worse when someone clicks the link and creates a stubby duplicate page when a perfectly good article exists. I have found that the best way to link is by searching for the phrase I want to make a link at Special:Search page.

Spell Checking

This is a sticky point to some. The United States and Great Britain are two great nations separated by a common language. The native spell checker on this wiki is keyed to the spelling used by American English. When in doubt refer to it. It is better to spell check using it than not spell checking at all. However, in keeping with its source material which is proudly British in language and sensibilities, the Warhammer 40k Wiki uses British English spelling as its default in most articles. American English spelling is an acceptable alternative, but British English is the preferred format. Too many times people never look for errors before posting an article, and this wiki aims to hold its editors to the highest possible standards of grammar, spelling and syntax. As such, all new articles will be proofread, edited and in certain cases rewritten by administrator fiat to meet the wiki's formatting and quality standards.

Sources

Adding citations to your pages adds credibility to your articles. There is a page with commonly used references citations: WH40k:Reference

Anatomy of a Source Tag

The structure for a source reference is simple.

Stuff that you are writing about that needs references.... <ref name="shorthand">citations go here</ref>

Here is a real source tag for pages 72 and 73 of the 4th Edition Codex: Space Marines

<ref name="CSM4-p72-73">''Codex: Space Marines'' 4th Edition, (2004). p 72-73, Chambers, Andy, Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-526-0.</ref>

However, it is also acceptable to use a simplified form of a reference simply indicating the source of your information, like so:

Codex: Necrons (3rd Edition), p. 19
Horus Rising (Novel) by Dan Abnett

If you choose to use this simplified referencing format, please make sure that you follow standard bibliographical formatting regarding the use of italics, quotes, and the author's name, where applicable, as well as include the page numbers where you found the information. Also, when adding sources to an article that does not have them or when adding them to a newly created article please entitle the section "Sources" rather than "References".

Adding a Source List

Then place the following near the bottom of the edited article, just above the categories {{Reflist}}. It will automatically create a list of references for the article. It will also auto-number the references, that are links that allow navigation between the article section, and the reference list.

Categorisation

Always categorise your new article. It saves time when we have to go through page by page to add categories later. There is a list of categories at Special:Categories to help you find the proper categories for your articles.

The Lore Bible Project

We have been working on a dynamically updating alphabetical list of all the articles on this Wiki. But the project will only work with your help. When you create an article, or see one that does not have a capital letter category corresponding to the first letter of the article's title, please add one. With over 1500 pages on the wiki, hunting down all the pages still needing lore categories has been a time consuming endeavor.

Formatting Quirks

The wiki has a peculiarity in how it displays indented text. It renders it as a single line in a scrollable box. For most purposes it is not what you want for an article. If you see this when previewing your article, look for a leading space in your text.

Things to Avoid

There are several practices that are cause for concern.

Copyright Issues

Get permission if you are using copyrighted material, particularly for images, which MUST be licensed.

Game Statistics

All tabletop war game and roleplaying game statistics are off-limits. They are the most important intellectual property of Games Workshop and Fantasy Flight Games and posting them is a violation of their copyright and can cause legal problems for the Warhammer 40k Wiki. PLEASE DO NOT POST ARTICLES OR CREATE PORTIONS OF ARTICLES WITH GAME MECHANICAL INFORMATION OR STATISTICS. IT WILL BE DELETED BY ADMINISTRATOR FIAT.

Fan Created Content

This wiki is for official, Games Workshop-produced Warhammer 40,000 material only, and not fan-based content or fan fiction. Fan-based Space Marine Chapters, characters and campaigns will be removed from the Wiki by administrator fiat.

Also See

Warhammer 40k:Content
Warhammer 40k:Articles for Deletion