On the Arcane Wiki, all articles are to be written with a specific format designed for consistency and legibility, also known as the manual of style. The following is a help guide for writing articles and answering questions about the format as you edit on the wiki. If you cannot find your answer, please ask an administrator.
What is an article?[]
An article is the basic page that explains a subject of the topic. In order to maintain a basic quality layout, articles should conform to the following style:
- Language: This wiki uses American English to reflect consistency and because the amount of users and editors are from the United States. Please note that this only applies to the main namespace, but not to userpages or talk pages.
- Grammar and punctuation: Because this is an American-based wiki, please refer to Oxford punctuation and American spelling (ex: "theater" instead of "theatre".)
- Capitalization: Capitalization of article titles and section headers should include the first letter of the first word being a capital letter, but it should otherwise follow the normal English rules of capitalization.
- Sources: Please provide a reliable source for questionable or vague information that has not been stated on-screen. This source should be added as a reference using the
<ref></ref>tags. Please write the reference with the title of the source, and avoid adding it as a raw URL text. For example, a tweet from FANDOM would look like<ref>[https://twitter.com/getFANDOM/??? Tweet by @getFANDOM]</ref>- References from a stream or video should include a timestamp in the video.
- Linking: Adding internal links to other pages inside an article helps connect articles on the wiki. However, linking is usually limited to the first instance of the word or phrase in each article, excluding links inside infoboxes. This is because spamming too many links makes articles difficult to read, thus a term should never be linked on a page more than twice. An exception to adding multiple links can apply in long articles, where instances of the term are far apart. Another exception is if multiple links lead to different sections on the same page.
- Categories: All articles can fall under at least one category, there should be no article that doesn't have one. If there is a category they fit into, feel free to add it. Please do not articles to categories that do not exist. For more information, see the Categories section.
These are the qualities of a basic article, even if the article does not contain much about the subject it does have content. There should not be a blank article or a brief article with a few words or less; if made, it will be deleted by the discretion of the moderators.
Article format[]
When it comes to what an article should have, article layout is determined based on the type of topic the article is about. Some pages may have unique sections and layout, while others may share similar ones.
Characters[]
All characters can get an article, as long as they are significant. A character's importance is defined by them visually appearing, their role in the plot, and their appearances throughout an episode or series. For characters who appear only within a group and don't act distinctly from each other, a page for the character group should be created instead. Unseen characters should only have their own page if they are specifically named and play a role in the plot. If a character does not hold importance in any of this criteria, they are to be added to character lists available on the wiki.
Each page of a character should have the following sections:
- When a page has a subpage, use the Tabber Template at the very top of the code.
- Infobox with relevant information about the character.
- A lead or introduction section giving a brief explanation of the character.
- Next, in said order, Appearance, Personality, and History sections. If there is not enough information on the character, the Personality section can be omitted. Describing a character's appearance begins with the physical description, followed by their attire and clothing.
- Next, an Abilities section to describe the character's notable abilities. This includes the following subsection: Skillset (learned skills).
- Next, a Relationships section to describe the character's notable relationships with other characters, exluding those the character has only had limited interaction with.
- Next, a Concept & Creation section. If there is no information for the character's development, the section can be omitted.
- A Gallery section should be added for any page that has an associated gallery.
- Next, a Trivia section. This section may include an optional Development subsection for obscure or minor development trivia, or statements made by the crew about the character.
- A References section should be included if any references are used.
- At the bottom of the page, include a CharacterNav template.
Episodes[]
Each episode gets an article. The criteria for an episode is as following:
- When a page has a subpage, use the Tabber Template at the very top of the code.
- An introductory paragraph (or sentence). This should include the title, episode number, and premiere date.
- A Synopsis section, the short description of the episode that comes from the description section on YouTube or press releases.
- A Plot section. This should house a full recap of the story of the episode.
- A Features section, for all the notable terms that appeared in the episode. This section includes the subsections Characters, Objects, and Locations.
- In case the episode contains songs and/or instrumentals, a Music section, with subsections for Songs and Instrumentals.
- A Trivia section when appropriate. This section can include the following subsections: Cultural References and Continuity.
- An Errors section, listing errors in animation, production, or in the series continuity.
- A Transcript section should be added with a link to the transcript made for it.
- A Gallery section should be added for any page that has an associated gallery.
- A Videos section should be added for the uploaded episode.
- A References section should be included if any references are used.
Crew[]
Each person that work on the show gets an article. A crew member article should include:
- An infobox using the Crew template.
- An introductory paragraph (or sentence) giving a brief information of the person.
- A Background section, detailing highlights of they life and professional career.
- For voice actors, a Roles section, listing in a gallery with links the characters they voice.
- A Trivia section when appropriate.
- An External links section, listing the social networks, Wikipedia and IMDB page, and the official website with the corresponding templates.
- A References section should be included if any references are used.
Locations[]
Each major location gets an article. Depending on the information, sublocations may be given their own page or assimilated onto the main location page.
A location article should include:
- When a page has a subpage, use the Tabber Template at the very top of the code.
- A location template for the infobox.
- An introductory paragraph (or sentence) giving a brief explanation of the location.
- The Description section, detailing what the place is like or what is found there.
- An Interior subsection, detailing what the place looks like in its interior. In case the interior of the place is not known, the subsection can be omitted.
- The History section, detailing where the location was featured and what effect it had on the plot.
- A Notable residents section, for occupants who live in the location.
- A Gallery section should be added for any page that has an associated gallery.
- A Trivia section when appropriate.
- A References section should be included if any references are used.
Objects[]
Each major object gets an article. An object article should include:
- An infobox using the Object template.
- An introductory paragraph (or sentence) giving a brief explanation of the object.
- A Description section describing the appearance of the object.
- A Background section describing when and where the object is seen.
- A Gallery section should be added for any page that has an associated gallery.
- A Trivia section when appropriate.
- A References section should be included if any references are used.
Songs[]
Each songs gets an article. A song article should include:
- An infobox using the Music template.
- An introductory paragraph (or sentence) giving a brief information of the song.
- A Lyrics section, transcribing the lyrics of the song. In case a song is instrumental only, the section can be omitted.
- A Videos section for music videos and demos.
- A Trivia section when appropriate.
- A References section should be included if any references are used.
Galleries[]
Galleries are the subsections or subpages of the article that display pictures of that topic, and are designated by the suffix "/Gallery". There must be a minimum of 20 images of that subject, in order to avoid an influx of short pages; if there are less, it will be removed and returned back to the main page. When a page has a gallery subpage, use the Tabber Template at the very top of the code.
Each page has its own format and headers. For characters, the gallery headers are the following:
==Renders== ==Concept art== ==Model sheets== ==Stills== ===Season 1=== ===Season 2=== ===Other=== ==Merchandise== ==Animations== ==Other==
For episodes/music videos, this format is used:
==Stills== ==Official artwork== ===Promotional artwork=== ===Concept art=== ===Backgrounds=== ===Storyboards=== ===Beatboards=== ==Animations==
While only one gallery is allowed per character, there are rare cases when a character may have several types of an image, such as posters and artwork. Because of the large number of images, and its potential to overflow the galleries, the following exceptions to the gallery limit are allowed in order to accommodate these types of images.
- Official Artwork galleries cover drawn images, such as promotional pictures, posters, illustrations, and livestream shots. They are a subpage to the original gallery, designated by the suffix "/Gallery/Official Artwork", and have the following format:
==Illustrations== ==Livestream== ==Promotional==
Other notes[]
Across all articles, please keep in mind the following types of information to avoid:
- "Counting" trivia (e.g., "This is the tenth time this item appeared in Arcane."). There may be exceptions.
- Trivia that is likely to change in the future (e.g., "This episode contains the most scenes with Jinx to date.").
- Uninteresting, irrelevant stuff (e.g., "Jinx keeps a gun.").
- Non-factual information/opinions.
- Speculation/theories, however, you are allowed if you mention there is a theory under the Trivia section of a page. Make sure there is a good amount of evidence to support it.
Categories[]
Categories are an essential tool for navigation and organization. On the wiki, all pages are expected to have one category. The main categories be found underneath the root category, Arcane Wiki.
For simplicity, every page on the wiki should have one category from the following that is most specific to the article's main topic, i.e. its primary category. This topic is generally indicated by the article's infobox type. Pages may also have secondary categories (categories underneath the primary categories) along with the primary category. Please note that the "Blog posts", "Disambiguation", "Files", "Rules", and "Templates" categories, along with their secondary categories, are exclusive to their respective page types and are not meant for articles.
No uncategorized category should be on the wiki, nor should the page contain additional primary categories if a primary category is already present.