Fanlore:Editorial Procedures
Formatting pointers
- When creating new pages, for the sake of consistency, use title case unless the name of the article is the name of a person or object with its own rules of capitalization.
- When possible, use templates to help you format a page, keeping in mind that your formatting may be changed by other users later.
- Please use correct spelling, and avoid slang and nonstandard grammar when writing articles. When spellings differ internationally, the wiki does not have a preference, but please avoid mixing differing spelling conventions within a sentence.
- Note: Fannish terminology is not considered slang, but should be marked with a [[wiki link]] to a place where users unfamiliar with it will be able to find a definition.
Internal links
We encourage editors to use internal links [[like this]] to other pages on the wiki wherever the opportunity arises.
If the material you are contributing contains terms or subjects for which we have articles on the wiki, please make the first occurrence of each in your own article an internal link.
Similarly, if you use a term or mention a subject for which there is no article yet, but there should be, make it an internal link also. This will then show up as an article in demand, encouraging others to create it.
Following this practice will both help the wiki grow and ensure it is a rich, intensely inter-connected resource.
Using Wiki Markup
MediaWiki, the software Fanlore is built on, has its own markup for formatting items such as external links, internal links, bold, italic, et cetera. See the editing cheatsheet and the formatting help for more detailed information. You may also wish to use the formatting buttons at the top of each edit box.
Citation
Fanlore has developed an extensive Citation policy that includes guidelines on when, how and what to cite and quote. Please familiarise yourself with them if you are going to contribute to the wiki, and be aware that other users may edit your work to align with this policy.
Categorising Pages
Fanlore has an established set of categories to organise information. This set is open to expansion following consultation. Please do not create new categories independently (except for fandom categories). You may, however, cross-categorise as you wish.
You can find the hierarchical structure of categories at Fanlore:Sitemap. Fandom categories are too numerous to include in the sitemap; a list of all categories can be found at Special:Categories.
Though categories will always display at the bottom of an article no matter where the tag goes on the page, we recommend you put them at the bottom of your page while editing so that other editors can easily find them.
Gardeners will be monitoring the use of category tags and will make adjustments to suit the Sitemap, making edits where necessary. If you would like to suggest an expansion of the Sitemap, or have a question about it, please leave a comment on its talk page.
Relevance of Content
Fanlore exists both within and in support of fan communities that create and consume transformative works. Beyond this basic requirement for relevance of content, we are far from strict.
In line with our PPOV Policy, Fanlore does not have requirements for notability of material uploaded or linked to on the wiki. The Fanlore Committee has not set requirements for what material is "worthy" of being housed on the wiki; our only concern is that what's on the wiki conform to our policies. We do not police content which conforms to said policies, and are not in a position to pass judgment on what material is worthy of documenting in each fan community we hope to serve. In line with our PPOV policy, our "relevance requirement" is that if a contributor believes something is worthy of documenting, then we fully support documenting it.
Similarly, we do not wish to overload the wiki with trivia, and therefore will not attempt to document parts of communities that the communities/fans in question do not believe are relevant.
Our responsibility in this respect is to aid and encourage fans and communities to contribute the material that is relevant and important to them, not to make rules about how that's determined for the fan community as a whole.
Problematic edits and other disputes
We have identified a number of Deceptive Practices that are banned on the Fanlore wiki. Editors should take care to differentiate between changes made by inexperienced editors and purposeful or repeat violations of our deceptive practice policies.
Procedures for dealing with the above - and other disputes - can be found on the Managing Conflict page. Additionally, for a non-comprehensive list of what counts as a malicious edit and what does not, visit our Hostile Editing Policy page.
Using Infoboxes
Infoboxes are templates that can neatly summarize basic facts related to a Fanlore article and automatically include the article in relevant categories. Most articles should have an infobox. Select an infobox from the list and copy and paste it into the top of the edit window of the page you want to add it to. Then fill in the template and save the page.
What to Name a page?
When you create a new page, the first thing you'll have to do is define its title. Help:Naming Conventions includes guidelines for Fanlore's house style, as well as instructions on how to name specific types of pages, like fanworks.