Pixar Cars Wiki:Manual of Style
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This page explains the basics of the Pixar Cars Wiki's article design. Please use this page for reference for editing articles.
Text
| Guideline | Example(s) |
|---|---|
| Repeat the article's title in bold within the first two or three sentences. | The Pixar Cars Wiki:Manual Style is a special page on the Pixar Cars Wiki. |
| Italicize all official media titles. | Cars: The Video Game |
| Use links to direct readers to other articles. | Lightning McQueen wins the race. |
| Text should be aligned to the left. Other settings should be used only for unique formatting. |
An example of text aligned to the left, as opposed to: Text aligned to the center, or: Text aligned to the right. |
For more information, see Help:Formatting on MediaWiki.org.
Enhancements
- Add images that pertain to the article's topic. These should be in the thumbnail format and alternate between left and right positions from the top of the article to the bottom. The recommended size is 220px, but depending on the dimensions of the image, it may require otherwise.
- Videos can be used as another way of visually representing an article. Videos should use the same settings as images.
- If there are more images or videos than what can fit throughout the rest of the article, an image gallery should be created. The requested settings include medium spacing between images, centered captions, removal of the "add image to gallery" button, and 175px image size (although, like with images, this may vary depending on other factors)
- Use tables and bulleted or numbered lists to organize information and for formatting.
- An infobox template can be used to display vital information about the article's subject, though it is not always necessary.
Sections
Information should be organized into sections, created with "Heading" text, as opposed to "Normal" text. These sections should focus on one particular concept or theme in relation to the overall article. For example, when describing all of a character's appearances, a separate "History" section should be created.
Subpages
Should a particular section of an article become too long, such as a gallery or list, a subpage should be created with the following naming convention: [article name]/[title of section]
For example, if the gallery on the Lightning McQueen article becomes too long, the title of the subpage should be Lightning McQueen/Gallery.
When linking to a subpage on an article, the "ForSubpage" template should be used, including a link to the subpage and what it focuses around. Here is an example of proper use of the "ForSubpage" template:
- For this subject's image gallery, see Lightning McQueen/Gallery.
Scrollboxes
If a section is just large enough to be considered too long, but not quite big enough to warrant a subpage, a scrollbox should be used. This can be implemented by calling the Scrollbox template, and putting all of the information within the scrollbox. Typically this is used for bulleted lists, notably reference sections.
Notices and status templates
There are many notices that should be added to an article's page if necessary. These notices indicate the status of an article, and explain what needs to be done and why. The following templates are used to indicate an article's status:
| Template name | Use |
|---|---|
| Conjecture | Indicates an article's name is conjectural, meaning an official name for its subject has not been found, and the authors of the wiki have provided the best one possible. |
| Construction | Indicates an article is under construction, and the article's current state may not be the best. |
| Delete | Indicates an article has been requested for deletion for any number of reasons. |
| SourceRequirement | Indicates all information on an article should be accompanied with a reference to a trusted source. |
| Stub | Indicates an article has too little information and more should be added. |
| Spoiler | Indicates an article contains spoilers about an upcoming release, and readers should proceed with caution. |
Notes and references
Notes and references should accompany a sentence that contains potentially questionable information, and, more commonly, information about upcoming or recent releases. While both are used in the same format, notes are short blurbs that elaborate on information that would otherwise be out of place on the article. Meanwhile, references contain internal or external links to information sources.
If any notes or references are present on an article, an additional section should be created at the bottom of the article, containing only the Reflist template. The section should be titled "References".
Notes and references are created by surrounding text with <ref> and </ref> tags.
Articles should have a "Navigation" section with navigation templates that provide readers with a list of articles that revolve around a similar topic, for helping readers navigate the site and search for information they desire. For example, if an article is about a character from Cars, the Cars navigation template should be added:
These should be at the very bottom of the article, under the final section.
Categories
Appropriate categories should be used to categorize articles based on their content and subject matter. In source mode, categories can be added using [[Category:[name of category]]]. Categories may also be added based on what templates are on the page such as The stub template or the under construction template.
Languages
If one of our alternate language wikis has an article about the same subject, they can be linked to by adding the appropriate link. For example, if you wish to link to the Lightning McQueen's Polish article, add [[pl:Zygzak McQueen]].