Dragon Cave Wiki:Manual of Style

Here can be found the wiki's Manual of Style (MoS) which is used to guide users on how things should be formatted or written on the wiki.

If in doubt, please always seek the guidance of a senior editor or admin- do not create your own style!

General Articles
Many of the articles written on the wiki are quite broad in nature- these do not have a specific format to follow. Instead, they should be written in formal language without spelling or grammatical errors, and having structured syntax. Examples of articles of this nature can be found in the DC forums category. Some general notes to follow, taken from the Dragon Cave Wikia:Policies page:


 * Dragon Cave is a North American website & game- please follow the North American spelling rules.
 * Quotes and references made on articles need to be sourced back to their original linked location. If no link is available, such as information received via forum PM, then this needs to be stated instead. This is available as a function in the quote template or if trivia points are being referenced, then the reference list template can be added to the end of the article. Any quotes made should be copied verbatim- if there are any errors, the sic template should be used to indicate this. If you're ever in doubt on how to format these, please look up dragon articles to imitate. The Dark Lumina Dragon article uses Quote, Reflist and Sic templates. The Solstice Dragon article includes concept artwork, and how to add images regarding release glitches into the Trivia section.
 * Official dragon descriptions should be copied verbatim from the site- even if there is a spelling/grammar error. Once this is corrected on-site, it can be updated on the wiki. Any errors can be indicated with by using the sic template.
 * If you are going to mention a person's name on an article or write about them, please make sure you have permission from that person first unless you are that person. The wiki has had cases already with people's names being mentioned and who got upset as a result, as well as too much personal information posted on another member without their consent.
 * Please refrain from using nicknames for spriters in articles.
 * Please do not talk in an article. Talk pages are there for this reason- please use them instead of an article, or otherwise the wiki forums.

Wikitext Styling

 * When adding article links, shortcuts should be observed. For example: Black Dragon should be Black Dragon and Black Dragons should be Black Dragons.
 * All code should be condensed when publishing an article in order to avoid errors and issues displaying the page.
 * If you're unsure on how something should be styled when it comes to coding, always ask an admin/senior editor, or copy and paste it from a different article.

File Naming Schemes
There are many situations on this wiki where images can be grouped in a series of some kind, and this is where file naming schemes will apply. For the most part, an admin will handle this kind of situation via processing files on the Currently Being Released page using a bot. But in cases where an image is added directly to the wiki, please do your best to follow these naming schemes. The end of the file name, known as the file type or extension, doesn't need to follow a scheme of any kind.

The most common one is for dragon sprites. The general names and the types of files they apply to are as follows:


 * Name_egg: For the egg stage.
 * Name_hatchi: For the hatchling stage.
 * Name_mature_hatchi: For the mature hatchling stage where there is no dimorphism.
 * Name_female_hatchi: For the female hatchling stage.


 * Name_male_hatchi: For the male hatchling stage.
 * Name_adult: For the adult stage where there is no dimorphism.
 * Name_female: For the female adult stage.
 * Name_male: For the male adult stage.

For special exceptions, see dragons with variations like the Solstice or Aegis Dragon. Release banners also follow a naming scheme, usually being "Month_release_Year" or "Event_Year_release".

For events, files usually just take the name of the event before it, and then a short descriptive name of whatever the file is of. Recurring schemes will apply to annual events like the Festival of Eggs (naming is usually FoE_Year_# in Basket) or Trick or Treat (naming is usually ToT_Year_# in Basket). Again, if in doubt, please see the previous year's event page and follow that scheme.

Special Pages
There are a few large pages, or series of pages, that have their own layouts that should be adhered to. Details are not elaborated on this page, as the styling can already be found on the page and simply imitated to add in new information. If the styling on the page is not consistent, please use the most recent styling applied by an admin as your guide to re-format these sections. The most well known special articles are:


 * Dragon Types
 * Dragon Sub-Types
 * Dragon Rarity Guide
 * Which egg is which?

(boilerplate is hidden at the end of the page- if in doubt, see the page's history revisions)
 * Dragon Release Timeline
 * Holiday Event Timeline
 * Breed Specific Actions
 * Currently Being Released

Event Articles
To see styling for specific annual events, please refer to the previous year's event and follow the style. The general layout is as follows:
 * Event introduction (information given on the first day)
 * Explanation into how the event/game works
 * Specific details regarding the event/game, including sprites & images
 * Additional information and Trivia

Be sure to add the correct categories to an event page. If in doubt, see the previous year's event page and follow its styling. The general categories list is as follows:
 * Holiday
 * Events
 * 
 *  - 
 * All spriter categories that contributed to the event

Recurring annual events like Trick or Treat or Festival of Eggs will have different category needs, please refer to the previous year's events to see which categories need to be added or removed from the above list.

Dragon Articles
These articles have a very specific layout that has been evolving on the site since it first began, and comprises the majority of article types on this wiki. The section order is as follows:
 * Infobox
 * Introduction- release date, release event name & other dragons released with it. An extra paragraph may be added for special information like BSAs
 * Official Dragon Descriptions
 * Egg
 * Hatchling
 * Mature Hatchling
 * Adult
 * Sprite Artist(s)
 * Sprites
 * Egg Sequence
 * Encyclopedia Entry
 * Trivia (if applicable)
 * Additional Information (if applicable)
 * References (if Trivia applies)

The categories that need to be added differ on whether the dragon is a Holiday species or not.
 * For Non-Holiday Dragons:
 * Dragon Types
 *  Dragons
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 *  Element Dragons
 * For Holiday Dragons:
 * Dragon Types
 * Rare Dragons
 * 
 * 
 * Holiday
 *  Dragons
 * No Habitat
 * Alternates
 * 
 *  Element Dragons

A boilerplate template is provided below to create new dragon articles. Bear in mind this includes all possibilities- you will need to remove and adjust as needed for your situation. It also includes added notes that need to be removed before being published: Show/Hide

X Dragons were released on Month Day, Year, alongside X Dragons.

When sorted by "Breed", this dragon sorts as "X" between Y and Z on a user's scroll.

Egg
"DESCRIPTION HERE."

Hatchling
"DESCRIPTION HERE."

Mature Hatchling
"DESCRIPTION HERE."

Adult
"DESCRIPTION HERE."

Sprite Artist(s)

 * ARTIST (All)

Trivia

 * TRIVIA HERE.