Dragon Cave Wiki:Manual of Style

The Manual of Style outlines general guidelines for style and structure of Dragon Cave Wiki articles. The guidelines outlined in this article are guidelines and may need to be overridden in certain circumstances. If there is a conflict in style between editors, discussion should be held to clarify and reach consensus on updating these style guides.

For an extensive guide on wiki style, users may wish to review the Wikipedia Manual of Style

Writing style
Articles should be written in formal language without spelling or grammatical errors, and having structured syntax. Some general guidelines on writing articles:


 * Use American English. Dragon Cave is a North American game. For this reason, the wiki defaults to American English rules for spelling and grammar.
 * Quotes and references should be cited to their original source. When quoting or referencing information provided by a user, a reference including a link to the source is required. Information that lacks proper citation should be flagged with the cite template.
 * Any quotes should be copied verbatim. If there are any spelling or grammatical errors, the sic template should be used to indicate this.
 * Official dragon descriptions should be copied verbatim from the site, even if there is a spelling/grammar error. Once the error is corrected on-site, it can be updated on the wiki. Any errors can be indicated with by using the sic template.
 * Personal information about specific users should only be included with permission. In general, information about users such as artists and content writers should be kept to their site involvement, unless permission to share additional information is granted.
 * Use full names. Dragons, users, and features should be referred to by their full names wherever possible ("Zyumorphs" rather than "Zyus"; "Precognition" rather than "Precog").
 * Use third person. In articles, there should be no "I" or "you." When referring to actions taken by a player, refer to them as "the player" or "users" rather than "you."

Wikitext styling

 * Use wikitext markup. As much as possible, wikitext markup should be used over HTML.
 * Keep markup simple. Keeping markup simple makes articles easier to edit and reduces the chance of formatting errors.
 * Utilize shortcuts. When adding article links, shortcuts should be observed. For example:
 * should be  and   should be.
 * Links to Wikipedia and other fandom wikis should use proper interwiki link format.
 * Don't be afraid to redlink. When a link is created to a nonexistent article, it creates a redlink. This indicates that an article is wanted and will appear in Special:WantedPages.
 * When in doubt, ask for help. If you're unsure on how something should be styled when it comes to markup, ask an admin or senior editor!

File naming conventions
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.

Dragon files
The most common convention is for dragon sprites. Generally, dragon files should follow the pattern below. Any fields that don't apply to that file may be omitted.


 * Breed : The breed of dragon depicted. Generally does not include the word "dragon"/"wyvern"/"pygmy" etc. Exceptions may be made for breeds with similar names, such as Gold Dragon and Golden Wyvern.
 * Color/variant : Color or variant of dragon, if applicable.
 * Stage : The development stage of the dragon;.
 * Gender : Dragon's gender;.
 * Additional description : Additional descriptions of the file. Typically will be an event, or note about retirement.

Event files
If in doubt, please see the previous year's event page and follow that scheme.

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 in the announcement thread)
 * Explanation into how the event/game works
 * Specific details regarding the event/game, including sprites & images
 * Additional information and trivia

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. Boilerplates including the standard formatting for new dragon articles can be found under Template:Boilerplate, and a step-by-step checklist for inclusion of new dragons in the wiki can be found under Template:New dragon checklist.

Sections
Dragon articles typically contain the following sections. Any empty sections should be omitted.


 * Official descriptions
 * Egg
 * Hatchling
 * Mature hatchling
 * Adult
 * Sprite artists
 * Sprites
 * Retired sprites
 * Transparency
 * Variant determination
 * Encyclopedia entry
 * Trivia
 * Additional information
 * References