BoroondaraWiki:Manual of Style

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The Manual of Style is a set of rules and guidelines for the presentation of all BoroondaraWiki articles. This includes guidance and rulings on matters such as spelling, punctuation and formatting. The primary aim of this guide is to provide consistency across the site. Common sense should be used when following this guide and similar wiki policies/guidelines as individual circumstances may differ. In particular, the aim should be to ensure consistency in an article over consistency across the site. While ideally these are the same thing, the former takes priority over the latter.

Policy on styles is created by administrators, who formulate policy after discussion among themselves and with the broader community, observing existing trends in article style, and considering style policies used elsewhere that editors may be familiar with.

If something is not covered in this manual, please refer to Wikipedia's Manual of Style.

Nothing in this guide should be taken as prescriptive unless otherwise indicated.

Layout

Article titles, headings and sections

Use equal signs to mark the enclosed text as a section heading: ==Title== for a primary section; ===Title=== for the next level (a subsection); and so on to the lowest-level subsection. The highest heading level technically possible is =Title=, but this is not suitable for use in articles.

  • Headings should not refer redundantly to the subject of the article or to higher-level headings unless doing so is shorter or clearer.
  • Headings should not normally contain links, especially where only part of a heading is linked.
  • Section and subsection headings should preferably be unique within a page, otherwise section links may lead to the wrong place.
  • Citations should not be placed within or on the same line as section and subsection headings.
  • Headings should not contain images; this includes flag icons.
  • Headings should not contain questions.
  • Avoid starting headings with numbers (other than years), because this can be confusing for readers with the "Auto-number headings" preference selected.

Utilise existing article structures where possible. If starting a new article, search for a page on a similar topic and use its general structure (e.g. headings). Some templates may also exist.

Content

Regional varieties of English

As the content of BoroondaraWiki covers locations in Australia, the use of Australian English is the preferred variety of English to use for content. Using obscure or confusing words or phrases from other varieties of English is discouraged.

Dates and times

Format

For full dates, use the format 10 June 1921. Similarly, where the year is omitted, use 10 June.

Do not use numerical date formats such as 03/04/2005, as this could refer to 3 April or to March 4. If a numerical format is required (e.g., for conciseness in long lists and tables), use the YYYY-MM-DD format: 2005-04-03.

Seasons

As a general rule, do not refer to an event as having happened in a particular season. Roughly 50% of the world (by volume) would have been experiencing a different season to the one you mention. Exceptions exist when an event has a season in its name, such as the Winter of Discontent and the Arab Spring, as well as if an event is universally seasonal, such as deciduous trees shedding their leaves in autumn.

Units of measurement

Unless quoting particular units of measurement from primary sources, usage of SI (or metric) units is required. If it is considered necessary to include references to other units of measurement, it is expected that an appropriate conversion will also be supplied. For example,

Smith reported in 1890 that the hotel was "three miles [4.8km] from the intersection of Red and Yellow Roads"

Referencing

Unless otherwise indicated, there is no sitewide system for referencing. You are free to use whichever system you like.

The general rule should be to ensure consistency within articles. Do not change referencing styles on entire articles unless there are good reasons.

Add reliable sources to back up information where possible. This assists verifiability and provides links for further information.

Ignore this guide

If making a contribution follow this guide would clearly reduce its comprehensibility, ignore the parts of this guide which would make it do so. Raise the issue with administrators or on the Community Portal.