Writers Guide
From EU2Wiki
This article is a Writer's Guide for the EU2 wiki. There's not a lot here thus far, but the idea is to have a page to write down general style guidelines for other authors to follow.
Contents |
Joining up
To join the EU2 wiki effort, just select the "Log in / create account" link at the top and follow the directions. You must have an account, and be logged in, to be allowed to edit articles. We don't accept completely anonymous authors.
Most of our writers join when they have noticed a small error in some article that they decide to fix. Then they edit it, and it is entered as a non-minor edit because that is the default. Please notice the little box at the bottom of each edit page, "This is a minor edit", and use it to mark minor edits. I find most edits I make are minor. You can change your preferences so that all edits are minor by default: click "my preferences" at the top of any page. Then select the "Editing" tab on the Preferences page, and select the box "Mark all edits minor by default". Save.
Conventions
Our style here generally follows that used in other wikis. Several things bear emphasis enough to reinterate here.
Article Names
We use non-plural names for most articles. If you have a concept that is never written in the singular (i.e., national waters), then it is fine to use the plural in the article name. Otherwise, go with the singular. The reason for this is that you can easily make direct links to singular names from both singular and pluralized words in other articles.
Links
Links in articles are very easy to make, and you should use lots of them. This is a hypertext: a large part of its power is the ability for the user to chase links to instantly clarify any questions he has.
It is possible to use too many links, though; the reader should not be presented with three links in one sentence or paragraph that all go to the same page. Generally, I like to link a term the first time it is used, then again in each "level 2" section, unless the entire article is short enough to fit on a page. The reader should not have to page up to get to link defining a term.
Use of Redirects
Second, learn how to do redirects, and use them. For example, the plurals of most of our terms here are redirected to the singular, as are common abbreviations. In general, for non-obvious redirects you should define the term in the article redirected to, and when you define a term, put it in bold. Thus, for example, the "looting" article also defines the term "looted", which redirects there.
Abbreviations
In general, I don't like to use any but the most common abbreviations here at the wiki. For example, the abbreviation "DA" is sometimes seen for "diplomatically annex". But this usage is rare, and the acronym itself is completely opaque to any newbie. Thus, it is not something we even need to define at the wiki. Write "diploannex" and link it up if you absolutely cannot stand to write "diplomatically annex" or "annex diplomatically", etc. In general, using more words here is a good idea.
Some abbreviations like "CoT" and "DoW" are ubiquitous, and useful. For terms like this, you should define them in the proper page (i.e. define "CoT" in the page for center of trade), and create a redirect (from CoT to center of trade, etc).
On any page, when you first use any term that a newbie might not understand correctly, you should either define it on the spot, or use it as a link to the article where it is defined. Or both, occasionally. I don't enforce this for the opinion pages (strategy guides), but I try to for other pages.
Article Types
There are many kinds of articles at the EU2 wiki. Here are some of the more common ones, and some suggestions for how to write them. Note that each of these kinds of articles has a category devoted to it. If you write a new one, you should categorize it appropriately.
Writing Rules Articles
A "rules article" describes some of the rules that EU2 implements. Typically, you want to write an article about groups of rules that are related by their function as the player sees them. For example, there are a number of rules related sieges: number of troops necessary, how sieges evolve, what they look like on the UI, etc. All of those can (or should) be found on the article on siege.
Writing User Interface Articles
A "user interface" article describes some piece of EU2's user interface. The article should describe how to display the UI. There should always be a screenshot. Each item in each picture should be described textually. Information displayed on the UI should be listed, typically in order from top to bottom. A good example is the article on the siege screen.
Writing Strategy Articles
A "strategy article" lists useful ramifications of rules. An example is How to Handle Rebels. Generally, strategy articles should recap important rules, and also refer to rules articles. Rules articles should just link to strategy articles if they relate. Strategy articles should be linked from Beginners' guides or Advanced guides.
Writing Opinion Articles
An "opinion article" is any article that gives specific opinions on how to play. The many Countries' guides are in this group. Since opinions can vary, we need to be able to have many articles with parallel content. There are two naming conventions for articles here that make sense:
- subscripting, so there is an England_(1), England_(2), etc. as necessary.
- appending a name to an article, i.e. there is a France_Stoertebecker.
TODO
Here are several ways to find things that still need to be done at EU2 wiki:
Answer Questions at the Paradox Fora
You can use the wiki as a reference to give out to newbies (and more advanced players) at the paradox forums. If you find a question there that cannot be answered by reference into the wiki, that's probably an edit, or even an article. Fix up the wiki then post a reference!
Wanted Articles
One way to find things that still need to be done here at EU2 wiki is to look at the list of Wanted Pages. Every link you find there should either:
- have a new article written for it
- have articles it (the link) is in revised to remove the link
- have articles it is in revised to link to whatever page best explains the concept which the link was originally intended to point at
Articles Without Screenshots
Almost any article is better with a relevant screenshot. If you find an article without one (and few of them have one), then they are easy to upload (see "Upload file" on the left toolbar), and link from the article.
Articles with Text Tables
Text tables are fine for some things, but often a real table will look much better and be easier to read, as well.
