BTA-Mirror:Style guide

See also: Notes

This page aims to guide users through the creation of a standardized page in the BTA-Mirror. Having standards in a wiki is necessary for organization and better maintaining and readability.

Language

Localization

American English should always be used in this wiki. British English is only allowed if it is a transcription of a game instance, in which the original text should be left untouched.

Contractions

Contractions, which are shortened versions of words and generally use apostrophes, must always be avoided. Examples of contractions are "it's", "they're", and "gonna", which are contractions of "it is", "they are" and "going to", respectively. In this case, the latter should be used to comply with the encyclopedic nature of this site.

Subjectivity

• First or second person perspectives (I, we, and you) should be avoided. If you need to refer to the reader of the page, prefer the use of "the player" or similar phrases instead of "you".
• Personal opinions should not be given (e.g. "Steel is a bad material").
  • This includes saying that Better than Adventure! is better than more recent versions of Minecraft. Although the name of the mod is a reference to the Beta 1.8 version of Java Edition, the statement is highly controversial and subjective and, therefore, is not to be used in this wiki outside of references from the game (e.g. splashes).
• Over-generalization should be refrained (e.g. "Most players..." — not all players fall in this category).
  • Generalization may be used in certain cases, like "most ores". However, keep in mind that it is not recommended, and you should try to specify when possible.

Capitalization

Capitalization refers to the use of lowercase and uppercase letters when writing words. It has some standards, which are listed as follows:

Do not capitalize

Item and block names

Items and blocks should be treated as common nouns in text and therefore should not be capitalized. Exceptions are made for proper nouns within the object, such as Nether. Another exception is made when the item is in the title of the article.

Examples:

Steel ingots are crafted with three pieces of crude steel.

Blast furnaces can use Nether coal as a fuel source.

Entity names

Entity names should not be capitalized for the same reasons as items and blocks.

Examples:

Chunks which can generate slimes constantly spawn slime particles in them.

Cloth is an item dropped from zombies.

Do capitalize

Titles

Titles should be in title case if they are a feature in Better than Adventure!. This style guide, for example, is not in the mod, therefore it is in sentence case ("Style guide" rather than "Style Guide"). However, the title for the block of steel page is in title case due to the block being in the game ("Block of Steel" rather than "Block of steel"). Note that the hyperlink does not capitalize.

Item and block names

Item and block names may be capitalized like in-game when in the title of an article.

Examples:

Cloth

Blast Furnace

Dimension names

"Overworld", "Nether" and "Paradise" should always be capitalized, regardless of context. The Nether is always referred to as the Nether, whereas Paradise is always referred to as Paradise.

Examples:

Ghasts spawn in the Nether.

In Paradise, there are pigmen.

Images

• Image titles, captions and/or alt texts should correctly describe what they mean for the article. For example, in the side, are two images. The first image of the Multiplayer Testing World 1 has an inappropriate caption, while the second image has an accurate and descriptive caption of it.

It seems like the perfect ambient for some fun!

The Multiplayer Testing World 1. Note the use of glowstone blocks on the floor and near the doors.

Profanity

• Profanity should never be used unless in a citation or similar context.

Wikitext formatting

This site has standards for wikitext formatting to improve readability and consequently make page editing and proofreading easier.

Titles

• Titles should always use title case, following general rules of capitalization, such as the "of" in "Block of Gold" not being capitalized.
• However, if a title isn't relating to a specific feature of BTA, it should use sentence case. For example, a page about nether coal should be written as "Nether Coal", but a page about a survival guide should be written as "Survival guide", with only the first word capitalized.
• Avoid plurals for the most part. A page leading to a list of items should not be titled "Items", but rather it should be titled "Item". The only real exception to this rule is for guides.

Section headings

• Page sections are created by wrapping text with equal (=) signs. They should always start with level 2 (== Example ==), increasing by one with each subsection created. Never use level 1 (= Example =); it is reserved for the page's title.
• Use sentence-case capitalization instead of title-case, following the aforementioned rules.
• Do not create empty sections.
• Never insert links in section headings. They should preferably be included under it, which can be in templates such as {{Main}}. Subsection headings may have links when a template is not applicable.
• When creating a heading, put spaces between the equal signs and the heading's text for better readability (== Example == instead of ==Example==).
• Images or other non-text elements should not be included in headings. Put them in the text below.

Italicizing and bolding

• Italics should be used in main titles, such as Minecraft, Terraria or Better than Adventure!.
• Italics may also be used to emphasize a word or phrase.
  • Make sure not to overuse italics in this case.
• Bold text should only be used in the first instance of a page's subject.

Hyperlinks

• Hyperlinks for blocks or items should avoid using the BlockSprite or ItemSprite templates, excluding the variants section of a page.
• Hyperlinks should not be capitalized, unless the relating item is specifically meant to be capitalized, e.g. the Overworld.
• IMPORTANT: Make sure that the hyperlink isn't capitalized, but the actual page linked is! Otherwise, when the page is made, it won't actually lead to the correct page.
• Every first mention of any block, item, mob, biome, dimension, etc. should be hyperlinked. See below for an example.

Heading

First mention of coal is hyperlinked, the second mention of coal isn't.

Another Heading

This mention of coal is not hyperlinked either. Notice how both non-hyperlink mentions aren't capitalized either.

Historical information

Historical information only belongs to the History section of an article. In the following text, for example, text with a pink background represents out-of-place historical information:

The trommel is a utility block added in 1.7.6. It is, as of 1.7.6.2_02, capable of recycling dirt, gravel, and similar "junk" blocks into more useful resources such as clay, quartz, and olivine. Currently, clay trommeling is not possible.