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. Note that exceptions are made when the item or block contains a proper noun in it, such as Nether, or when the item is in the title of the article. Another exception is when its a hyperlinked name, as the templates used for hyperlinking items and blocks automatically capitalize.

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.

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

Note that links to the article are part of the text and, therefore, should follow a sentence-case. The above examples are about the titles of the articles, not their links.

Dimension names

"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.

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 must use the BlockSprite or ItemSprite templates.
• Every first mention of any block, item, mob, biome, dimension, etc. should be hyperlinked. See below for an example.

Heading (This would be a major heading, not a sub-heading.)

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

Another Heading (Also a major heading.)

This mention of Object is not hyperlinked either, even though it is under a new heading.

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.