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The Manual of Style is a style guide for all articles on the Shades of Magic Wiki. As everyone can edit most of the pages on this wiki, predefined requirements for the layout and structure of articles are needed in order to acquire and preserve consistency throughout the wiki.
This guide is used to assist editors in producing articles with consistent layout, language, and formatting.
However, do not worry if you find the guidelines to be confusing. As this manual is still a work in progress, anything written here is subject to change, and certain exceptions may apply. If you are unable to follow the manual's rules, that's fine. Just keep in mind that your edits might be adjusted by an admin/different user to fit this guide.
However, remember that by editing this site, you are agreeing to our policies—and if you blatantly disregard them or repeatedly vandalize the wiki, your behavior will result in a warning. And if you, even after receiving a warning, continue to violate this wiki's policies and rules, you will be blocked.
If you have any questions, please contact an administrator.
Format
- It is advised to switch to the Source mode editor for better and more effective editing as the Source mode editor allows easier and more precise editing than the VisualEditor does. Furthermore, pages with complex code can only be edited with the Source editor. To be able to effectively use this editor, please make yourself familiar with the Wikitext.
- For examples of the layout for this wiki's articles and information regarding how they should be written and what they should include, please see the sample pages: sample character article, sample book article, more.
- Changes and/or additions to the layout of the articles should be proposed to and discussed with the site administration first. Only, then, the suggestion may or may not be implemented throughout the entire wiki.
Content
Official Language
As the Shades of Magic series was first written in American English, this wiki will use American English as well. However, the usage of it is only obligatory in mainspace articles (both in- and out-of-universe) and not on user pages, talk pages, discussions, or alike.
The only exception to this rule is the spelling of Grey London and the word "grey" in general as the books spell it as such too.
Furthermore, all mainspace articles should be written in an objective, neutral, and formal style.
This means any...
- ...comments/remarks/ratings/opinions...
- ...biases...
- ...usage of phrases like "I think," "I believe," or "I liked/hated" and such...
- ...usage of phrases like "some people" or "certain fans/readers" and such...
...are prohibited in the aforementioned mainspace articles. Please, only voice your opinions in discussions, your user page, or on message walls.
Present Tense
With exception of the "History/Early life" sections, every other article section has to be written in present tense (literary present).
Capitalization
- Please, avoid unnecessary capitalization. If the word(s) or the phrase is not a title or proper name, it should not be capitalized.
- Do not capitalize articles in the middle of a sentence even if the article and the word it refers to belong together as a fixed term and can be linked to another page starting with "a" or "the." The only exceptions are titles of artistic works. For example, it should be "V. E. Schwab is the author of A Darker Shade of Magic" and not "V. E. Schwab is the author of a Darker Shade of Magic."
- Proper names, titles, as well as terms capitalized in the novels themselves always have to be capitalized.
Punctuation
Please, always use the straight (or typewriter) apostrophe ( ' ) and not the typographic (or curly) apostrophe ( ’ ) as well as the straight quotation marks ( " ) instead of the typographic ones ( “ ” ).
Italicization
- The novel and series titles as well as the titles of other artistic work from the real world like books, plays, or movies have to be italicized in articles.
- Antari terms (just like the word Antari itself) have to be italicized as well as they are italicized in the books.
- The same rule applies to Arnesian and Maktahn words.
In-universe writing
On this wiki, you can find:
- In-universe articles which focus on the fictional world of Shades of Magic, such as Kell Maresh, Grey London, Essen Tasch, Kell's coat, and Arnesian.
- Out-of-universe articles which focus on the real-world, such as V. E. Schwab and Tor Books.
In every in-universe article, it is obligatory to write in an in-universe perspective, meaning that the breaking of the fourth wall is prohibited.
Examples:
| False | Correct |
|---|---|
| Kell is one of the main characters in the Shades of Magic trilogy by V. E. Schwab. | Kell is an Antari from Red London. |
| In A Darker Shade of Magic, Kell visits the Dane siblings in White London. | After Maxim Maresh gives him a letter addressed to the Dane siblings, Kell heads to White London to deliver it. |
| At the end of A Darker Shade of Magic, Lila parts with Kell and Rhy. | As their shared adventure was now over, Lila decides to part ways with Kell and Rhy. |
Pictures and videos
- Main article: Shades of Magic Wiki:Policies#Image policies
This wiki does not accept any images in .jpg format. Images uploaded in .jpg format will be promptly deleted and replaced by the same image in .png format.
Linking
Under every heading and subheading, link only the first instance a certain character/place/object/etc. is mentioned. If, for example, Rhy is mentioned multiple times in Kell's History section or in his A Darker Shade of Magic subsection, provide only a link to Rhy's page when Rhy is first mentioned.
Internal links can be created by using double square brackets around the word(s) you want to link to.
Example:
[[Kell Maresh]]
If the displayed name and the page to which you want to link do not correspondent with each other, use the following code:
[[(the page's actual name)|(the displayed name)]]
Example:
Lila overhears [[Elissa|a girl]] stating that she has a crush on the "[[Kell Maresh|black-eyed prince]]."
Furthermore, make use of interwiki links which can be created by using the following code:
[[w:c:(the name of the wiki to which you want to make an interwiki link):(name of the page on this other wiki)|(Link's display name)]]
Example:
In ''[[w:c:vicious-schwab:Vengeful|Vengeful]]'', at a costume party, someone is dressed as Lila.
instead of
In ''[https://vicious-schwab.fandom.com/wiki/Vengeful Vengeful]'', at a costume party, someone is dressed as Lila.
For more information on links, please click here.
References
Copyright
Fanfiction and fan-art
Fanfiction, fan-art, personal head-canons, and the alike are forbidden in all articles as this wiki, just like every other, should be built on facts.
Fan-art, personal head-canons and theories, however, may be added to your own user page. Fanfiction, as it can be rather long and excessive, is prohibited in user pages as well. You may add links to your works, though, but only if it is properly marked and labelled.
Of course, you are allowed to talk about your theories and opinions in discussions and on message walls.
The only fan-arts allowed on mainspace articles are the ones featured in the collector's edition of A Darker Shade of Magic.
New categories
As the creation of a new category requires the linking of said new category to another, the procedure may or may not be rather complex. Therefore, every suggestion for a new category has to be discussed with an administrator first.
Spoilers
- "A spoiler is an element of a disseminated summary or description of any piece of fiction that reveals any plot elements which threaten to give away important details."[1]
Please, in consideration of everyone, do not publish any spoilers (or any other information not officially revealed before the book's/the comic's release) on this wiki until the end of the ban. Do not remove the {{majorspoilers}} template before the set time too.
| Medium | Length (spoiler ban) | Length ({{majorspoilers}}) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Books | Four weeks | Three months | No anonymous editing allowed during that period. |
| E-books/ comic issues |
Three days | One month (after the publication of a printed version if available) | With consideration of the online release and publication of the printed version. |