User:ManyOursOfFun/sandbox/style guide fix

This article aims to provide a comprehensive style guide for all Minecraft Wiki articles to follow. There are often disputes over which style rule or formatting to use so an official style guide helps resolve these disputes and reach a consensus.

Although Wikipedia already provides a more general style guide, a more specific one is necessary for Minecraft-specific guidelines. As such, only guidelines pertaining to the Minecraft Wiki and its basic formatting rules are included here. If any contradiction arises, this page always has precedence over its subpages and the Wikipedia style guide.

Notability
Articles are allowed in the main namespace only if they fit the following criteria. Articles that do not fit the criteria may be deleted or redirected without notice.


 * General
 * 1) Articles must contain enough information to warrant a full page. If they do not have enough content, they should be merged with other similar articles.
 * 2) Articles must pertain directly to Minecraft in some way.
 * 3) Articles about people are allowed only if the person in question is a developer of Minecraft and/or either a part of or closely related to Mojang Studios.
 * 4) Features that are not currently in the game should be included only in the version's mentioned features article.
 * 5) This excludes features that have been removed or features from development versions, which may be noted on articles affected by the feature and the relevant version article(s).
 * 6) Articles about versions of Minecraft may be created for released editions, of which separate articles should be created for each development version.
 * 7) Future version articles may be created, provided there is a significant source of the unreleased version's existence. Sources include development versions or multiple sources of features for the next update. Future development version articles may not be created. Additionally, future versions should be added as a sub-section of planned versions.
 * 8) Articles on past showcased unreleased versions such as the Pocket Edition Demo and Xbox 360 Edition 1.66.0016.0 may be created if sufficient proof exists for them.


 * Minecraft: Story Mode and Minecraft: Story Mode - Season Two
 * 1) Locations, buildings, rooms, biomes, dimensions, and worlds should generally have a page if they match at least two of the following criteria:
 * 2) A location has enough information to warrant a page.
 * 3) A location has a given name.
 * 4) The protagonists spent a significant amount of time at the location.
 * 5) A location has a historical significance to the plot or the lore.
 * Community
 * 1) Gameplay strategies, guides, how-tos, etc., should be subpages of Tutorials.
 * 2) Pages containing a list of miscellaneous builds the user can make are not to be considered a tutorial. They are to be kept in the userspace. This includes user-created activities and challenges.
 * 3) Articles about mini-games are not allowed.
 * 4) Such information is better suited for the Minecraft Servers Wiki, which is designed for documenting such info.
 * 5) The only exception to this rule are the mini games that are available as part of the Legacy Console Edition.
 * 6) Articles about client or server mods, or third-party programs and map editors, are not allowed to be created on the wiki.
 * 7) Such articles are better reserved to the Feed the Beast Wiki, a wiki focused on documenting modded content.
 * 8) While many pages regarding mods can currently still be found on the wiki (mostly as subpages of Mods and Programs and editors), these are kept for predominantly legacy purposes, and are currently being exported to the FTB Wiki for better management.
 * 9) Articles regarding custom servers should not be created.
 * 10) Such articles are better geared toward the Minecraft Servers wiki, as it is designed for documenting such info.


 * Wiki rules
 * 4. Parody, comedic, nonsense, hoax, and speculation articles, or any other article that could mislead players are not allowed to be created.
 * 5. Articles created for the purpose of advertising specific servers or other products are not allowed.
 * 6. Articles about fan communities are not allowed due to advertising issues.

Articles in the "User:" namespace are exempt from the notability guidelines. They can be used for anything, provided they follow the other wiki rules. However, it is still strongly recommended that they are kept clean as to not clog up maintenance categories, as such userpages may be eligible for blanking upon inactivity of the user.

Redirects
Redirects are exempt from the normal notability, but must redirect to an article that fits the notability guidelines. If a redirect leads to another wiki, it must use soft redirect. Redirects can be created if they fit one of the following:
 * Alternative spelling of the title, such as "Armour" for "Armor".
 * Incorrect spelling, typos, and irregular formatting are not allowed.
 * Alternative or shortened name, provided the name is common usage, such as "Duck" for "Chicken". Previous in game names are also allowed, such as "Workbench" for "Crafting Table".
 * This includes first names or handles for Mojang Studios employees, such as "Nathan" or "Dinnerbone" to "Nathan Adams".
 * This also includes names from alternative English language packs, with the exception of joke languages such as "Pirate Speak" and "LOLCAT".
 * Previous article title, including if the article was moved to another wiki.
 * An exception is if the previous title was not commonly used.
 * Alternative capitalization or form, including changing the title to plural case.
 * A part of a merged or multi-topic article, such as a potion or a mentioned feature.
 * Redirects from mainspace to the Minecraft Earth and Minecraft Dungeons namespaces.

Redirects in the user namespace may lead anywhere, except to an article that does not exist or another redirect.

Article titles
Article titles should generally be in the singular form, except in-game features with plural names (e.g. Boots).

Articles should follow a general naming format based on the type.
 * Articles about blocks, items, and entities in-game should use the in game name capitalized as it appears in game.
 * If the feature does not have an in game name, it should follow the same format as other articles of the same type. For example, the mob Spider Jockey.
 * If the article is about multiple things in the game, the title should equally represent all the titles. For example, an article about wooden and iron doors would be called Door.
 * If the feature has different names in Java and Bedrock Edition, the Java Edition name should be used.
 * If a feature has no display name in any edition, it should follow the ID.
 * If it has no display name in Java nor Bedrock Edition, the Java Edition ID should be the article name.
 * If it has no display name in either Java or Bedrock Edition, the name in the edition that does have the display name should be the article name.
 * Articles about people should contain the first and last names, rather than their Minecraft or Twitter handle.
 * Versions of Java Edition should be prefixed with "Java Edition" (e.g. Java Edition 1.8).
 * Pocket Edition versions should be prefixed with the words "Pocket Edition". For example, the update known as "v0.9.0 alpha" in-game would be titled "Pocket Edition v0.9.0 alpha".
 * Pocket Edition Alpha development builds should first contain the parent version title, then the lowercase word "build" followed by the build number. For example, build 2 for "0.9.0" would be titled "Pocket Edition v0.9.0 alpha build 2".
 * Pocket Edition development builds should first contain the lowercase word "alpha" followed by the version number. For example, "1.1.0.1" would be titled "Pocket Edition alpha 1.1.0.1".
 * Bedrock Edition versions should be prefixed with the words "Bedrock Edition". For example, the update "1.2.1" would be titled "Bedrock Edition 1.2.1".
 * Bedrock Edition development builds should first contain the lowercase word "beta" followed by the version number. For example, "1.2.0.9" would be titled "Bedrock Edition beta 1.2.0.9".
 * Other versions should be prefixed with the edition. For example, the update "1.0.27" for Education Edition would be titled "Education Edition 1.0.27".
 * Tutorial articles should be prefixed with "Tutorials/" and should not contain "How to".
 * If the article's type is unlisted, it should use the most relevant title in sentence case, not title case, unless it is a proper noun. This also applies to some non-article pages such as categories, templates, and project pages.

Writing
This wiki's purpose is to document facts. Therefore, always avoid personal commentary, speculation, and unsourced information. Generally speaking, information does not require sources if they can directly be seen in-game or are otherwise obvious. Other information however, such as quotes from Mojang Studios employees and information that is not widely known, must be sourced with a proper reference. The citation needed template should be placed after any information that requires a source. Do not add content to an article without a proper source.

Articles in the main namespace should always be written in the third-person perspective and without terms referential to the reader ("you", "your", etc.). The exception to this is tutorial pages, where in most cases "you" is the most appropriate pronoun to use when referring to the player. Try not to use abbreviations of words either. For instance, sentences like "You shouldn't come close to creepers because they'll explode and kill you." should be written as "A player can be killed by approaching a creeper close enough to cause it to explode."

To emphasize points, italics should be used, not bold or ALL CAPS.

Tutorial information should be present only in tutorial articles. This includes navigational features of blocks or textures. Tutorials may be linked from other articles if relevant though.

Keeping articles concise and up to date
In short, articles should contain only information that is up to date, i.e., implemented in the latest full version of the game. Anything that is outdated should be moved to the History section of the article. When something changes, note the change in the History section and remove the outdated information from other sections of the article. It is unnecessary to mention when a particular feature was implemented; this is once again reserved for the History section of the article. Sentences such as "Trading, which was implemented in 1.3.1, is a feature that allows players to exchange emeralds (previously rubies) for other items." should be written as "Trading is a feature that allows players to exchange emeralds for other items."

Here's an example of how to not write a good article. It uses a previous version of the Log article, which at the time was called Wood. This is the full introduction. Highlighted in yellow is the redundant information, and in pink the history information.

Wood (previously known as log) is a type of block first seen in Minecraft 0.0.14a. They have a skin resembling bark on the four side faces, and a crosscut face on top and bottom. Only the normal oak logs are available in chunks generated before the Beta 1.2 update and all previous versions, while pine and birch generate in newer chunks. Wood is greatly abundant in naturally-generated maps, as it is used as the foundation for trees. Wood can be chopped by hand, but using an axe is faster. Wood is also flammable.

Of the current wood types, birch is the rarest type. They are often used to make plants, trees and wooden cabins. In Survival Test, wood blocks drop 3–5 wooden planks when mined. In Indev, Infdev, Alpha, and Beta, mining a wood block drops a wood block instead. This allows the use of wood as a building material and is craftable into planks.

Wood's only crafting use is to be made into four wooden planks. In addition, wood can be burnt in a furnace to make charcoal as a substitute for coal.

As of the Minecraft Beta 1.2 update on January 13, 2011, there are now four kinds of wood. One is the normal wood (oak), another resembles the wood of silver birch trees, yet another type resembles the normal wood, but it is darker and appears in pine/conifer trees that grow in colder biomes, the fourth type is similar to the oak wood, however there are some color differences and it is tilted to one side. Wood blocks produce 4 wooden planks when crafted. Wood from different types of trees do not stack in the inventory. Planks made from different kinds of trees used to be completely identical. Birch trees have slightly duller colored leaves than regular trees, pine trees have pine needles, and jungle leaves are leafy with fruit looking shapes on them.

The fourth type of wood was introduced in snapshot 12w03a, solely occurring in jungle biomes, and comprising trees exclusive to them. The tallest trees have this type of wood in 2x2 dimensions instead of the normal 1x1.

The issue with this is that old information is scattered with new information. The introduction should state the current description of the block with the current release. History information is good, but for clarity, it should be described in the chronological order in a single place: the History section of the article.

Future
Content added in future updates may be added to the article in the main content, provided the features are marked using upcoming and have appeared in development versions. If the update contains major changes to the article, then the content may be noted as a subsection of a main section, or as its own section called Upcoming. Upcoming features must be noted as well in the history section using the proper upcoming header.

Upon the release of the update, all content that is now outdated must either be moved to the history section or removed, and any usage of upcoming may be removed.

Quotes
All quotes should be copied verbatim. Any additional content added within the quotation marks must be enclosed in square brackets. Terminal punctuation must go inside the quote only if it is in the original; otherwise, it must go outside. If the quote contains an error that was present in the original, add sic after that text to show readers that it is not a transcription mistake.

Spelling
Pages on this wiki should use American English unless the in-game name is British English.

The differences between American and British spelling can be subtle. The following examples often arise:
 * Words ending in "-or": "colour" should be "color", "behaviour" should be "behavior"
 * Words ending in "-ter": "centre" should be "center", "metre" should be "meter"
 * Direction-indicating words ending in "-ward": "towards" should be "toward", "forwards" should be "forward", "upwards" should be "upward" and so on
 * Words ending in the "-st" affectation: "whilst" should be "while", "amongst" should be "among", "amidst" should be "amid"

Capitalization
In general, in-game items should be treated as common nouns and as such should not be capitalized, unless they start a new sentence. This includes fictional items, such as prismarine. Proper nouns, however, such as the Nether or the Overworld should always be capitalized.

Do not capitalize
In-game items (weapons, armor, tools, objects, blocks, fictional items) are common nouns and should not be capitalized unless they start a new sentence.
 * In-game items

A conduit requires a prismarine frame.

This mob uses a scatter crossbow.

To mine diamond ore, a player must use an iron pickaxe or better.

In-game structures and biome names should not be capitalized.
 * Structures and biomes

Underground, there are randomly generated mineshafts.

A desert pyramid contains some rare loot.

Blazes spawn in nether fortresses.

In deep ocean biomes, monuments can generate.

A stronghold is home to an end portal.

Any instance of a mob (including mini-boss mobs) should be treated as a common noun, except where the mob is referred to using a proper noun. If the word "the" is used before the mob name, it should not be capitalized unless it is at the beginning of the sentence.
 * Mobs

One of the most feared mobs is the ghast.

A cave spider can poison its prey.

The player has been referred to as Steve.

"Experimental snapshot", "snapshot", "pre-release", and "release candidate" should not be capitalized, except in cases where they are capitalized in the game itself, in which case they should be capitalized only within the context of the name itself. "Pre-release" should always be hyphenated.
 * Edition adjectives and descriptors

In addition to the instances above, do not capitalize the names of unique items or hostile mob attacks.
 * Minecraft Dungeons

Do capitalize
Enchantment names should always be capitalized.
 * Enchantments

In order to have ice drop an item, a tool enchanted with Silk Touch should be used.

Status effect names should be capitalized, except where they are used as an adjective.
 * Status effects

Magma cream is required for a potion of Fire Resistance.

Wither skeletons may inflict Wither on the player.

An invisible spider may rarely spawn.

Editions should be capitalized only when used as nouns.
 * Editions

Development phases should be capitalized.

Minecraft: Java Edition officially came out of Beta on November 18, 2011.

The rose, with an exclusive texture, was introduced in Pocket Edition v0.1.0 alpha.

Of all the editions of Minecraft, only the Pocket and Pi Editions have blue roses.

The name of game modes should be capitalized.
 * Game modes

In Hardcore mode the game acts similar to Survival mode except the difficulty is permanently set to Hard.

Some features unique to Minecraft Dungeons are treated as proper nouns, similar to enchantments and status effects, so they should be capitalized. These features are:
 * Minecraft Dungeons


 * Ancient mobs and primary boss mobs
 * Locations corresponding to a mission


 * Minecraft: Story Mode and Minecraft: Story Mode - Season Two


 * In Minecraft: Story Mode and Minecraft: Story Mode - Season Two, given names of towns, cities, and villages should always be capitalized.
 * Names of characters should always be capitalized.
 * Given names of teams and groups should be capitalized if they're capitalized in-game.
 * Names of events such as EnderCon should be capitalized only if they're capitalized in-game.
 * Names of worlds and dimensions should be capitalized only if they're capitalized in-game.
 * In rare cases in which the name has two variations, capitalized and not capitalized, the capitalized spelling takes preference.

The wither storm destroyed the building at EnderCon.

Olivia is a friend of Jesse.

The fate of Build Club is unknown.

There is a llama statue in Champion City.