The editing guideline outlines a standard of clean, consistent formatting for articles in the Arknights Wiki.
General article style guidelines
- Use third person when writing about the player. Keep in mind that this is a website addressed also to those who do not play Arknights and just want to learn about the game. However, writing strategies like this sounds rather weird, so please do use second-person pronouns there.
- Write from an impersonal perspective. Do not use personal pronouns such as 'I'. For example, do not write: "Amiya is a 5-star Caster who specializes in DPS. In my opinion, she is the best Caster in the game." Avoid drawing attention to the author as much as possible.
- Use American English. As Arknights uses American English, so does the wiki. Do not write articles using other forms of English.
- Don't be too formal/serious. While wikis are supposed to be encyclopedic entries, the Arknights Wiki is addressed for mobile game players who might find them too much. Write formally but not seriously, yet understandable.
- Be creative. Just make sure that your creativity sticks with the contents and facts on the article.
- If you really need to make a joke, make it a smart one. If the article really needs a humorous part, then ensure that it is subtle and tasteful.
- Link to articles once per section. To make reading easier, limit the amount of linking to the same articles. For example, if a character's name is mentioned once in the infobox and five times in the article, then link to that character's article once in the infobox and once in the article.
- Infoboxes are good. When creating or editing an article that doesn't have one, check the infobox template category and add an applicable one to the article.
Naming of pages
- Article titles should be the full and official name of the subject, following all capitalizations and punctuations as found in the games or other primary sources. Article titles should be singular, except for pages that are a list of things (ex. Operator, not Operators; List of Operations, not List of Operation).
- For characters, their title should not be included in the title of their article.
- Category names should be in plural.
Linking
Links to articles can be created in several ways.
Typical
Link to | Syntax | Syntax example | Display |
---|---|---|---|
Article in this wiki | [[Article_name]] [[Article_name|Display_name]]
|
[[Blue Poison]] [[Blue Poison|Blue Poison the Sniper]]
|
Blue Poison Blue Poison the Sniper |
Article on Wikipedia | [[wikipedia:Article_name|Display_name]]
|
[[wikipedia:Arknights|Arknights]]
|
Arknights |
External website | [Website_address Description]
|
[https://www.arknights.global/ Global official website]
|
Global official website |
Rules
- Avoid linking to Wikipedia articles for unnecessary information (e.g. "frog" to a Wikipedia article on "frog" as the word is commonly understood) outside Trivia and certain infoboxes.
- Exceptions: race articles to emphasize their characteristics (e.g. "frog" to a Wikipedia article on "frog" in the Anura article), pages that may be of interest and not common knowledge, and phrases referencing real-world subjects.
- Avoid linking unnecessary punctuation. Words next to a bracket ]] will be included in the link.
- Correct: [[Operator]] is
- Correct: [[Operator]]s
- Incorrect: [[Operator ]]is
- Incorrect: [[Operator|Operators]]
- Avoid linking unnecessary capitalization. Every page on the wiki is, by default, capitalized with the first letter, but can be referenced in lowercase.
- Correct: [[Operator]]
- Correct: [[operator]]
- Incorrect: [[operator|Operator]]
- Incorrect: [[Operator|operator]]
- Follow the principle of least astonishment when linking. Readers should be able to understand where the link will lead from the link name.
- Correct: In R8-11, Talulah is given debuffs by the [[Emperor's Blade]]s, soldiers of the Ursus army.
- The reader understands the link will lead to the "Emperor's Blade" article.
- Correct: In R8-11, [[Talulah, the Fighter]] is given debuffs by the Emperor's Blades, soldiers of the Ursus army.
- The reader understands the link will lead to the "Talulah, the Fighter" article.
- Incorrect: In R8-11, Talulah is given debuffs by [[Emperor's Blade|two soldiers of the Ursus army]].
- The reader cannot accurately infer where the link will take them from the name; "soldiers" is too general.
- Incorrect: In R8-11, [[Talulah, the Fighter|Talulah]] is given debuffs by the Emperor's Blades, soldiers of the Ursus army.
- The reader will infer the link will take them to the "Talulah" article, when in reality, the link leads to the "Talulah, the Fighter" article. The link name may be changed to a more specific name, such as "the fighter variant of Talulah," in order to lead the reader to easily infer where the link will lead.
Icons
Arknights Wiki offers templates that enhance the appearance and functionality of some links. Currently these templates are available for links to articles and sections about characters, enemies, and materials.
Link to | Syntax + example | Display |
---|---|---|
Operators and NPCs | {{c|Character_name}} {{c|Amiya}}
|
Amiya |
{{c|Character_name|gridview=true}} {{c|Amiya|gridview=true}}
|
||
{{c|Character_name|gridview=true|icononly=true}} {{c|Amiya|gridview=true|icononly=true}}
|
||
Enemy | {{e|Enemy_name}} {{e|Crownslayer}}
|
Crownslayer |
{{e|Enemy_name|gridview=true}} {{e|Crownslayer|gridview=true}}
|
||
Item | {{i|Drill Battle Record}} {{i|Drill Battle Record}}
|
|
{{i|Drill Battle Record|gridview=false}} {{i|Drill Battle Record|gridview=false}}
|
Drill Battle Record |
Article layout
Lead section
Except for Operator main pages or if an article is very short, it should start with an introductory lead section, before the first subheading. The lead should not be explicitly entitled == Introduction == or any equivalent header. The table of contents, if displayed, appears after the lead section and before the first subheading.
The lead should be capable of standing alone as a concise overview of the article, establishing context, and explaining why the subject is interesting or notable. It should be between one or two paragraphs long, and should be written in a clear and accessible style so that the reader is encouraged to read the rest of the article. Above all, the lead should define the subject of the article; for example:
The final combat operation of Episode 05, 5-10, titled The Dark Before Dawn...
If possible, make the title the subject of the first sentence of the article; for example:
Closure is an NPC in Arknights who runs the in-game Store.
The first time the article mentions the title, put it in bold using three apostrophes — '''article title'''
produces article title. Avoid other uses of bold in the first sentence, except for alternative titles of an article and terms related to the subject; for example:
Szewczyk the Plastic Knight, known in-game as Plastic Knight...
A conflict between Ursus and Higashi known as the Bloodpeak Campaign...
Operators
- Main
- {{Operator info}}
- {{Operator infobox}}
- {{Operator data}}
- {{Skill head}}, {{Skill cell}}, {{Skill end}}
- {{Skill upgrade head}}, {{Skill upgrade cell}}, {{Table end}}
- {{Talent}}
- {{Base skill}}
- {{Operators}}
- File
- {{Archive}}
- Story
- Overview
- {{Procon}}
- Dialogue
- {{Operator dialogue head}}, {{Operator dialogue cell}}, {{Table end}}
- Gallery
- {{Operator gallery}}
Enemies
- Main
- {{Enemy infobox}}
- {{Enemy stats}}
- {{Normal enemies}}/{{Elite enemies}}/{{Boss enemies}}
Operations
- General
- {{Operation tab}}
- {{Operation info}}
- {{Operation guide}}
- {{Main Theme operations}}/{{Intermezzo operations}}/{{Side Story operations}}/{{Vignette operations}}/{{Annihilation}}/{{CC operations}}/{{IS operations}}
- Story subpages
- {{Operation tab}}
- {{Story info}}
- {{Story head}}, {{Story cell}}, {{Table end}}
- Interlude
- {{Interlude info}}
- {{Story head}}, {{Story cell}}, {{Table end}}
- Guide subpages
- {{Operation tab}}
- {{Operation guide}}
- Contingency Contract
- {{CC operation tab}}
- {{CC operation info}}
- {{CC operations}}
- Contingency Contract guide subpages
- {{CC operation tab}}
- {{CC operation guide}}
Templates
The following templates should be used as necessary:
- {{Main}} – should be used to reference a main article when the section discloses brief information.
- {{Reflist}} – should be used when an article has references.
- {{Quote}} – should be used to introduce the article using the official Arknights description or quoting dialogue.
- {{Tip}} – should be used on a text that might need a definition.
- {{Currency}} – should be used to display Arknights currency icons on the wiki regarding purchases, etc.
- {{U}} – should be used to refer to specific tiles in conjunction with {{Operation guide}} or {{CC operation guide}}.