Zelda Wiki.org:Editing tips
From Zelda Wiki.org
These tips are not official Zelda Universe Wiki guidelines, just some advice from User:Ian Moody based on his experiences with the English Wikipedia.
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Make sure there isn't already a page on your subject
It may sound like obvious advice but there have been quite a few instances of multiple articles on the same subject, under slightly differing names. Skull Kid and Skull kid were one such example. Makes sure to use the search function, and it is also a good idea to have a look through any Categories the subject would come under.
Bold the subject of the article
The first time you type the subject of the article, usually within the first few words of the opening sentence, make it bold. To do this all you need to do is put three apostrophes (') either side of the name, like this:
'''Bold'''
You only need to do this for the first occurrence of the name, not throughout the entire article. However, each time a variation of the name or another title for it appears it is customary to bold that as well. For example, you could start the Ganondorf article off like this:
- Ganondorf, also known as the King of Evil, is a male Gerudo. He is an evil man and seeks to rule Hyrule. Ganondorf, often shortened to just Ganon, is the main bad guy in the Zelda games, and is Link's arch-nemesis.
Italicise game titles
It is customary to differentiate the titles of games from normal text by typing it in italics. To do this is almost exactly the same as bolding, but you use two apostrophes instead of 3, like this:
''Italics''
To make something bold and italicised, like a game title at the start of an article about it, you simply use five apostrophes, as two add three makes five.
'''''Bold and italic'''''
Preview your changes
The preview function is an invaluable tool, so make sure you use it. Previewing and reading through any changes you make not also increases the chances of you picking out any spelling or typing mistakes you may have made during editing, it also ensures that the article still has a good layout. This is particularly useful when using templates, where missing out just one or two characters could result in it breaking and leaving lines of garish code all over the page.
Only link to an article once
While it is very useful to provide links to other subjects throughout an article, you do not need to continuously link to a subject at each occurrence of the name. This can make a page look untidy and crowded. However it can be useful to provide another link to a subject when you are in a new section, particularly one like a list of games at the end of an article. A good example of this would be the discography in band articles, like the one on Streetlight Manifesto on the English Wikipedia. Their album is linked to in the main text of the article, but also in the discography so it can be quickly found and is in a useful place.
Do not sign articles with your name and/or signature
While you may be particularly proud of an article you have written, do not leave any kind of credit for yourself in the main body of the article. To start with the edit history shows who has contributed, and secondly, one of the main focuses of wikis is that they are constantly being changed, improved, and expanded by a large variety of people. It can also be disruptive to the reader, and make the article look unprofessional.
Try and make all your edits at once
While Zelda Universe Wiki encourages you to contribute as much as possible, when editing an article try and make all your changes in one edit. Multiple small edits by the same person not only flood the edit history, it makes it harder for others to review your work and spot any mistakes you may have made. Of course, we cannot all spot everything all the time, and if you miss a couple of little things feel free to go and change them, then note in the edit summary that you missed a couple of things in your previous edit and maybe mark it as a minor change.
