View source for August:Style guide

This '''style guide''' has the simple purpose of making the August Wiki easy to read by establishing a certain format. There are many ways to write a Wiki, but if everyone does things the same way, the articles will be easier to read and use, along with being easier to write and edit. Reading the style guide is important to ensure that each user's edits will be consistent.

==Article titles==
Pages must have appropriate titles. Names, locations, and titles should all be capitalised, '''though not the whole title'''. Block capitals should not be used in titles (e.g. 'Article titles' instead of 'ARTICLE TITLES'). Try to make the article's topic the subject of the first sentence in the article. For example, write "This style manual is a style guide" instead of "This style guide is known as...".

'''Articles about items, monsters, quests, and non-player characters should be titled exactly as the subject's name appears in-game.''' A rule of thumb for article titles is that items only have the first letter of the first word in their name capitalized. There is no capitalization convention for monsters or non-player characters. Unless the monster or character's name has more than one capital in-game, do not put a capital at the beginning of every word. This is a common mistake which often causes broken links and time being diverted to moving these pages. If you are in doubt about a name, please check it in-game. If you come across a page with an incorrect title, please reach out to [[User:Bark]] or [[User:Steve]].

'''Words such as articles and short prepositions in titles should be left un-capitalised'''. These include words such as 'a', 'the', and 'of'. For example, the article on the ''Tombs of Amascut'' has the title 'Tombs of Amascut' (the 'of' is left un-capitalised).

==Sections and headings==
Separating articles into sections makes them easy to read and navigate. Headings are used to split articles into sections.

===Markup===
Use two equal signs (<code>==</code>) style markup for headings. Start with <code>==</code>, add the heading title, then end with <code>==</code>.

This section's heading was created with the markup:
:<code>==Sections and headings==</code>

This subsection's heading was created with the markup:
:<code>===Markup===</code>

===Wording===
* In a heading, '''capitalize only the first letter of the first word and the first letter of any proper nouns''', and leave all of the other letters in lower case. Skills, names, and so on should all have the first letter capitalized. For example, "Fishing equipment", not "Fishing Equipment".
* Avoid putting links in headings.
* Make sure that the heading has an appropriate and accurate title, as this is important to help readers navigate the article. For example, do not make a "Monsters" section in an article about an area or dungeon and then include NPCin that section. Instead, make an "Inhabitants" section with "Monsters" and "NPCs" as subsections.
* Keep headings short.

===Lead sections===
A lead (introduction) summarizes the most important points of an article, creating interest in the topic. Thus, it should be limited to a few paragraphs. Certain information, such as strategies, should be in a separate section instead of in the lead. This applies only to articles that are of sufficient length to incorporate a lead.

===Section organisation===
An article should generally start with an [[Template:InfoboxItem|Infobox]] when applicable, followed by a lead section. This should then be followed by multiple sections each detailing subjects about the article's topic.

If an article has at least four section headings, a navigable table of contents appears automatically, just after the lead.

==Text elements==
===Font colours===
Coloured font can be used '''sparingly''', though not in very bright colours. For example, you can use a dark colour for a warning. Note that certain colours will not show up well against the article's light brown background.

===Invisible comments===
Invisible comments are used to communicate with other editors in the article body. To do so, enclose the text which you intend to be read only by editors within <code><nowiki><!--</nowiki></code> and <code><nowiki>--></nowiki></code>. For example, using <code><nowiki><!-- This is a comment --></nowiki></code> will be hidden in the article.

===Bulleted lists===
Bulleted lists can be used in quest walkthroughs and lists. For example, you can use bullets if you're listing what levels to train a certain skill or locations of an item. Do not forget proper punctuation. To add bullets, put an asterisk (*) before the name. For example:
<pre>
* List name 1
* List name 2
** Sub-list
</pre>
would come out as:
* List name 1
* List name 2
** Sub-list

===Numbered lists===
All the rules for bulleted lists apply also to numbered lists. Numbered lists can be used for listing steps in a process. To add a numbered list, put a number sign (#) before the list name. For example:
<pre>
# List name 1
# List name 2
# List name 3
</pre>
would come out as:
# List name 1
# List name 2
# List name 3

===Bold and italics===

Place ''two'' apostrophes (<nowiki>''Italicized text''</nowiki>) on either side of a selection of text to italicize the selection. Italics are mainly used to ''emphasise'' certain words, though they should be used sparingly. Long stretches of italics are hard for some users to read.

Place '''three''' apostrophes (<nowiki>'''Boldfaced text'''</nowiki>) on either side of a selection of text to boldface the selection. Bold is used as a stronger emphasis than italics, although it should be used extremely sparingly within articles, such as for a few critical points, and ideally not a whole sentence. However, the first appearance of an article's title in the article should always be boldfaced.

Place '''''five''''' apostrophes (<nowiki>'''''Boldfaced and italicised text'''''</nowiki>) on either side of a selection to use bold and italics in combination on the selection. Bold and italics combined emphasise selections well, but should be used ''extremely rarely'': bold italics represent more emphasis than is normally ever necessary.

==Grammar and spelling==
===Case===

All prose, including bold text at the beginning of articles, should conform to standard [[wikipedia:Capitalization_in_English|capitalization in English]].
;Proper nouns
* Proper nouns are to be capitalised. The following is a non-exhaustive list of proper nouns:
:For example: the [[King Black Dragon]] is a black dragon; the [[Kraken]] is a [[Slayer]] boss.
* Common nouns, such as the names of most iitems and [[monster]]s, are to be lower case. If an item name contains a proper noun, the proper noun should be capitalised. For example, [[helm of Neitiznot]], [[mask of Ranul]], [[Sanfew serum]]
;Notes & Exceptions
* When mentioning a skill, it should always be mentioned by its proper name. For example, "Winter can be melted by lighting the brazier, requiring level 10 [[Firemaking]]."

===Abbreviations===
Try not to use abbreviations. For example, use "battleaxe" instead of "baxe". As far as looks go, it's much more pleasing to the eye to look at "''Dragon claws result in higher overall damage output than Bandos godsword at Vorkath.''" than "''Dclaws are better DPS than BGS at Vork''".

Also try not to use ampersand (&) instead of ''and''.

===Punctuation===

Punctuation marks like semicolons, brackets, and commas are essential for clarity, structure, and emphasis in writing guides and editing pages. They help organize ideas, prevent misunderstandings, and enhance the professionalism of the text.

;Commas
If you are listing multiple things, like different runes, each of them should have a comma at the end. I don't give a shit about the Oxford comma or not, so do whichever you want.

For example, "fire runes, earth runes, and water runes" or "fire runes, earth runes and water runes". Whatever your heart desires.

;Brackets
If you are compiling a list of drops for a monster in the bestiary pages, try not to use brackets to denote quantities. For example, instead of "nature runes (5,17,35)" it should be "5, 17 or 35 nature runes". 

;Semicolons
If you are writing and need to use semicolons, make sure you follow these guidelines:

* Make sure there are two short independent clauses you can link. For example, "[[User:Steve]] is hungry; he needs a [[chicken burger]]."
* Place a semicolon before conjunctive adverbs (e.g., however, therefore) when they are linked to independent clauses.
* Use semicolons to separate items in a list when the items themselves contain commas. For example, "The [[Slayer]] skill involves talking to [[Slayer]] masters, the low-tier slayer master; [[Slayer master#Turael]], the mid-tier; [[Slayer_master#Vanakka]], the high-tier [[Slayer_master#Nieve]]; and [[Nixite]], the end-game tier master."
* Use a semicolon to balance closely related sentences, especially if the second explains the first. For example, "At the end of the [[Slug Menace]] quest, the player character is promoted to the rank of [[Proselyte]] within the order of the [[Temple Knights]]; this promotion comes with increased responsibilities."

==={{anchor|SPELLING}}Usage and spelling===
{{shortcut|RS:MISSPELL|RS:STYLE#SPELLING}}

*''Old School RuneScape'' and ''RuneScape'' should be italicised.
* Jagex should always be spelled as Jagex, not JaGEx or JAGEX or any other variations.
* British spelling should be used at all times. Common examples include:
** '''A''' herb instead of ''An'' herb, as the 'h' is pronounced with British prose.
** '''Analyse''' instead of ''analyze''
** '''Anti-dragon shield''' instead of ''antidragon shield''
** '''Armour''' instead of ''armor''
** '''Artefact''' instead of ''artifact''
** '''Behaviour''' instead of ''behavior''
** '''Capitalise''' instead of ''capitalize''
** '''Centre''' instead of ''center''
** '''Colour''' instead of ''color''
** '''Defence''' (and '''offence''') instead of ''defense''
** '''Dialogue''' instead of ''dialog''
** '''Duelling''' instead of ''dueling''
** '''Equipped''' instead of ''equiped''
** '''Favour''' instead of ''favor''
** '''Fulfil''' instead of ''fulfill''
** '''Grey''' instead of ''gray''
** '''Honour''' instead of ''honor''
** '''Humour''' instead of ''humor''
*** But '''humorous''' instead of ''humourous''
** '''Jewellery''' instead of ''jewelry''
** '''Licence''' is the noun. '''License''' is the verb. The same goes for '''practice''' and '''practise'''.
** '''Rumour''' instead of'' rumor''
** '''Tradeable''' (and '''untradeable''') instead of ''tradable''
** '''Travelled''' (and '''levelled''') instead of ''traveled''
* For directions and compounds, hyphens should be included. For example:
** '''Counter-attack''' instead of ''counterattack''
** '''South-west''' instead of ''southwest''
** '''North-east''' instead of ''northeast''
** '''East-north-east''' instead of ''east-northeast''
<!-- * Articles that discuss both [[free-to-play]] and [[members]] items should use something to distinguish the difference, like using italics for the member items. -- Easier to just add "(m)" as a suffix. -->

Exceptions:
* The item [[Nitroglycerin]] uses the US spelling.
* The NPC [[Brother Tranquility]] only has one "l" in his name, per the American spelling.
* The item [[Ring of dueling]] uses the US spelling.
'''See also:''' {{wp|American and British English spelling differences}} and [http://www.english-for-students.com/Spelling-Variations.html variations].

==={{anchor|TENSE}}Tense===
{{shortcut|RS:STYLE#TENSE}}

A rule of thumb is to use present tense in all cases. For example, articles for quests, skills, activities, non-player characters, etc. should be written in present tense. An exception to this rule would be events that have occurred in the past, or for in-game content that has been removed. For example, holiday events that have already occurred should be written in past tense. For future updates and upcoming content that have been confirmed by Jagex, use the future tense.

* '''Past tense:''' Past events and in-game content that has been removed
* '''Future tense:''' Future updates and upcoming content that have been confirmed
* '''Present tense:''' All other cases

==={{anchor|CGE}}Common grammatical errors===
{{shortcut|RS:STYLE#CGE}}

'''then''' and '''than'''
:Despite their pronunciations being very similar, they are different in meaning.
::'''Then''' is used in one of the three following cases:
:::1. at that time; at the time in question.
::::"I was living in Cairo then."
:::2. after that; next; afterward
::::"She won the first and then the second game."
:::3. in that case; therefore
::::"If you do what I tell you, then there's nothing to worry about."
::::"Well, that's okay, then."
::'''Than''' is used in comparing two elements in a sentence
:::"He was much smaller than his son."
::or in expressions introducing exceptions or contrasts
:::"He claims not to own anything other than his home."

'''its''' and '''it's'''
:'''Its''' is the possessive adjective and possessive pronoun form of the personal pronoun ''it''.
::"He chose this area for <u>its</u> atmosphere."

:On the other hand, '''it's''' is a contraction (shortcut) for '''it is''' OR '''it has'''.
::it is – "It's my fault."
::it has – "It's been a hot day."

'''their''', '''there, '''and '''they're'''
:'''Their''' is possessive, referring to an object, or objects, belonging to a certain number of people.
::"The ball is their property."

:'''There''' is an adverb, referring to a certain position or area.
::"We went on to Paris and stayed there eleven days."

:'''They're''' can also be confused with ''their'' and ''there''. ''They're'' is a contraction for '''they are''' and '''they were''', depending on how the sentence is constructed.
::"The reason that they're going to the store is to buy more milk."

'''should of'''
:The reason people write "should of" when they mean '''should have''' is because the contraction of '''should have''' (should've) is pronounced like "should of". Avoid "should of" like the plague. Instead, write "should have".
::"Those rookie editors made the mistake of writing 'should of' when they meant 'should have'".

'''a herb''' and '''an herb'''
:'''A herb''' is the correct term on the wiki as the "h" at the start of herb is not silent in British English. American English silences the "h", which means that ''an herb'' would be correct.
:: "Guam is a herb that can be farmed"

'''[[partyhat]]''' and '''party hat'''
:Although they are often called "party hats", the correct term for these items is partyhats, without a space in between.

'''amount''' and '''number'''
:'''Amount''' refers to a quantity that can be measured. '''Number''' refers to a quantity that can be counted.
::"Higher skill levels require a greater amount of experience."
::"The maximum number of players that log into any world is 2000."

'''much''' and '''many'''
:As in the above example, '''much''' refers to a quantity that can be measured. '''Many''' refers to a quantity that can be counted.
::"How much total experience do you have?"
::"How many people are in your clan chat?"

'''alter''' and '''altar'''
:An '''altar''' is a piece of furniture used in worship. To '''alter''' is to change something.

'''affect''' and '''effect'''
:One thing may '''affect''' (or change) another. The result of an action is its '''effect''' or '''effects'''. Also, to '''effect''' is to produce.

'''your '''and '''you're'''
:The word '''your''' is the possessive form of the word ''you''.
:The word '''you're''' is a contraction of the words ''you are''.

'''duel '''and '''dual'''
:You would have a '''duel''' against another person.
:You would '''dual'''-wield two swords, or have a '''dual '''personality, meaning you have two sides to you.

'''a part''' and '''apart'''
:The term '''a part''' is to signify a piece or portion of something larger. 
::"The [[left skull half]] is '''a part''' of the [[skull sceptre]]."
:The term '''apart''' is to signify separation or independence of two or more subjects.
::"[[Ross and Ben]] are actually considered a single non-player character; they are not separated '''apart''' from each other."

'''3rd age''' should be used when referring to the items, '''Third Age''' when referring to the era.

==={{anchor|POV}}Point of view===
{{shortcut|RS:STYLE#POV}}
When deciding whether to use first or third person in articles, the following should be taken into consideration:

# For wiki content that refers to in-universe events, never use "you" – use "the player" or "the player character" or similar.
# For wiki content that "breaks the fourth wall" (i.e. is self-aware that we are all playing a video game), prefer "you" where practical. This includes instructional content, guides, and instances of the player you interacting with gameplay mechanics.
# Trying to find ways to avoid explicitly naming the subject is allowed, but ideally this should not be done at the expense of general readability and flow.
# For cases where there is not a clear separation between #1 and #2, lean towards a wording that will be easier to parse for the reader.
# Edits whose primary purpose is to change the grammatical person (in either direction) should be discouraged unless they improve readability.

==References and citations==
{{Main|RuneScape:Style guide/References and citations}}
References or '''footnotes''' are notes which appear after a section of text and are linked with a specific part of the text. They are used for long explanations which cannot be worked into the paragraph naturally and for citations. Non-citation references should only be used sparingly, however references used as citations can be used as often as necessary. Detailed usage and syntax instructions can be found at [[RuneScape:Style guide/References and citations]].

=={{anchor|IMAGES}}Images==
{{shortcut|RS:STYLE#IMAGES}}
{{main|RuneScape:Images and media policy}}
Some general guidelines which should be followed are listed below.

* Right-alignment is preferred to left- or centre-alignment. However, centre-alignment can be used for some images in the quest pages, such as the reward picture.
* If there are too many images in a given article, consider making a gallery with a level two heading.
* If there are more than four to five cutscene images for a quest article, create a Cutscenes subpage.
* Use captions to explain the relevance of the image to the article.
* Make large images a thumbnail.
* Specifying the size of a thumbnail image is not recommended.
* Skill or icon clickpics may be used in lists and tables, but not in paragraph form, or on the paragraph header.

===Uploading images===
* The preferred formats for images are [[Wikipedia:PNG|PNG]].
* Images of items should have a transparent background.
* Personal images which are only used on a User page should not be uploaded. Images should be able to be used on main space articles, else they will be deleted.
* Please name your files descriptively to avoid confusion. For example if you are uploading a picture of a weapon, name it ''Rune longsword.png'' and not just ''Sword.png'' or ''RL.png''.
* '''Don't upload images we already have'''. We have many users doing this and it is not good to have multiple images of the same item! Before you upload an image, search the wiki if someone has already uploaded a version of it. We don't need <code><nowiki>[[File:Fire rune.PNG]]</nowiki></code> or <code><nowiki>[[File:Fire rune.gif]]</nowiki></code> if someone has already uploaded <code><nowiki>[[File:Fire Rune.PNG]]</nowiki></code>.

===Captions===
Complete sentences in captions should always end in a full stop (period). If the caption is not a complete sentence, it generally should not have a full stop at the end. Captions should also not be ''italicised''.

==Links==
==={{anchor|Wiki-linking}} Internal links===
* You don't have to link every single mention within an article. For example, [[lobster]] may be mentioned five times. You only have to link to lobster once. You can link to articles more than once if the page is very long.
* When a skill is linked to, the name of the skill should be used, not a short form or a different spelling of it. Instead of saying "<code><nowiki>this item can be [[Mining|mined]] by...</nowiki></code>" you should state "<code><nowiki>this item can be obtained through the [[Mining]] skill by ...</nowiki></code>".
* Piped link formats for simple plurals are generally unnecessary. For example, use <code><nowiki>[[lobster]]s</nowiki></code> instead of <code><nowiki>[[lobster|lobsters]]</nowiki></code>.
* On the other hand, use <code><nowiki>[[wolf|wolves]]</nowiki></code> instead of <code><nowiki>[[wolf]]s</nowiki></code> when appropriate. Don't be afraid to use a piped link when necessary, particularly if avoiding them contorts the language unnecessarily or introduces spelling or grammatical errors into the article. Piped links have legitimate uses in an article.
* When including wiki-links in an article, there is no need to use underscores or initial capitalisation, since the software produces them automatically. For example, <code><nowiki>[[fire_rune]]</nowiki></code> and <code><nowiki>[[Fire rune]]</nowiki></code> work the same as <code><nowiki>[[fire rune]]</nowiki></code>.
* Do not place the last letters of a plural outside of a link that already has alternate text. For example, <code><nowiki>[[chinchompa (hunter)|chinchompas]]</nowiki></code> should be used instead of <code><nowiki>[[chinchompa (hunter)|chinchompa]]s</nowiki></code>.

===Interwiki links===
{{Main|RuneScape:Interwiki links}}
If the subject of an article is covered by different versions of ''RuneScape'', the articles on their respective wikis should be linked using the {{T|External}} template at the top of the article. This generates coloured tabs with icons that link to the other wikis shown next to the "Discussion" tab above an article's title. An example of this can be seen on the article for [[Hammer]], where <code><nowiki>{{External|rs|rsc}}</nowiki></code> was added at the top of the page, adding links to the ''RuneScape'' and ''Classic'' versions of the page.

===External links===
Feel free to link to other sites, such as the [https://www.runescape.com/ ''RuneScape'' home page]. However, you may want to avoid linking to other fansites, unless it has exceptional content that cannot be reproduced here or because of [[meta:Meta:Copyrights|copyrights]]. For example, JavaScript mouseover maps of the 6 levels of the [[Waterbirth Island]] dungeon are very useful to players attempting this dangerous area. This also includes referencing external fan content, such as YouTube videos, unless explicitly referenced by Jagex in an update or newspost.

==Writing articles==
Everyone is encouraged to contribute meaningfully to the wiki.

===Ownership and bias===
* '''Keep personal bias out of articles.''' Even if "Mining is for noobs" or "Smithing is awesome", we do not need to hear it in the articles.
* '''[[RS:DSA|Nobody owns articles]].''' This ''is'' a wiki, after all. This means words like "I", "we" or "me" should not be included in articles.
* Do not include specific usernames of players or groups of players (clans) in articles, unless they highlight specific historical events or achievements, such as naming the first player to earn two hundred million experience in a certain skill. These should be kept relevant, and should be supported well, with an external link.
* Do not try and claim "facts" such as "player x was the first to complete this task" without any verifiable proof.

===Facts and trivia===
{{main|RuneScape:Trivia policy}}

If you have a piece of information or trivia that you would like to add to an article, yet are unsure of its accuracy, leave a note on the talk page of the article so that all editors can discuss it. '''Do not engage in edit wars on the article page.'''

==Numbers==
For numbers, a comma should be used as a thousands separator. Jagex uses a comma in the [[Stats|statistics screen]].

===Floor numbering===
{{Shortcut|RS:FLOOR}}
Jagex uses the British convention for {{wp|Storey|floor numbering}} in ''Old School RuneScape''. Ground floor is the American lobby, 1st floor is the American 2nd floor, etc. When referencing a specific floor, the [[Template:FloorNumber|FloorNumber template]] should be used in place of "<code><nowiki>[number] floor</nowiki></code>". For example, <code><nowiki>{{FloorNumber|uk=0}}</nowiki></code>, would replace of "ground floor" to display "{{FloorNumber|uk=0}}".

==Dates==
{{shortcut|RS:DATE}}
Use the '''day before month''' format (dd/mm/yyyy – 1 May 2008) rather than the '''month before day''' format (mm/dd, yyyy – May 1, 2008). Note that '''no commas''' are used in the day before month format. Jagex (British) and most of the world uses the day before month format. To prevent ambiguity, all-numerical dates (e.g. 1/5/2008) should be avoided.

:''See {{wp|Wikipedia:Manual of Style (dates and numbers)}} as well as {{wp|Calendar date}}.''

==Time zones==
{{shortcut|RS:TIME|RS:TZ}}
The time zone used to indicate event start and end times in game should be '''{{wp|Coordinated Universal Time|UTC}}''', as this is a constant time that does not need to be adjusted for daylight saving time, as well as the one that this wiki uses and the one on which Jagex servers run.

==Drops==
{{shortcut|RS:DROP}}
{{See also|RuneScape:Style guide/Layout#Drop tables}}
Drops should be in descending order from most common to least common. For known drop rates or conditions, they should be added to the dropped item or dropping monster using the <code>raritynotes</code> parameter. The following is a list of inclusive ranges which indicate what descriptor is to be used.

*Always: 100%
*Common: 1/2 to 1/25
*Uncommon: 1/26 to 1/99
*Rare: 1/100 to 1/999
*Very rare: 1/1,000+
*Varies: For drops that fall under multiple descriptors because of a condition e.g. [[dark warrior]]s dropping [[mysterious emblem]] is 1/146.5 for level 8 and 1/72.5 for level 145; these fall under Rare and Uncommon respectively, so Varies is the preferred descriptor.

If two or more items of the same descriptor have known drop rates, they should also be ordered by frequency e.g. 1/60 would be above 1/70.

==See also==
* Other style guides:
** [[RuneScape:Style guide/Disambiguation|Disambiguation pages]]
** [[RuneScape:Style guide/Layout|Layout]]
** [[RuneScape:Style guide/References and citations|References and citations]]
** [[RuneScape:Style guide/Semantic MediaWiki|Semantic MediaWiki]]
** [[RuneScape:Style guide/Transcripts|Transcripts]]

{{Policies & Guidelines}}