The DC Extended Universe Wiki aims for coherency and consistency across all of its pages and so makes use of a Manual of Style to encourage both of these things. It directs how to style articles in such a way that every page is stylistically the same and readers are met with coherent and concise language coupled with an easy-to-read interface.
Layout
General
For most articles, the following format should be used, though there are more specific examples below:
- Infobox
- Quote (if applicable)
- Introduction
- Main sections
- Trivia
- Behind the scenes
- References
- External links
Character
|
Film
|
Books/comics
|
Naming articles
In naming an article, in essence we hope for conciseness, but foremost accuracy. By doing this, we allow our wiki to be a reliable encyclopedia for everything in the DC Extended Universe.
General
Deciding how to title a page comes down to basic grammar. If the title itself does not include any proper nouns, then the words should all be in lowercase (bar the first one, as this is a database requirement). Similarly, if any of the words are proper nouns (for example the name of a film, a person, or even an in-universe product which has an uppercase title), they should be named as such in the title. Often it may be difficult to tell whether a page should have uppercase letters. If it is ambiguous, simply go with a lowercase. If this is erroneous and there is in fact a definite answer, another user will come along to fix the mistake.
Specific page types
Characters
Pages for characters should be named with their full names, eg. Bruce Wayne, not simply Bruce. However, in the event that they have an alter ego, this should be used, eg. Batman over Bruce Wayne. In noting this, it is particularly important to note that such names or alter egos must be confirmed within the confines of the DCEU. While in the source material, for example, Anatoli Knyazev is known as "KGBeast", no such moniker was used by this version.
Additionally, it is important to remember that page titles shouldn't make use of articles, ie. the, a or an; this is grammatically correct and so adheres to a standard of grammar that we wish to uphold.
Finally, appointed titles or ranks should not be included in page titles. For example, an article about "General Zod" would be named Dru-Zod (his full name), and one for "Secretary of Defense Calvin Swanwick" would just be named Calvin Swanwick.
Media
Films or other media should be titled exactly as they are officially released. While they might be given a shortened nickname, the full title should be used, including any subtitle. In the event that the title of a piece of media shares its name with something or someone else, then a disambiguation such as "(film)" should be amended to the end of the page name, using {{DISPLAYTITLE}} to italicize a page title for any media, and remove the disambiguation from the title.
Events
Unless an official name is given for an event, below is a list of types to use for pages in given circumstances, courtesy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki. In creating a page for an event, make sure it's notable enough to warrant a page. A simple altercation is not worthy of a page, but a bigger-scale brawl might be more worth creating a page for, as it is a legitimate conflict.
Types
|
Below are a list of lesser used types of events, though they still may be applicable given the circumstance:
|
Perspective
In-universe
Pages that pertain to topics that are in-universe must be treated as such, as if one were actually within the DC Extended Universe. This will typically refer to characters, locations, objects, etc.
In-universe articles should be written without reference to behind the scenes. These sort of articles are written as if one were within the actual universe and detailing the events and surrounds of the world in an encyclopedic format. The few exceptions to this rule are the "Behind the scenes" section, as well as a few sections within any infoboxes used.
Out-of-universe
"Out-of-universe" refers to things that are belong to the real world, rather than the DCEU. This generally refers to films, comics, cast and crew. They are written from our own perspective as viewers of the universe, acknowledging that the DC Extended Universe is fictional.
Spelling
In editing the DC Extended Universe Wiki, we have no real preference for which variety of English you choose to use. There is often little difference in conventions, so standardizing which to use is unnecessary. Due to this, edits simply used to "correct" these sort of "errors" are frowned upon. Of course, if you were to do so whilst also doing a valuable edit at the same time, that would be more okay.
Citation
While in many cases it is okay to not cite things, as they're second nature, smaller details are expected to be cited, be it from DCEU media or outside sources such as websites. To do this, the <ref></ref> tags are used. In order to repeat the citation on another piece of information, a name can be used within the first ref tag.
It is also important to note that future content should be cited. Things within the DC Extended Universe are not always the same as those in the comics multiverse, so it is important that we are certain of facts.
When using external links to cite articles, it's advised that you use major news trades or even press releases themselves foremost. Of course, other websites are still okay if these can not be provided, but use common sense in what sites are used. Some sites are more reliable than others, especially if they use a direct quote from a director or executive producer. In particular, use sources that actually convey the information that you're citing.
Format
- External links should use the
{{Cite web}}template. - Films, books, and comics are cited using their respective templates, ie.
{{Film ref}},{{Book ref}},{{Comic ref}} - TV specials are cited using italics, ie. DC Films Presents: The Dawn of the Justice League
Lists
Lists should be set out in a number of ways, depending on the type of list that is being used:
Appearances
On media pages, there will be a list of everything that has appeared, from characters to items to locations. While most should simply be listed alphabetically, using a tiered system as appropriate, characters should make use of the {{GalleryList}} template, which itself should be sorted by appearance (or, as it were, mention). With descriptors such as "mentioned" or "photograph", a line break element should be applied, putting said descriptor in small tags.
Groups/Organizations/Teams
When listing the members of a group, organization or team, we once again use the {{GalleryList}} template, sorting by rank. Again, descriptors should make use of a line break element and small tags where appropriate.
Miscellaneous
If a list does not fall under the other two categories, then it should simply make use of alphabetical sorting. For characters, this should be by surname if possible, but elsewhere is fairly straight forward.
Gallery pages
For articles where there are more images available of the subject than can be fit within the article's body, a /Gallery subpage can be created and a {{Gallery}} navbox should be placed under the "References" section or on articles that may not have a References section such as articles on cast and crew (ex: James Gunn), the navbox can be placed directly under the infobox or under any suitable heading that doesn't interrupt the flow of content.
Here is an example of the typical layout of /Gallery pages:
- Films
- Man of Steel
- Screenshots
- Promotional
- Concept art
- Behind the scenes
- Man of Steel
- Peacemaker
- Screenshots
- Season One
- It's Cow or Never
- Season One
- Promotional
- Season One
- Concept art
- Season One
- Behind the scenes
- Season One
- Screenshots
- Comics
- Playground Heroes
- Covers
- Pages
- Playground Heroes
- Books
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: The Art of the Film
- Games
- Batman v Superman: Who Will Win
- Merchandise
- Man of Steel