One Piece Wiki:Guidebook/Manual of Style

One Piece Wiki Manual of Style
This is the One Piece Wiki's Manual of Style, please do not do any reorganization and cleanup of wikitext on the wiki unless you are fixing things to follow this style guideline.

General Writing Style

 * On all pages, all names and attacks (such as Gomu Gomu no Mi and Gomu Gomu no Jet Gatling) will be left in English.


 * Do not add content unrelated to the article. Be sure to make sure that everything on a page is directly related to the subject of the article.


 * In terms of determining the reliability or priority of sources, remember: Original Manga > SBS > Databooks > Anime > Accurate Translations (by reliable scanlators or translators) > Official English Dubs (Such as Viz and FUNimation).


 * Use words that are appropriate to the article and keep the language simple.
 * Avoid the use of obscenities in articles. They can be used only in the context of quotes from characters.
 * Avoid the use of slang terms/euphemisms. Instead of saying “Usopp went to take a leak” say “Usopp went to urinate.” Instead of saying “Sanij got pissed” say “Sanji got angry.” Slang terms and euphemisms are difficult for non-native English readers to understand, and this wiki is used by many non-native English speakers. Also limit using idiomatic terms and phrases as much as possible.


 * Keep the short summaries short.
 * Do not use phrases such as “the chapter begins with” or “the scene changes to” in short summaries.
 * Only discuss the events of the chapter or episode in minor detail in the short summaries.


 * When adding content, if possible compare translations beforehand. It is common for fan translations to be done swiftly and with errors, and this may lead to misunderstandings about the meaning of the chapter.


 * In the chapter notes make sure you are referring to events that happened in the chapter. Instead of saying “Enel ate the Goro Goro no Mi” say “It is revealed that Enel ate the Goro Goro no mi.” The former case is unclear and can be misinterpreted as meaning that Enel was shown eating the Goro Goro no mi in the chapter, instead of the truth which is it was simply stated in the chapter that he ate the fruit at some point in the past.


 * Do not write in a style that adds suspense. As a wikia based on a suspenseful series, writing with a degree of suspense is required. However, users should not add suspense themselves. We should strive to convey the suspense contained in the source material, not add suspense that was not present in the source material.

Grammar

 * The titles of works should be italics such as One Piece.


 * This wiki uses exclusively American English. Cases of British English should be changed.
 * Any occurence of the day-month-year (DMY) date format (i.e. 14 February 2006) should be changed to the month-day-year (MDY) format (i.e. February 14, 2006). Also, use of suffixes after dates such as February 14th is discouraged on main articles.


 * Avoid the use of any contractions, such as “didn’t” “could’ve” etc. Use the full forms “did not” and “Could have” instead. Contractions do not belong in encyclopedic writing styles.
 * "It’s" is a contraction, and should not be used."It’s" is short for "it is" and is not the possessive of "it", the possessive form of "it" is "its" with no apostrophe.


 * Keep the tenses of articles/sections consistent.
 * When writing about fiction, the rule is to use the present tense. This is a rule among English writers, because at any point somebody can read or watch any part of the series. This makes the series "alive" in the eyes of the reader.
 * This means all episode and chapter summaries should be written in the present tense. If the content of a section of a chapter or episode is a flashback to a previous story point the past tense should be used.
 * In the case of history sections or arc summaries, the past tense should be used.
 * If you have any doubts about English grammar in Wiki articles, see Wikipedia’s Manual of Style.

Capitalization

 * The names of characters, groups, places, ships, and Devil Fruit names should be capitalized. Proper nouns such as Devil Fruit should be capitalized. Words in epithets except for modifying words like "of the" should be capitalized.
 * Species names, such as humans, giants, dwarves, minks, etc. should not be capitalized. Positions such as king, princess, etc. should also not be capitalized.
 * Use proper capitalization rules for titles where appropriate. This includes things such as, Chapter/Episode names, Cover Story titles, and section headings.
 * When referring to a specific episode, capitalize the word "Episode." Because our article names are "Episode #" instead of the episode's true name, this makes the word "episode" part of the title, and therefore worth capitalization.

WikiText style

 * Headers may be in either the form ==Header== or == Header ==. Although ==Header== is preferred in articles, and users should refrain from making editing that only change the header format.


 * Links like devil fruit, Whitebeard and Luffy are preferred over links with redirects like Devil Fruit, Whitebeard and Luffy.
 * Redirect links may be changed into pipe links, but the person changing it must make a major contribution to the article to go along with it.


 * For links that are possessive, include the 's in the link. For example, use Jinbe's instead of Jinbe's.


 * All articles should have a space between the opening paragraph and infobox.

Speculation Policies

 * Speculation is defined as any information assumed by a character or person and unconfirmed in the series. A prime example is how fans years back speculated that Lola was the daughter of the yonko Big Mom. Although this was later proven to be true, it was considered speculation until it was officially confirmed in the Totto Land Arc.


 * All speculation, such as the death or a character or their abilities and powers (if unconfirmed), are to be left off of articles and taken to a forum or blog. In addition, never add "it is assumed that", "it is speculated that", or any related phrases that indicate speculation.

Spoilers

 * Spoilers are any information unconfirmed by an official source. Due to them being unconfirmed, they may not be used on articles.


 * Do not post chapter spoilers until they have been released by an official source.


 * Do not post information translated by an unofficial source such as on a random forum or fansite.

Canon vs. Non-canon

 * Only the original manga and works written by Oda into the official storyline are considered canon. Examples of canon information include Monsters, SBS, and Wanted!, not to mention the original manga.


 * Non-canon information includes anime, games, and movies.


 * Non-canon information can be posted on articles, however, it must be labeled as non-canon and separated from canon information.


 * If there is a discrepancy between sources, remember that Original Manga <- SBS <- Databooks <- Anime <- Scanlators (depending on the reliability of the scanlator) <- English Dubs (Such as Viz and FUNimation). (Original manga is the best source to use, then SBS, etc.)

Translation and Dub Issues
For further information, see Name Spellings.


 * In determining the translation of a name or word, the order of reliability is Original Manga (Volume version) <- Original Manga (Magazine version) <- SBS <- Databooks <- Anime <- Scanlators (depending on the reliability of the scanlator) <- English Dubs (Such as Viz and FUNimation).


 * In names with unconfirmed romanization where "ou" is used, use only one o. In addition, use only one u instead of "uu".