| This page documents a Clash of Clans Wiki Community Guideline that should be used as a guideline when editing and be treated with common sense. There are some exceptions. Big changes to this page should be discussed at its talk page. |
This page is the Clash of Clans Wiki's Manual of Style and contains the format that certain pages should normally follow. The guides are (and must be) constantly updated to conform to new formats. Note that this is simply a manual and has some exceptions. These guides can be followed in no particular order, though the introduction should be started with first. These guides assume editors know how to edit basic wikitext. See Help:Editing for a tutorial for first-time editors.
Introduction[]
The purpose of the Clash of Clans Wiki is to be the most complete fan-sourced repository of useful game information and strategies available on the web. It aims to be age appropriate for players of the game itself (i.e. 9 and up). As such, there are many things that should not ever be put onto a page or said to another editor (see Vandalism and Clash of Clans Policy).
Components of pages[]
Most mainspace pages contain a introduction, an image gallery if applicable, and several sections (mainly a summary, offensive and defensive strategies, upgrade differences, trivia and statistics). Pages may also use navigation boxes (or navboxes) that contain links to similar pages.
The introduction of most mainspace pages referring to in-game elements is a larger image (usually 250 pixels) followed by the in-game description. The image should be of the final or highest level of the building or troop. Introductory sections of other pages such as strategy guides should consist of a short paragraph explaining the purpose of the page and what it intends to discuss.
Image galleries are included for in-game elements after the main image, showing each individual level (or range of levels if the troop or building does not change visually during those levels). Images in the gallery should be no larger than 100 pixels in width, and the gallery itself no more than 650 pixels. If a troop or building has more than six images in its gallery, images should appear on multiple rows, with each row containing close to the same number of images (7 images would have 3 on the first line and 4 on the second). Ideally these are in-game images, but stylized images can be used if they are high quality. All images in the gallery should have their backgrounds removed.
Sections are used to organize pages into separate, but connected, parts. Sections can be different aspects of a page's subject, gameplay tips, trivia ("did you know?" facts), and the history of the subject. In-game elements do not display a table of contents, but other mainspace pages may. The Table of Contents can be invoked by typing __TOC__ (with 2 underscores on each side) where it is desired to appear (if there are more than four headers the TOC will appear automatically directly above the first header, but it can be moved by explicitly using __TOC__ where it belongs, or suppressed entirely with __NOTOC__ anywhere on the page). It is generally accepted that sections should be capitalized in title format.
Tones, Grammar and Other English Specifics[]
This is the English Clash of Clans Wiki, which means that proper professional English must be used at all times. Slang like "u" instead of "you" or "dude" are not allowed to be entered into main pages. Also, adding abbrevations into main pages like "barbs" instead of "Barbarians" or "AQ" instead of "Archer Queen" is prohibited. Of course, editors and readers can communicate in whatever (civil) way they choose (blog posts, threads, chat, etc.), as long as they can understand one another.
British vs. American English[]
The English Clash of Clans Wiki caters to both standard British English and standard American English, but they should not be mixed in the same article. The articles describing in-game elements have predominantly been written in American English, but many strategy guides have been written in British English. If there are inconsistencies in a single article they should be corrected to match the predominant style of the page, but in general pages should not be wholly converted from one to the other. Links to articles that are clearly one style or the other (such as Air Defense) should have either redirects created for the other spelling (Air Defence) or alternate link text used to maintain proper style on pages not employing the style in question ([[Air Defense|Air Defence]] if the redirect did not exist).
Neutral Point of View[]
Here at the Clash of Clans Wiki, we aim to be a guide for those looking for facts and tips about Clash of Clans. While we are not Wikipedia, we still endeavor to write where possible from an neutral point of view. That means that pages generally should not directly talk to a reader or state one person's opinion without representing the other side as well. While guides are okay, one way to do something might not be the absolute best way. Everyone has their say.
Naming conventions[]
Pages should be named singular (unless the subject cannot exist as a single object), in title format. No hyperbolic statements should be present (such as "OMG wow" and "best ever").
- Not a good name: Inferno Towers Are the Best
- Better: Inferno Tower
Dates[]
As we cater to an international audience, dates in short form such as "8/9/12" are confusing, as in some countries that would be read as "August 9" and in others as "8 September". Therefore we have standardized on the following date formats:
- dd-mmm-yy(yy) - i.e. 04-Aug-12 or 04-Aug-2012
- dd Month yyyy - i.e. 4 August 2012
Although other formats can be unambiguous as well (August 4th, 2012, etc.), the above formats are preferred because they are shorter and do not require commas.
Page Formats[]
These are the formats of different types of pages. These formats may change often and will reflect various views. Some exceptions apply.
Buildings[]
Pages about individual in-game buildings should be named singularly and in title case (as they are proper names). All references to the in-game buildings themselves should be properly linked to their respective pages and capitalized. If a building name is used in a heading, it should be capitalized but not linked.
Aggregation pages referring to buildings in general or types of buildings should be named plurally and in title case. However, links to the aggregation pages (buildings, defensive buildings, etc.) should be fully capitalized only if used as part of a heading (in which case they should not be linked). If no appropriate redirect exists, alternate link text should be used to display the link in the proper case.
Troops[]
Pages about individual in-game troops should be named singularly and in title case (as they are proper names). All references to the in-game troops themselves should be properly linked to their respective pages and capitalized. If a troop name is used in a heading, it should be capitalized but not linked.
Aggregation pages referring to troops in general or types of troops should be named plurally and in title case. However, links to the aggregation pages (troops, tier 1 troops, etc.) should be fully capitalized only if used as part of a heading (in which case they should not be linked). If no appropriate redirect exists, alternate link text should be used to display the link in the proper case.
Gameplay Elements[]
Gameplay element pages (experience, achievements, etc.) should be named singularly where possible and in title case. However, since they are not proper names, references to these pages (when not part of a heading) should be in lower case. When part of a heading, they should be capitalized but not linked.
Attack Strategies[]
Attack strategies should be created via the attack strategies page and use the {{Attack Strategy}} template. In general, if a generic strategy guide page is describing attack strategies, they should be converted to this format. Names should be in title case, as they are proper names, and the attack strategy page itself should always begin with "Attack Strategies/". References to the attack strategies page itself should be made lower case unless part of a heading (and in those cases not linked).
Strategy Guides[]
Strategy guides have a specific naming format discussed on the strategy guides page. Individual guides are proper names and should be capitalized when used, while references to the strategy guides page itself should not unless part of a heading (and in those cases not linked).
Trivia[]
Trivia should be limited to relevant items only. Too much irrelevant trivia makes a page cluttered, difficult to read and less useful to the community. See The Trivialities of Trivia for a more in-depth discussion.