Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style


 * See also General FAQ, Community Guidelines

This article consists of basic style guidelines to follow when editing or creating new pages for Mass Effect Wiki.

(N.B.: this guide is written in UK English.)

Reference

 * Help:Editing — basic information on how to enter text and formatting
 * Help:Images — information on how to upload and use images (and other media like movies or sounds)
 * Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/General (talk) — Overall general stylistic and editorial guidelines
 * Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Planets (talk) — How to lay out a planet details page
 * Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Systems (talk)— How to lay out a system details page
 * Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Clusters (talk) — How to lay out a cluster details page
 * Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Missions (talk) — How to lay out a mission details page
 * Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Assignments (talk) — How to lay out an assignments details page
 * Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Equipment (talk) — How to lay out an equipment details page
 * Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Merchants (talk) - How to lay out a merchant or shop pages
 * Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Adversaries (talk) - How to lay out an adversary's details page
 * Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Unique Dialogue Page (talk) - How to lay out a character's unique dialogue page
 * Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Class Guide Page (talk) - How to lay out a guide for the individual classes

Editing
Articles need to be accessible, readable and accurate. That means good spelling and grammar, breaking up long articles into sections, not using excessive technical language, and writing in simple, concise sentences. The rule of thumb is “speak plainly and accurately”. Quotes are used on important character and mission pages, and in rare occasions elsewhere.

Here’s an example of a MEWiki article being edited in the standard editor (click to see larger version):



Comments, ideas and personal input should go on the Talk page for that article. MEWiki policy is not to sign edits on articles, only on Talk pages, and articles themselves are not signed (e.g. we have a Vanguard Guide, not My Kickass Vanguard Guide).

Accept that your work will be edited by someone at some point. If you disagree with the edits, discuss it with the user who changed them. However, if you cannot accept your writing being edited at all, reconsider whether you want to contribute to the wiki or whether the information would be better posted on another website.

Do not capitalise alien race names
Unlike most species in science fiction, the names of Mass Effect's alien races are common nouns and not capitalised. e.g. 'asari', not 'Asari'. The exceptions are the Protheans, the Reapers and the Collectors as these names are effectively titles. For other races, ask the question: if you were writing about humans, would you capitalise the word “human” in your sentence? For example:


 * Incorrect: “The Geth have evolved considerably since the Quarians created them.”
 * Correct: “The geth have evolved considerably since the quarians created them.”, or
 * Correct: “Geth are notoriously reclusive. For three centuries, the geth remained hidden beyond the Perseus Veil.”

The only exceptions are when referring to a unit name or to that race's government, as these are titles.


 * Example: “The geth deploy many units on the battlefield, including Geth Armatures, Geth Hoppers, and Geth Troopers.”
 * Example: "The volus are a client race of the Turian Hierarchy."

Canon
Some wikis – particularly Wookieepedia – which are working from a long-established and defined canon, have clear guidelines as to whether a character is male / female, and what decisions are canon, and write articles accordingly. Because Mass Effect is open for players to create their own story through their decisions, MEWiki does not hold one particular course of action or aspect of character creation as canon, but gives equal credence to player choices.


 * Incorrect: “Commander Shepard saved Elysium during the Skyllian Blitz.”
 * Incorrect: “Commander Shepard kills Lord Darius on Nonuel.“
 * Correct: “Commander Shepard's possible psychological profiles include saving Elysium during the Skyllian Blitz, surviving a thresher maw attack on Akuze, or ruthlessly killing batarian pirates during the siege of Torfan.”
 * Correct: “Commander Shepard may choose to kill Lord Darius on Nonuel, or negotiate a peaceful settlement.“

For this reason, Commander Shepard is not depicted on the wiki's screenshots. Though there is a representative / default Shepard used in promotional art, on MEWiki this version of Shepard is not considered canon to the exclusion of all others, particularly as Shepard can be either male or female and of any ethnicity. As creating an individual character who is shaped by decisions is an integral part of Mass Effect, and all characters are unique, not depicting Shepard keeps MEWiki universal for all Mass Effect players, and gives credence to their decisions and character customisation.

This also means Shepard is not referred to by gender in articles (see below).

However, images of Shepard are allowed under certain specific circumstances and those images are strictly regulated. The specific sections are only: the various Armor pages and the Romance sections of the various character articles. Further, any image added to these sections must be of the default male or female Shepard, and care should be taken to avoid showing as many distinguishing features as possible, like hair and facial features. If there is any question as to whether an image is acceptable, ask an admin before you add it to the article.

Shepard and Gender
Because Commander Shepard can be either male or female, MEWiki writes Shepard as gender-neutral and uses Shepard's rank instead of a male / female pronoun. For example:


 * Incorrect: “Commander Shepard and his crew explore the galaxy looking for Saren.”
 * Correct: “Commander Shepard and the crew of the Normandy explore the galaxy looking for Saren”, or
 * Correct: "When Sha'ira asks Shepard for help, the Commander agrees to speak to Septimus on her behalf."

The exception is when discussing romances, as this is the only area where gender makes any real difference:


 * Incorrect: "Commander Shepard can pursue a romance with Ashley Williams."
 * Correct: "If Commander Shepard is male, he can pursue a romance with Ashley Williams", or
 * Correct: "Regardless of Shepard's gender, the Commander can pursue a romance with Liara T'Soni."

For this same reason, we ask that editors please refrain from inserting images that depict Commander Shepard into articles. This does include images of the "default" male and female Shepard. There are only three exceptions, most notably the Commander Shepard page itself, but also armor images and romance sections.

Perspective
The intro paragraphs to most of our articles are written from the perspective of when they were introduced. For example, the Systems Alliance article is written from the perspective of someone who hasn't played Mass Effect yet, where as the Drell article is written from the perspective of when they were introduced in Mass Effect 2. These paragraphs are supposed to provide a brief intro to the article and contain no plot spoilers. If there are new developments, please put them under the appropriate spoiler tag.

Spoilers
As an encyclopaedia, MEWiki naturally contains spoilers (see Spoiler Warning for more details). However, these must be tagged for the benefit of all users. Some articles are spoilers in their entirety (e.g. Indoctrination) so the tag is at the top to alert users.

MEWiki currently has four spoiler tags: one for plot details referring to Mass Effect: Revelation, one for Mass Effect: Ascension, one for Mass Effect 2 and one general spoiler tag. See the Template:Spoiler page for how to deploy these tags correctly or ask an admin for help. Preferably, add big revelations to the bottom of articles.

The spoiler tag should be used before any major plot revelations. For example:


 * Incorrect: “The detective conducted a thorough investigation of the house and all possible avenues of inquiry. In the end, we learn that the butler did it.”


 * Correct:

The detective conducted a thorough investigation of the house and all possible avenues of inquiry.

In the end we learn that the butler did it.

Trivia sections
Trivia sections have a tendency to get out of hand because they are easy to add to. However, in many cases, what was added is not trivia, or is important or interesting enough to be merged into the article proper.

Trivia is classified as information players may not have been aware of and is impactful or interesting. Ideally trivia sections should be no more than half a dozen snippets of information, not more than a line or so long.

Name trivia should be kept to a minimum, and confined to cases where it is either confirmed by a developer, where it conforms to current naming procedures, such as the naming of astronomical bodies after mythological figures, or where a reasonable connection can be made. Coincidental similarities are not trivia.

Note that straight visual comparisons in things that really are otherwise unrelated are not enough to justify trivia. If making a visual comparison, then a connection must be made to the function of the item to back up the claim and in order to justify it.

Please note that because all squad members have extra dialogue during missions, it isn't considered trivia. If you come across it, then please look at the style guide for dialogue pages and place it on the appropriate Character's page.

Examples of Incorrect and Correct Trivia:
 * Incorrect:
 * The Justicar Code has over five thousand sutras and covers every situation a justicar may encounter. This is not trivia because it is a key element of the Code and should be in the article proper.
 * Alko is also the name of the national alcohol retailing monopoly of Finland. This is not trivia because, as there is nothing in the planet description suggesting any link, it is sheer coincidence.


 * Correct:
 * Ashley was originally to recite Robert Heinlein's "Cool Green Hills of Earth." The rights for Heinlein's work are rather complex, and when time ran out to acquire permission, it was replaced with Tennyson's "Ulysses," which is in the public domain. The second and third stanzas were used when she discussed her father, and the fourth and final on the way to Ilos.
 * When Shepard asks about how the virus works, in the first conversation, Legion will respond with; "An equation with an result of 1.33382 returns as 1.33381. This changes the result of all higher processes. We will reach different conclusions." This is a reference to the Pentium FDIV bug.
 * Turian is based on the word centurion. Palaven is based on Palatine Hill, with a dash of "paladin." Turian names, culture, and military doctrine also mirror that of the Roman Empire, especially their emphasis on colonizing enemies.

Voice Actor Trivia
When it comes to a character's Voice Actor a specific bit of trivia is allowed. However, because Voice Actors usually are in multiple games, trivia about them appearing in a game developed by BioWare, like Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age: Origins, is ok, while games not developed by BioWare is not. The connection must be made between the games in order to justify trivia. Also provide a link to the wiki that has the necessary information.
 * Examples:
 * Incorrect:
 * Keith David had also voiced the Arbiter in Halo 2 and 3


 * Correct:
 * Claudia Black also voiced the character Morrigan in Dragon Age: Origins, another Bioware game.
 * Simon Templeman, who voices Admiral Gerrel, also provided the voice for Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir in the game Dragon Age: Origins, also by BioWare.

Speculation
MEWiki has a “low tolerance policy” on speculation in articles. This is due to an incident when an editor created a new race and star systems, and began incorporating them into articles as fact. As the PC version had recently been released, this confused several contributors as to whether a new race had been added in the PC version. Finding and rooting out these edits created problems, and so this policy was introduced.

Speculation is permitted in articles under the following circumstances:


 * It is clearly marked as being speculation, either under a “speculation” heading or with the sentence “some speculate that—” at the beginning of the paragraph.
 * There is evidence for this speculation. For example:
 * Incorrect: “Quarians once had fur, but after wearing environmental suits for hundreds of years this trait has died out.”
 * Correct: “Some speculate that if they join the Council, humans will have a major military role because they have a substantial fleet, well-trained army and adaptable military doctrine (see Systems Alliance).”


 * If the speculation refers to an unreleased game or novel, put a link at the end of the sentence to an interview or article supporting that speculation. For example:
 * Incorrect: "This decision is pivotal to the story."
 * Correct: "This decision is pivotal to the story [link to supporting article].", or
 * Correct: "This decision is pivotal to the story [link to supporting article|source] "

If you see an unsourced piece of information that may be speculative, but do not want to delete it, the  tag can be used to alert other users that this is unconfirmed and request supporting links.
 * Example: "This decision is pivotal to the story. "

If speculation is not substantiated or qualified, it will be removed.

Codex Articles
Codex articles are verbatim copies of the in-game Codex. For this reason, we ask that editors not make changes to the substance of the articles, including the images used. As all the Codex entries were transcribed by ordinary human beings, some errors in spelling and grammar are bound to pop up, and these can be remedied by anyone who comes across them. Other than that, we ask that the Codex pages be left as they are. The same applies to pictures, if a picture isn't the Codex entry picture, we please ask that you don't insert it into the Codex.

Codex entries are classified by the game in which they are introduced. Meaning that if an entry was a Primary entry in Mass Effect, yet a Secondary entry in Mass Effect 2, then it remains a Primary Codex Entry. For example an entry like First Contact War entry, which is a Primary entry in Mass Effect and a Secondary entry in Mass Effect 2, is still a Primary entry because it was introduced in Mass Effect.

For Codex entries with an audio entry, if the audio entry differs from the text entry, then no action should be taken. Text entries are verbatim from the game and stay that way regardless of what the audio entry says. The text entry should reflect the in-game text Codex entry, not the audio entry, regardless of any discrepancy between the two.

Walkthrough Information in Articles
Because most of our articles are written from an in-game perspective, we do not put walkthrough information into main articles. All articles must be kept as if written from an in-game perspective and contain information about who or what they are about. Walkthrough information should be put into the various walkthrough articles where it is appropriate. Also, please avoid using second person pronouns like you and yours in main articles for the same reasons.

However, there are specific sections where this rule is lifted. The first exception is in the tactics section of various enemy articles, and only in that section. The rest of the article should be kept as if written from an in-game perspective. The second exception is the walkthrough articles themselves where that kind of talk is appropriate. Apart from those two exceptions, please avoid putting walkthrough information and using second person pronouns in main articles.

Capitalizations
While we don't capitalize the names of alien races, there are other things that need to be capitalized because they are proper nouns. When Shepard is referred to by rank, Commander needs to be capitalized because that is what "the Commander" is referring to.

The names of the various classes, Sentinel, Vanguard, Infiltrator, Soldier, Engineer, and Adept, are also to be capitalized. This is because they are referencing a specific thing, in this case the player's class, they should be capitalized.

The various Talents and Powers, like Throw, Lift, and Singularity, should also be capitalized. As they are also referencing specific items, in this case the Talents and Powers, which are proper nouns, they need to be capitalized.

Proper Names
There are currently three games in the Mass Effect series: Mass Effect, Mass Effect Galaxy, and Mass Effect 2. There is no game called Mass Effect 1 and as such, the title Mass Effect 1 is not allowed in articles. Also note that, as we are striving to be an encyclopedic source of information, abbreviations like ME, ME2, and MEG are not to be used in main articles. The full and proper name of the game being referred to should be put into the article where appropriate. This also applies for the novels and comic books. Their proper and full names, Mass Effect: Redemption, Mass Effect: Revelation, Mass Effect: Ascension, etc, should be used in articles where appropriate.

Spelling
A quick spellcheck before saving your edit is greatly appreciated. If you don't have a spellcheck add-on in your browser, preview the article first and read it through to check for any mistakes.

British or American Spelling?
Mass Effect Wiki has editors from both the US and the UK, so there are sometimes questions over which spelling is 'correct'. Both of them are. However Mass Effect is written in American English, which means equipment articles like 'Human Armor' have American spelling. So if you're using that article title in a page, it might look odd to have both English and American spelling (e.g. the sentence "Mass Effect has several types of armour, including Human Armor and Quarian Armor" looks a bit strange). The rule of thumb is: either spelling is 'correct', so don't correct 'English English' unnecessarily.

Templates
Mass Effect Wiki uses templates extensively to avoid the tedium of needing to make dozens (or hundreds!) of changes to standardized markup and text.

Redirects
Redirects are usually created when a page is moved (i.e. renamed): the original page is given a redirect. This is accomplished automatically by replacing the old page with one which just contains the text For example the Geth Stalker article redirects to the Geth Hopper page.
 * 1) REDIRECT NewPageName

It is also entirely possible to manually create such pages using the  directive. This can be useful since such pages will show up in searches and can provide sensible aliases (e.g. Shepard redirects to Commander Shepard). This also provides a convenient way to naturally add links to wiki pages without needing to resort to. However, please refrain from creating large numbers of redirects which are not likely to ever be needed. (Note also that the wiki automatically understands markup like, rendering the whole thing as 'turians'.)

Categories
Put simply, categories help other users find things. This includes articles and screenshots. For example, Category:Krogan collects all articles related to the krogan, and any media depicting them.

The categories on the Mass Effect Wiki are organized into a tree which is rooted by Category:Browse. To change the parents of a category, simply edit the category page and add or remove  links.

To add any wiki page to a category, simply add  to the page (by convention, at the end) or click the "Add Category" tab at the bottom. A page can be a member of any number of categories. Once the page is saved, the categories which it is in will appear at the bottom of the page.

To categorize a screenshot, either click on the screenshot itself and again, click "Add Category" or hit "Edit" and add categories as you would for any other article. If you wish to upload an image and categorize it at the same time, add  to the summary of the screenshot on the upload page.

If you are creating a new category, the category page itself needs to be created. When creating the page, include a brief description of the purpose of the category, the category template, and add the category itself to any parent categories. For example, This is an example of a category page.

If you want to provide a link to an entire category, you will need to add it as, with a colon before the word 'category'. Otherwise you'll simply place the page in that category instead of creating a link.

What Categories?
For articles, the categories used should cover the broad themes of the article and be a logical category to find the article under.


 * Example: Matriarch Benezia is categorised as a character; she is an (asari); she is a notable adversary; she is known for being a powerful biotic, and she is only seen on Noveria. Therefore these categories are used for her.

For images, the categories should be for what is visible in the image. If the image is of an asari mercenary using biotics on Illium, the appropriate categories would be asari, biotics, mercenaries, and Illium.

Uploading Images
See more on uploading images here. If a page requires a picture, use the PicturesWanted template at the top by adding.

You can upload images here. Don't forget to add a quick summary of the image content to make it easier to find later. Even better, add the image page itself to any appropriate categories (by adding links like, for example, ).

Filenames
When uploading images, make sure to use a very specific filename. Uploading an image with the name "Saren.jpg" or "Armor.png" is problematic; there are dozens of pictures of Saren. Not only do vague filenames run the risk of having your picture overwritten when someone else uploads a "Saren.jpg", it also makes it much harder to find the image you need.


 * Example: instead of Garrus.jpg, use Garrus C-Sec Talking to Wrex.jpg, or whatever the image shows.

Displaying images
To display an image on the wiki, use the following code:



Most screenshots on MEWiki are displayed at 290px, but this is dependent on dimensions. If a page actively needs a caption displayed underneath (e.g. to explain the context of the image), use a thumbnail:



This will automatically render the image at 200px, which may be too small for some images. Images smaller than 200px, like the talent icons, should not be thumbnailed as they are too small to make the caption worthwhile. If an image needs a caption but 200px is too small, the thumbnail script can be used to display an image larger than 200px:



Splitting articles along game lines
After much discussion, we have decided not to split main articles along Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 lines. Articles like Assignments, Missions, and Characters are not going to be split because they have all the various parts from both games and a split is not needed. Redirects will be provided to take people to the relevant sections of those articles.

However articles like Adept Guide and Adept Guide (Mass Effect 2), which deal with specific elements of the game, in this case a guide, are to be split because they have a lot of content that deals with a specific game. These articles are split because of the mutually exclusive content.