FalloutWiki:Format Policy

The Format Policy outlines the standards and style utilized in the Independent Fallout Wiki's articles.

Introduction
The purpose of the Independent Fallout Wiki is to provide encyclopedic content centered on the Fallout franchise. All information must be objective, only using content that can be checked and independently confirmed by other users. The wiki uses American English, excepting any in-game spelling.

General

 * Attention needed: Templates for page management are used to alert editors and readers that there are issues with an article so they can make informed decisions on the content, provide feedback, or take the appropriate action. A page management template is placed on articles that require review, are missing necessary content, and contain sensitive topics, based on upcoming material, among others.
 * Incomplete articles: It is acceptable to create an article if an editor does not have all the necessary information to complete it at that time. Gaps in the article should not be filled in with approximations or best guesses. It is better to have no information than to have inaccurate information as inaccuracies mislead readers. Utilize page management templates to communicate to others that an article requires additional content.
 * Redundancy: New information added to the wiki should not repeat or be redundant with other information already on the site. This means that the topic will have a single page or section of a page where the topic is discussed in full detail. Other pages, such as overview pages, that discuss that topic should not repeat the details, but should instead provide a brief description and provide a link to the page with the details.
 * Unconfirmed information: The content of this wiki consists of contributions spanning several years into the past. Policies and standards have changed, but not all content has been reviewed and updated to reflect new requirements. In the case that content is unreferenced, utilized the comment-out feature and add a  template to the top of the article to communicate the need for confirmation.
 * Burden of proof: The user who adds content to the wiki is the user who is responsible for simultaneously adding appropriate and verifiable sources. The burden of proof does not fall to the moderators, administrators, or fellow editors to search for sources that may or may not exist to support the claims of others. While editors are encouraged to assist in formatting and guiding others in navigating policies, the onus still rests on the individual who contributes the information.
 * Merging and splitting: Articles must have enough content to justify standing alone and if not, should be merged to associated pages. If an article is excessive in length, it should likewise be reviewed to determine if trimming or splitting would better serve the content. When merging several pages into one, utilize the Special:MergeHistory feature to combine all revisions on all pages to the target.
 * Renaming: When changing the name of a page, utilize the "Move" feature in the edit dropdown to ensure the page's history is maintained. All moves should include a redirect and links should be corrected using What Links Here.
 * Real World information: Quotes from developers are placed under the "Behind the Scenes" subheader, directly following "Appearances," when applicable. Real world parallels without a developer source are added to the Community Project, and the RWOT/Nav template is added to "Behind the Scenes." In places where space is limited, the icon RWOT/Icon can be used.
 * Real world individuals: Do not share information about real world individuals that is not in the public domain, such as in a press release, credits, or official announcement, without the individual's expressed written permission.

Style

 * Article titles: All article titles should reflect names provided in game, including titles, ranks, or descriptors. For articles that necessitate distinguishing, use the game's name in parenthesis. Do not use update names unless the game name has already been utilized.
 * Displaytitle: Technical restrictions may prevent editors from naming pages identically to in-game. This may occur because the subject name does not begin with a capital letter, or includes a . These problem characters should be left out and the DISPLAYTITLE template used to correct its appearance.
 * Capitalization: All article titles and content throughout articles from the game should match the capitalization used in the game, even if that differs from standard capitalization.
 * Source texts: The content of source texts is taken verbatim from where it derives. Typographical or grammatical differences in the text should not be fixed. There are several cases where the names of game content contain such differences, such as "Taiwan Straight" or "Fort McHarry." The spelling of this content should never be changed, and the wiki should exactly match the spelling used in-game.
 * Linking: Cross links between wiki pages are important navigational tools. The front-facing link text should match where the link is directed. External links such as Wikipedia should not be used within gameplay articles outside of behind the scenes sections. Links should not be used in transcripts, such as notes, holotapes, publications, or dialogue. An article should not be overlinked, which means linking the same article more than once in the same section.
 * Piped link formats for simple plurals are unnecessary. For example, use   instead of.
 * Do not place the last letters of a plural outside of a link that already has alternate text. For example,  should be used instead of.
 * Disambiguation: These articles exist to clarify ambiguously or similarly named articles. The purpose is not to list every article title that includes a specific word. There should not be any links to disambiguation pages, and if they appear, should be corrected to a link to the correct article.
 * Infoboxes: Each page should have an infobox, specific to the article's content. They should be succinct and brief, omitting flags, repetitive icons, extensive lists, and paragraphs, with only the most pertinent information included. If a large quantity of information applies to a parameter, move it to the article and utilize . Estimation and unknown statements are not allowed. Please remove unused parameters, and do not add vague content in an attempt to fill them in.
 * Dates and years: Any dates, ages, or years added to the wiki either in references or in articles must be explicitly stated. Do not add content based on game year math (adding/subtracting the number of years mentioned from the game's chronological start date). If the reference states a character is 30 years old, the claim should state the character is 30 years old and should not use this to assume the year of birth. If a year is stated in a reference, the claim should likewise state the year. All claims and references must match exactly.
 * Quotes: Use straight quotation marks ' " instead of curly quotation marks. Use Quotation template for long quotes. For the quotes section of article, the list should not exceed five quotes.
 * Verb tense: Articles should be written in the present tense with the exception of content that happened in the past, where past tense is used. The third conditional tense should never be used (example, "Arroyo would eventually find success") and should use either past or present tense as appropriate (example: "Arroyo was successful") instead. Game articles that include upcoming content should be written in the present tense.
 * Point of view: Third person should be used in articles, and "you" should not be used, nor "I." The name of the player character can be used as an alternative, and in this case, "player character" is preferred, but "player" can also be used.
 * Bold: Bold should be used for article names in the lead line only. Any alternative names in the introductory sentence should also be bold. Do not use a semicolon to bold a whole line. Do not bold elsewhere for emphasis.

Ownership and copyright

 * Do not copy content from the Independent Fallout Wiki to other sites without attribution. Content on this wiki is not freely available to be copied from one place to another without full attribution. All content on this site is covered by legal copyright dictated by the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, or CC BY-SA 3.0. The procedures that must be followed to use Independent Fallout Wiki content elsewhere are outlined here. Copying articles either verbatim or paraphrased without attribution is illegal and constitutes copyright infringement.
 * Mainspace articles are not owned by their creators. Individual editors do not own the articles that they submit to the mainspace portion of the site. Other editors will modify, add to, and improve these articles. The creator of an article has no greater control over the article than any other editor on the site, and this understanding upholds the commitment to the wiki's spirit of collaboration.