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{{HelpNav}}<div align=right style="float:right">__TOC__</div>
{{shortcuts|LW:QS}}
 
{{Standards}}
What makes a good article?
{{HelpNav}}
 
{{Article Level}}
What makes a good article? The '''Quality Standards''' explains the composition of a good article for Lylat Wiki (stage 4 of [[LW:5StFA]]). Various topics are covered here, like how to expand on a [[:Category:Stubs|stub]]. A good article is widely considered to be one of the best articles on the wiki. A decent article is not as comprehensive like a good article, as it still requires fixing before reaching that status.


== Language ==
== Language ==
=== inappropriate tone or style ===
Most importantly, articles must be written in a clear, encyclopedic tone. Do not add any biased, informal and/or opinionated content into an article. Other words to avoid using includes:
Articles should be written in an encyclopedic tone. Any of the following tones should be considered in appropriate unless there is a specific reason why it is that way, and the reason is clearly marked or visible.  
# advertisement
# biased
# biography - auto, unreliable citations
# written like a travel guide
# like a resume
# a howto
# essay
# reads like a story


=== word usage ===
* jargon and other colloquial terms: this includes gaming terms, scientific, or slang terms
Articles should use the correct words. Which means no or little of:
* weasel words: these are words that appear to be specific but are not.
# colloquial terms or jargon - including gaming terms, scientific, or slang, without an appropriate link to explain the meaning.
* promoting the subject: this is when the writer makes a template promoting the subject
# containing weasel words - Words that appear to be specific, but aren't.  
# wording promotes subject - is written in such a way that it promotes the subject, rather than inform about it.
# unencyclopedia


=== Point of View ===
=== Point of view ===
Articles need to be written in a 3rd Person Point-of-View. They need to be written in a in-universe.  
An article must be written in a third-person perspective, otherwise known as "{{wp|Fictional universe|in-universe}}". Avoid using {{wp|First-person narrative|first-person}} and {{wp|Narration#Second-person|second-person}} narratives. A third-person perspective means that the writing is "neutralized". Articles must only contain information relating to the subject and must not overwhelm the reader with details.
# first-person or second-person
# fiction vs. fact
# in-universe
# globalize
# not neutral


=== conflict of interest ===
Similarly, certain audiences might have an easier time understanding an article, such as if there are too many technical details. The article must be written in a way to accommodate every reader.
Articles need to be written in such away that doesn't cause it to conflict with itself. It should also not be written by the person it is written on.  


=== confusing ===
A "good" article features a decent blend of all three point of views. If an article needs more of a specific type of reference, add the {{t|source-needed}} template and specify which type of source is needed.
Articles should be written in a clear and precise manner.  


=== context ===
=== Cleanup ===
Articles need to contain only the information related to the title, and nothing outside of the articles context.  
An article may not be well written and poorly sorted. Any article in need of a rewrite should be tagged with {{t|rewrite}} and provided with a reason, if possible.


=== contradiction ===
=== Prose ===
=== example farm ===
[[wikipedia:prose]] is a type of language that is most often used by people during communication. Unlike poetry, bulleted or numbered lists, and tables, prose requires full sentences integrated into paragraphs. An article should oftentimes prefer the use of prose. For example, the bulleted list can be converted into prose:
Unless there is a good reason, an article should exist to simply be an example of something. This means no:
# Demonstrating of Templates,
# Filling up Random Categories
# Using Random Files.


=== clean up ===
* Fox McCloud is James McCloud's son
Because an article can be written by anyone, and since we are all individuals, Not every article will be up to someone's spelling and/or grammar. If you find an article that needs some linguistic love, please either edit it yourself or mark it with {{tl|SandG}}.
* He leads Star Fox
* He is friends with Falco Lombardi


=== Time ===
resulting in:
Due to Lylat Wiki being an encyclopedia, and since no one has any clue when an article will be read, it is considered best to write in the past tense, unless there is a very good reason why it should be otherwise. Please be wary of the following:  


; {{tl|recentism}}
Fox McCloud is James McCloud's son. He leads Star Fox and is friends with Falco Lombardi.
: Writing an article to with the preference towards current events, helps understand what's going on write now, but what happens when the event is over? 
; {{tl|proseline}}
: is the events in i timeline, that are better in a prose-form?
; {{tl|updated}},
: an event is going on, or has gone on, in which details of the article are no longer accurate. This is not for current events, where infromation is coming in for rapidly.
; {{tl|current events}}
: Event(s) are happening, that causes an article to repeatedly be out-of-date, and thus, will be changed many times over its course.


=== trivia ===
=== Tense ===
=== unbalanced ===
*'''Past tense:''' This should be used when describing the history or background of the subject.
In the event an article is largely one-sided, and can not easily be fixed by one editor, place {{tl|unbalanced}} on it, and work on fixing it with other on the relevant discussion page.
*'''Present tense:''' This should be used when describing the gameplay.
*'''Future tense:''' This tense should be avoided.


== Verification ==
== Verification ==
Any information can be put on a wiki, and Just as easily removed. With that kind of inconsistency and questionable reliability, it is best to verify something you put on the wiki with a reputable outside source. Just the same, if you see something on the wiki, you believe would be better said if it could be verified, please mark it so, or find a way to verify it yourself and post the link on the article. See {{LW:CP}} and [[Help:Citing Sources]] for more info.  
Verification is needed, as any person can arbitrarily add unreliable information. The reader of an article expects to be provided accurate information on the subject. If a fact has debatable reliability, it must be marked with a reputable external source. In most cases, a reputable source is an official website relating to ''Star Fox''. For more info, see [[Help:Citing Sources]]. Here are some rules involving citations:


The following are possible situations related to citing sources, and how to handle them.  
*If a statement needs to be verified, add {{t|citation needed}} after the sentence.
*Do not use opinionated links or criticism for citation. A critical review of a subject is allowed on a personal user page or community page.
*The wiki cannot predict the future, so speculation is not allowed. If there is any future or upcoming event (such as a new ''Star Fox'' game), sources must be added.
*An "External links" section is different from the "References" section, as it directly links to the subject's page on another site, such as Wikipedia, IMDb, or GameFAQs.
*Try using a variety of reputable sources for an article, so that the information does not heavily reflect that from one link.


=== Missing citations ===
=== Original research ===
In the event an article has little to no citations, please put {{tl|Missing Citations}} at the top of the article, and {{tl|Citation Needed}} near any statement that you believe needs citing. This should be done, even if the entire article is to your knowledge of the truth, since it may not be to someone else's.  
Original research is one of the biggest problems involving article content. This is content, usually theories, that look reputable but were made up from the reader itself. Sometimes it may even be based on an official publication. Original research is similar but less distinguishable from blatant [[LW:FANON|fanon]].


=== wrong citation style ===
Articles should not be written to conflict with itself. An article is written by the subject themselves (usually a [[Nintendo]] staff member) is known as a '''conflict of interest'''.
If one or more references in a #References section are of the wrong style (e.g. references an archived website, but instead is styled for a print article, or is even not styled at all), please place {{tl|Wrong Citation Style}} along with the ref #'s, if available.  


=== citations may not verify text ===
== Style and Content guide ==
In the event a piece of text has a reference <sup>[number]</sup>, but the supplemental information doesn't really verify the statement, please place {{tl|cmnvt}} at the top of the article, and give more details as to why you believe this to be so on the article's respective talk page.  
A good article contains information that is easily accessible to the reader, as well as sections that accurately reflect the content. Each reader has their own way of reading an article, so an article must attempt a variety of methods at displaying information to the reader. For example, if the information is stored on an image, it can be described in text form for non-visual readers.


=== criticism ===
Most articles must be divided by section, with the use of using <nowiki>===</nowiki> header tags. The section title must accurately describe what it is about. For example, if a section is intended to be about a character's appearance, the section can be appropriately named "Appearance".


=== speculations ===
=== Introduction ===
An introduction is the first paragraph on the article. It is generally used for summarizing the subject, which is described more in depth from its sections.


=== accuracy disputed ===
If there is an issue with the introduction, it can be marked with one of these templates:
Think an article contains unlikely statements? Think it says something that needs needs more references, even if there are some already there? Calling the accuracy into question, for these or any other reason, happens when you place {{tl|Accuracy Disputed}} on top of the article.


=== needs expert ===
# {{t|intro-too-short}}
Feel a page needs more verification? in doubt of an article's related scientific or game-play knowldge? Think we should bring an expert in on the subject? Then place {{tl|Expert Needed}} on the article, and maybe a expert will get to it... if they aren't to busy be an expert :P.
# {{t|intro-too-long}}
=== hoax ===
# {{t|intro-missing}}
# {{t|intro-rewrite}}


=== written like a review ===
=== History ===
In order to better understand a subject, it is sometimes useful to know their in-universe and real world history. For example:


=== original research ===
*'''Real world''': What inspired the creation of a character?
*'''In-universe''': How did a character get to where they are? How was their aircraft designed?


=== needs more references  ===
Sometimes, a reader may only look up one thing in the in-universe history. However, they may accidentally read too much without being warned of spoilers. In such cases, the {{t|spoiler}} template must be applied to warn readers.


== Policy ==
=== Quotes ===
A character article can contain quotes from that character. If too many quotes are listed on a page, the entire list should be moved to a subpage.


=== external links conflict guidelines ===
=== Trivia ===
External links that are part of an Article, or in a #External Links section, need to be related to the subject of the article. In the event that they don't, please mark it with {{tl|elcg}} if you feel this is so, but wish to see if others agree.
A trivia section belongs at the end of an article, and it contains bulleted lists of miscellaneous information. Before adding to trivia, editors should attempt to see if the information is better suited under another section.


=== Fanon ===
== Linking ==
Fanon is a fan-made theory to cover a gap in the plot, missing detail in game design/development, or something similar, but lacks concrete evidence to prove it. We want to be there to support the starfox community(ies), but fanon can detract from quality of the wiki. Please follow {{LW:Fanon}} if you believe you have found a piece of fanon on the wiki. We do not wish to insult anyone, but if a theory is not supported by official evidence,  we will need to question it.
Wikis have the ability to {{wp|hot-link}} to other articles and even external links. There are a few rules to linking on an article:


=== over-detailed ===
* Do not link to another article multiple times. This should only be done a few times, once per every few sections.
=== too narrow of audience for details ===
* Do not link to words that are irrelevant to ''Star Fox'', for example: "apple", "of", "grapes"
=== trivia ===
* External links should be used in accordance to [[LW:IWP|the interwiki policy]].  
=== prose ===
=== types of references ===
In order to make sure we show an unbaised point of view, it is often best to resources from at least 3 different sources. Depending on your situation, any or all of the sources needs to comes from one of three locations.  


# First-party - is something that said or when on in the games themselves.
An article without any links is known as a "dead-end"; a list of them can be found under [[Special:DeadendPages]]. Adding links to an article keeps it out of the list of dead-end pages.
# Second Party - is something found on an official publication, website or archive there of.
# third Party - is a reputable source created by a fan of the series, an expert in a scientific field, a game review site, etc.  


A "good" article is one that features a decent blend of all three. In the event you believe an article needs more of a specific type of reference, then please more it with one of the following: 
At times, articles may link to a disambiguation page, which are intended to help users differentiate between two articles of the same title. For example, [[Star Fox (team)]] and ''[[Star Fox (game)]]'' are listed under [[Star Fox]]. Based on the context, the link must be changed to which "Star Fox" exactly described by the article.
# {{tl|first-party-sources-missing}}
# {{tl|second-party-sources-missing}}
# {{tl|third-party-sources-missing}}


== Other ==
=== Incomplete ===
To become a good article, the editor must avoid leaving out as much information as possible, especially large portions of information. An example of missing information is if a walkthrough leaves out a stage, a gallery is missing screenshots, etc. The {{t|incomplete}} template should be added in such cases, with a reason provided in the template.


=== relies too much on one source ===
=== Multiple issues ===
=== unreferenced ===
If an article has numerous issues, the {{t|multiple issues}} template should be added on it. This is because adding each template describing an individual issue would occupy too much content space.


== Style & Content Guide ==
== Conclusion ==
Articles need to be designed with 2 things in mind: [[wikipedia:accessibility]] and [[wikipedia:findability]]. Everything on the article, and often in other pages too, needs to be easily findable through search engines (google included) and through the browser.
In conclusion, a good article stems from a decent article. If it has been too long since the last evaluation, and many changes have been done to the article, it may have to be re-evaluated before its qualification as a good article.
* To be accessible: Means not to be available to even those with impairments on their hearing or seeing.
* to be findable: Means it is easy to find the information on a given page.  


How an article accomplished is as follows:
In short, a good article has:
# ''sectionalized'': using <nowiki>===</nowiki> header tags, a section is carved out of the page for a specific area of content. The section title needs to be coherent and accurate reflection of the content bellow.  
* proper grammar, verifiable sources, and properly organized sections.  
# ''multiple ways of displaying info'': There are multiple ways people observe, learn, and understand information. This also means, that if information is stored in an image, there needs to be a text base equivalent for those who are hard of seeing, have reduced bandwidth, images disabled, etc.  
* and is written in accordance to most policy pages, including the aforementioned sections.


Sections that are often found on
== See also ==
*[[LW:SAA]] - creating an article
*[[LW:Stubs]] - stubs


=== introduction ===
== Credits ==
An introduction needs to be a summary of the article, as well as a paragraph giving general information that is relevant, but does not necessarily fit into any of the lower sections exclusively.
We thank the contributors of the following pages as they were a big inspiration to this page:


An introduction can be marked with the following:  
* [[mariowiki:MarioWiki:Maintenance|Super Mario Wiki]]
# {{tl|too short}}
* [[bulbapedia:Category:Notice templates|Bulbapedia]]
# {{tl|too long}}
* [[wikipedia:Template:Multiple issues|Wikipedia]]
# {{tl|missing}}
* [[zeldawiki:Zelda Wiki:Quality Standards|Zelda Wiki]]
# {{tl|rewrite}}
=== lacks historical info ===
In order to get a better understanding of a subject, it is sometimes best to see how they got there. For us, this manifest itself in two ways:


# ''{{tl|OOUHI|Out of Universe}}'' - What was the creator thinking when he came up with a character?
# ''{{tl|IUHI|In-Universe Info}}'' - how did a character get to where they are? how did a ship get designed? how did the item [[bomb]] come into existence?


=== quotes ===
[[Category:Article Pages|{{PAGENAME}}]]
Quotes are always fun to throw around, but how do you know when there is enough?
well, put one of the following down, and discuss it with your fellow editors.
# {{tl|too many quotes}}
# {{tl|too little quotes}}
=== plot ===
We all like to know generally what happened in a game, but what if you are in the middle of playing you look up how to do something, and by accident, you read to much. When this happens, the plot has been spoiled for you.
 
including the plot is important for an article - we need to know what when on, in order to get a full understanding of the subject.
 
# {{tl|too much info}} - in the event too many details are given, and it detracts from the quality of the article.
# {{tl|too little info}} - if there is little to know information of the plot, and it is important to the article.
# {{tl|spoiler}} - a template to hide important plot details you don't want people to know, should they care for something like this.
=== rewrite entirely ===
If an article is really, really bad, please put {{tl|rewrite entirely}} on it. this will prompt users (hopefully) to rush in, trying to edit the article to make it better.
 
If you have vollunteered to mass rewrite an article, first '''THANK YOU''', from the entire {{LW:Admin}}. You have no idea how much work you are saving us, and we probably we'll never get to properly show you gratification. Second, please post {{tl|mass rewrite}} on top of the article, in order to give notice to other that a mass edit is going on, and in order to prevent edit wars, they may wish to wait on their contributions. But please remove the notice when you are done.
 
=== needs reorganized ===
Think an article needs to be reorganized? is it missing sections that you know should be there? Then mark it with one of the following templates:
# {{tl|sectionalized}}
 
=== list of non-notable stuff ===
In the event an article has decrease in quality to the point of not containing anything notable and being no more than a list, please place {{tl|list-of-non-notable-stuff}} on it.
 
== Linking ==
One of the beautiful things about wikis, are there ability to [[wikipedia:hot-link]] to other articles. But how often should something be hot-linked? and how many links should an article have?
 
* Well, first, if you are linking to a word multiple times in an article, please only do so once per scroll-height - i.e. the amount you can see on a page without scrolling up or down.
* Second, only link words that are not commonly used. So, no "is", "as", "of", etc.
* Third, if you wish to link outside of the wiki, please link in accordance with {{LW:IWP}}.
 
=== Terminology ===
In the event you find a page that needs some linking help,
* A page without links going to out to other pages is known as a dead-end. Please mark it with {{tl|deadend}}.
* A page without linking going into it is know as a Orphan. Please Mark {{tl|Orphan}} on any page you find that you believe needs more links towards it.
 
=== to disambiguation pages ===
A disambiguation page exists to guide visitors of the wiki to specific articles, that have similar titles to other articles. Disambiguation pages aren't meant to be the receiving end of a link from another page. If you find a page that has one or more links to a disambiguation page, please place {{tl|Links-to-disambig}}  on the page or fix the links to the proper page yourself.
 
=== wikify ===
If a page needs some help linking to others, please place {{tl|wikiy}} on it.
 
== Other ==
=== incomplete ===
=== notability questioned ===

Latest revision as of 14:10, 22 January 2023

Shortcut: LW:QS
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Five steps to making a featured article
Stage 5: Becoming a featured article
Stage 4: Becoming a good article
Stage 3: Becoming a decent article
Stage 2: Becoming a stub article
Stage 1: Becoming a new article

What makes a good article? The Quality Standards explains the composition of a good article for Lylat Wiki (stage 4 of LW:5StFA). Various topics are covered here, like how to expand on a stub. A good article is widely considered to be one of the best articles on the wiki. A decent article is not as comprehensive like a good article, as it still requires fixing before reaching that status.

Language

Most importantly, articles must be written in a clear, encyclopedic tone. Do not add any biased, informal and/or opinionated content into an article. Other words to avoid using includes:

  • jargon and other colloquial terms: this includes gaming terms, scientific, or slang terms
  • weasel words: these are words that appear to be specific but are not.
  • promoting the subject: this is when the writer makes a template promoting the subject

Point of view

An article must be written in a third-person perspective, otherwise known as "in-universe". Avoid using first-person and second-person narratives. A third-person perspective means that the writing is "neutralized". Articles must only contain information relating to the subject and must not overwhelm the reader with details.

Similarly, certain audiences might have an easier time understanding an article, such as if there are too many technical details. The article must be written in a way to accommodate every reader.

A "good" article features a decent blend of all three point of views. If an article needs more of a specific type of reference, add the {{source-needed}} template and specify which type of source is needed.

Cleanup

An article may not be well written and poorly sorted. Any article in need of a rewrite should be tagged with {{rewrite}} and provided with a reason, if possible.

Prose

wikipedia:prose is a type of language that is most often used by people during communication. Unlike poetry, bulleted or numbered lists, and tables, prose requires full sentences integrated into paragraphs. An article should oftentimes prefer the use of prose. For example, the bulleted list can be converted into prose:

  • Fox McCloud is James McCloud's son
  • He leads Star Fox
  • He is friends with Falco Lombardi

resulting in:

Fox McCloud is James McCloud's son. He leads Star Fox and is friends with Falco Lombardi.

Tense

  • Past tense: This should be used when describing the history or background of the subject.
  • Present tense: This should be used when describing the gameplay.
  • Future tense: This tense should be avoided.

Verification

Verification is needed, as any person can arbitrarily add unreliable information. The reader of an article expects to be provided accurate information on the subject. If a fact has debatable reliability, it must be marked with a reputable external source. In most cases, a reputable source is an official website relating to Star Fox. For more info, see Help:Citing Sources. Here are some rules involving citations:

  • If a statement needs to be verified, add {{citation needed}} after the sentence.
  • Do not use opinionated links or criticism for citation. A critical review of a subject is allowed on a personal user page or community page.
  • The wiki cannot predict the future, so speculation is not allowed. If there is any future or upcoming event (such as a new Star Fox game), sources must be added.
  • An "External links" section is different from the "References" section, as it directly links to the subject's page on another site, such as Wikipedia, IMDb, or GameFAQs.
  • Try using a variety of reputable sources for an article, so that the information does not heavily reflect that from one link.

Original research

Original research is one of the biggest problems involving article content. This is content, usually theories, that look reputable but were made up from the reader itself. Sometimes it may even be based on an official publication. Original research is similar but less distinguishable from blatant fanon.

Articles should not be written to conflict with itself. An article is written by the subject themselves (usually a Nintendo staff member) is known as a conflict of interest.

Style and Content guide

A good article contains information that is easily accessible to the reader, as well as sections that accurately reflect the content. Each reader has their own way of reading an article, so an article must attempt a variety of methods at displaying information to the reader. For example, if the information is stored on an image, it can be described in text form for non-visual readers.

Most articles must be divided by section, with the use of using === header tags. The section title must accurately describe what it is about. For example, if a section is intended to be about a character's appearance, the section can be appropriately named "Appearance".

Introduction

An introduction is the first paragraph on the article. It is generally used for summarizing the subject, which is described more in depth from its sections.

If there is an issue with the introduction, it can be marked with one of these templates:

  1. {{intro-too-short}}
  2. {{intro-too-long}}
  3. {{intro-missing}}
  4. {{intro-rewrite}}

History

In order to better understand a subject, it is sometimes useful to know their in-universe and real world history. For example:

  • Real world: What inspired the creation of a character?
  • In-universe: How did a character get to where they are? How was their aircraft designed?

Sometimes, a reader may only look up one thing in the in-universe history. However, they may accidentally read too much without being warned of spoilers. In such cases, the {{spoiler}} template must be applied to warn readers.

Quotes

A character article can contain quotes from that character. If too many quotes are listed on a page, the entire list should be moved to a subpage.

Trivia

A trivia section belongs at the end of an article, and it contains bulleted lists of miscellaneous information. Before adding to trivia, editors should attempt to see if the information is better suited under another section.

Linking

Wikis have the ability to hot-link to other articles and even external links. There are a few rules to linking on an article:

  • Do not link to another article multiple times. This should only be done a few times, once per every few sections.
  • Do not link to words that are irrelevant to Star Fox, for example: "apple", "of", "grapes"
  • External links should be used in accordance to the interwiki policy.

An article without any links is known as a "dead-end"; a list of them can be found under Special:DeadendPages. Adding links to an article keeps it out of the list of dead-end pages.

At times, articles may link to a disambiguation page, which are intended to help users differentiate between two articles of the same title. For example, Star Fox (team) and Star Fox (game) are listed under Star Fox. Based on the context, the link must be changed to which "Star Fox" exactly described by the article.

Other

Incomplete

To become a good article, the editor must avoid leaving out as much information as possible, especially large portions of information. An example of missing information is if a walkthrough leaves out a stage, a gallery is missing screenshots, etc. The {{incomplete}} template should be added in such cases, with a reason provided in the template.

Multiple issues

If an article has numerous issues, the {{multiple issues}} template should be added on it. This is because adding each template describing an individual issue would occupy too much content space.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a good article stems from a decent article. If it has been too long since the last evaluation, and many changes have been done to the article, it may have to be re-evaluated before its qualification as a good article.

In short, a good article has:

  • proper grammar, verifiable sources, and properly organized sections.
  • and is written in accordance to most policy pages, including the aforementioned sections.

See also

Credits

We thank the contributors of the following pages as they were a big inspiration to this page:

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