User:Redshift/Methods

First, a short list of usefulness:

• Template:Value: For all your money-counting needs.
• Template:NPC infobox: GW2W, building better people every day. Monsters, too.
• Template:Object infobox: The objects objected to being left alone.
• Template:Area infobox: How will you know where you've been otherwise?
• Template:Dialogue icon: When all you wanna do is talk.
• Template:Map icon: Oh, the places you will go! (They lied.)
• Template:karma: Comes back around more than you'd think.

On to the glibness!

Current settings

My personal editing functions* are set as thus:

In general

• My language is dense. This is a personal habit.
• In-game, I favor the flavorful. This is subjective.
• Outside, I favor the thorough.
  • Not to be confused with Thoreau, of whom I've forgotten if I have an opinion on either way.
    • Thaw-roe? Really?
• I use Oxford commas.
  • I use too many commas.
    • Nonetheless, I will still use the Oxford comma.
      • ANet uses the Oxford comma. Except when someone doesn't.
• I use American spelling. Unless it's the word 'grey.'
• I avoid textual contractions in outside text.
• I put my periods and commas on the inside, because I'm down 'like that.'

In caps

• For creatures and items, I currently abide by a balance between title case and sentence case.
  • Title case for page titles (again of specific things in-game) and enumeration.
    • Page titles are titles of pages. Page titles are also an external view of the use in-game.
      • Specifically, the page title is of 'the item: Loaf of Bread' or 'the mob: Brown Bear'.
    • Capitalization in-game is unlikely to change. In my guess, it just keeps things neat.
      • Otherwise it'd be Guild Wars 2: e. e. cummings.
    • By enumeration, I mean specific items in a list. Those items link to the page and the corresponding page titles. And, like in-game usage, it keeps things tidy.
  • Sentence case for text.
    • Textual usage is situated more from within the game; it is less mechanically oriented.
    • Mostly, common nouns are not capitalized.
      • Vegetable: No.
      • Animal: No.
      • Mineral: No.
      • Major-general, modern or not: Not unless it is a direct address or followed by a name.
• Fun aside and exception: If following ornithological convention, something like Golden Moa, as a specific species of bird, would be capitalized.
• Does Tyria even have binomial nomenclature?

• For Wiki terms of mechanical use, capitalization of the first word per title.
  • This is for handy dandies like Harvesting sickle or Gathering tool—things that are part of our glossary but not codified in-game.
    • I think of it as the 'Garden shed' approach.
      • I could use a handy dandy.

• This topic is unlikely to be resolved soon.

Want to know how others feel? Go here.

Creatures

• Are not separately ranked. Veteran and champion distinctions, if any, are considered part of the 'basic' creature and not as a separate page.
• Are capitalized in page creation, as above.
• Are lowercase in text. A bat is a bat is a bat. Also, a crested macaque is not capitalized; why should a crested raptor be as such? Yes, I looked that up.
• Are generally pluralized to begin the text.
  • Though the title is singular, the creature is not.
  • The creature shares its name and special abilities in a group.
  • An overall reference to all occurrences of the creature is a useful point of entry.
  • Unless it truly is a singular entity, at which it is further distinguished from a normal creature.
    • And it can keep its Veteran / Champion designation in the page title. Must've done something to earn it, I suppose.
  • Individual characteristics or behavior—description of a single member, like long walks on the beach, enjoys cuddling, etc—can follow afterwards.
• Have special abilities enumerated separately. This is how it is expressed in-game, and it is cumbersome to reword and then force players to find.
  • Separately, and verbatim. That's right, cap it like it is, [sic] it like it should be.
• Are placed in pluralized categories.

Places

• Are finally consensus'ed out... at least, until someone else comes along, I suppose.
• Are Region, Explorable zone, Area, and Point of Interest.
  • And sometimes y.
• Zones are also maps.
  • Maps are tasty.
• Are preferentially referred to as is, favoring 'in Gendarran Fields', as opposed to 'in the Gendarran Fields':
  • Place names are formal names for a specific place.
    • It's like when talking about a person. 'John' is not 'The John'. That's really quite different. Nor is John 'a John'. Although one time...
    • ...Hmm. Maybe that's not relevant. Back on track!
  • Area names do officially exist as 'The Blankenblank.' 'The Lawen Ponds,' for example. Adding in 'the' to formal names—as one could easily do for many places—seems extraneous.
  • No, not even the game is consistent about this, nor will I be a hawk about it...
    • ...so long as subject-verb agreement is made in accordance.
• Exceptions are made for mountains and rivers. 'The Witherflank' is fine. As fine as something called 'Witherflank' can be. Think about it.
  • Don't go swimming there.
  • Otherwise, sparing usage of the 'the' should assist in distinguishing an area. For example, the Dragonbrand.

• Where'd this come from? See Guild Wars 2 Wiki talk:Community portal#Location terminology.

*This page is intended as a somewhat fluffy explanation of why I might have made an edit in the way I did, and to document my own approach. It is not meant to be a standard guide. However, should one find my efforts to be seriously unsound, do drop me a line.