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This page describes one of Xenopedia's policies and guidelines. All users are expected to follow policy, except where it would damage the wiki. If you have any questions, suggestions, or complaints, please post them on the talk page. |
All page titles must be accurate, concise and meaningful. Remember that editors will need to link to the articles, so the title needs to be easy to remember and type. Visitors will read and follow links, so the link needs to be accurate and meaningful. Visitors will also search for the articles, so the title needs to be relevant.
Capitalization
Page titles should be in sentence case.
Sentence case is where only the first word is capitalised, except for proper nouns and other words which are generally capitalised by a more specific rule. For example, "Fiorina 161 Class C Work Correctional Unit" should be capitalized because it is a proper noun (the name of a penal colony), but "Sacrificial chamber" should not, as it is a general term.
Singular/Plural
Generally speaking, page titles should be singular. For example: "Human", not "Humans".
Exceptions to this are rare, but include scenarios where the item in question includes multiples as standard, such as Wristblades.
Language
All article titles should be in English, except where it is a direct quote from the media, or the official name of something.
A major factor with language on Xenopedia is the difference between British and American English. While both spellings are equally correct, standard practice on this wiki is to adopt American English. As a result, you should not go around changing American English spellings into British English, although alterations the other way around are acceptable. The only time British English should be maintained is if the title of a piece of media is specifically written that way, or in a quotation from a publication that uses British English.
Length
Article titles should be concise. Avoid long titles such as "List of Large Two-Handed Weapons in Aliens vs. Predator (2010)". Likewise, article titles, and by extension the information the page contains, should not be too specific. In this scenario, a shorter, less specific title would be more approriate, such as "Aliens vs. Predator weapons".
Avoid abbreviations, even if they are common amongst fans. For example, do not shorten "Alien vs. Predator" to "AVP", unless the subject in question specifically writes its title as an abbreviation (e.g. AVP: Evolution).
Where "X" is the parent media and "Y" is the subject based upon it, page titles should be formatted XY (e.g. "Aliens: Colonial Marines weapons"), not "Y in X" (e.g. "Weapons in Aliens: Colonial Marines").
Character Pages
As a general rule, character page titles should incorporate only the given name and surname of that character, even if additional middle names or initials for the individual are known. For example, use "Ellen Ripley", not "Ellen Louise Ripley". The full name should be stated in the opening section.
If a character uses an alias other than their legal given name, this alias should be used in the page title. For example, use "Thomas Kane", not "Gilbert Kane". Their legal name and the fact their commonly used name is an alias should be stated in the opening section.
If a character is generally referred to by the shortened form of their given name, this shortened form should be used in the page title. For example, use "Mike Harrigan", not "Michael Harrigan". The full name (if it is known to exist) should be stated in the opening section.
The only times a character page should include more than two names in its title are:
- When a character is predominantly referred to using three or more names. Example: Charles Bishop Weyland.
- When a character is predominately referred to using a nickname that is not simply a shortened form of their first name or an alias. Example: Alan "Dutch" Schaefer. In this case, the nickname is included in quotation marks between the character's given name and surname. It is also a good idea to create a redirect page for the nickname so that the correct article is easier to find (e.g. Dutch).
Character page titles should exclude any ranks or titles. For example, use "Jonathan Clemens", not "Doctor Jonathan Clemens". Again, the rank or title should be mentioned in the opening section.
In cases where a full name for a character is not known, the following rules apply:
- If only a given name or surname is known, that name should be used. Example: Larson.
- If only a nickname is known, with no information about the character's real name, that nickname should be used. Example: Jungle Hunter.
- If only a single name (or nickname) is known and this would conflict or be easily confused with another article, a clarifier should be added in parentheses. Example: Johnson (USS Verloc).
- If nothing is known about a character's name, but they are credited a certain way in a film or game, their credit should be used. Example: Soldier with glove.
- If nothing is known about a character's name and they are not specifically credited, the article can simply be titled "Unnamed ______". Example: Unnamed commander.
It should also be remembered that some characters from the feature films are only given full names in expanded universe media. In such cases, it would be a good idea to create a redirect using the character's credited name from the movie.
Comic Book Pages
Comic book page titles should use the comic's most recent release title. In cases where a particular comic may have had one or more alternative titles during its publication history, these alternate titles should be listed in the opening section. It is also a good idea to create a redirect pages for any and all of the comic's previous titles so that the correct article is easier to find (e.g. Aliens: Book Two).
Using the "#" Key
The Alien vs. Predator universe includes a large number of comics, many of which were originally issued in multiple parts. However, the "#" symbol should not be used to denote the issue number in a page title. This is because the # symbol, when used in a wiki link, will redirect users to a specific section of the destination article. For example, [[M41A Pulse Rifle#Behind the Scenes]] would take you to the section "Behind the Scenes" on the M41A Pulse Rifle page. Therefore naming a comic page Dark Horse Presents #36 would lead to issues when linking. Instead, the page should be titled Dark Horse Presents 36.
Where appropriate, the "#" symbol can still be made to appear in page titles by using the {{DISPLAYTITLE:}} template at the top of the article. Similarly, piped links can be used to account for the unusable "#" symbol when linking to pages. For example, ''[[Dark Horse Presents 36|Dark Horse Presents #36]]'' would give you Dark Horse Presents #36.
Disambiguation
- Main article: Xenopedia:Disambiguation
If multiple articles would have the same name, you should create a single disambiguation page that links to the various options.