Difference between revisions of "BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/BattleTech Style Guide"

m (→‎Military Commands: Changed the italics to boldface so that the emphasis is more prominent.)
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: ''Note: This style guide details stylistic elements that all editors should incorporate to help present a uniform style for the BattleTechWiki articles. It was borrowed from a similar guide being built by Editor [[User:Mbear|Mbear]].''
 
: ''Note: This style guide details stylistic elements that all editors should incorporate to help present a uniform style for the BattleTechWiki articles. It was borrowed from a similar guide being built by Editor [[User:Mbear|Mbear]].''
  
==Article titles==
+
==BattleTech-specific names==
* Article titles should be in the form of a singular noun, such as [[BattleMech]].
 
 
 
==BattleTech-specific cases==
 
 
The following words always appear in the form shown below:
 
The following words always appear in the form shown below:
 
<div style="-moz-column-count:3; column-count:3;">
 
<div style="-moz-column-count:3; column-count:3;">
Line 23: Line 20:
 
* WarShip
 
* WarShip
 
</div>
 
</div>
 +
 +
These words retain their capitalization wherever within a sentence they are used.
  
 
This section is an adaptable part of the guide; as new terms are introduced{{m}}in a stylistic way{{m}}with new products, they will be added here.
 
This section is an adaptable part of the guide; as new terms are introduced{{m}}in a stylistic way{{m}}with new products, they will be added here.
  
==Capitalization==
+
== House vs State ==
* Standard grammatical rules should be followed with regards to capitalization. Should emphasis be needed, it should be given in the form of italics or boldface, not all caps.
+
In writing about the fates and fortunes of the characters from the various Great Houses, it is to be understood (by the reader) the state and ruling family are separate entities. When referring to a House,  the characters that belong to that specific family will be the focus of the statement; the state's name will specifically reference the nation, its government, and its collective people.
: Correct - BattleMechs are ''not'' robots.
+
: ''Ex: House Davion refers to Lucien Davion and his progeny; the Federated Suns refers to the Successor State founded by him.''
: Incorrect - BattleMechs are NOT robots.
 
* One notable exception: Sarna capitalizes the proper name of military operations.
 
: ''Ex: [[Operation BIRD DOG]], [[Operation SAKKAKU]]''
 
 
 
* The families ruling the five [[Successor States]] should be referred to with capitals, i.e. House Davion, House Kurita, House Liao, House Marik, and House Steiner.
 
 
 
* Clan commands are always capitalized, such as with Point, Star, Nova, Trinary, Supernova, Cluster, Galaxy, and Touman. Clans do not have an "officer" or "enlisted" corps. They have trueborn and freeborn, and every rank is a regimented form of their "Warrior Corps". These include Point Commander, Star Commander, Star Captain, Star Colonel, and Khan, which are capitalized.
 
 
 
* "Clan" should be capitalized whenever referring to the descendants of Kerensky. Clan Jade Falcon. "I am a Clan warrior." The Northwind Highlanders also use the term "clan", of course, and should be capitalized only when used with a proper name: Clan McDougal. Yakuza clans are not capitalized excepted when used as part of a full name: the Nogachi Clan.
 
 
 
* Military commands are also capitalized:
 
: Correct - Twenty-first Galedon Regulars, Ninety-seventh Adder Sentinels, Seventh Deneb Light Cavalry
 
: Incorrect - Fifth sword of light, 8th orloff grenadiers
 
 
 
* The word "century" is not capitalized.
 
: ''Ex: The 20th century, the 31st century
 
 
 
==English language==
 
There are many different countries that speak and write in English, leading to different spellings of some words. Since BattleTech is created by an American company, it is most appropriate to write articles using American spelling and grammar. Editors who are familiar with other methods of spelling are not mandated to write articles in 'American' English since they are unfamiliar with it, but the article should be converted to American style by those that do.
 
  
 
==Military Commands==
 
==Military Commands==
Line 53: Line 33:
 
: ''Ex: [[1st Davion Guards]], [[304th Assault (Clan Ghost Bear)]]''
 
: ''Ex: [[1st Davion Guards]], [[304th Assault (Clan Ghost Bear)]]''
  
* When writing about military commands ''in the body of an article'', the numerical portion of the command's title should be spelled out, unless it is higher than one hundred.
+
* When writing about military commands '''in the body of an article''', the numerical portion of the command's title should be spelled out, unless it is higher than one hundred.
 
: ''Ex: First Davion Guards, 304th Assault (Clan Ghost Bear)''
 
: ''Ex: First Davion Guards, 304th Assault (Clan Ghost Bear)''
  
 
* The full name of a command should be used rather than an abbreviation, however common.  
 
* The full name of a command should be used rather than an abbreviation, however common.  
: ''Ex: Valexa Capellan March Militia instead of Valexa CMM.
+
: ''Ex: [[Valexa Capellan March Militia]] instead of Valexa CMM.
  
 
* All Clan commands should have the Clan name after the title in parenthesis.
 
* All Clan commands should have the Clan name after the title in parenthesis.
: ''Ex: Golden Keshik (Clan Wolf-in-Exile)''
+
: ''Ex: [[Golden Keshik (Clan Wolf-in-Exile)]]''
  
==Numbers==
+
==Titles==
* Write out any number under 11.
+
* '''In generic use''', apply lower case to words such as ''president'', ''professor'', and ''emperor''. Exceptions are made for non-English words and specific titles that incorporate as number into the title, such as "First Prince".
: ''Ex: Three, Seven, Nine, 13, 15, 23''
+
: ''Ex:
* Use commas to aid in understanding every three spaces.
+
: - ''Edmund Davion served in the role of president for just over thirteen years. He, however, was never a First Prince.''
: ''Ex: 2,983,802,928''
+
: - ''Stefan Amaris envisioned himself a galactic emperor.''
* Use decimal points to indicate numbers smaller than one, not commas.
 
: ''Ex: 394.09''
 
  
''For the use of numbers in military commands, see the [[Policy:BattleTech_Style_Guide#Military_Commands|Military Commands]] section.''
+
* '''Directly juxtaposed with the person's name''', such words begin with a capital letter.
 +
: ''Ex:
 +
: - ''Coordinator Yama Von Rohrs served in that role from 2470 to 2508.''
 +
: - ''Professor Emeritus Dietrich Mathers was a professor from the Lyran Alliance.''
  
 +
* '''Standard or commonly used names of an office''' are treated as proper names. Royal styles are capitalized; exceptions may apply for particular offices.
 +
: ''Ex:
 +
: - ''Daniel Calderon was Protector of the Realm.''
 +
: - ''"His Majesty, the first of his name, Lord of..."''
  
 
[[Category:Manual of Style]][[Category:Uncompleted Policies]]
 
[[Category:Manual of Style]][[Category:Uncompleted Policies]]

Revision as of 09:41, 1 July 2021

Note: This style guide details stylistic elements that all editors should incorporate to help present a uniform style for the BattleTechWiki articles. It was borrowed from a similar guide being built by Editor Mbear.

BattleTech-specific names

The following words always appear in the form shown below:

  • AeroSpace Fighter
  • BattleMech
  • BattleTech
  • DropPort
  • DropShip
  • JumpShip
  • 'Mech
  • MechWarrior
  • OmniMech
  • OmniFighter
  • ProtoMech
  • WarShip

These words retain their capitalization wherever within a sentence they are used.

This section is an adaptable part of the guide; as new terms are introduced—in a stylistic way—with new products, they will be added here.

House vs State

In writing about the fates and fortunes of the characters from the various Great Houses, it is to be understood (by the reader) the state and ruling family are separate entities. When referring to a House, the characters that belong to that specific family will be the focus of the statement; the state's name will specifically reference the nation, its government, and its collective people.

Ex: House Davion refers to Lucien Davion and his progeny; the Federated Suns refers to the Successor State founded by him.

Military Commands

  • When military command article titles involve numbers, the text should always be represented as a number.
Ex: 1st Davion Guards, 304th Assault (Clan Ghost Bear)
  • When writing about military commands in the body of an article, the numerical portion of the command's title should be spelled out, unless it is higher than one hundred.
Ex: First Davion Guards, 304th Assault (Clan Ghost Bear)
  • The full name of a command should be used rather than an abbreviation, however common.
Ex: Valexa Capellan March Militia instead of Valexa CMM.
  • All Clan commands should have the Clan name after the title in parenthesis.
Ex: Golden Keshik (Clan Wolf-in-Exile)

Titles

  • In generic use, apply lower case to words such as president, professor, and emperor. Exceptions are made for non-English words and specific titles that incorporate as number into the title, such as "First Prince".
Ex:
- Edmund Davion served in the role of president for just over thirteen years. He, however, was never a First Prince.
- Stefan Amaris envisioned himself a galactic emperor.
  • Directly juxtaposed with the person's name, such words begin with a capital letter.
Ex:
- Coordinator Yama Von Rohrs served in that role from 2470 to 2508.
- Professor Emeritus Dietrich Mathers was a professor from the Lyran Alliance.
  • Standard or commonly used names of an office are treated as proper names. Royal styles are capitalized; exceptions may apply for particular offices.
Ex:
- Daniel Calderon was Protector of the Realm.
- "His Majesty, the first of his name, Lord of..."