Forum:CT Archive/Manual of Style for OOU articles

There are four major types of OOU articles: People, events, non-reference media (Books, comics, games, movies, etc.), and reference media (Other books, guides, manuals, etc.). Currently we have a policy about the structure of OOU articles that focuses primarily on the aspect of books, and does not specifically address all media. This CT is proposed to address these types of media.

With each of these media types stems articles with their own unique challenges. This proposal focuses on the third category&mdash;print books, comics, games, movies, etc.&mdash;that are not explicitly reference material. These include everything from children's books to the trading card games and the new MMORPG to the Legacy comics.

Current layout
Currently it lists:
 * 1) Title/Eras/Infobox
 * 2) Introduction
 * 3) Stub
 * 4) Editions
 * 5) Publisher's summary
 * 6) Plot summary
 * 7) Excerpts
 * 8) Appearances
 * 9) New continuity
 * 10) Behind the scenes
 * 11) Cover gallery
 * 12) Notes and references
 * 13) See also
 * 14) External links
 * 15) Succession box
 * 16) Category
 * 17) Interwiki links

Proposed article requirements for every OOU article
All articles would require four parts: a header, introduction, main body and footer. These four article areas outlined below are proposed to be required without exception. The main body section is different for each form of media that is published and is addressed below.

Header material:
 * 1) Title - using Title, if needed, for italics.
 * 2) Eras

Introduction:
 * 1) Infobox
 * 2) Introductory text

Main body material:
 * Every article should include sections devoted to conception, production, principal characters, summaries, reception and continuity. Each main body should also conclude with a section for notes and references, and links to other pages – both internally and externally. For each individual item, see the subsets below.

Footer material:
 * 1) Succession box(es)
 * 2) Categories
 * 3) Interwiki links

Proposed main body requirements by subset
Due to the nature and demands of each media type, specific layouts are proposed for each type. They all follow the design of conception-production, summary-characters, media, reception, continuity, references-links. As always, if either absolutely no information exists or is not in any way applicable, sections can be omitted.

Books
Main body:
 * 1) Conception
 * 2) Production
 * 3) *Editions: Brief discussion of various editions, languages, etc. should be included here.
 * 4) Summary of story arc(s)
 * 5) *Publisher's summary: This should be included here for individual books.
 * 6) *Synopsis &mdash; This should be written to expand upon the storyline or story arcs.
 * 7) Main characters
 * 8) Media
 * 9) *Books &mdash; Books within the series, if the article covers the entire series.
 * 10) *Supplemental media &mdash; (If necessary)
 * 11) *Related media &mdash; If the article is about an individual book, this references the other books in the series briefly, if necessary.
 * 12) Reception
 * 13) Continuity
 * 14) *Continuity errors
 * 15) *References to other Star Wars media
 * 16) *Appearances
 * 17) Other topics &mdash; For varying use, if needed.
 * 18) Notes and references
 * 19) See also
 * 20) External links &mdash; (If necessary)

Comics
Main body:
 * 1) Conception
 * 2) Production
 * 3) *Editions: Brief discussion various editions should be included here, if necessary.
 * 4) Summary of story arc(s)
 * 5) *Publisher's summary: This should be included here for individual comics.
 * 6) *Synopsis &mdash; This should be written to expand upon the storyline or story arcs.
 * 7) Main characters
 * 8) Media
 * 9) *Comics &mdash; Comics within the series, if the article covers the entire series.
 * 10) *Supplemental media &mdash; (If necessary)
 * 11) *Related media &mdash; If the article is about an individual comic, this references the other books in the series briefly, if necessary.
 * 12) Reception
 * 13) Continuity
 * 14) *Continuity errors
 * 15) *References in other Star Wars media
 * 16) *References to other Star Wars media
 * 17) *Appearances
 * 18) Other topics &mdash; For varying use, if needed.
 * 19) Notes and references
 * 20) See also
 * 21) External links &mdash; (If necessary)

Computer/video games
Main body:
 * 1) Conception
 * 2) Production
 * 3) *Editions: Brief discussion various editions, formats, and languages should be included here.
 * 4) *Cast
 * 5) *Crew
 * 6) Summary of story arc(s)
 * 7) *Opening crawl or Opening text &mdash; (If necessary)
 * 8) *Publisher's summary: This should be included here for individual games.
 * 9) *Synopsis &mdash; This should be written to expand upon the storyline or story arcs.
 * 10) Main characters
 * 11) Gameplay
 * 12) *Modes of gameplay
 * 13) *Alternatives in gameplay
 * 14) Media
 * 15) *Games &mdash; Games within the metaseries, if the article covers the entire series.
 * 16) *Supplemental media &mdash; (If necessary)
 * 17) *Related media &mdash; If the article is about an individual games, this references the other games, books, etc. with relation to the article, if necessary.
 * 18) Reception
 * 19) Continuity
 * 20) *Continuity errors
 * 21) *References in other Star Wars media
 * 22) *References to other Star Wars media
 * 23) *Appearances
 * 24) Other topics &mdash; For varying use, if needed.
 * 25) Notes and references
 * 26) See also
 * 27) External links &mdash; (If necessary)

Movies/Television
Main body:
 * 1) Conception
 * 2) Production
 * 3) *Editions: Brief discussion various editions, formats, and languages should be included here or under post-production.
 * 4) *Cast
 * 5) *Crew
 * 6) Post-production &mdash; (If necessary)
 * 7) Summary of story arc(s)
 * 8) *Opening crawl or Opening text &mdash; The latter used, for example, for the Clone Wars TV series.
 * 9) *Publisher's summary: This should be included here for individual games.
 * 10) *Synopsis &mdash; This should be written to expand upon the storyline or story arcs.
 * 11) Main characters
 * 12) Media
 * 13) *Movies &mdash; Movies within the metaseries, if the article covers the entire series.
 * 14) *Supplemental media &mdash; (If necessary)
 * 15) *Related media &mdash; If the article is about an individual film, this references the other games, books, etc. with relation to the article, if necessary.
 * 16) Reception
 * 17) Continuity
 * 18) *Continuity errors
 * 19) *References in other Star Wars media
 * 20) *References to other Star Wars media
 * 21) *Appearances
 * 22) Other topics &mdash; For varying use, if needed.
 * 23) Notes and references
 * 24) See also
 * 25) External links &mdash; (If necessary)

Trading card games and RPGs
Main body:
 * 1) Conception
 * 2) Production
 * 3) *Editions: Brief discussion various editions, languages, etc. should be included here, if necessary.
 * 4) Summary of story arc(s) &mdash; This may not be relevant for the trading card games or card sets, but is relevant for RPGs otherwise.
 * 5) *Publisher's summary: This should be included here for individual games, if available.
 * 6) *Synopsis &mdash; This should be written to expand upon the storyline or story arcs.
 * 7) Main characters
 * 8) Media
 * 9) *Card sets &mdash; Card sets within the series, if the article covers the entire series. (If applicable)
 * 10) *Supplemental media &mdash; Other resources, such as online guides, manuals, reference books, etc. (If applicable)
 * 11) *Related media &mdash; If the article is about an individual card set or RPG adventure, this references the other books, cards, games, etc. in the series briefly.
 * 12) Reception
 * 13) Continuity
 * 14) *Continuity errors
 * 15) *References in other Star Wars media
 * 16) *References to other Star Wars media
 * 17) *Appearances
 * 18) Other topics &mdash; For varying use, if needed.
 * 19) Notes and references
 * 20) See also
 * 21) External links &mdash; (If necessary)

General layout
This layout can be used if none of the above are applicable.

Main body:
 * 1) Conception
 * 2) Production
 * 3) Summary of story arc(s)
 * 4) *Publisher's summary
 * 5) Main characters
 * 6) Supplemental media and/or Related media
 * 7) Reception
 * 8) Continuity
 * 9) Other topics of note
 * 10) Notes and references
 * 11) See also
 * 12) External links

Voting
Please vote below. Comments and wiki-lawyering should be reserved for the comment section.

Votes in favor

 * 1)  Master Aban Fiolli  {Alpheridies University ComNet} 23:35, 10 November 2008 (UTC)