The Manual of Style is the guide to editing and creating pages on the Phantasy Star Wiki.
Official Content
The Phantasy Star Wiki is dedicated to archiving official information on the Phantasy Star franchise as a whole. This includes information and concepts found within the video games, art books, developer commentary, etc. Crossover content is allowed as long as the subject has appeared somewhere within the official Phantasy Star franchise.
Do not include anything from unofficial sources, such as fan fiction, fan games, original characters, bootlegs, or other unofficial sources.
Localization
The Phantasy Star Wiki conforms to localized naming conventions of people, places, things, locations, etc. for the Phantasy Star franchise when applicable. Fan translations are not official and will not be used unless there currently does not exist any officially translated game content (Phantasy Star Gaiden, Phantasy Star Nova, etc.).
- Exception: discussing content that has been translated different ways across different games.
- Example: Phantasy Star III changed not only the names of main characters but also certain event dates and locations. This potentially means that the canon information will be different based on the regional version discussed. In this case, as long as a disclaimer is added to explain which version of the canon is in question, both can be commented on. However, this information must be clearly stated somewhere on the page in question so as not to cause confusion.
In cases where a game is officially localized several years after the game's original release, fan translated terms will be changed to conform to the new localized text so as not to confuse readers.
Text Formats
- Italic - Used when referring to the title of a video game, series, book, etc.
- Example: Phantasy Star Online 2 is a video game originally released in 2012.
- Bold - Used as the page name.
- Example: Alis Landale is the heroine of the first millennium.
Point of View
Pages should always be written in third-person. Avoid the use of first and second-person, unless a direct quote is involved. In general, avoid using I, you, us, we, me, etc.
General Standards
- A page must be about official content and not originate from unofficial or fan sources.
- Make an effort to use proper grammar.
- Avoid speculation or theories in articles.
- Add references where possible to cite the source of information.
- The Phantasy Star Wiki does not condone piracy or plagiarism of any kind. Offending pages will be flagged for a complete rewrite upon discovery.
- Make an effort to publish pages with a sizable amount of content written. Pages with little to no information may be deleted, but they can always be remade later when more information is appropriately provided.
- When writing about a game or show's plot, use the present tense to describe the action.
- Avoid the use of contractions (can't, won't, would've, etc.) in pages.
Images
Images are a great way to spruce up a page and make it visually appealing to the reader. Acceptable images include:
- Screenshots, either from a game or a show
- Official game files
- Concept art
- Promotional fliers, teasers, posters, key art
Watermarks from official video game news websites such as 4gamer or IGN are allowed since they were given permission to publish previews of the latest games by the developers themselves. However, please limit the amount of these images to a minimum.
Unacceptable images include:
- Screen captures of Let's Plays featuring a host's face or channel icon
- Fan art
- Memes
- Duplicate images
Fan art is only allowed if the user puts the art on their talk page and if it was created by the user who uploaded it. Fan art of any kind is not allowed on pages about the official video games and it will be deleted immediately upon being discovered.
Categories
All pages on the Wiki should have at least one (1) category, usually within its respective game category. Do not over categorize. Major categories, such as Characters and Phantasy Star Media, only contain sub-categories in order to prevent clutter.
Trivia
Trivia, also known as fun facts, are tidbits of information that are worth mentioning about a subject but do not necessarily mesh well into the main article. This section is usually found at the bottom of a page. Acceptable trivia includes:
- Developer commentary
- Concept and creation notes
- Easter eggs
- Connections to the real world
- Connections to other games in the series/franchise
- Connections to other games in unrelated series/franchises
Unacceptable trivia includes:
- Political/controversial topics
- Opinions
- Information found within the body of the main article
Trivia should always be written in bullet points, which can be applied by typing an asterisk (*) at the beginning of a line in the source editor or by selecting bullet list in the toolbar.