The Owl House Wiki:Article Guidelines

Welcome to the The Owl House Wiki's Article Guidelines, also known as the Manual of Style (MoS).

Before editing, please make sure to read the wiki's rules!

Introduction

This page will answer many of your questions pertaining to articles on this wiki. If you can not find your answer, please ask an administrator.

Article do's and do not's

Do

Write in paragraphs
Use punctuation
Link
Add sources
Add categories
Fix grammar
Use templates

Do not

Forget capitalization
Add lists of attributes
Leave blank articles
Vandalize articles
Add speculative information
Add both appearance and personality in infoboxes

Article titles

Avoid making articles with conjectural titles. Please make sure the article name for a subject is its official name. Similarly, please do not use nicknames or alternate names for an article's title. (e.g. "Luz Noceda" instead of "Main Character.")

Article names must also be written in the singular form rather than the plural. (e.g. "Dog" instead of "Dogs.") Certain exceptions may apply, such as if an article is a list. (e.g. "List of dogs.") Additionally, the definite article (the) and indefinite articles (a/an) should be avoided in article titles except when they are part of an official title.

When starting an article, make sure to always include at least a single sentence about the subject. This sentence should include a brief definition of the subject, and don't forget to bold the first instance of the article name.

Language

For the purpose of maintaining consistency, and because the subject of this wiki originates from the United States, words on this wiki should conform to the spelling used in American English. This applies only to main namespace pages, not talk or user pages. Although no user should be harassed or punished for using other regional spellings of words, editors are encouraged to conform text in articles to U.S. spelling. If you come across a word spelled the way it is in another country (for example if you see "color" spelled as "colour"), just change it to the U.S. English spelling and be done with it.

What should an article have?

This depends on the page. Some things are meant for some pages.

For characters

Each character gets an article, as long as they are important enough. What defines important enough are shown in the three standards below.

Every character that visually appears on the show is allowed to have a page, except for characters that only appear in a group and don't perform any unique individual actions.
- For the above group characters, a character page about the group should be created instead. (Example: Human)
Unseen characters should only have their own page if they are specifically named and play a role in an episode's plot.
We have some lists of characters, objects, creatures, and animals since individually they do not merit their own pages.

Each page of a character should have the following sections:

the Infobox with relevant information about the character (see character infobox template for instructions)
An introduction section giving a brief explanation of the character.
Next, in order, Appearance (with Body, Clothing, and Additional features subsections), Personality, and Background sections to further describe their characteristics. If there is not enough information on the character, the Personality section can be omitted. When describing the character's appearance, first describe their physical appearance followed by their typical clothing and accessories. To describe a person's skin color, please use "light-skinned", "olive-skinned", "dark-skinned", or similar descriptions. Body size descriptions such as "thin", "fat", "tall", and "short" are okay. Avoid using euphemisms such as "overweight" or medical terms such as "obese".
Next, a Relationships section to describe the character's notable relationships with other characters. Non-notable relationships (such as other characters that the character has only limited interaction with) should not be included.
Next, a Powers and abilities section to describe the character's notable abilities (example: Luz's glyphs, Amity's abominations, Willow's magic plants, etc).
Next, if the character appears in more than one episode, a Sightings section should be used to list the episodes they appear in.
Next, a Behind the scenes section. This section include the following subsections: Early development, Name and basis, Voice, Debut, and Foreign voice actors (using {{Foreign VA}}). If there is no information for the character base, early development, or no voice actor, the Early development, Name and basis, or Voice sections can be omitted.
A Quotes section should be added for any page that has an associated quotes page. In this section, simply put {{Quote}}. See the section below that describes how to add quotations to the subpage.
A Gallery section should be added for any page that has an associated gallery. In this section, simply put {{Gallery}}.
- If the page has an associated Designs page, in the Gallery template section simply put "{{Gallery|designs=yes}}".
Next, a Trivia section.
A Videos section must be added, as long as Disney Channel uploads clips related to the character to its official YouTube channel. Videos uploaded by non-Disney channels are not allowed.
A References section should be included if any references are used. In this section, put {{Reflist}}.
At the bottom of the page, include a characters navigation template. Simply put: {{CharacterNav}}.

Example of a good character page: Luz Noceda.

For episodes

Each episode gets an article. It is best not to create too in-depth articles about episodes not released yet (unless information, with references, is provided about said un-aired episode), as the information can change drastically. Each episode page should have:

An infobox using the Episode template.
An introductory paragraph (or sentence). This should include the title, episode number, and premiere date.
A Synopsis section, giving a very short description of the episode. These should be direct quotes from Disney press releases or other official sources. Avoid editing these sections.
A Plot section. This should house a full recap of the story of the episode.
A Cast section, for all the voice actors and characters featured in the episode, This section includes the following subsections:
- Additional voices, for voice actors who are credited as additional voices. In case it is credited in additional voices but the character the actor voiced is known, it can be listed in the main section.
- Non-speaking cameo, for characters that appear in the episode, but only as a cameo and without a speaking role.
- Mentioned, for characters that are only mentioned in the episode.
- Pictured, for characters that only appear in pictured or portraits in the episode.
- Other characters, for characters that are animals, creatures, or recurring background characters without a speaking role.
In case the episode contains songs, a Songs section, listing the featured songs.
A Title in other languages section, listing the names of the episode in other languages and its English translation. This section should include the Foreign Episode template.
A Transcript section should be added for any page that has a transcript made for it. In this section, simply put {{Transcript}}.
A Gallery section should be added for any page that has an associated gallery. In this section, simply put {{Gallery}}.
A Trivia section when appropriate. This section can include the following subsections: Revelations and significant events, Continuity, and Production notes.
An Allusions section, listing the allusions and references to other media contained in the episode.
An Errors section, listing errors in animation, production, or in the series continuity.
An Edits section, listing the edits made to the episode such as censorship, animation or dialogue edits, among others, either after the original release or in international broadcasts.
A Videos section should be added, as long as Disney Channel uploads clips related to the episode to its official YouTube channel, we also allow promos of the episode uploaded by non-Disney channels. Full episodes or clips uploaded by non-Disney channels are not allowed, except for promos.
A References section should be included if any references are used. In this section, put {{Reflist}}.
An episodes navigational template should be included last. Simply put: {{EpisodeNav}}.

Example of a good episode page: "A Lying Witch and a Warden".

For crew members

Each person that work on the show gets an article. A crew member article should include:

An infobox using the Crew template.
An introductory paragraph (or sentence) giving a brief information of the person.
A Life and career section, detailing highlights of they life and professional career.
For voice actors, a Roles section, listing in a gallery with links the characters they voice.
A Gallery section should be added for any page that has an associated gallery. In this section, simply put {{Gallery}}. Please note that the galleries are only created for the most prominent people in the crew (such as the creator, and the main and important cast).
A Trivia section when appropriate.
An External links section, listing the social networks, Wikipedia and IMDB page, and the official website with the corresponding templates.
A References section should be included if any references are used. In this section, put {{Reflist}}.
A crew navigational template at the bottom of the page. Simply put: {{CrewNav}}.

Example of a good crew member page: Dana Terrace.

For groups, species, and organizations

Each major group gets an article. An group article should include:

An infobox using the Group template.
An introductory paragraph (or sentence) giving a brief explanation of the group.
A Background section, detailing the history and background and what effect it had on the plot.
A Known members section, listing the names of all known members of the group or organization, and the role they play in it.
- In the case of species, instead of "members", the species name is put in plural (e.g. Known humans).
A Sightings section listing the episodes the group has been seen.
A Gallery section should be added for any page that has an associated gallery. In this section, simply put {{Gallery}}.
A Trivia section when appropriate.
A References section should be included if any references are used. In this section, put {{Reflist}}.
A characters navigation template. Simply put: {{CharacterNav}}.

Example of a good group page: Human.

For locations

Each major location gets an article. Depending on the information, sublocations may be given their own page or assimilated onto the main location page.

A location article should include:

A place template for the infobox.
An introductory paragraph (or sentence) giving a brief explanation of the location.
The Appearance section, detailing what the place is like or what is found there.
- An Interior subsection, detailing what the place looks like in its interior. In case the interior of the place is not known, the subsection can be omitted.
The Background section, detailing where the location was featured and what effect it had on the plot.
A Sightings section for episodes that the location was featured in.
A Gallery section should be added for any page that has an associated gallery. In this section, simply put {{Gallery}}.
You may want to put in behind the scenes Trivia as well, if possible.
A References section should be included if any references are used. In this section, put {{Reflist}}.
A places navigational template at the bottom of the page. Simply put: {{PlaceNav}}.

Example of a good location page: The Owl House (location).

In the case of an article of a geographical location it should include:

A place template for the infobox.
An introductory paragraph (or sentence) giving a brief explanation of the location.
The Geography section, detailing the geography of the location. If there is no information on geography, the section can be omitted.
The History section, detailing the history and background of the location.
The Society and culture section, detailing the society and the culture of the location.
A Places of interest section, listing and describing the different interesting places that can be found in the location.
A Sightings section for episodes that the location was featured in.
A Gallery section should be added for any page that has an associated gallery. In this section, simply put {{Gallery}}.
You may want to put in behind the scenes Trivia as well, if possible.
A References section should be included if any references are used. In this section, put {{Reflist}}.
A places navigational template at the bottom of the page. Simply put: {{PlaceNav}}.

Example of a good geographical location page: Boiling Isles.

For objects, films, and shows

Each major object gets an article. An object article should include:

An infobox using the Object template.
An introductory paragraph (or sentence) giving a brief explanation of the object.
An Appearance section describing the appearance of the object.
A Background section describing when and where the object is seen.
A Sightings section listing the episodes the object has been seen.
A Gallery section should be added for any page that has an associated gallery. In this section, simply put {{Gallery}}.
A Trivia section when appropriate.
A References section should be included if any references are used. In this section, put {{Reflist}}.
An objects navigational template at the bottom of the page. Simply put: {{ObjectNav}}.

Example of a good object page: Palisman.

For songs

Each songs gets an article. A song article should include:

An infobox using the Music template.
An introductory paragraph (or sentence) giving a brief information of the song.
For theme songs and end credit themes, an Appearance section should be included, detailing the scenes and acts that occur in the themes.
A Lyrics section, transcribing the lyrics of the song. In case a song is instrumental only, the section can be omitted.
A Sightings section listing the episodes the song has been heard.
A Gallery section should be added for any page that has an associated gallery. In this section, simply put {{Gallery}}.
A Trivia section when appropriate.
A References section should be included if any references are used. In this section, put {{Reflist}}.
A music navigational template at the bottom of the page. Simply put: {{MusicNav}}.

Example of a good song page: The Owl House Main Theme.

Draft templates

Draft templates are useful for creating a draft with preloaded text defined on some other page whether it be characters, episodes, etc. It is useful to create new pages with an already defined format for each category.

Special note

Please avoid the following:

"Counting" trivia (e.g., "This is the fifteenth time Luz uses her palisman."). There may be exceptions.
Trivia that is likely to change in the future (e.g., "This episode contains the most scenes with Eileen to date.").
Uninteresting stuff (e.g., "Eda Eda drinks blood apple.").
Referring to special playtimes/timecodes (e.g., "If you look at 5:12, you can see [name of character] in the background."). Because not everyone has the same version of a particular video, these times are often unhelpful.
Tangential relations (e.g., "This is just like the time Eda ate rocks and Luz said nothing.").
Non-factual information/opinions.
Speculation/theories.

Procedure to replace infobox images

Main article: Image and Video Guidelines

Wikitext spacing

In order to ease source editing, there are specific guidelines for the spacing of wikitext.

Incorrect

Correct

*Bullet
**Point
***List

#Numbered
##List

==Header 2==
===Header 3===
====Header 4====
Content
===Header 5===
More content

{{Template with named parameters
|a=a
|ab=b|abc=c
|abcd=d}}


{{Template with numbered parameters|
A|B|C|D}}

;Bolded
:Indent

* Bullet
** Point
*** List

# Numbered
## List

== Header 2 ==
=== Header 3 ===
==== Header 4 ====
Content

=== Header 5 ===
More content

{{Template with named parameters
|a = a
|ab = b
|abc = c
|abcd = d
}}

{{Template with numbered parameters|A|B|C|D}}

; Bolded
: Indent

Sections on character pages

Appearance and Personality

Please include an appearance and personality section in an article and not in a character infobox.

Background and Relationship pages

Please do not create background and relationship pages. Instead, create a section in a character's article that describes background and relationships. For example, Amity's page should have a section describing her most important background (if necessary with subsections) and her major relationships with other characters.

Linking

Linking is usually limited to the first occurrence of the word or phrase in each article, not counting links inside infoboxes. This is because spamming too many wiki links makes articles difficult to read. Using this guideline, one thing should never be linked on a page more than twice. Adding multiple links for the same term might be acceptable in very long articles, where linked instances of the term are very far apart. Another exception to this is if multiple links lead to different sections on the same page.

When linking to an article, please use this format:

✓ [[Luz Noceda|Luz Noceda's]]
instead of
✗ [[Luz Noceda]]'s

When linking to Wikipedia, please use this format:

✓ [[Wikipedia:Fiji mermaid]] or {{w|Fiji mermaid}}
instead of
✗ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiji_mermaid Fiji mermaid]

When linking to another wiki on Wikia, please use this format:

✓ [[w:c:WIKIANAME:WIKIAPAGE|TEXT]]
instead of
✗ [http://WIKIANAME.wikia.com/wiki/WIKIAPAGE TEXT]

Piped links are only necessary for examples like the ones above. Usually, for plural words, the pipe is not necessary since it is already highlighted. (e.g. [[Human]]s = Humans)

References

External references

Please use reliable external sources such as Disney or crew pages. Avoid using unreliable, editable sources such as IMDB. To reference an external page, use the following format:

<ref name=disney>http://disney.com</ref>

Note that the name allows you to reuse the same reference later in the article. If you want to reuse it, use the following format:

Source quality

Not all sources are created equal. Please consider the nature of the source you are citing. Websites that are editable by users are not considered reliable sources.

Good sources:

Disney websites (including press releases and official social media pages)
Websites citing official press releases or specializing in television (e.g., tvguide.com)
Any verified Twitter account (e.g., @DisneyBrandTVPR, @DanaTerrace.)
Tumblr accounts used exclusively by Series crew

Bad sources:

IMDB
TV.com
Wikipedia (unless it gives citations and you verify their accuracy)
Unverified Twitter accounts
Blogs, opinion pages, etc.
Unverified, leaked material (content could change before airing)

Templates

Main article: The Owl House Wiki:Templates

Spoiler template

Do not add the "Spoiler" category directly to an article. Instead, append {{spoiler}} to the beginning of an article. The spoiler template should be added to the article of a recently aired episode and other articles containing plot spoilers of the same episode. It can be removed one week after the episode airs.

Stubs

Do not add the "Article stubs" category directly to an article. Instead, append {{stub}} to the beginning of an article. Articles should only be marked as a stub if the article is incomplete and is missing some basic information.

Cite web template

The Cite web template is used to create citations of web sources and thus have a better order in the references of the articles.

When adding a quotation

Use the Template:Quote for one-liners. Quotes should be memorable or illustrative of the character's personality. Please limit the number of quotes per page and only add the most memorable or illustrative quotes of the character.

Specific issues

Straight vs. Curly (Smart) quotes

The only acceptable type of quote designs are the straight quotes (' ") since they are available on your keyboard to type short-handedly and majority of the articles uses the straight punctuation characters. This means that curly (smart) punctuation characters (‘ ’ “ ”) are not acceptable due to the symbols being outside of a common keyboard and being tedious to render in the articles using keyboard shortcuts.

Use of commas

As The Owl House Wiki entails an American television series, please follow the American English usage of the comma, known as the "Oxford comma" or "serial comma", when appropriate. This comma generally separates the final two items in a series. For example, "Luz, Eda, and King live in the Owl House" is preferred instead of "Luz, Eda and King live in the Owl House".

Confused on when to use commas between adjectives? If the sentence contains adjectives, ask yourself:

Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written in reverse order?
Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written with "and" between them?

If you answer yes to both of these questions, then the adjectives are a coordinate set and should be separated by a comma. Examples of coordinate and non-coordinate adjectives:

He was a difficult, unfriendly frog. (coordinate) They have a white frame picture. (non-coordinate) She wore a wide silk dress. (non-coordinate) Your mother has a soft, friendly gaze. (coordinate) The relentless, powerful summer sun beat down on them. (1-2 are coordinate, but the third is non-coordinate.)

The relentless, powerful, oppressive sun beat down on them. (Both 1, 2, and 3 are coordinate.)

For more on the use of the comma, see this page by Connecticut Community College or this page by Purdue University.

Use of apostrophes

Like the comma, please follow the English usage of the apostrophe. This is noted for decades and years, e.g., '90s instead of 90's/90s or 1990s instead of 1990's.

On the difference between "its" vs. "it's", note that "its" is a possessive pronoun of a subject's quality or object (ex: The Titan is large, its design is based on a human skeleton); whereas "it's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has", indicating status or position of the subject (ex: Eda's staff has an owl totem, it's made of wood).

When using apostrophes to make citations, leave out punctuation marks that are not part of the citation (ex: "Episode". instead of "Episode."); however, if they are part of the citation, they can go inside the apostrophes. For quotes, final punctuation marks must be inside apostrophes (ex: When saw it, Hunter said "it looks pretty good.") but note that this excludes non-final punctuation marks such as comma or colon.

Capitalization

Capitalization of article titles and section headers should include the first letter of the first word being a capital letter, but it should otherwise follow the normal English rules of capitalization. For example, a section title should be "External links" instead of "External Links." An exception is the capitalization of article titles for characters.

POV

The situations in the articles of this wiki should be written from a neutral point of view in a disinterested tone, giving no bias or preferences and avoiding giving unimportant issues undue weight. That means it should include facts, not personal opinions. Avoid the use of imperative form and second person (you), and the statements about what "some fans think" when writing articles.

Raw format

When bolding an article's title within the article itself, only the first instance of the article's name should be bolded. In instances where alternate names or nicknames for the article's title are added, the first instances of them should also be bolded. Here is an example of this:

A bag (also known regionally as a sack) is a common tool in the form of a non-rigid container. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being no more than lengths of animal skin, cotton, or woven plant fibers, folded up at the edges and secured in that shape with strings of the same material.

View the original article here.

When viewed in Source mode, this is what it would look like.

A '''bag''' (also known regionally as a '''sack''') is a common tool in the form of a non-rigid container. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being no more than lengths of animal skin, cotton, or woven plant fibers, folded up at the edges and secured in that shape with strings of the same material.

When referring to the names of media, such as the title of a television show, these should be italicized (e.g. The Owl House) while things like episode names should be surrounded with quotation marks. (e.g. "Episode name" from Season 1.)

Verb tense

Works of fiction are generally considered to "come alive" for their audience. They exist in a kind of perpetual present tense, regardless of when the fictional action is supposed to take place relative to "now". Thus, generally you should write about fiction using the present tense, not the past tense. Here are examples of this:

Homer presents, Achilles rages, Andromache laments, Priam pleads.
"Willow Park is a fictional character from The Owl House."
"The inhabitants of the Boiling Islands have a certain contempt for humans."
"Luz, who upon arriving in the Boiling Islands is taken in by Eda and brought to live at the Owl House, becomes her student to learn magic."
"The Owl House is an American series that was aired on Disney Channel."

Date and time formatting

Read this article from Wikipedia for more on date and time formatting and standards. Below are excerpts from that article.

Acceptable date formats: The following date styles are acceptable in Wikipedia articles, subject to rules included thereafter:

Format	Example	Scope
MMMM D, YYYY Full month name, space, numeric day, comma, space, full year	September 8, 2001	Everywhere
D MMM YYYY Numeric day, space, short month name, space, full year	8 Sep 2001	This format is only in references, tables, lists or areas where conciseness is needed.
MMM D, YYYY Short month name, space, numeric day, comma, space, full year	Sep 8, 2001
YYYY-MM-DD Four-digit year, hyphen, two-digit month, hyphen, two-digit day	2001-09-08

Unacceptable date formats: The following date styles are not acceptable in the The Owl House Wiki except in external titles and quotes:

The ordinal suffixes, articles, or leading zeros (except for the YYYY-MM-DD format) are not used in the wiki. A comma is not inserted between the month and year, nor is a period inserted after the day (June 10, 1921); however, when using mdy format, a comma is required between the day and year. When a date in mdy format appears in the middle of text, include a comma after the year (The weather on September 11, 2001 was clear and warm). Type the full year string instead of using the apostrophe to abbreviate the first two digits of the year.

Incorrect	Correct
9 June 2001	June 9, 2001
9th June the 9th of June 9. June	June 9
June 9th	June 9
June, 2001	June 2001
9 June, 2001 09 June 2001	June 9, 2001
June 9 2001 June 09, 2001	June 9, 2001
'01	2001

An exception to this guideline is when a specific style of a date achieves notability within a culture, such as the Fourth of July (does not adhere to ordinal nor spelled out guideline, yet is acceptable).
Do not use year-final numerical date formats (DD/MM/YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY), as they are ambiguous: "03/04/2005" could refer to 3 April or to March 4. For consistency, do not use such formats even if the day number is greater than 12.
Do not use customized variations of the YYYY-MM-DD format. E.g., do not replace hyphen characters ("-") with any other character; do not change the order of year, month, or day. Use leading zeros for days or months when needed to make these fields two digits.
Yearless dates (March 5) are inappropriate unless the year is obvious from the context. There is no such ambiguity with recurring dates, such as January 1 is New Year's Day.
Do not use Roman numerals, such as "MMXII" for "2012", to denote years.

General tips

For tips on improving article writing and general quality guidelines, please read this article from Wikipedia.

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