The Feed The Beast Wiki Style Guide is a point of reference for how to properly structure a page. It should help in the creation of a consistent, standardized wiki. This style guide will show you how to properly format articles.
This guide is a work in progress. Please use the Talk page for further discussion.
The following pages will help with the technical side of formatting an article:
Content[]
Vanilla[]
Although pages on Vanilla Minecraft items are also part of the wiki, a basic knowledge of standard minecraft features must be assumed.
If an article on a Vanilla block, item, or feature is written, it must focus on the aspects added by Feed The Beast. The article should center on the differences from vanilla gameplay and the changes made through FTB mods, possible differences in crafting, etc. Basic "non-FTB" facts should be kept short and concise.
If an item or block is completely unchanged in FTB, it should say so in the article.
There must be an External Links section linking to the corresponding article on the Minecraft Wiki.
Image Requirements[]
Screenshots[]
All screenshots added to articles must be made using the Default Texture Pack to avoid confusion.
Template Images[]
- Images for items should be transparent 64x64px item slot pictures. Files should be named Name.png or Item_Name.png.
- Images for blocks should be transparent 128x128px item slot pictures. Files should be named Name.png or Block_Name.png.
- Crafting Recipe images should be transparent 32x32px item slot pictures. Files should be named Grid_Name.png.
General Writing Style[]
- Always use proper grammar and punctuation.
- Use paragraphs to separate longer sections.
- Keep the language formal. Do not use colloquialisms and avoid overly emotive or "advertising" language, e.g. exclamation points, words like "extreme", "horrific".
- As this wiki's intention is to document facts as thoroughly as possible, do not be purposefully vague or secretive in your language.
- Example: The Maze holds many secrets!
- Example: The Wand has a strange, mystical power.
- Avoid words of approximation, e.g. "much", "many", "a lot of". Always include exact figures when they are available. It is not wrong to use approximations. However, the exact figures should still be mentioned elsewhere in the article.
- Example: The MFE has a lot of storage.
- Better: The MFE has a storage capacity of 600,000 EU.
- Example: The MFE has a lot of storage.
- Example: A speed boost will last longer in a Stone Pipe than a Cobblestone Pipe.
- Better: While a speed boost will last 39 blocks in a Stone Pipe, it will only last 19 blocks in a Cobblestone Pipe.
- Example: A speed boost will last longer in a Stone Pipe than a Cobblestone Pipe.
- Regarding numbers, a dot "." is used to denote decimals. A comma "," is used to denote thousands.
- Example: 10,000.01 = ten thousand and one hundredth
Point of View[]
- Always maintain a neutral point of view when writing. Most importantly this means to never state opinions as facts. See more on this here.
- Never write in first person (I, me) or second person (you). Do not refer to the reader directly. To maintain a neutral tone, always stay in third person.
- Example: This explosion could kill you.
- Better: The explosion may kill the player.
- Example: This explosion could kill you.
- Example: You can use Copper instead of Tin
- Better: Copper can be used instead of Tin. / It is possible to use Copper instead of Tin.
- Example: You can use Copper instead of Tin
Capitalization[]
- Item names should always reflect their in-game name and be capitalized in the same way. For most items this means they are treated as proper nouns and should be capitalized.
- Example: Ender Chest and Steam Engine are capitalized to reflect their in-game name.
- Example: Normal chest to Iron Chest Upgrade also reflects the in-game name, despite "chest" not being capitalized.
Page Titles and Headings[]
- Page Titles should always be in singular form, even when a group of items is addressed. Exceptions to this may occur.
- Titles and Headings should be in Title Case: All words are capitalized, except for words like "in", "or"
- Example: Energy Sources in Feed The Beast
Linking[]
- If a term appears many times in a single article, it should only be linked the first time. In the case of a long article, it may be appropriate to have a duplicate link further down.
Items with the Same Name[]
Some items may share the same name but are from different mods and have different uses. Similar items from different mods should always have separate articles.
- Page Titles should differentiate between each mod as follows: Item (Mod Name)
- Example: Ruby (RedPower 2) and Ruby (GregTech)
- Add Template:Youmay at the top of the page with a link to the other similar article which the user might be looking for.
Disambiguation[]
If there are two or more items with similar names, a disambiguation page should be created to make the wiki easier to navigate.
- Template:Disambig must be used. To mark a page as a disambiguation page, add {{disambig}} at the top of the page.
- A disambiguation page should be introduced as follows:
- ITEMNAME may refer to:
- Use bullet points for the article links.
- Short one-line descriptions may be added, but are not necessary.
- There is no need to write (disambiguation) in the page title like Wikipedia does.
- Example: See page for Wrench
Items/Blocks[]
Articles on items/blocks should be divided into the following categories, in the following order:
- Description: Text
- Known Bugs: == H2 header ==
- Recipe: == H2 header ==
- Usage: == H2 header ==
- See Also: == H2 header ==
- Videos: == H2 header ==
- Navigation: Navigation template
Description[]
| Blulectric Furnace | |
|---|---|
| |
| Name | Blulectric Furnace |
| Type | Block |
| Tool | 
|
| Stackable | Yes (64) |
| Data Value | 750:1 |
| Source Mod | RedPower 2 |
The description should provide an in-depth explanation of what an item does, what it is used for and how to use it.
- Each article starts out with a lead. A lead is an introductory paragraph of an article. It should give the fundamentals of what the item/block is or does in a few short sentences. The lead should give a general broad idea of the topic at hand. It is a description of the whole article.
- It should first mention the item in question, and its name should be bolded:
- The ITEMNAME [is/any verb ...]
- The lead should NEVER be placed under a section header! It goes at the top of the page after the item template and possibly stub or otheruses templates.
- Template:Item must be added. It should contain at least the following parameters: Type, Tool, Stackable, Data Value and Source Mod. For a detailed explanation of the template, please refer to its template page.
- For the Data Value parameter, use the item's decimal ID number. Adding the word "dec" is not required however. If the item has a sub-ID, this has to be added after a colon that is placed after the actual data value, this includes :0 when the 0 is not shown for the first item with the same ID as others. In the event that the item description describes several items with the same ID, but different sub-ID, only the ID is required (eg: Redstone_Energy_Cell, which has sub-Id values up to 151, which correspond to the charge state of the item).
Known Bugs[]
- Known Bugs informs other players of unresolved glitches or bugs which are in the current version of FTB. It should describe the circumstances in which the bug occurs as detailed as possible.
- Before writing about a bug, make sure that it is not just a problem with your client, but an actual in-game issue!
Recipe[]
- The Recipe section includes the crafting recipe.
- Template:Grid/Crafting Table or another appropriate Grid Template must be added. You can find all Grid templates at Category:Grid Templates. Do not use images or written instructions for this section unless there is no Grid Template for the needed machine yet.
- When adding recipes for multiple items, separate them by using a level 3 sub-header.
- If multiple recipes are added for one item, use the template's nobreak = 1 function to make recipes appear next to each other.
Usage[]
- The Usage section includes recipes in which the item is needed.
For the Usage section, the same rules apply as for the Recipe section:
- Template:Grid/Crafting Table or another appropriate Grid Template must be added. Do not use images or written instructions for this section unless there is no Grid Template for the needed machine yet. Search by Template on Special:AllPages first.
- When adding recipes for multiple items, separate them by using a level 3 sub-header named after the item shown.
- If multiple recipes are added for one item, consider simply linking to the craftable items instead of using Grid Templates.
See Also[]
- The See Also section should contain links to related pages and items with similar uses.
- Pages should be listed using bullet points.
External Links[]
- The External Links section includes links to useful pages outside of the wiki which contain information that the wiki article does not cover. This is not a required section for all pages.
- Pages should be listed using bullet points.
[]
- A Navigation template is added at the very bottom of a page. Use the template of the appropriate mod. You can find a list of navigation templates at Category:Navigation Templates.