View source for Coasterpedia:Manual of Style

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This '''Manual of Style''' has been created to give a standard theme to all articles falling under the scope of the Wiki. It serves as a reference for editors to follow in order to give Coasterpedia a consistent and uniform appearance. For general help, please see '''[[Help:Contents]]'''.
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==Editing and formatting guidelines==
===Language===
As an English-language wiki, there is the potential for disagreements regarding the use of certain dialects of English. For example, the difference between American-English and British-English in the spelling of common words (color/colour) or the use of certain phrases not well-known in other English-speaking locations.
*Articles on subjects associated with a location should use the local English dialect.
*For articles without an associated location, editors should continue to use the same dialect of English as the first editor. The key point is to ensure that each article follows one English dialect and doesn't mix spellings or words.
*On all articles, avoid using obscure words or phrases that are not widely known to all English speakers.
*Avoid editing purely to change the spelling, unless the article breaks one of the guidelines above.
Articles should keep a neutral tone and not include the opinion of enthusiasts or the editor. Avoid comments on how "rough" or "uncomfortable" a ride is, unless the ride operator has officially acknowledged it (for example, in their reasons given for closing a ride).

===Units of measurement===
All articles should use metric units. The only exception is subjects based in the United States, which should use imperial units.
===Dates===
*For American rides and parks, use the American date format (<code>{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTDAY}}, {{CURRENTYEAR}}</code>). For rides and parks located everywhere else, use the international format (<code>{{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}</code>).
*An opening date has to be chosen for coasters, rides, amusement parks, etc for use in data tables and infoboxes. This should be the first day which the attraction opens to the public. Exclusive events for season pass holders or journalists are not counted.
*When a precise date is unavailable, a more vague one may be used such as:
**When an attraction is known to be present from a certain time onwards, for example, if is visible in satellite imagery dated 2001, the following format may be used: Opened <code>2001 or later</code>.
**Similarly, if an attraction is known to ''not'' be present on a particular date, for example, if a trip report from 2013 states that it is no longer present, the following format may be used: Closed <code>2013 or earlier</code>
**Do not use symbols such as <code>≤</code> and <code>≥</code>. Use <code>or earlier</code> and <code>or later</code> as explained above.
**Where suitable, approximations like <code>1990s</code> may be used.
===Standard layouts===
A standard layout for articles has been established. Generally, headings should be named and ordered as follows:
*History
*Etymology
*Design
*Incident (or Incidents)
*Images
*See also
*References
*External links
Avoid sections with unorganised information titled "Facts", "Trivia", or similar. Try to incorporate this information into other sections. For specific guidelines regarding park pages, see [[Coasterpedia:Manual of Style/Parks]].
===Captions===
Most captions are not complete sentences, but merely sentence fragments, which should not end with a period or full stop. If any complete sentence occurs in a caption, then all sentences, and any sentence fragments, in that caption should end with a period or full stop. This policy is the same as that [[wikipedia:Wikipedia:CAPFRAG|on English Wikipedia]].
===Coronavirus===
Some amusement parks and rides did not operate in 2020 or 2021 due to the global coronavirus pandemic. If a park was closed temporarily at this time, even for a year or more, do not list this on [[:Category:Years|year summary pages]] or include this information in infoboxes. Add information on the closure to the article text, [[Help:Cite|with references]]. If an amusement park or ride closed permanently due to coronavirus, do record this on the appropriate year summary page. The date of closure is the last day that the park or ride was open to the general public.

In the event of a park being closed, there is no need to repeat this information in individual ride articles at that park, unless the ride itself was removed or adapted after the closure.

==Notability and naming guidelines==
All [[alpine coaster]]s, [[powered coaster]]s, and [[roller coaster]]s are considered notable. Most rides are also considered notable, however, some types of attraction have been deemed beyond the scope of the project. '''[[Coasterpedia:Guide to ride types]]''' is a working list of ride types, including those that are considered beyond the scope of this project.

When [[Help:Creating a page|creating a new article]] or renaming one, please follow the '''[[Coasterpedia:Manual of Style/Naming convention|naming convention]]'''.
==Images==
{{main|Coasterpedia:Image Policy}}

==On-ride POVs==
Please use YouTube videos unless the only POV you can find is on another video-sharing site On coaster and ride articles, a POV can be embedded by adding the video ID to the <code>|video=</code> parameter on the infobox.

The ideal POV:
*Should be of the highest video quality possible.
**''Don't'' use a "panoramic" video (curved around the edges of the screen) if a regular video is available.
*Should feature as little wordmarks and logos as possible.
*Show the whole ride, from start to final brake run.
**It should also only show the rider POV, with no views of the entire ride etc.
*Be steady, and keep the camera pointed forwards
*Does not use offensive language
Do not film on any ride unless you have permission to do so from management.
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