Bulbanews:Manual of style

This is an instruction manual that addresses the conventions adopted by Bulbanews in writing, editing, formatting and linking. Please read it before you contribute to Bulbanews and refer to it when necessary.

Any questions or disputes regarding Bulbanews style should be directed to Argy, editor in chief.

Basic wikicode

Besides writing articles in the Bulbanews on factual, useful information backed up by reliable sources, contributors are expected to use decent spelling and grammar and a basic level of wikicode. Some of the most commonly used aspects of wikicode are listed below. Should you forget, above the text editors for articles are a row of buttons with many common wikicode attributes.

Text formatting: To make text bold, put three apostrophes on either side of it, such as '''Bulbanews'''. This will result in Bulbanews. However, bold text is mostly for any names or facts which need a very large amount of emphasis. For a normal emphasis (such as translations of Japanese text), it is common style to put text in italics, which is done with two apostrophes instead of three, such as ''Bulbanews''. This will result in Bulbanews.
Links: Whenever something is referenced in an article which has its own article on Bulbapedia, be sure to link to it. This is done by putting two brackets, a vertical pipe and the letters bp on either side of a word. For example, {{bp|Pokémon}} will result in Pokémon. However, sometimes there's no way to use the exact name of an article in a sentence without the sentence being awkwardly-worded. In these instances, to have different text display than the article's name, put a vertical pipe between bp:, the article's name and the text you would like to display. For example, [[bp:Pokémon|Pocket Monsters]] will result in Pocket Monsters, which you may notice links to the Pokémon article.
- Short links: There are several quick links which are not only useful, but common style. For example, when linking to a Pokémon article, typing {{p|Pikachu}} results in Pikachu, which you may notice links to the article Pikachu (Pokémon) on Bulbapedia. Another quick link is {{m|Splash}} for the move Splash, for example.
- External links: Other links can be done with using a single bracket. In this instance, a vertical line is not necessary to divide the name from the link. However, the full address is needed to link to a page. For example, to link to the Bulbagarden forums, typing [http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/index.php Bulbagarden Forums] would result in Bulbagarden Forums. External links are primarily used to cite sources and to link to any related Web sites.
Bulbasaur
Images: Images are added in a manner similar to links. To add in an image, link to the image's name, but add in Image: before the name. For example, [[Image:Pokébuck sign.gif]] will add in a commonly used image, File:Pokébuck sign.gif. Formatting attributes can be added to an image as well, divided with vertical lines. For example, [[Image:001Bulbasaur.png|thumb|100px|Bulbasaur]] will add the image to the right. All images are uploaded to Bulbagarden Archives.
Headlines: These are not to be confused with traditional news article headlines. Wiki articles are divided by levels of headlines, much like a large outline. These are indicated by equals signs on either side of the headline text. There are six levels of headlines, with one equals sign being the first and highest level, which would look like =Headline text=, and six equals signs being the sixth and lowest level, which would look like ======Headline text======. First and second level headlines are underlined. Text size decreases with lower level headlines.

Naming conventions

Bulbanews ideally uses character names appropriate to their context. Articles about English-language releases should include English character names; articles about Japanese-language releases should include Japanese character names. Character names in other languages are rarely used on Bulbanews, but they should be accompanied by their respective characters' English names in parenthesis.

For example, translations of Japanese episode titles do not replace the Japanese names of characters, places or objects with their English names. This serves two purposes: It avoids confusion with titles of episodes dubbed in other languages, and it respects the creators' intent.

Linking to the Bulbapedia articles that correspond with Pokémon-related names is especially important when Japanese names are used. Readers who are unfamiliar with Japanese names may hover their cursors over Bulbapedia links to see a name's English equivalent in the link's URL, or they may click the link to obtain more information.

Names of people

All modern persons should have their name given in Western order. Since the definition of "modern" may vary from culture to culture, for the Japanese, all names from the Taishō period onwards should be given in Western order. Names from the Meiji restoration may be given in Western or Eastern order — use prevailing convention on a person-by-person basis. Names prior to the Meiji restoration should be given in Eastern order.

When a person has a specific preference for the way their name is rendered, or where convention differs, use that instead. For example, use Hiromoto SIN-Ichi, Ikue Ohtani and Rica Matsumoto instead of Shin'ichi Hiromoto, Ikue Ōtani and Rika Matsumoto.

Japanese

Romanization

Primarily, if a trademarked romanization is available, that is the proper romanization to use. For example, Fushigisou, Teppouo insetad of Fushigisō and Teppōo.

However, if a trademarked romanization is not available, please follow the Hepburn romanization scheme, and use Ā Ē Ī Ō Ū ā ē ī ō ū for long vowels. Please correct any incorrectly marked long vowels (circumflexes, tildes, doubling, ou and not marking long vowels at all are all not acceptable).

I-macron (Ī ī) and e-macron (Ē ē) are to be used when romanizing Japanese words of foreign origin, hence kōhī for コーヒー but Iizuka for いいづか. A hint to look out for is whether or not a bō (ー) is used to lengthen it.
O-macron (Ō ō) is to be used for both おう (as in しんいちろう Shin'ichirō) and おお (as in おおづか Ōzuka)
E-macron (Ē ē) is rarely used, except with the interjection ええ and some foreign loanwords.
- Please take note that verbs such as 思う omou and 呪う norou do not have long vowels.
  - However, subjunctive forms such as 思おう omoō and 呪おう noroō do have long vowels.
zu is to be used for both ず and づ; ji is to be used for both じ and ぢ.
With ん, there is some free choice whether to use n or m when followed by labial consonants p, b, f and m. Follow popular or established convention on a word-by-word basis, hence, Namba for ナンバ but Hanba for はんば.
To simplify matters, always romanize ポケモン as Pokémon. When ポケ is an abbreviated form of Pokémon, romanize it as Poké.

Romanizations and translations should be italicized.

Pokémon terminology and style

Nouns, capitalization and specific terminology

The word Pokémon is always capitalized, as well as the names of Pokémon species. So are nouns starting with "Poké", such as Pokéblock, PokéGear and Poké Flute. Note, however, that there is no one common trend for spelling of words beginning with "Poké" — they can be written as a compound word, with the second part of the word capitalized or uncapitalized, or as two words with the second word capitalized. Also note that this applies to many nouns starting with "Pokémon", such as with Pokémon Trainer.
Items and all words in them are always capitalized; they are considered proper nouns for the purposes of Bulbanews. "Leftovers", "Escape Rope" or "Water Stone" are all correct as written. Case should match that of the game text, such as the DeepSeaTooth.
Locations should also be capitalized in a manner consistent with English grammar. Ruins of Alph has the A in Alph always capitalized, while numbered routes, such as 101, 217 and so on, are proper nouns and must have the R capitalized.
Specific terminology is different. "Leveling up" has a lowercase L, as would "starter Pokémon" have a lowercase "s" (but, of course, a capital P in Pokémon.).
Specific element types are called "Water-type" and "Rock-type" when used as nouns. Squirtle is a "Water type" is not correct; Squirtle is a Water-type is.
Evolutionary levels should be designated as "unevolved," "first evolution" and "second evolution" for Pokémon that have undergone zero, one and two evolutions respectively during their development. TCG terminology of "basic Pokémon," "stage 1 Pokémon" and "stage 2 Pokémon" should not spill over into other media, as Pikachu and several other Pokémon are considered basic in the TCG sense yet are Pokémon that have undergone one evolution in their lifetimes, making them first-evolution Pokémon, more akin to Charmeleon than unevolved Pokémon, which their pre-evolutions are.

Episode numbering

The Bulbanews rules of episode article titling dictate that the order in which the episode aired in Japan is its title.

Episodes of the Diamond & Pearl are titled DP001, DP002 and so on.

Episodes of the Advanced Generation are titled AG001, AG002 and so on. Note that AG101 is Vanity Affair — the skipped episode is AG101 (unaired). Both clip shows in the anime's history are also counted as episodes.

Episodes of the original series are titled EP001, EP002 and so on, with the numbering system being that of, again, Japanese-aired episodes. Note that Holiday Hi-Jynx and Snow Way Out! are not considered episodes in the series timeline.

Side story episodes are H001, H002 and so on in the order they were aired in Japan on the Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station, a.k.a. Shūkan Pokémon Hōsōkyoku.

Image preferences

For further details, please see the Archives manual of style.

Images are often a helpful visual addition to the content of articles. However, in some cases, it is questionable what images are best used for articles.

If there is official artwork, such as the Ken Sugimori stock artwork or video game sprites, this is always the preferred image.
If there is no official artwork, such as screenshots from episodes or manga, ones created by the contributing user are preferred over images taken from other sources. There will inevitably be disputes about which user-created image is best, as there is no exact policy on such; however, the image should generally be the highest quality and most informative image.
Animated images should be avoided proportionately with how large and distracting the animation is. Small uses, such as a blinking dot on a world map to indicate location, are non-obtrusive and acceptable.
Overwriting existing images is acceptable, since Bulbanews favors the image with the higher quality, not the greater seniority. However, please avoid disputes by discussing the change with the user who uploaded the former image before uploading the new image.

General news style

Remember the inverted pyramid. Put the most relevant and important information at the beginning of your article (your lead) and gradually work your way down to more trivial information. However, this is not a reason to make the majority of your story slop.
Do not correct quoted speech: present it as it is, adding "(sic) or [sic]" where appropriate; however, spelling may be corrected.
Use bold ('''bold''') for strong emphasis, instead of spelling words completely capitalized.
Song, movie and episode titles are italicized.
Pictures are good; they attract readers and pique their curiosity.
For news articles, watch use of opinionated words, such as "gracefully", unless you quote a source with them. Also, instead of writing "He was grateful," write "He said he was grateful."
Spelling and grammar checkers are aids, not substitutes for proofreading. A spell-checker will not catch incorrect use of "there," "their," and "they're," and a grammar-checker may or may not catch mistakes such as typing "nest" instead of "best."
When in doubt, ask an editor or consult the Associated Press Stylebook or Webster's New World Dictionary, both which dictate news style.
A tagline is a brief, single statement (it can be a sentence fragment and does not require a period at the end) that summarizes or states a major fact from your story. It is optional.
A brief consists of the first several sentences of your story, quickly informing the reader the "who, what, where, when and why" of your story.
Use Bulbapedia links as often as they are appropriate (most of the time). Wikipedia links are helpful for unfamiliar, non-Pokémon terms.
Objectivity and fairness are vital. Keep your opinion out of your article unless you are writing a review or editorial! A new Pokémon game should not be described as "exciting" or "boring" unless it is in a direct quote from someone else.
We are not held accountable to any sort of corporation, such as Nintendo or Game Freak. We are not their cheerleaders or advertisers. It is one matter to inform the public of a new product of interest, but quite another to tout its benefits or provide links to where the readers can purchase it.

Spelling and capitalization

"Toward" and related words, such as "afterward," "forward," and "backward" do not have an s.
A specific named unit is all capitals, such as "Saffron Pokémon Center." If more than one are used, the specific names are capitalized but not the common word; for example: "Saffron and Celadon Pokémon centers."
Numbers, including years, simply need an s without an apostrophe when they are plural; for example: "in the 1990s" and "He is in his 20s."
Likewise, fully capitalized acronyms and abbreviations do not require the apostrophe in plural usage; for example: "CDs and DVDs." The exceptions to this rule are fully capitalized acronyms and abbreviations that consist of one character: "He got all A's" is the correct form in this case.
Except for historically-ingrained cases such as Jesus and Moses, singular possessives are formed with 's - with an apostrophe. [1] Plural possessives take a bare apostrophe if they end in s.
Titles ahead of a name are capitalized, such as "Frontier Brain Noland." Titles after a name are lower-case, such as "Noland, frontier brain,..." Put a long title in back of a name (making it lower-case). If it is a job description, it is always lower-case, such as "trainer Ash Ketchum."
Hourly times do not use 0s (5 p.m., not 5:00 PM) and the a.m. and p.m. are written lower-case with periods. Use "noon" or "midnight" instead of "12"; "midnight" is always counted as the day preceding the next. For example, if New Year's Day fell on a Wednesday, midnight on New Year's Eve would be written as "midnight Tuesday."
Dates are to be presented with the month abbreviated according to news style and preceding the day of the month, which does not take an ordinal suffix. A year may optionally be added, with a comma after the day of the month. Months that are never abbrevated are March, April, May, June and July. References to months without dates attached are not abbreviated. Therefore:
- Sept. 1, 2005
- Sept. 2005
- Sept. 1
- September (no date)

Specific items

The correct spelling of the subject of this web site is Pokémon, not pokemon or Pokemon.
It is Wii, not the Wii, and not Nintendo Wii.
Also, you have 6 Pokémon in your party, not 6 Pokémons; you have 4 Bulbasaur, not 4 Bulbasaurs.

Punctuation

Use a hyphen to connect related adjectives, such as 9-foot board, first-place finisher, 3-year-old girl. When linked adjectives are not related and not dependent upon each other to make sense, they require a comma, such as "the rusted, dull saw."
A sentence with one subject and two verbs does not need a comma. A sentence that is constructed with subect-verb and subject-verb does need a comma; for example: "Pikachu ate an apple and threw away the core," and "Pikachu ate an apple, and Pichu ate a pear."
The use of serial commas are to be determied by the preference of each reporter. However, it is to be remembered that news style dictates prudent use, such as "Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle" as opposed to "Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle."
Never comma splice, as in "Misty said being a Gym Leader is hard, her sisters give her plenty of trouble." Instead of the comma, you have three options: a conjunction ("because" is good in this case), making it two sentences, or using a semi-colon (the best choice in this case, but don't over-use it).
Starting a direct quote requires its own paragraph. An indirect quote (paraphrasing what someone else said) directly related to the preceding sentence can be part of the same paragraph. Try to have paragraphs be no longer than six lines. A reader needs plenty of breaks. Try to mix short and longer paragraphs and sentences.
The American use of punctuation within quotes is preferred to the less often-seen British usage. Punctuation at the end of a sentence is to be placed within the quotation marks, if applicable. Exceptions are colons, semi-colons, and question marks that are not part of the quote.
Use a comma, not a period, when connecting a quote to a speech tag. It is not: "You do this right." he said. If the punctuation ending the quote is a ! or a ?, the pronoun is still lower-case, such as "You get it right!" he said.

Usage

Use Japanese Pokémon names in a Japanese context, especially with translations of Japanese episode titles; for example, Nyula and Barrierd! Whose Restaurant?!
Use "U.S." as an adjective and "United States" as a noun unless that's how it is in a direct quote. Same goes for "U.K." and "United Kingdom". For example: "Pokémon is popular in the United States," not "Pokémon is popular in the U.S."
Nine and below are spelt out, whereas 10 and above are written as numbers, including ordinals such as "first" and "11th."
- Exceptions are numerous, including ages, dimensions and addresses, all of which use numerals. Avoid starting sentences with numbers, but when it is unavoidable, spell them out, even those 10 and above. The only exceptions to this rule are years.
The word "age" isn't needed with an age, such as "Ash Ketchum, age 10," unless the numeral can be confused with some other figure in the same sentence. Hyphenate an age when ahead of the noun, such as "4-year-old boy" and use separate words otherwise, such as "He is 4 years old."
Subjects and verbs must match, such as "Electric and Psychic are my favorite types." Some misleading pronouns are singular, such as "everyone": "Everyone brought their Poké Balls" is incorrect- instead, write "Everyone brought his or her Poké Balls."
"It's" is a contraction for "it is" as in "It's time we got this right." "Its" is possessive as in "The Poochyena wants its bone."
Try to spell out contractions.
Avoid first-person writing (using "I," "me," "us," and "we" to refer to yourself) unless you're writing a first-person feature, column or opinion piece.
Avoid second-person writing (using "you" to refer to the reader) unless you are writing directions, a second-person feature or a column.
Don't worry about overuse of "said." The reader does not tire of it; he reads over it. (Notice the use of semi-colon). Speech tags such as "claimed" makes the reader think the writer doubts what is being said. Accuracy is needed to correctly use certain speech tags. Some speech tags reveal the sentiment of the writer. We often improperly write that "Team Rocket demands" and "League officials request."
In speech tags, the subject goes ahead of the verb.
- Preferred: "You get it right," May said.
- Avoid: "You get it right," said May.
- Accepted: "You get it right," said May, the youngest coordinator in the room.
Use "plenty" and "several" instead of "much," "lots," or "a lot" except in a direct quote. Note that "a lot" is two words.

References

Some guidelines were adapted or coped from Nils Rosdahl's Notes on News Style.