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This guide will serve as the format that articles should follow, so as to ensure consistency and readability across the wiki.
Also remember to read the rules.
Article Titles
All pages should have appropriate titles. With regards to capitalisation, the first letter of the first word should always be capitalised; the words following (if applicable) should only have a capital first letter if it is a name, a place, or a title.
Because there are several unnamed recurring characters in the show, many pages are bound to have names like "Hot Dog Guy." Titles like these are okay if and only if the character has not been officially named. "Official" means their name has been acknowledged either on the show, or by the makers of the show. If no official name exists for the character, then it is all right for the title to be a relatively clear and accurate description of the character in question.
Grammar and Spelling
When adding content to articles, always use proper spelling and punctuation. Think of it as writing something for school - intelligent, coherent, and well written.
Some particular things to note:
- Avoid using contractions (for example, use "does not" instead of "doesn't"). These words are used in informal contexts; we strive to make these articles academic and formal.
- Remember to use punctuations. Run on sentences are displeasing to read; try to break such sentences down using punctuation. Use them properly, though - not just for the sake of breaking a sentence down. Also remember that when listing multiple things in a sentence, that each element should have a serial comma at the end (for example, "Gumball, Darwin, and Anais" would be used over "Gumball, Darwin and Anais").
- Know the difference between "its" and "it's". "It's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has". As this is a contraction, it is unlikely to be used outside of transcripts. "Its" is the possessive form, as in, "The helmet! I need its power!"
- American punctuation is used instead of British punctuation:
- Titles: Mr., Mrs. and Ms. all have periods
- Dates: Month/Day/Year
- Quotations: Use double quotes for initial quotation, and single quotes for quotes within the initial quote. The end quote is placed after the period.
- Example: “Economic systems,” according to Professor White, “are an inevitable byproduct of civilization, and are, as John Doe said, ‘with us whether we want them or not.’”
Wiki-Linking
A general rule is to only link an article the first time it appears per section. For example, in the "Plot" section of an episode article, "Gumball" might appear dozens of times - only the first time he is mentioned should be a link to his article. The "Character" section, however, may link to his article again.
Also when linking, always strive to use the full article name. For example, use [[Gumball Watterson|Gumball]] instead of just [[Gumball]].
Lastly, avoid leaving isolated letters in a word when linking. For example, "[[Gumball Watterson|Gumball's]]" would be preferred over "[[GumballWatterson|Gumball]]'s".
Point of View
Strive to maintain a third-person, objective point of view at all times. Use "the viewer" or "the player" instead of "you", for example.
Trivia
The trivia sections are for random bits of interesting information about the subject. Unfortunately, "interesting" is a highly subjective term. In general, though, trivia to be added should meet these criteria.
Must Not Fit Anywhere Else
If it can be inserted into the main body of the article without seeming out of place (or if it already has been placed there), then it should not be in the trivia section. Example:
- Carrie is a stereotypical emo girl.
- This can be stated elsewhere on the article, and most likely already has been. Thus, this would not be a valid addition to a trivia section.
Must Be Directly Related to the Article
If the trivia bit is not or only partially relevant to the article, it should not be added to the trivia section. If a character or object in an episode is a reference to a famous individual, that fact should be included on the character's or object's page, instead of the episode page itself. Example:
- The Tale of Zelmore is a reference to the Legend of Zelda series of games.
- While this is definitely true, it is better placed on "The Tale of Zelmore" article rather than on "The Promise".
Must Be an Obvious Reference
This applies to content added to the "Cultural References" section. If the claim is debatable (for example, if an intelligent person might possibly disagree that such a reference or parody exists), then it is probably best to not add it.
Example:
- Carrie's eating rampage is a parody of Left 4 Dead.
- This claim is one that can be debated. The similarities are not strong enough; there is no clear, conclusive evidence that this is true.
- On the other hand,
- The music that plays when Gumball and Darwin celebrate is "Ode To Joy" from Beethoven's ninth symphony.
- Because the song is very obviously indeed "Ode To Joy", the validity of this claim cannot possibly be debated.
Must Be Objective
As stated earlier, articles should strive to be as objective as possible. Subjective or biased trivia bullets should be removed.
Example:
- "The Skull" is everyone's most hated episode.
- It has never been proven that everyone hates The Skull (one community does not speak for the entire viewership.) Thus, this statement is subjective and has no place in the trivia section.
Format of a Trivia Bullet
When inserting a piece of trivia to the list, make sure to be as clear as possible. With cultural references, always assume the reader does not know what the reference is.
Example:
- Two of Ocho's cheat codes from "The Tape" reference Mario.
- There are two things wrong with this trivia: the first is that it does not explain what is being referenced. There is a chance that the reader will not know what "Mario" is, so an explanation is needed.
- Two of Ocho's cheat codes from "The Tape" reference the popular Super Mario game series.
- This is better, but there is still one more problem with it: it does not explain what the reference is at all, just that one exists.
- Two of Ocho's cheat codes from "The Tape" reference the popular Super Mario game series. In one cheat code, he makes a block appear over his head, then hits it to make money come out, much like how Mario hits blocks to get coins. In the other, he runs faster and knocks down everything in his path, much like what happens to Mario when he picks up a Super Star.
- This is what the final bullet should look like. It clearly explains what is being referenced while also explaining how it is being referenced.
One last note: most of the time, you will not need to insert the episode title into the trivia bullet, as it will most likely already appear on that page. "This episode" can be used in lieu of "from 'The Tape'" in the above examples, or the entire phrase can be omitted altogether.
Images
Format
Images that are to be added to articles should be .png files, as it keeps the quality of the image better than .jpg or .gif files. The image should also be of decent quality and as undisturbed as possible - this means no freehand recorded shots, no pixelization, and at least a 360p resolution (though 720p+ would be ideal).
Also, duplicate images are counterproductive to this wiki's needs. If an image already exists, it would be a good idea to use it instead of uploading another copy.
Name
All images should have an appropriate name - images featuring Carrie, for example, should reflect this in their names in some way.
Off Topic Images
This wiki allows the uploading of non-show content, so long as it is not excessively offensive or obscene. These images are not, under any circumstances, to be added to articles. They may be added to user pages, blogs, or comments, but keep in mind that if they are not being used, they are subject to being deleted after a period of time.
Formats for Specific Articles
Some categories of articles have a preferred setup to use upon creation.
Episode Pages
Every episode should have its own article. Each episode page should have:
- An introductory sentence of the form "<Episode Title> is the <episode number> of <season number> of The Amazing World of Gumball."
- A Synopsis section giving a brief description of the episode, usually taken verbatim from a TV Guide.
- A Plot section giving a recap of the events of the episode.
- A Characters section listing every character that has appeared in the episode, with links to each, if applicable.
- A Trivia section with two subsections labelled "Continuity" and "Cultural References", which lists interesting tidbits of information that follow our trivia guidelines.
- A Goofs/Errors section, listing (for fun) mistakes or lapses in logic that occurred in the episode.
Also remember to use the episode template and the tab template, fill out as much of them as possible, and insert them at the top of the page. Then add the episode navbox template and the second tab template to the bottom. If the episode has not yet been released, use the spoiler template at the top.
Character Pages
Each character should have their own page, as well. Each character page should have:
- An introductory paragraph stating his name, and that he is a character on the show. Other minor details may be included, such as which episode he or she debuted in (or will debut in).
- An Appearance section describing the character's appearance.
- A Personality section describing the character's major personality traits.
- For the non-Watterson characters, an Episode Appearances section listing the episodes the character has appeared in. This section should be split into two subsections, titled "Major Appearances" and "Minor Appearances". For minor appearances, add a short description of where the character appears in the episode, and what they do. For cameos, just put "(cameo)" next to the episode name. A cameo is a very brief appearance by the character, usually adding nothing to the plot. Appearing in the background, for example, counts as a cameo.
- For the main/supporting characters, a Relationships section describing the character's major relationships with other characters.
- A Gallery section that either links to the character's related gallery page, or has a gallery in it already. A separate gallery page should only be created if more than five distinct high quality images of the character exist.
- For the more major characters, a Quotes section listing notable lines the character has spoken. Quotes should be in the format:
{{Quote|{{d|<charactername>}}: Insert dialogue here
{{d|<charactername>}}: Insert more dialogue here}}
If only one person is quoted, then add
|saidby=<character name> in <episode title> - A Trivia section listing interesting facts about the character that conform to the wiki's trivia guidelines.
Also remember to use the character template, and fill out as much of it as possible. Then add a character navbox to the bottom of the page.
Transcripts
Transcripts are verbatim (word-for-word) documents of the events of the show. The only text other than dialogue from the show should be either describing events or tones of voice, or be section titles.
Note that this wiki has dialogue templates for most of the major characters on the show, the list of which can be found here.
Galleries
A gallery article should only be created for episodes and characters for which at least five distinct images exist. Distinct, in this case, means the subject character is prominent in the image, and the five images are from different scenes.
Gallery articles should only have a gallery containing the images, split into sections (usually seasons) if necessary.