This Manual of Style is the page for the main page guidelines on the wiki. Everything which should be on your pages can be found here. The rulings are listed from the placing of templates and sections, to suggestions for making your article look great. Suggestions for additions to the Manual of Style should go to CHFW`s admins. Some examples of pages with a well-designed layout are Tyler Quake, Kelvin Bronze, and our mascot, Jenny Sharp. The layout used by these pages is one of the most used layouts on the wiki, and is preferred by many people due to its clear heading organization and simple layout system. It also uses every aspect of the Manual of Style. Keep in mind that there are other ways of creating a good page, but you can use those for a reference.

Contents 1 User fanon recognition 2 Canon 3 Quotation 4 Infoboxes 5 Section headings 6 Categorizing 6.1 General Categorizing 6.2 Articles for Improvement, cleanups, etc. 7 Acronyms and abbreviations 8 American English 9 Article Titles 10 Age-appropriate content 11 Crossovers 12 Fanfiction

User fanon recognitionEdit

The Writer template is the main template for fanon information. It is not fully required, but highly recommended by the more experienced Wiki users, as it is the first thing to be read on the page. You are not allowed this on canon pages, as you can`t have canon as full part of your storyline. Instead, you should, in the Trivia section, make a point telling what information belongs to the respective storylines. It also would be good for namespace pages, additionally.

CanonEdit

On canon pages, it is required to place the Canon Template on the top of the page. This template explains that the article is a Fanon page on a Canon character, and links to the appropriate page on our sister site, Herofactopedia [1].

QuotationEdit

The Quote template is the main template for quotes. It uses an organized and widely spread quoting system, used on many other wiki`s. They are (if the subject has any) recommended to be included in your character pages. It is to be used as a small description of the character, by giving a sentence typical for it, or a sentence by another being, describing their personality. Usually, they come from stories. Sometimes, the quote is also given by the narrator of the story.

Additionally, you could add a Quotes section, usually beneath the Abilities and Traits. It has a series of several quotes, having the same addition as the quote on top. This can be used as a bigger place to reveal the personality of the being, which reveals how he acts and speaks.

Finally, quotes can also be used on other pages, such as an organization (describing infrastructure), or species (for describing their behavior). More can be thought of, and you are free to place these quotes on all mainspace pages.

InfoboxesEdit

Every page should have an infobox. The proper infoboxes can be found on Category:Information templates, while their tutorials can be found on their respective template pages. Further questions can go to the admins.

You are not allowed to make custom infoboxes without permission. Any templates that violate this rule will be deleted. The infobox templates were designed to be very customizable in order that they may be used on a variety of different pages.

You may notice there are two versions of each template. This is done on purpose. Users may choose which template they prefer. They are not bound to one mandatory template. Version 2 is outfitted with one unchangeable header in blue, while the original version is outfitted with customizable themes. For inserting the information templates, we recommend using the Rich Text Editor, as it allows for easier customization.

Section headingsEdit

Every page should be divided into sections, created by using headings. The headings are in the basic wikia knowledge If you do not know how to use them, quit reading this and come back with the proper knowledge.

Moreover, a sentence of two in each of these sections do not count as a full section. It is best to have a paragrpah or so in each of these sections.

The most used section dividing is shown below:

• Proper templates, quoting and foreknowledge.
• Biography
  • Subheading per big time period
• Abilities and traits
  • Often a 'weapons and tools' section
• Quotes
• Appearances
• Trivia

Please note that you can leave out many optional headings, such as subheadings in the biography, the weapons and tools section, and all beneath it. This can cut your article back to only three sections.

The Biography section is simply the whole life of the being as far as it has happened. We do require that it be written in past tense. For example, the phrase William Furno is created at the Hero Factory, would not be acceptable,but William Furno was created at the Hero Factory would be fine. Note that it is common to describe a characters current doings with the present tense, such as He hasn't been seen since, or He currently is hunting Von Nebula. Present tense in situations like this is allowed.

The appearances section is simply all stories, movies, and other storyline content the character has appeared or will appear in. An example of a page with a good appearances section is Thorn Vulnetrix. Please not that Thorn has a rather long article, and it it perfectly fine to have only a short paragraph in each section.

CategorizingEdit

General CategorizingEdit

Every page should be categorized. Every page, category, and image should be categorized! Yes, even categories itself! The only, but only exception is the Browse category, as it is the Quaza Core of the Hero named Custom Hero Factory Wiki. It can`t be part of something bigger. A category should always end at one of of the Information Categories, the categories can be found at the earlier mentioned information templates. For example, a category named Hero pod models should be categorized under vehicles, which is under objects. Then you are done. A category called Von Nebula weapon collection, however, should be categorized under weapons, which is under tools, and then under objects.

If you make a new category, you should almost immediately add a page to it. If you don`t do in a day or two, the category will most likely get deleted. Redlink categories will also be removed from pages after a certain amount of time. A redlink category does not count as categorized. Also, it is not a wise choice to spam excess categories onto articles - such as adding the "Hero Factory Teams" category to Nathan Evo, as he is obviously not a team.

There are certain categories that do not need to be added. Categories that correspond to a specific template are automatically added. Also, the Custom Creations category has been phased out, and should not be used on any page.

There are categories for years as well, such as 2010 and 2011. These are optional, and the meaning differs for each user. Some use it to specify the year they made the creation, weapon, or story, others use it to place their creation in the Hero Factory canon.

Also, It is required that you place every one of your articles under the User:<Insert your username here>. For example, Samuel Swamper was made by King Joe. Thus, it is under the User:King Joe category. This category with your username in it will be just for you and your creations, no one else will use it. This helps us to know who made what so we can talk with you about it if we need to. It also serves as a handy way to find more models and storys by a particular user.

Articles for Improvement, cleanups, etc.Edit

In order of "badness":

1. Articles for improvement
2. Cleanup
3. Major Cleanup
4. Article Stubs
5. Candidates for Deletion

And, for the templates, in order, {{improvement}}, {{cleanup}}, {{majorcleanup}}, {{stub}}, {{delete}}

Acronyms and abbreviationsEdit

When abbreviating, remember to write both the full version and abbreviation. For example, instead of writing "William Furno was a member of the HF," one would write "William Furno was a member of the Hero Factory (HF)." Exceptions can be made for abbreviations that are as well- or better-known than their full name, such as "DNA."It is not required to write the full name out every time, although some have to be written out entirely.

American EnglishEdit

Remember that all articles are required to be written in American English, and all pages containing other spellings will be changed. However, it is allowed to create a British speaking character, and make him speak British English in stories. This does not mean that the rest of the article can be written thus. This rule applies to all other spellings.

WARNING: If you do not not know English, do NOT use Google Translate to help you. Any pages made using Google Translate will appear to us as an incoherent jumble of loosly connected words.

Article TitlesEdit

As you create articles, remember that the article's title has to follow a certain guideline. When you're creating a Hero article, for example, it is not necessary that you place a 1.0 to 4.0 label at the end of the Hero's name. It is also important that you include a first name for the Hero and not only a last name. An example of this would be to title the article "Preston Stormer," instead of "Stormer". Remember to correctly-spell the titles as well, including capital letters.

Age-appropriate contentEdit

Younger kids do come here. They may not have an account, but that does not stop them from brousing the pages. Please keep all content child-friendly. No swearing, excessive mention of alchohol, tobacco, drugs, sexual themes, descriptive violence, etc. This applies to all normal pages, talk pages, blogs, forum posts.

CrossoversEdit

Crossover pages are pages that combine Hero Factory with something else, such as BIONICLE or any other franchise. For example, Furno went on an adventure with Tahu (BIONICLE). That would be a crossover. All crossover pages; stories, characters, etc. are NOT ALLOWED on this Wiki and will be deleted and/or moved to the Hero Factory Crossovers Wiki (HFCW).

FanfictionEdit

This section deals mainly with the new Fanfiction section.

All rules for writing stories are found within CHFW Fanfiction.Please follow the rules stated there. All other rules stated above apply while writing a story.