Style guide

This style guide exists to help make the wiki easier to read. Articles should be written in a consistent way, keeping language and tone the same across the wiki, making for a more positive reading experience for users. Questions or missing clarifications can be addressed on this page's talk page or in the #wiki-general channel in our Discord.

Article titles

Pages must have appropriate titles. Names, locations, and titles should all be capitalized, though not the whole title. Block capitals should not be used in titles (e.g. 'Article titles' instead of 'ARTICLE TITLES'). Try to make the article's topic the subject of the first sentence in the article. For example, in the Sabers article, the page should begin with "Sabers are..." and not "This page is about sabers..." The first instance of the article's topic should also be bolded.

Articles about items, creatures, missions, and non-player characters should be titled exactly as the subject's name appears in-game. If you are unsure about the capitalization of a word, check in-game before writing it, or correct it shortly thereafter. MediaWiki is case-sensitive when it comes to links as well, so always make sure you have the correct capitalization.

Words such as articles and short prepositions in titles should remain lowercase unless they are intended to be capitalized. These include words such as 'a', 'the', and 'of'. For example, the item The Sigh of a God does not have the word of capitalized.

Sections and headings

Separating articles into sections makes them easy to read and navigate. Headings are used to split articles into sections.

Markup

Use two equal signs (==) style markup for headings. Start with ==, add the heading title, then end with ==.

This section's heading was created with the markup:

==Sections and headings==

This subsection's heading was created with the markup:

===Markup===

Wording

• In a heading, capitalize only the first letter of the first word and the first letter of any proper nouns, and leave all of the other letters in lowercase. This does not apply for any names that may be referred to, such as Photon Blasts or weapon names, which have most words capitalized.
• Avoid putting links in headings.
• Make sure that the heading has an appropriate and accurate title, as this is important to help readers navigate the article. For example, do not make a "Photon Blasts" section in an article on Mags, and then list Mag triggers in the Photon Blasts section, as they are not the same thing. All ambiguity must be avoided. While there are terms used incorrectly that have become common lexicon (such as hard attack instead of heavy attack), we hope that the wiki is able to decouple these through consistent proper usage.
• Keep headings short.

Lead sections

A lead (introduction) summarizes the most important points of an article, creating interest in the topic. Thus, it should be limited to a few paragraphs. Certain information, such as strategies and trivia, should be in a separate section instead of in the lead. This applies only to articles that are of sufficient length to incorporate a lead.

Text elements

Font colors

Use colored font appropriately. This wiki has several CSS classes built into it to support all font colors used in-game:

<span class="attributes">Soniti</span>

Soniti

<span class="untekked">???? Saber</span>

???? Saber

<span class="rare">Photon Drop</span>

Photon Drop

<span class="es">ES Saber</span>

ES Saber

<span class="native">Native</span>

Native

<span class="abeast">A.Beast</span>

A.Beast

<span class="machine">Machine</span>

Machine

<span class="dark">Dark</span>

Dark

<span class="glow">???</span>

???

Invisible comments

Invisible comments are used to communicate with other editors in the article body. To do so, enclose the text which you intend to be read only by editors within <!-- and -->. For example, using <!-- This is a comment --> will be hidden in the article.

Bulleted lists

Bulleted lists can be used for various lists; for example, you can use bullets if you're listing various comments about a Photon Blast's mechanics. Do not forget proper punctuation. To add bullets, put an asterisk (*) before the name. For example:

* List name 1
* List name 2
** Sub-list

would come out as:

• List name 1
• List name 2
  • Sub-list

Numbered lists

All the rules for bulleted lists apply also to numbered lists. Numbered lists can be used for listing steps in a process. To add a numbered list, put a number sign (#) before the list name. For example:

# List name 1
# List name 2
# List name 3

would come out as:

1. List name 1
2. List name 2
3. List name 3

Bold and italics

Place two apostrophes (''Italicized text'') on either side of a selection of text to italicize the selection. Italics are mainly used to emphasize certain words, though they should be used sparingly. Also note that Phantasy Star Online and Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst should always be italicized. Long stretches of italics are hard for some users to read.

Place three apostrophes ('''Boldfaced text''') on either side of a selection of text to boldface the selection. Bold is used as a stronger emphasis than italics, although it should be used extremely sparingly within articles, such as for a few critical points, and ideally not a whole sentence. However, the first appearance of an article's title in the article should always be boldfaced, i.e.:

Swords are the most basic...

Place five apostrophes ('''''Boldfaced and italicized text''''') on either side of a selection to use bold and italics in combination on the selection. Bold and italics combined emphasize selections well, but should be used extremely rarely: bold italics represent more emphasis than is normally ever necessary.

As you can see, bold works well to emphasize sentences as well as short phrases and single words, while italics are a much weaker emphasis for sentences, but work well on short phrases or single words. Bold and italics are used in combination very rarely. Excessive use of any of these text elements will make the entire article difficult to read, so please use them in appropriate situations.

Grammar and spelling

Case

• All place names, item names, technique names, creature names, NPC names, mission names, Photon Blasts, etc are proper nouns – always uppercase, as in-game.
• Other things should have common sense applied on a case by case basis. Normally, it should be easy to work out what to do. Some commonly queried cases are listed here:
  • Weapon specials and attributes should be capitalized ("Hell", "Native", "Hit")
    • When referred to as a whole, these should not be capitalized ("special", "attribute")
  • Traps should not be capitalized ("trap", "freeze trap")

Abbreviations

Try not to use abbreviations. For example, use "Photon Blast" instead of "PB". Some players may not know what these abbreviations mean, and for appearance's sake, it's much more pleasing to the eye to look at "Mylla & Youlla is a Photon Blast that applies Shifta and Deband" than "M&Y is a PB that gives SD". This wiki should be readable in plain English, not abbreviations known only to veterans of the game.

• The name of the game is an exception – any PSO player, or even a non-player taking a glance at this wiki, knows what the abbreviation PSO refers to. The full game's title, Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst, is abbreviated PSO BB, not PSO:BB or PSOBB.

Punctuation

If you are listing multiple things, like different Photon Blasts, each of them should have a serial comma (also known as an Oxford comma) at the end. For example, "Estlla, Farlla, and Golla" would be proper, whereas "Estlla, Farlla and Golla" would not be.

When compiling a sort of list which includes quantities, do not place the quantities in brackets, as this can be confusing alongside other potential bracketed things. Something should be written as "5 Photon Crystals", not "Photon Crystal (5)".

Usage and spelling

• Phantasy Star Online and Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst should be italicized.
• SEGA should always be spelled as SEGA, not Sega or sega or any other variations.
• American English spelling rules should be used at all times.

Tense

A rule of thumb is to use present tense in all cases. For example, articles for missions, activities, non-player characters, etc. should be written in present tense. An exception to this rule would be events that have occurred in the past, or for in-game content that has been removed. For example, previous years' holiday events that have already occurred should be written in past tense.

• Past tense: Past events and history regarding official service
• Present tense: All other cases

Common grammatical errors

then and than

Despite their pronunciations being very similar, they are different in meaning.

Then is used in one of the three following cases:

1. at that time; at the time in question.

"I was living in Cairo then."

2. after that; next; afterward

"She won the first and then the second game."

3. in that case; therefore

"If you do what I tell you, then there's nothing to worry about."

"Well, that's okay, then."

Than is used in comparing two elements in a sentence

"He was much smaller than his son."

or in expressions introducing exceptions or contrasts

"He claims not to own anything other than his home."

its and it's

Its is the possessive adjective and possessive pronoun form of the personal pronoun it.

"He chose this area for its atmosphere."

On the other hand, it's is a contraction (shortcut) for it is OR it has.

it is – "It's my fault."

it has – "It's been a hot day."

their, there, and they're

Their is possessive, referring to an object, or objects, belonging to a certain number of people.

"The ball is their property."

There is an adverb, referring to a certain position or area.

"We went on to Paris and stayed there eleven days."

They're can also be confused with their and there. They're is a contraction for they are and they were, depending on how the sentence is constructed.

"The reason that they're going to the store is to buy more milk."

should of

The reason people write "should of" when they mean should have is because the contraction of should have (should've) is pronounced like "should of". Avoid "should of" like the plague. Instead, write "should have".

"Those rookie editors made the mistake of writing 'should of' when they meant 'should have'".

a herb and an herb

A herb is the correct term as the "h" at the start of herb is not silent. American accents clip the "h", which means that an herb would be incorrect.

"Guam is a herb that can be farmed"

amount and number

Amount refers to a quantity that can be measured. Number refers to a quantity that can be counted.

"Higher levels require a greater amount of experience."

"The maximum number of players in one game is 4."

much and many

As in the above example, much refers to a quantity that can be measured. Many refers to a quantity that can be counted.

"How much experience do you have?"

"How many people are in your game?"

alter and altar

An altar is a piece of furniture used in worship. To alter is to change something.

affect and effect

One thing may affect (or change) another. The result of an action is its effect or effects. Also, to effect is to produce.

your and you're

The word your is the possessive form of the word you.

The word you're is a contraction of the words you are.

duel and dual

You would have a duel against another person.

You would dual-wield two swords, or have a dual personality, meaning you have two sides to you.

Point of view

Articles should be written in the third person or objective point of view. Using the word "you" in articles is informal and should be avoided except if it is inside a quotation; try to use "players" or "the player" instead. Passive voice (e.g. "This assumes usage of a HUcast" instead of "This assumes you're using a HUcast") may also be used.

For guide articles that are intended to speak to a user to instruct them on how to accomplish something, "you" is acceptable, or imperatives can be used (i.e. "Go to the mission counter"). Avoiding "you" in this case may be very unnatural.

Images

Some general guidelines which should be followed are listed below.

• Wherever possible, all images uploaded to the Wiki should be direct image captures from an unmodified Ephinea installation of PSO or using data from the same. Images which use custom content (e.g. models and textures) should not be uploaded. All images must remain as faithful and accurate to the original as possible.
  • Exceptions to this may be made for icons that aren't available in a high enough resolution in-game; for example, high-quality official images of Section IDs aren't available, so the wiki uses Eleria's high-resolution renders with her permission.
  • Use high-quality graphics options if possible ("Advanced Effect" in the "More" options in the launcher, "High" detail levels for maps and enemies), and do not use "Low Res Texture".
  • Do not use the in-game bloom, ambient occlusion, or tonemapping shaders for screenshots. Anti-aliasing, anisotropic filtering, and the depth of field shader may be used.
• Right-alignment is preferred to left- or centre-alignment.
• If there are too many images in a given article, consider making a gallery with a level two heading.
• Use captions to explain the relevance of the image to the article.
• Make large images a thumbnail.
• Specifying the size of a thumbnail image is not recommended.

Uploading images

• The preferred formats for images are PNG.
• Please name your files descriptively to avoid confusion. For example if you are uploading a picture of a weapon, name it The Sigh of a God.png and not just Sighofgod.png.
• Don't upload images we already have. Before you upload an image, search the wiki if someone has already uploaded a version of it.

Captions

Complete sentences in captions should always end in a full stop (period). If the caption is not a complete sentence, it generally should not have a full stop at the end. Captions should also not be italicized.

Wiki-linking

• Link to articles once per section. For example, if ES Needle is mentioned five times in a section, you only have to link to ES Needle once in that section.
• When linking to something that has an attached icon and/or color in-game, use the Link template or one of the simplified link templates. For example,

  {{Link|icon=sword|color=rare|Lavis Cannon}}

will automatically produce a link that looks like this:

Lavis Cannon

The simplified equivalent,

{{Sword|rare|Lavis Cannon}}

will produce an identical link:

Lavis Cannon

More information can be found at each template's page: Category:Link templates

Writing articles

Everyone is encouraged to contribute meaningfully to the wiki.

Ownership and bias

• Keep personal bias out of articles. Even if "DB's Saber is for noobs" or "Yasminkov 7000V is awesome", we do not need to hear it in the articles.
• Nobody owns articles. This is a wiki, after all. This means words like "I", "we" or "me" should not be included in articles.
• Do not include specific names of players or groups of players in articles.

Numbers

For numbers, a comma should be used as a thousands separator.

Dates

If using dates, the format should be year first, month second, day last. (yyyy-mm-dd - 2007-05-21)

Time zones

If times are to be specified, they should be in UTC.

External links

Try to avoid linking to non-Ephinea-related sites. Links to the Ephinea forum or Discord are fine. In rare cases, links to relevant, reputable websites can be appropriate; a good example is the Trivia section in the Dreamcast article, which links to Wikipedia's article on the Dreamcast.