Europa Universalis 4 Wiki:Style

See also: Europa Universalis 4 Wiki:Style/Country

This style guide provides guidance on how to make quality contributions to the wikis within the Paradox Wikis. If these guidelines seem too difficult to follow (non-native speakers, etc.) -- don't let them stop you from contributing! It is more important that the wikis have contributions than having everything "done right", and once content is in the wikis, other contributors can participate by putting it into a better style.

Article organization

1. Naming articles:
   1. Do not capitalize any words in the article name, except for words that are capitalized grammatically. Capitalize the first letter of the first word (wiki should do this automatically)
   2. Use full names for any articles you create. Create a redirect page for any abbreviations and alternate spellings
   3. Unless a significant part of the article's or the section's content is a list, the name of the article/section should be singular. This way the article can be linked while appearing either singular ([[article]]) or plural ([[article]]s), without needing to setup redirects.
2. Header names: The same rules that apply to naming articles apply to headers
3. Article size: Generally, articles should be big enough that they comprehensively cover a single subject.
4. Templates: Templates are created to help better organize content on the Wiki. See the Category:Templates full list of available templates.
5. Categories: Always group articles into categories. If you are unsure which category fits best, start a discussion on the talk page of the article.
6. Versioning:
   1. Use the versioning templates to indicate for which game version an article or section was written. See Project:Versioning for further information.
   2. All articles operate on the premise of all DLC active along with the most up to date patch.

Writing style

1. Write objectively, not in the first person.
   • Correct: England can focus on its economy to become a major power.
   • Incorrect: I always build a lot of merchants.
2. Use a third person narrative when possible. Country strategy guides are exempt from this rule, but it is still preferred.
   • Correct: The player can build temples in order to increase their base tax.
   • Incorrect: You can build temples in order to increase your base tax.
3. Use a semi-formal register.
   • Correct: It's recommended for ... to attack their neighbour in order to obtain more base tax and manpower.
   • Incorrect: ... should obviously attack their neighbour to get tax and manpower.
4. Paradox games allow for limitless possibilities.
   • Correct: The Ottomans have multiple options for engaging in Eastern Europe. One strategy is to...
   • Incorrect: The best way for the Ottomans to engage in Eastern Europe is to start with Hungary...
5. Write in general, abstract terms.
   • Correct: Cavalry are excellent at destroying enemy armies...
   • Incorrect: Build exactly 4 Cavalry, use them to attack this province, etc...
6. Capitalization should only be used for the first letter in a sentence, and proper nouns. The name of game mechanics do not count as proper nouns.
7. Please use gender neutral language such as they instead of he or her
8. The wiki views both US and UK English as acceptable languages and there is no need to correct between the two, however consistency through a page is appreciated
9. If you need to refer to a date, use only an unambiguous format.
   • Correct: 12 November 1444; November 12, 1444; 1444-11-12
   • Incorrect: 11-12-1444; 12-11-1444

Wiki formatting

1. Wikis work due to the use of internal links to other pages, the first instance of any other page should be linked with square brackets [[like this]]
2. Do not emphasize text with underline or CAPITALS, use italics instead, in addition avoid excessive use of bold
3. Write so that everyone can participate: do not personalize articles by signing them or naming game concepts after yourself.
4. The use of links in Section names should be avoided, please use the main template instead.
5. Do not use html code where wiki code exists to perform the same action, this includes plainlists, paragraphs and line breaks
6. Avoid using the tier 1 title wherever possible
7. Indent bullet points using multiple asterisks (**) instead of the colon followed by an asterisk (:*).

Forum links

It is preferred that links to the Paradox forums be inserted as if they were wiki links rather than regular links. They should be formatted as follows:

[[forum:ID HERE]]

The ID is taken from the URL to the thread; it is the number after the period towards the end of the URL. The bold part of the following URL is the thread ID: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/new-forum-feedback-not-for-questions.847200/

To link a specific post, simply include the post identifier after the final slash if it is on the first page. Example: [[forum:847200/#post-19092146]].

Otherwise, use [[forumpost:ID HERE]], where the ID in this case would be "19092146".

Duplication of information

Duplication of information on the wiki is frowned upon and should be avoided where possible as it leads to increased maintenance overhead and display of outdated information even though it has been updated on other locations.

If a piece of info seems relevant to another article there are several ways to include it without outright copying it:

1. Creation of a sub-header with the use of the {{Main}} template immediately under it. Follow it with a concise summary of the target link.
2. Create transclusion sections on the target page and then transclude it to the desired article. For example:

Add this to the transclusion target:

<section begin=NAME/>
... CONTENT ...
<section end=NAME/>

Add this to the article which will include the transclusion:

{{#lst:Target|NAME}}

Rejection criteria

There are a number of reasons a contribution may be rejected. To prevent this happening please be aware of the issues listed below.

1. Use of first person: Please change to third person
2. Use of you/your: Please change to third person
3. Use of gender: Please use gender neutral language
4. Use of slang/ internet speak: Please correct to full English sentences
5. Bad grammar/spelling: Please correct it
6. Prescriptive instructions: Make more generic
7. Excessive use of bold/capitals: Use italics instead for emphasis, if emphasis is not needed then remove
8. Links in section names: Use the {{main}} template instead
9. List: Reformat into prose (a listed ideas section is acceptable)
10. Repetitive strategy sections: Merge into relevant up to date strategy
11. Absence of links: Links missing or replaced by bold or italics which do not function
12. Poor sectioning: Article should be broken up into easy to understand sections
13. Version specific strategy: Update to fit current version or delete
14. References to the player outside strategy sections: Please refer to agents rather than the player

Assessment

All wiki pages are to be assessed based on the following guidelines:

Class	Criteria	Reader's experience	Editing suggestions	Example
FA	The article has attained featured article status by passing an official review.	Professional, outstanding, and thorough; a definitive source for encyclopedic information.	No further content additions should be necessary unless new information becomes available; further improvements to the prose quality are often possible.	Buildings
A	The article is well organized and essentially complete.	Very useful to readers. A fairly complete treatment of the subject. A non-expert would typically find nothing wanting.	Expert knowledge may be needed to tweak the article, and style problems may need solving.	Land warfare
B	The article is mostly complete and without major problems, but requires some further work to reach good article standards.	Readers are not left wanting, although the content may not be complete enough to satisfy a serious player or modder.	A few aspects of content and style need to be addressed. Expert knowledge may be needed. The article checked for general compliance with the style guidelines.	England
C	The article is substantial, but is still missing important content or contains much irrelevant material.	Useful to a casual reader, but would not provide a complete picture for even a moderately detailed study.	Considerable editing is needed to close gaps in content and solve cleanup problems.	Ruler
Start	An article that is developing, but which is quite incomplete.	Provides some meaningful content, but most readers will need more.	The article needs substantial improvement in content and organisation.	Ironman
Stub	A very basic description of the topic.	Provides very little meaningful content; may be little more than a dictionary definition.	Any editing or additional material can be helpful. The provision of meaningful content should be a priority.	Patches
Disambig	Any disambiguation page falls under this class.	The page serves to distinguish multiple articles that share the same (or similar) title.	Additions should be made as new articles of that name are created.	America (disambiguation)
List	Meets the criteria of a stand-alone list, which is an article that contains primarily a list.	There is no set format for a list, but its organization should be logical and useful to the reader.	Lists should be appropriately named and organized.	List of provinces
Mod	The article is either a mod page or a mod subpage.	The page should detail the modification in question or a subsection of it. The wiki team take no responsibility for the quality of mod class articles.	Maintenance of the page is left to the modification team, however inactive mods and unmaintained pages may be removed at the discretion of the wiki team.	MEIOU and Taxes