Replication Ops:Formatting Guide

Currently, Replication Ops is still getting started, and trying to find it's footing when it comes to style. Here's some quick style and formatting notes for new articles.

Writing Rules

In general, the same rules that apply to most Wikimedia sites apply here too. However, we do have a few specific credos that we want to follow around here.

• No detail is too small. It's the belief of this webmaster that all minutiae of the Treks deserves a spotlight. Whether you have details on it or not, it's important that we catalog as much as we can, before we lose those valuable details to time. Submit as much as you can, and we'll worry about editing it down later.
• Here, we respect the entire franchise. While you may disagree with the direction or writing of a new Trek show, the point of this site is not to lay waste to those shows, but to instead share and archive as much material from every aspect of this franchise. This forum is a neutral ground for Trekkers and Trekkies alike. It's important to remember that hatefully protesting these shows on a site like this just needlessly attacks those who enjoy and work on the shows. Remember the IDIC!
• Cite everything. The details we gather here are procured from potentially thousands of sources, some directly from the production. To respect the original creators and posters, we must always respect credit where possible. Never remove credit from an image, and when posting an image from another user, always link back to it. Provenance isn't just useful in determining validity, it's also desperately important when respecting the original posters and creators of this information. Your citations are the best defense against an angry DMCA down the line!
• No clutter. We want tons of details, and we want lots of information. But it's important to coagulate sources and information if it's deemed that two articles are too similar. Combine articles and reduce clutter, but make sure that we always re-direct as many variants as we can, so it's easier to find what you're looking for.
• Standardize. Follow the layouts set up previously by other users. We're still finding our footing here, but follow our lead and you should be fine.

Categories to Include

While we don't always want every article to be split exactly like this, these are some key talking points that every article should cover.

• Introduction and Infobox
• History (why it was built, in-universe information, notable episodes, etc.)
• Variations (if applicable)
• Design (who designed it, who built it, any notes on design)
• Production (how it was produced, paint colors/codes, modern day equivalents)
• Replicas (notable examples of replicas, either commercially sold or garage kits)
• Media (a long list of screencaps, auction photos, or other worthwhile photos of the real thing. Isolates sounds are also acceptable.)
• References (ALWAYS CITE YOUR SOURCES!)

Style Guide

We want to keep our writing style close to the adopted by Wikipedia. In their words, "Editors should write articles using straightforward, succinct, easily understood language and structure articles with consistent, reader-friendly layouts and formatting." However, it's not critical that we follow their Manual of Style to a tee, and for less historical references, such as meta discussions about paint types, how something was built, conversations like that, it's okay to get a little lax on the professionalism. As long as it reads reasonably to the viewer, we shouldn't have much of a problem.

All pages should have an with a key photo, and some basic information about the item. In general, we love photos, so the more, the merrier! However, if it comes to a point where there are more photos than the page can handle, we recommend migrating a bulk of the research photos to a secondary page. For instance, if we have 30 or more of photos in TNG Combadge, then move the photos to a Subpage, like TNG Combadge/Images so that it doesn't bulk up the main page.

What qualifies a prop for it's own page?

This is more a question of philosophy, but the way we see it, props that are unique and have a long story, such as combadges, deserve their own individual pages for each variant, as each variant has a story to be told. However, something of a background piece, like the many desktop computer/viewers in the TNG era, or the constant variations on isolinear chips, may only deserve one page with an list of each variation and detailed photos/production details. It's okay to have multiple "subjects" per page (each with their own infobox), but the main idea is to have infinite search terms, but a limited number of pages, except where necessary to tell the whole story of a prop.

I think it's fair to say a lot of these props can be combined. Just use your better judgement, and make sure to set up re-directs where possible.