The Manual of Style is a specific set of guidelines that wiki writers must follow to ensure that pages are readable and accurate.
Important Notes
First of all, sexual and graphic material are strictly prohibited from Dinopedia. Natural violence is fine, in moderation, but anything else is a no-go and will result in an immediate and permanent ban. And please don't spam in the comments, as this will result in a ban.
Dinopedia is also strictly an English-speaking wiki, so any edits in other languages will be reverted. International paleo-media is still permitted, as long as it fits the relevancy requirements below.
Plagiarism
Don't copy articles from other wikis or articles (INCLUDING WIKIPEDIA AND SCIENTIFIC PAPERS!) and paste them onto a new or existing page. This is an extremely common issue, and any user who does this will be warned and/or blocked, as well as being reported to FANDOM staff if the plagiarism is severe enough and/or deemed a copyright violation.
This rule doesn't just apply to simply copy-paste, as plagiarism is still evident if the content of a page is extremely similar to outside sources. When making or editing pages, please use your own words to explain the information desired; using a thesaurus to change some words is still plagiarism. Paraphrasing is encouraged if possible, and means to ensure the created content doesn't closely match the source content.
Prerequisites
For a creature to qualify for a page on Dinopedia, it must be its own genus (or species and subspecies, provided the genus is still extant like with Panthera), and have been extinct for at least 200 years (there are some exceptions Dinopedia does make, like famous recently extinct species like the thylacine or living fossils such as the coelacanth). Clades, such as families or classes, may also have pages, and can cover still-living clades as long as there are at least some extinct taxa present. Any pages on creatures that do not meet these requirements will be considered vandalism and deleted, and the user who created them will be warned and/or blocked.
Other possible pages that are allowed to be made is of things such as people, scientific terminology, and lists of certain topics. Since this is a paleontology wiki, it makes sense the main requirement for a page based on a person is that the person is in the field of paleontology or a field adjacent to it (paleobotany, anthropology, etc.). Scientific terminology should also be related to the field of paleontology, but some biological or taxonomical terms are allowed as well. Lists are a case-by-case basis, but be sure these lists aren't outclassed by something like the category for them (don't make a list for all animals in a documentary if there is a category that already does that).
Paleo-media (documentaries, movies, video games, etc.) pages are also welcomed to be added as long as it is decently popular. See below if you have questions about what counts as a relevant paleo-media.
Irrelevant/Obscure Pages
When making a page for any sort of media, from film to books to video games, certain things would be considered too irrelevant or obscure to stay on this wiki. If there is an installment about prehistory in a series/media that is otherwise not related to prehistory at all, then that show or episode has no reason to have a page here (i.e. a page covering an episode of The Magic School Bus about dinosaurs would fall under this rule).
Some media are simply just too obscure or pointless to include. Children's books about dinosaurs are a dime a dozen, and would offer no substance. They also aren't typically popular enough to include. Generally, for a book to be considered relevant enough, it either is extremely popular (either by themselves or because of a film/series it inspired) or was made by scientists themselves. Some media may include extinct fauna (i.e. Super Mario Odyssey), but this doesn't necessarily warrant a page unless said fauna are the main focus of the game, such as ARK. Mods of video games also don't count, since they aren't official content.
Films, documentaries. and series do vary with what is allowed and what isn't, but most paleomedia will be allowed on the site unless very obscure (such as movies only found in a small country, ones with very low budget or distribution, or are simply too short). YouTube channels and webseries will typically be prohibited, as well as webseries, unless noteworthy enough, examples being Dinosauria and Forgotten Bloodlines: Agate.
Low-Effort Pages/Stubs
Low-effort pages, or Stubs, are any pages that have much less than what is typically regarded as a proper page, from simply lacking a certain section or only being a sentence long. This has been an issue on the wiki almost since its inception, with countless pages only being about a sentence or two long. Any low effort page will be marked with the Stub template, and will only be removed when the page reaches its bare minimum. So when you make a page, please add a suitable amount of information to give readers something to actually learn! Some guidelines for the bare minimum of types of pages will be given below as a reference.
If you see a page that does not fit the following criteria, please add the Stub template to signal it's need of more information.
Taxa Pages
Pages on organisms, especially animals, are the most numerous pages on the wiki, and as such, they will have the most importance in ensuring they aren't stubs. A member of staff, Kelbeam, has made a post about what would be considered low or high effort, so please read here if you want to learn more about what would be considered low effort or what one can do to make a page about animals that isn't low effort. As a brief synopsis of the staff consensus on a page's preferred content, a page must have as follows:
- Brief summary of the animal at the beginning (what it is, where it was found, when it lived, etc.)
- Description section covering what fossil material of the creature has been found, and a description of the appearance of it (horns, crests, size, weight, etc.)
- Discovery and Naming section, giving information on who discovered the material at a given time and what its naming may mean (Tyrannosaurus rex being named as "Tyrant lizard king").
- Classification section for what family or other clades the organism may belong to. Is it basal or derived? Does it have any close living relatives? Was it the type genus of its family?
| Example Infobox Temporal range: Late Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
| |
| Please copy-paste this template if needed, and replace all info with the relevant information for the animal | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Tyrannosauridae |
| Tribe: | †Tyrannosaurini |
| Genus: | †Placeholder Dinopedia, 2005 |
| Species: | †P. laceholder |
| Type species | |
| †Placeholder dinopediensis Dinopedia, 2005 | |
While not entirely necessary for a page to not be a stub, these optional additions would be greatly appreciated and informational for readers:
- Infobox giving all necessary clade and time period information, and a photo of the current understanding of the animal. If no art exists, a photo of the fossil itself also works well.
- Paleoecology section about the time period and environment it lived in. Was it a desert or forest? What did this animal eat? What animals did it live alongside? Did it have any predators?
- If there is more than one species, what makes each species different? Is it based on appearance, location, genetic information, or a mix of all 3?
- If the taxa is dubious or invalid, add the Dubious or Invalid template and give information on its status or how its validity was thrown into question.
- Categories connected to the page's content is much appreciated, such as any clades the organism belongs to, the year it was described, where and when it lived, and other categories. If there is no such category you can find, please don't add it without asking, as the category may just be under another name.
Media
If the page is for some form of media, it cannot just be made up of mostly a list of all animals in the movie and little else; please add some substance. Preferably, a page for a piece of media (documentaries, TV shows, video games, books, etc.) should have as follows as a bare minimum:
- A general description of the media (titles, date of release, who made it, what it's about, etc).
- Synopsis of the plot, if there is plot present.
- List of prehistoric creatures featured in the media (if there is none or barely any, it likely doesn't fit on Dinopedia).
- Pictures of the media would be much appreciated, as long as they are good quality. Creating a page for something like a book and including every single page as a photo in a gallery is not informational. It's just piracy.
People
Most pages dedicated to people are in the paleontological field, and generally have the same level of desired amounts of information to not be a stub. There is much less needed for these pages compared to taxa or media, but they still have some required sections:
- Description of the person in question, such as where they work, birth and death date, and their most notable contributions to the field.
- If they have described any taxa, a list of all they have described and any major studies or discoveries they have conducted.
- If they have created any works, such as art or books, a section for their created works (and a gallery of their art if possible).
- Any appearances in popular media, such as movies or documentaries (i.e. Robert Bakker in Clash of the Dinosaurs and Jack Horner in Jurassic World).
Red Links
Also please don't add links that go to nowhere, also known as red links. Try to find a link to a page that does exist, and if there isn't an appropriate page, don't make a link for it until that page is made. Red links look bad for wikis, and doesn't help readers learn. If you do make a red link, please ensure you will make a real page to correspond with that link soon.
Don't Vandalize Pages
Don't vandalize other people's work. Any vandalism will be swiftly reverted, and warnings or blocks will be issued to culpable parties. There are no exceptions.
Use Proper Grammar
Use proper grammar so that your articles are easy to read. For instance, take a look at the following sample:
"Trilobites first evolved during the middle Cambrian, diversifying throughout the Palaeozoic until just one clade remained."
Contrast this with:
"The trilobites first evolved during the middle cambrian diversifying throughout the paleozoic until just one clade remained"
As you can well see, the first of the two texts is much easier to read, with correct punctuation and grammar. This is the sort of standard which writers should hold themselves to. While the specifics may vary between countries, the University of Oxford provides a basic style guide here.
For a page about naming conventions on how to properly use genus and species names, visit Dinopedia's Naming Conventions page here.
Source Your Work, Using Credible Sources
Cite your sources wherever possible, and if you find a page without sources, it'd be great if you could try and add some! We're a collaborative wiki, after all, and all constructive user input is greatly appreciated.
You might be wondering what does and doesn't count as a credible source. The best options are peer-reviewed papers or textbooks. PeerJ, Nature, PLOS ONE, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, and ScienceDirect are good sources, though be aware that some studies are either outdated or use faulty methodology. In terms of books, sources like the Life Of The Past series published by Indiana University Press, which cover a wide range of subjects, are by far the best.
Non-credible sources are far more diverse and far easier to find. Some sources to avoid are:
- Children's websites typically contain outdated or erroneous information, and never cite any sources.
- Websites with an obvious bias (reptileevolution.com/The Pterosaur Heresies, Answers in Genesis, and so on). They might cite their sources, but this doesn't make them reliable.
- Documentaries: Barely any documentaries are totally accurate, even for their time. The filmmakers may twist facts to construct a false narrative, or the wrong information may be given by accident.
- Very old articles or websites: chances are these papers have become outdated or that there are more recent articles that do a better job as a source. This ignoring papers like ones that describe animals like Marsh's article that described Brontosaurus.
It should be noted that just because a source comes from a palaeontologist, doesn't mean it should inherently be trusted: they might simply be stating their opinion on a matter without backing it up. This is called an appeal to authority, and should be avoided at all costs. This sort of citation is no better than any of the above, and may be deleted at a staff member's discretion.
Accurate Information
When adding or creating an article, refrain from using movie, show, or pop-culture depictions of prehistoric creatures as the basis for facts in the page for the creature, as such information is prohibited. Obviously fictitious claims such as Tyrannosaurus having vision based on movement, for example, should only be brought up in reference to the source (in this case, Jurassic Park). Stick to scientific information. For more information, check out the page on fictitious content here.
No Speculation
Do not add speculation on your personal ideas on a prehistoric creature to one of their respective pages. Only use information from credible sources. For example, saying Tyrannosaurus rex hunted Edmontosaurus and backing it up with a valid source is fine. Saying that it was pink with polka dots isn't.
Don't Create Galleries
The Gallery pages were deleted for a reason, don't recreate them or you will receive a temporary ban. Only make galleries on the pages the images are based on. For example, you should make a Maraapunisaurus gallery inside of the actual Maraapunisaurus page, and not make an independent page for it.
Categorization
When adding categories to pages, please make sure the categories given apply to the page and aren't obscure to the point only a small handful would have the category. Categories like "Maastrictian Fauna" or "Living Fossils" are welcome, but ones such as "Jurassic theropods named after musicians", "Tithonian crocodyliforms" or "1986 TV shows" are too pointless or oddly specific to have as a very small number would be eligible for such a category. Any excessive or obscure categories added en masse will be considered badge farming and/or spam, and will be dealt with appropriately.
For more in-depth information about categorization, visit the Category Rules page here.
Page Deletion Requests
We have a specific category for pages that the community may want deleted, named the "Candidates for Deletion" category. If you as an editor find a page that for a reason that may not fit our guidelines for staying here, such as being too obscure or being the result of a vandal's creation, please add this category to the page for moderators and other staff to see it and act accordingly to it.
Since this method may take longer than desired for some, editors are free to message staff directly to address any deletion requests if they so desire. But if possible, use the category system above.
Have Fun!
One last rule, HAVE FUN!
Oh and maybe learn some stuff in the process!
That was rather corny.