View source for Project:Conventions

{{Lede|How we write the {{SITENAME}}, so that every page reads as part of one guide. Follow these when you write or edit, and point others to them when you fix their work.}}

These conventions belong to the Wiki Editors. If you think one should change, say why on [[{{TALKPAGENAME}}|the discussion page]] before you change it.

== Who we write for ==
Write for a player who has just joined [https://whitecoastrail.com Whitecoast City Railway] for the first time. They know how to play a Roblox game, but not this one, and not how a railway works.

Many players are young, and many don't speak English as their first language. Plain words and short sentences help them all, and cost experienced players nothing.

== Facts ==
* '''Write what you have seen in the game yourself.''' Play it, check it, then write it.
* '''If you haven't seen it, leave it out''', or mark it with [[Template:Unverified|<nowiki>{{Unverified}}</nowiki>]] so someone else can check it.
* '''Don't guess numbers.''' Give speeds, distances and counts only as the game shows them.
* '''The game changes.''' Say which update a fact is from when it matters, such as ''Since V2, …''. If an update makes a page wrong and you can't fix it yet, put [[Template:Outdated|<nowiki>{{Outdated}}</nowiki>]] at the top.
* '''Things that aren't in the game yet''' go in the text only once the developers have announced them, with a link to the announcement.
* '''Theories and rumours from players''' are welcome, but only in a [[Template:Theory|<nowiki>{{Theory}}</nowiki>]] box, which tells the reader the developers haven't confirmed them. Never write one into the text as if it were fact. Say what it is based on, and don't name the players behind it. When it comes true, move it into the text; when it turns out wrong, take it out.
* '''No leaks.''' Leave out anything taken from test versions of the game, or from private channels, even as a theory.
* '''Write in your own words.''' Don't copy text or pictures from other wikis or websites. What you write here is shared under the wiki's licence ([[{{ns:Project}}:Copyrights]]).
* '''If you write with an AI tool''', you are responsible for every word it writes under your name. Check each fact in the game before you save.

== Page names ==
* Name a thing exactly as the game does, with its spelling and capitals. A station's page has the name on its signs.
* Other pages are in sentence case: ''Driving a train'', not ''Driving A Train''.
* Don't start names with ''WCR'' or ''Whitecoast''; the whole wiki is about the game.
* If players call something by another name or a short form, make a redirect from it: a page that holds only <code><nowiki>#REDIRECT [[Page name]]</nowiki></code>.

== Kinds of page ==
=== Stations, trains and lines ===
# The infobox, at the very top: [[Template:Infobox station|<nowiki>{{Infobox station}}</nowiki>]], [[Template:Infobox train|<nowiki>{{Infobox train}}</nowiki>]] or [[Template:Infobox line|<nowiki>{{Infobox line}}</nowiki>]]. It adds the page to its category, too.
# An opening paragraph that says what it is and where, with its name in bold the first time: ''<nowiki>'''Example Central''' is a station on the [[Example Line]].</nowiki>''
# Sections on what a player needs, in the order they need it: what is there, how to use it, then tips.
# For a line, its stations in order with [[Template:Stops|<nowiki>{{Stops}}</nowiki>]].
# The subject's [[Template:Navbox|navbox]], if it has one, at the end.

=== Guides ===
A guide teaches one thing: how to do a job in the game, start to finish.
# An opening paragraph that says what the reader will be able to do, and anything they need first.
# The steps, as a numbered list, one action to a step, in the order they happen.
# The keys, in a [[Template:Controls|<nowiki>{{Controls}}</nowiki>]] table or with [[Template:Key|<nowiki>{{Key}}</nowiki>]].
# Put the page in <code><nowiki>[[Category:Guides]]</nowiki></code>.

== Writing ==
* '''British English''': colour, centre, travelling.
* '''Talk to the reader''' as ''you'', in the present tense: ''You stop at the red signal.''
* '''One idea to a paragraph''', and short sentences. If a sentence has more than one ''and'', split it.
* '''Say what the player sees, then what to do about it''': ''When the signal shows {{Aspect|yellow|yellow}}, slow down; the next one may be red.''
* '''Explain railway words''' the first time you use them, or link the page that does.
* '''No ''I'' or ''we''''' in articles, and no opinions. Instead of ''the best train'', say what it is good for.
* '''Avoid words that date''': ''currently'', ''recently'', ''new'', ''soon''. Say ''since'' or ''as of'' an update instead.
* '''Dates''' are written ''23 October 2026''. '''Units''' are the ones the game shows, with a space: ''60 mph''.

== Formatting ==
* '''Headings''' start at <code><nowiki>== Two ==</nowiki></code>, go down one level at a time, and are in sentence case. Don't put links in them.
* '''Lists''': numbered for steps that happen in order, bulleted for everything else.
* '''Use the [[{{ns:Project}}:Templates|templates]]''' rather than your own formatting: [[Template:Key|<nowiki>{{Key}}</nowiki>]] for keys, [[Template:Aspect|<nowiki>{{Aspect}}</nowiki>]] for signals, [[Template:Tip|<nowiki>{{Tip}}</nowiki>]] and [[Template:Warning|<nowiki>{{Warning}}</nowiki>]] for asides.
* '''Go easy on boxes.''' One tip or warning in a section is plenty; a page full of boxes reads like none of them matter.
* '''Tables''' are for facts that compare across rows, with <code><nowiki>{| class="wikitable"</nowiki></code> and a heading row. Don't use them to lay out a page.
* '''Leave the look to the wiki.''' Don't set colours, fonts or sizes, or centre text; the site's style does it, the same way on every page.

== Links ==
* Link a page the first time you mention it, and not again on the same page.
* A red link, to a page that doesn't exist yet, is fine if the page should exist. Someone will write it.
* Don't link everyday words.
* Link only to official sites outside the wiki: the game on Roblox, [https://whitecoastrail.com whitecoastrail.com] and the official Discord. Put them in an ''External links'' section at the end.

== Pictures ==
* Use your own screenshots of the game. Uploads wait for a Wiki Administrator's approval before they appear.
* Crop to what matters. Hide other players' names and avatars, and the chat, where you can.
* Name the file after what it shows, such as ''Example Central platform 2.png'', not ''Screenshot 1.png''.
* Give each picture a caption, and an <code>alt</code> description for people who can't see it.

== Categories ==
* Put every article in at least one category. The infoboxes add stations, trains and lines; add guides to [[:Category:Guides]] yourself.
* Check [[Special:Categories]] before you start a new category. Most pages fit one that exists.

== People ==
* Write about the game, not the people who play it. Don't name players, and never share anyone's personal details, Roblox username or Discord name.
* Keep everything suitable for players of any age.
* Don't advertise other games, groups or servers.

== Working together ==
* '''Edit summaries''' say what you changed and why, in a few words: ''Added the platform numbers from the station signs.''
* '''Disagree on the discussion page''', not by undoing each other. If someone undoes your edit, talk to them before you put it back. Sign what you write there with <code><nowiki>~~~~</nowiki></code>, and indent replies with <code>:</code>.
* '''Rewriting a page''' over several edits? Put [[Template:In use|<nowiki>{{In use}}</nowiki>]] at the top while you work, and take it off when you finish.
* '''A page that only has the basics''' gets [[Template:Stub|<nowiki>{{Stub}}</nowiki>]] at the bottom.
* '''A page that shouldn't exist''', such as a duplicate or a test, gets [[Template:Delete|<nowiki>{{Delete|reason}}</nowiki>]] at the top. Wiki Administrators decide.
* '''Assume good faith.''' Most mistakes are by people trying to help. Fix them, and tell the person kindly if it might happen again.

== Pages that need work ==
* [[:Category:Stubs]]: pages that need more.
* [[:Category:Outdated pages]]: pages an update may have made wrong.
* [[:Category:Pages with unchecked facts]]: facts nobody has seen in the game yet.
* [[:Category:Pages with player theories]]: theories to check after each update.
* [[:Category:Pages to delete]]: pages waiting for a Wiki Administrator.