Difference between revisions of "Powerbase:Naming Conventions"

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This page is a list of guidelines on '''naming conventions''' on how to name pages.
  
This page is a list of guidelines on how to name pages.
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Before creating a new page, please familiarise yourself with the guidelines on [[Powerbase:How to Start a Page|how to start a new page]].
  
Generally, article naming should give priority to what the majority of English speakers would most easily recognize with a reasonable minimum of ambiguity, while at the same time making linking to those articles easy and second nature. Beyond this general statement, the most important sections to read are the first few sections: '''Simplicity''', '''Precision''', '''Capitalization''', and '''Pluralization'''.  
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Generally, article naming should give priority to what the majority of English speakers would most easily recognize with a reasonable minimum of ambiguity, while at the same time making linking to those articles easy and second nature.  
  
The purpose of these [[SpinProfiles:Policy|policies]] are twofold. First, to allow web users to easily judge from the results turned up by a search engine whether the article is likely to contain information they are seeking. Second, to make creating new pages with appropriate links easier.
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The purpose of this policy is twofold. First, to allow web users to easily judge from search engine results whether the article is likely to contain information they seek. Second, to make creating new pages with appropriate links easier.
  
When writing pages on any subject, names, words, or phrases that you think should be linked to further information should be bracketed so that they will appear as links. Following consistent conventions in both naming and linking makes it more likely that these links will lead to the right place.  
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Any subject, names, words, or phrases in an article/page that you think should be linked to further information, should be bracketed so that they will appear as [[Powerbase:How To Edit A Page#Links and URLs|links]]. Following consistent conventions in both naming and linking makes it more likely that these links will lead to the right place.  
  
It is important to note that these are conventions, not rules written in stone. As SpinProfiles grows and changes, some conventions that once made sense may become outdated. But when in doubt, follow convention.
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==People and organisations==
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As Powerbase is a profile encyclopedia, most articles are likely to consist of titles of people or organisations.  
  
== General conventions ==
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Capitals should be used as normal for people's and organisation's names. For example: [[Gordon Brown]] or [[Labour Friends of Israel]].
  
=== Lowercase second and subsequent words ===
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Use a person's full name if possible. For individuals with titles such as [[Dennis Stevenson]] who is also known as [[Lord Stevenson of Coddenham]], use his real name for his main article. It is possible that others may know him as his title, but not his real name: so to make it easier for people searching in Powerbase to find him, create a redirect so that someone looking for 'Lord Coddenham' will be automatically be directed to 'Dennis Stevenson'. See [[Powerbase:How to Redirect a Page|How to redirect a page]] for how this is done.
''Convention'': Unless the term you wish to create a page for is a proper noun or is otherwise almost always capitalized, do not capitalize second and subsequent words (otherwise known as "title case").
 
''Rationale and specifics'': See [[w:Wikipedia:Naming conventions (capitalization)|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (capitalization)]] and [[w:wikipedia:Canonization|wikipedia:Canonization]].
 
  
:'''Exception:Portal names:''' The names of portals are considered proper names in and of themselves ("[[Portal:Legislation and Issues|The Legislation and Issues Portal]]") and as such should follow normal title case.
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Sometimes more than one person may share the same name. In this case, follow the guidelines given in [[Powerbase:How to Redirect a Page#Disambiguation|How to redirect a page]].
  
=== Prefer singular nouns  ===
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==Descriptive titles==
''Convention'': In general only create page titles that are in the singular, unless that noun is always in a plural form in English (such as "economics" or "trousers").
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It is preferable for descriptive titles to also be created using capitals, after all it is a title. For example: [[GlaxoSmithKline: Silencing Critics Through Intimidation]].  
''Rationale and specifics'': See [[w:Wikipedia:Naming conventions (pluralization)|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (pluralization)]].
 
  
=== Use English words ===
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Try to ensure that the title is as clear as possible whilst being short and snappy. The example [[GlaxoSmithKline: Silencing Critics Through Intimidation]] makes it easy for a reader to identify that the article is about GlaxoSmithKline, that it is about critics being silenced and that this is through intimidation. If the article was simply entitled 'Silencing Critics' for example, then it would be very ambiguous and unclear what the content of the article actually was.  
''Convention'': Name your pages in English and place the native transliteration on the first line of the article unless the native form is more commonly used in English than the English form.
 
''Rationale and specifics'': See: [[w:Wikipedia:Naming conventions (use English)|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (use English)]].
 
  
=== Use common names of persons and things ===
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Ensuring an article title is clear has two main benefits: It makes it easier for people using Powerbase to browse the site and to find articles on their interests. It also makes it easier for someone using a search engine on the world wide web to spot a Powerbase article relevant to the subject they are searching for.  
''Convention'': Use the most common name of a person or thing that does not conflict with the names of other people or things.
 
''Rationale and specifics'': [[w:Wikipedia:Naming conventions (common names)|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (common names)]].
 
  
=== Be precise when necessary ===
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===and, the, of... etc===
''Convention'': Please, do not write or put an article on a page with an ambiguously-named title as though that title had no other meanings.
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The exception to using capitals for words in the title relate to the use of words such as 'and', 'the' and 'of'. For example Powerbase guidelines on [[Powerbase:Search Engine Optimization of Articles|Search Engine Optimization of Articles]] and Powerbase [[Powerbase:Image Use Policy and Guidelines|Image Use Policy and Guidelines]].  
''Rationale and specifics'': For example, if you create an article "Legislation" but the content is solely about legislation governing the mining industry in the U.S., readers are justifiably likely to be annoyed. It is also worth remembering that articles with specific titles can be grouped with other articles on a similar theme by the addition of a category tag. This automatically indexes all articles with the same tag so that they can be easily viewed as  a group. See: [[w:Wikipedia:Naming conventions (precision)|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (precision)]] and [[w:Wikipedia:Disambiguation|Wikipedia:Disambiguation]].
 
 
 
=== Prefer spelled-out phrases to acronyms ===
 
''Convention'': Avoid the use of acronyms in page naming unless the term you are naming is almost exclusively known only by its acronym and is widely known and used in that form ("NASA" and "radar" are good examples).
 
''Rationale and specifics'': See: [[w:Wikipedia:Naming conventions (acronyms)|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (acronyms)]].
 
 
 
===Legislation, regulation and policy===
 
When naming articles on government policy, use:
 
* '''"legislation"''' when the article is principally covering acts of a legislative body (such as [[Congress]]). For example, actions by Congress that affect Medicare are covered in the "[[Medicare legislation]]" article;
 
* '''"regulation"''' when the article deals significantly with regulations issued by regulatory bodies '''and''' when the article covers ''restrictive'' governmental actions. For example, the government restricts what media companies may own so there is an article  on "[[media ownership regulation]]"; or
 
* '''"policy"''' when the article deals with governmental actions that are proactive/creative. For example, copyright law ''established'' protections so there is an article on "[[digital copyright policy]]".
 
 
 
=== Historical names and titles ===
 
''Convention'': In general, use the most common form of the name used in English and disambiguate the names of monarchs of modern countries in the format <nowiki>[[{Monarch's first name and ordinal} of {Country}]]</nowiki> (example: "Edward I of England").
 
''Rationale and specifics'': See: [[w:Wikipedia:Naming conventions (names and titles)|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (names and titles)]] and [[w:Wikipedia:History standards|Wikipedia:History standards]].
 
 
 
=== Movie titles ===
 
''Convention'': Oftentimes movies share the same name as other movies, books or terms. When disambiguating a movie from something else use (movie) in the title when only one movie had that name and (YEAR movie) in the title when there are more than one movies by that name (example: "Titanic (1997 movie)").
 
''Rationale and specifics'': See: [[w:Wikipedia:Naming conventions (movies)|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (movies)]]
 
  
 
=== Country-specific articles ===
 
=== Country-specific articles ===
Put the name or abbreviation of a country in parentheses at the end of an article title when the article applies specifically to one country. Use (U.S.) for the United States of America and (UK) for the United Kingdom. (Follows [[w:Wikipedia:Manual of Style (abbreviations)|Wikipedia convention]])
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If an article is country specific, it would also be useful to put the name or abbreviation of a country in parentheses at the end of an article title: for example (U.S.) for the United States of America and (UK) for the United Kingdom.
 
 
== Other specific conventions ==
 
  
These guidelines have been adapted from [[w:Wikipedia:Naming conventions|Wikipedia:Naming conventions]]. Additional guidelines can be found there.
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==Acronyms==
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Often, organisation etc are known by an acronym of their title. For example, the [[American Israel Public Affairs Committee]] is also known as [[AIPAC]]. The main article for the organisation should be titled with its full name. As it is likely that someone searching Powerbase could look for it through its acronym, then it is helpful to [[Powerbase:How to Redirect a Page|redirect]] the acronym to the page with the full title.
  
=== Getting in touch ===
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==Spelling==
* If you have a specific question that you want answered, post it on the [[SpinProfiles:Query|Query]] page. See also [[SpinProfiles:Requested articles|Requested articles]]
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As Powerbase is a British project, using English for titles is preferable. This is a general guideline as alternatives may be more appropriate depending on the nature of the article. For organisations, use the name it is known as. If an article is country specific (for example the U.S.), then it may be more appropriate to use American spelling. If an alternative to English is used which could cause some ambiguity, then it may be helpful to [[Powerbase:How to Redirect a Page|redirect]] a page with the alternative spelling to the page you have created. This will enable anyone searching for the article to find it easily.
  
=== Information and resources for contributors ===
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==Give new pages a category==
* [[SpinProfiles:Policy|Policies for contributors]].
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When creating an article, don't forget to give it a [[Powerbase:How to Start a Page#Procedure: How to create a new page|category]]. This keeps articles on certain subjects connected together, as well as making them easier to find. 
* [[SpinProfiles:Manual of Style|Manual of style]]
 
  
[[Category:SpinProfiles Help]]
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[[Category:Powerbase Help]]

Latest revision as of 21:52, 15 July 2013

This page is a list of guidelines on naming conventions on how to name pages.

Before creating a new page, please familiarise yourself with the guidelines on how to start a new page.

Generally, article naming should give priority to what the majority of English speakers would most easily recognize with a reasonable minimum of ambiguity, while at the same time making linking to those articles easy and second nature.

The purpose of this policy is twofold. First, to allow web users to easily judge from search engine results whether the article is likely to contain information they seek. Second, to make creating new pages with appropriate links easier.

Any subject, names, words, or phrases in an article/page that you think should be linked to further information, should be bracketed so that they will appear as links. Following consistent conventions in both naming and linking makes it more likely that these links will lead to the right place.

People and organisations

As Powerbase is a profile encyclopedia, most articles are likely to consist of titles of people or organisations.

Capitals should be used as normal for people's and organisation's names. For example: Gordon Brown or Labour Friends of Israel.

Use a person's full name if possible. For individuals with titles such as Dennis Stevenson who is also known as Lord Stevenson of Coddenham, use his real name for his main article. It is possible that others may know him as his title, but not his real name: so to make it easier for people searching in Powerbase to find him, create a redirect so that someone looking for 'Lord Coddenham' will be automatically be directed to 'Dennis Stevenson'. See How to redirect a page for how this is done.

Sometimes more than one person may share the same name. In this case, follow the guidelines given in How to redirect a page.

Descriptive titles

It is preferable for descriptive titles to also be created using capitals, after all it is a title. For example: GlaxoSmithKline: Silencing Critics Through Intimidation.

Try to ensure that the title is as clear as possible whilst being short and snappy. The example GlaxoSmithKline: Silencing Critics Through Intimidation makes it easy for a reader to identify that the article is about GlaxoSmithKline, that it is about critics being silenced and that this is through intimidation. If the article was simply entitled 'Silencing Critics' for example, then it would be very ambiguous and unclear what the content of the article actually was.

Ensuring an article title is clear has two main benefits: It makes it easier for people using Powerbase to browse the site and to find articles on their interests. It also makes it easier for someone using a search engine on the world wide web to spot a Powerbase article relevant to the subject they are searching for.

and, the, of... etc

The exception to using capitals for words in the title relate to the use of words such as 'and', 'the' and 'of'. For example Powerbase guidelines on Search Engine Optimization of Articles and Powerbase Image Use Policy and Guidelines.

Country-specific articles

If an article is country specific, it would also be useful to put the name or abbreviation of a country in parentheses at the end of an article title: for example (U.S.) for the United States of America and (UK) for the United Kingdom.

Acronyms

Often, organisation etc are known by an acronym of their title. For example, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is also known as AIPAC. The main article for the organisation should be titled with its full name. As it is likely that someone searching Powerbase could look for it through its acronym, then it is helpful to redirect the acronym to the page with the full title.

Spelling

As Powerbase is a British project, using English for titles is preferable. This is a general guideline as alternatives may be more appropriate depending on the nature of the article. For organisations, use the name it is known as. If an article is country specific (for example the U.S.), then it may be more appropriate to use American spelling. If an alternative to English is used which could cause some ambiguity, then it may be helpful to redirect a page with the alternative spelling to the page you have created. This will enable anyone searching for the article to find it easily.

Give new pages a category

When creating an article, don't forget to give it a category. This keeps articles on certain subjects connected together, as well as making them easier to find.