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WiKirby:Naming policy

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The choosing of a name for an article is a big deal, particularly since article names will appear first to the reader's eyes when searching for information or reading the article itself. As such, there are important considerations to make when choosing a name for an article. The following is the WiKirby Naming policy.

Basic format

When naming a new article, the title should match the official name of the subject as closely as possible. This includes any oddities regarding spelling or punctuation that are present in the official source. If these oddities result in a name that is not easy to type (such as and Extra Planet β), redirect pages should be created that match the title as closely as possible (e.g. "I3" and "Extra Planet Beta" for the above examples).

For articles that are not based on official names, the article's title should have its first word capitalized and subsequent words in lowercase (unless the subsequent word in question is a name like "Kirby").

Abbreviations of names (such as Bandee in place of Bandana Waddle Dee) should never be used as main article titles, nor should they be used in article text except in cases where saving space is necessary, such as in some tables, or to avoid overuse of the name in a paragraph.

Article titles should never be pluralized unless the subject is written in plural by default (for example, Poppy Bros. Jr. or The Deedly Dees). This is because it is much easier to create the plural form using the singular form as a basis ([[Mask]]s, [[Color]]s) than it is to reduce the plural form to singular ([[Masks|Mask]], [[Colors|Color]]). If an article is at a plural title when it would be more appropriate to use the singular form, it will most likely be moved.

Use of parentheses

On occasion, article titles may need to have qualifiers in their titles, to differentiate articles with the same name from each-other. (e.g. Kirby, Kirby (species), and Kirby (series)). There are a couple different policies in place regarding which article can go without a parenthesis qualifier depending on the following factors:

Regardless of weight and prevalence, internal links to an article with a parentheses qualifier should be piped to prevent that qualifier from appearing to the reader in most cases. Exceptions mainly involve the use of links in the {{About}} and {{Distinguish}} templates.

Qualifier standards

While the editor is at some degree of liberty regarding what to put in a parentheses qualifier, there are a few standards regarding them:

  • For articles about specific games, the full name of the game should be used (e.g. "(Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards)" instead of "(Kirby 64)" or "(Crystal Shards)".
  • For copy abilities, use the qualifier "(copy ability)".
  • For more common terms, use lowercase words such as "(enemy)", "(item)", or "(object)".
  • For articles relating to the anime series Kirby: Right Back at Ya! use the qualifier "(anime)". For characters from the anime that also appear in the games, use "(anime character)".
  • For articles relating to the Kirby novel series, use the qualifier "(novels)". For characters from the novels that also appear in the games, use "(novel character)".

Priority in naming

In accordance with the Localization policy, article names should correspond to official localized nomenclature whenever possible. Sometimes, however, there are several localized names, no localized names, or no official names at all for the subject matter. When naming an article, the following procedure should be used for the subject:

  1. In-game names. Newer names have higher priority in most cases.
  2. Nintendo-published promotional material, including instruction manuals, website blurbs, and Nintendo-published strategy guides. If there are multiple names used among these sources, those that are most distinctive and commonly used take priority.
  3. Any officially licensed non-Nintendo-published strategy guide. If there are multiple names used among these sources, those that are most distinctive and commonly used take priority.
  4. Any non-English official name, following the three above priorities as with English names. Translated Japanese names take priority here, using adapted names and terms whenever possible.
  5. Internal file names. Use only as a last priority, as these names tend to be either short-hands or early development names. However, these may be used as additional sources to back up names from above points. Exceptions may be made for file names that do not accurately or succinctly describe the subject, in which case a conjectural name may be created.
  6. Conjectural names. Use only if there is no official name of any kind to be found.
  • In the case of internal file names, the {{DataTitle}} template should be used after the title in the article text to mark it as taken from internal game data.
  • In the case of a foreign title, the template {{ForeignTitle}} should be used to mark it as from a different localization. If the title incorporates localized English terms or names, but is otherwise derived from a foreign language (for example, Ace Phanta), {{DerivedTitle}} should be used instead.
  • In the case of no official title, the template {{Title}} should be used to mark it as conjectural. Conjectural titles should be basic descriptors of the subject in question, and not too much of a stretch from its appearance.
  • In the case of music, the latest title should be used only as it applies to its original incarnation, and not any remixes.

In all these cases, articles should be re-evaluated and renamed as appropriate whenever new names are discovered or given out. In the event of multiple official names, other names not used as the title should be mentioned in the article, and redirect pages should also be created to accommodate them. Names in languages other than English should be handled in the "Names in other languages" sections of articles, and use of them in main article text is discouraged.

File names

Since file names are not as visible as article names, there is some freedom when it comes to naming them. However, files are still expected to have good, identifiable names, following these guidelines:

  • The file name must have the subject (eg. Kirby), the game or media it's from (eg. KSSU), and if it's an image the type of image (eg. Artwork). The order these are present in the file name is up to the uploader.
    • It is acceptable to include additional information if there are multiple files with similar subjects (for example, File:KSSU Kirby artwork.png and File:KSSU Kirby Dash artwork.png).
    • The beginning of the file name should give enough information about the file itself. In other words, the subject must be somewhere in the beginning of the file name. This is to make sure files are easy to recognize when browsing categories.
    • Preferably, files should use a game abbreviation instead of the full name of the game. When using a game abbrevation, it should follow the standarized ones.
  • Proper nouns in the file name should be capitalized, other words are up to the uploader.
  • Special characters are only allowed to be used if the subject of the file uses them (eg. Lololo & Lalala, Daroach's Airship).

If any file is found with a name that doesn't follow these guidelines, it should be moved to a better name. Otherwise, the file should not be moved.

KSA Parasol Waddle Dee Pause Screen Artwork.png