View source for Conservapedia:Editing article and talk pages

The '''[[Conservapedia]] Manual of Style'''<!-- Don't change this without considering the reference to this in the "Article name" section below. --> contains standardized information regarding how to edit pages on [[Conservapedia]]. This helps keep a consistent tone in most articles.

== Content Articles (Main Namespace) ==
Content articles are any and all pages which are not preceded by a colon and a prefix. For example, the article ''[[George W. Bush]]'' would be a content article (article in the main namespace), and the article ''[[Conservapedia:Commandments]]'' would not.
=== Layout ===
The layout of each content or encyclopedic article needs to be uniform across all of Conservapedia. Please discuss this layout on the talk page!
<pre>
Introductory paragraph
(body content)
==References==
==See Also==
==External links==

[[Category: ______]]
</pre>

'''Layout questions''':
;Why is the <code>==See also==</code> section listed after the <code>==References==</code> section?:The reasoning behind this is that the ''References'' have a greater and more immediate relevance to the article itself, while the ''See also'' resources have a lesser relevance. Basically the more relevant the content is, the closer it should be to the person reading the article.

===Links===

* Internal links are enclosed in double square brackets; e.g., <nowiki>[[United States of America]]</nowiki> links to our [[United States of America]] article. To avoid redirects, place abbreviations after a pipe character;  <nowiki>[[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|USSR]]</nowiki> links to the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]]. Please do not link every instance of a name, but only the first such occurrence in the article.

* If you think an article's name is too long and should be renamed, propose a new name to any administrator.

=== Creation of a new article ===
At Conservapedia it is easy to create a new article as can be seen by our resource: [[Help:How to create a new article|How to create a new article]].

When you create a new article, please do one or both of the following so people can find your article:
* Link your article from one or more other articles as appropriate.
* Put one or more [[Category tag|Category tags]] at the bottom of your article, preferably for a category that already exists.

==== Persons ====
To facilitate the the alphabetization of individuals, add '''<nowiki>{{DEFAULTSORT: Surname, Given Middle}}</nowiki>''' to an article.  In this format, ''Surname'', ''Given'' and ''Middle'' are placeholders.  The placeholder ''Surname'' is the person's last name, and the placeholder ''Given'' is the person's given name or Christian name in the case of individuals baptized into the Christian faith.  ''Middle'' is optional, and can either be the complete middle name or an initial.    Names of individuals with multiple or concatenated last names should substitute whatever is appropriate to generate correct the alphabetical listing for surname.  E.g., Hillary Rodham Clinton should be '''<nowiki>{{DEFAULTSORT: Clinton, Hillary Rodham}}</nowiki>''' and Vicente Fox Quesada  should be '''<nowiki>{{DEFAULTSORT: Fox Quesada, Vicente}}</nowiki>'''.

=== Article Names ===

Article names should be written in lower case, except for [[proper noun]]s.
This makes linking easier.

The first letter may be either lower case or upper case.
In either case, the Wiki software will automatically display the first letter in upper case

For example, use '''Theory of evolution''', not '''Theory of Evolution'''. 

The article name should be used at or very close to the start of the article, and this use of it should be in '''bold'''.
See the first line of this page for an example.

If an article name should include a lower-case first letter, including the {{tl|lowercase}} template will cause the title to show correctly.

=== What Not To Include In Articles ===

'''The inclusion of sexual orientation in a biography is generally prohibited due to the [[Conservapedia:Commandments|Commandment]] against gossip. In the rare instance where the subject has publicly self-identified that their sexuality is important, then the subject's own quotes should be used as a source.'''

===Date style===
*Do not wikilink dates!
*The style "July 4, 1776" is preferred. 
*If the day of the week is involved, e.g., "Sunday, December 7, 1941", the comma after the day of the week is optional ("Sunday December 7, 1941" is allowed).
*US Military style is tolerated in context: "4 July 1776". 
*If it is necessary for clarity to show the era of the year, ''Always'' use BC and AD (as opposed to BCE and CE). See [[Anno Domini]] for a full discussion.

===Spelling, Grammar, Style ===
*'''American English spellings are preferred''' but Commonwealth spellings, for ''de novo'' or otherwise well-maintained articles are completely acceptable, and edit wars over the subject are strongly discouraged. The context of the article should help resolve conflict; an article about Britain ''could use'' Commonwealth spelling, while an article about the United States or any other, non-Commonwealth specific articles would use American English. 

* '''Remember that Conservapedia is an American, conservative and Christian encyclopedia, above all else. It is only logical the usage, political and moral conventions of same be applied, generally, throughout.'''

* '''Changing Conservapedia articles, (their tone, style and content) from an ''American'', ''conservative'' and/or ''Christian'' orientation/focus, <u>is not welcome</u>.  ''This does not preclude including other ideas or facts, but does, generally, state where the editorial focus of CP is''.'''

====Check Spelling====
Always use correct spelling. All recent browsers, as with Google, can be equipped with spelling checkers that integrate directly into the browser. If you have one of the following browsers, please download the spelling checker at the link provided:
*''Internet Explorer'' - download at [http://www.iespell.com/ iespell]
*''Opera'' - download at [http://www.opera.com/support/tutorials/opera/spellcheck/ GNU Aspell]
*''Mozilla Firefox'' - download at [http://spellbound.sourceforge.net/ Spellbound] or update to the latest version of [http://www.getfirefox.com/ Firefox], which has a built-in spelling checker.

''Bad spelling doesn't inspire confidence in your article.''

====Helpful Spelling, Grammar, and Writing Style Software====
There are a number of software programs that assists writers when it comes to spelling, grammar, and writing style.  Two of the more notable software packages are the [http://www.whitesmoke.com/ WhiteSmoke Writing Software] and the [http://www.stylewriter-usa.com/ StyleWriter English usage editor] software packages.

===Country Names===
When countries are first mentioned in articles, abbreviations are not to be used, but may be used for subsequent references. For example, use "United States" or "United States of America" and "United Kingdom", not simply "US", "U.S.", "UK", etc. After the first occurrence, it is acceptable to use "U.S." or "U.K." for example, but do not link such uses.

===Citing Sources and Using Footnotes===
Always cite and give credit to your sources, even if in the [[public domain]]. Please do not cite [[Wiki|wikis]] as sources, except when specifically talking about that wiki. 
Please also see:  [[Conservapedia: footnotes - technical help]]

==== Uncited Material at Conservapedia ====
=====Completely Uncited Article or Completely Uncited Section of an Article=====
If you see an article or section of an article that is '''completely''' uncited please feel free to put a [[Template:Uncited|uncited tag]] on that particular article or section of an article. Also, when placing a uncited tag on a article or section, please feel free to send the person or persons who wrote that section a friendly and gentle reminder regarding the uncited material plus a friendly thank you for contributing to Conservapedia. Having cited material helps insure that Conservapedia material is true and verifiable plus it provides a resource so readers can found more information on a subject.  

Here is the tag you use to indicate a article or section of an article in uncited and please place it at the top of the article that is completely uncited or at the top of the section of the article that is completely uncited: 

{{QuoteBox|'''<nowiki>{{uncited}}</nowiki>'''}}

=====Uncited Sentence=====
If a sentence needs to be cited please use the "fact" template at the end of the sentence.

Here is the fact template and please place it at the end of the uncited sentence:

{{QuoteBox|'''<nowiki>{{fact}}</nowiki>'''}}

== '''Re-Directs & Name Changes'''==
'''''Always'' check with an Administrator (by posting on their talk page or reaching them by email or IM) ''before'' re-directing articles or changing their names.  We prefer, if an Administrator agrees, to move pages, that keeps their edit and talk history intact with the article. <u>Only Administrators can move pages.</u>'''

== Categories ==
Unlike articles, categories are to be in title case (e.g. ''Australian Cities and Towns'', not ''Australian cities and towns''), and are to be plural where applicable (e.g. ''Planets'', not ''Planet'', but ''Rail Transport'').

==Discussion pages ==
[[Conservapedia: Discussion page - technical help]]

==Other Topics==
[[Conservapedia:Manual of Style/Politicians]]

[[Category:Conservapedia Administration]]