Toaru Majutsu no Index Wiki:Manual of Style

The Manual of Style is a list of guidelines to be followed in order to maintain the quality of article content in the Toaru Majutsu no Index Wiki. This manual aims to create consistencies with the formats of articles of similar topics (character profile articles, event summaries, etc.) and would help in the organization of the entire wiki.

Following the Manual of Style is highly recommended, and new users are advised to read the Manual of Style before making any edits. Violations of the guidelines in the Manual of Style will not be grounds for immediate infractions, except in severe cases (see Infraction Policy).

Perspective
Articles in the Toaru Majutsu no Index Wiki must follow in in-universe point of view, meaning that fictional characters, locations, and events are treated as if they exist in real life. Any mention of "episodes", "chapters" or any direct reference to source media is not allowed, except for articles dedicated for source media.

Article Layout
The most important part of a wiki is the article; likewise, knowing how to properly edit a wiki is just as important. A wiki with fully-organized content is much easier to read, and it allows faster access to information, as compared to content sprawled across the article.

The guidelines explained in this section talk about how content should be managed and revised.

For further rules and recommendations regarding article layout, see the Uploading Guide.

Non-article Content

 * For better visibility, non-article content like disambiguations, stub messages and message boxes should be located at the top of the article.

Infoboxes

 * Infoboxes, table-based templates designed to contain a summary of data about an article, are located on the top-right section of an article by default. These templates are often added before the introduction and must be filled in with appropriate information when necessary.
 * As with the rest of an article, infobox data must be cited (see References section below).

Official Language
The primary language for this wiki is English, and all edits must be made using English. Users who speak English as a secondary language and/or those who need help in editing in English can contact the admins or fellow users to note them of incoming edits so that any spelling or grammatical mistakes can be remedied.

Trivia
Information which might not be of any importance to the plot and/or information which cannot be found in canon can be listed down in the Trivia section of an article. We do not believe that "junk trivia" exists; we consider any piece of related information as trivia and is always welcome to be added in this section. However, information must be at least proven with a verified source to be deemed worthy to be added.

Talk Pages
Talk pages were used to discuss an article, like Talk:Kanzaki Kaori used for discussions about Kanzaki Kaori. Currently, the Talk Pages feature is reserved for older discussions in favor for two newer means of communication between contributors: the Article Comments section located below each article, and the Forum for organized discussions.

Quotes
Characters like Kamijou Touma tend to be expressive towards his enemies, using dialogue to interact with enemies and friends alike. Quotes like these, in overall, can give us a textual image of that character's personality.


 * When posting quotes from certain characters, make sure to add the episode, chapter or volume that quote was spoken and, if needed for clarification, the person whom the character is talking to and a gist of the scene where the quote was taken from.
 * Profanities may exist in a chosen quote and is allowed as a special case, but only if it is relevant in that particular quote.

Translations
Because the world of Toaru Majutsu no Index can extend further than the walls of Academy City, editors are to face terms which are more than just Japanese naming and translation per se. As mentioned in the Official Language subsection, we are also facing European terminologies and naming, like Italian, Scandinavian and Russian.

The wiki is entirely dependent on translation projects which allow many users to understand the plot in English and would be asking help from translators within that project for information. Meanwhile, we can also receive help from users who have read the official guidebook for Index entitled Toaru Majutsu no Index no Subete to clear up Romanization of some names like Orsola Aquinas from Ursula Aquinas.

Pictures and Video
Pictures are integral parts of this wiki, especially light novels' illustrations, which gives the mostly textual aspect of the light novels color and form. Other important images are profile images, which gives us an idea of how a certain character looks like, and event pictures, which are mostly screencaps from the anime series. Videos are of a lower priority because of copyright issues, but can be a nice addition to articles.

For a complete set of rules regarding pictures and video usage, formatting and uploading in general, see the Uploading Guide.

Page Integrity
To ensure the quality in all articles, it is highly advised to provide references to information added to an article.

Page Revision
Removing large sections of an article, especially in high-traffic articles, is to be considered as vandalism and may be undone unless the contributor has submitted a proper explanation that would justify the deletion.

Fanon Content
The wiki focuses on official sources and media. As such, fanmade content like fanfiction and fan art, particularly those which feature characters and concepts made by persons not recognized as contributors of official media, are not allowed. However, they can be posted in one's User Page, as long as it does not include content that depicts nudity, sex or any theme that violates Wikia's Terms of Service.

Appearances in Other Media
The Appearances in Other Media section is reserved for any appearances of a character outside of the light novels, manga or anime. This only includes media based on Toaru Majutsu no Index and its official spinoffs. For any cameos performed by a character outside of the Index franchise, it must be placed on the Trivia section for that character.

Editors' Conduct
As editors of this wiki, maximum credibility in every piece of information provided into every article must be ensured. Regarding this, here are some guidelines on how an editor must act in contributing to an article.
 * As much as possible, provide a summary on what you edited . This is a useful tool in determining the extent of your revision in the article and will aid bureaucrats in watching over revisions. Not providing summaries will not be grounds for any punishment.
 * Avoid reverting information added by other users, especially by those who have contributed a sizable amount into the article. It is a rude gesture, and would be punished according to the circumstance. If one encounters a questionable revision, it is best to politely discuss it with the involved user before taking any necessary action.

Speculations
Speculations cannot be avoided in this wiki, especially since the source medium for Toaru Majutsu no Index, the light novels, is still under translation and, to add, is still an ongoing series. For speculations regarding future events, or statuses of characters in yet-to-be-released volumes of the light novels, proceed to the Forum and open a topic with the [Speculation] tag on it.

How to cite references and sources
To cite sources simply use the tag incombination with the template, which is required for it to work.

For example the text below displays on how to apply a reference tag in an edit window:

Would be displayed as: And will be displayed in the template, as seen below: Inside the opening and closing ref tags feature the source of that information, which is of course in the first volume in the first part of the first chapter. Making a link to the source is optional, though it does make it easier for users to quickly access the article without the need to search for it.

The name parameter in the ref tag is optional, though it makes it easier to group references, and lessen the clutter of references that come from the same source.

After citing references, articles should have a References section at the very end of the page (before the Category links if one is using)

In-universe articles
In Toaru Majutsu no Index in-universe articles, such as Character Profiles, Technology and Magic Item Articles, Faction Articles, Story Arcs, Timelines, and Location articles, references are required and should be taken from first and foremost, the Light Novels.

The Light Novels should be the first source of information in any in-universe articles. The reason being is that the novels are of course the exact words of the author himself/herself. If the Light Novels are unavailable for citation, the 2nd source for citation should be the anime adaptation adaptation, as it is a direct adaptation of the Light Novels, finally, the manga is the final stop for citation. This is for the Toaru Majutsu no Index main series.

For the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun sidestory, the source with the main priority is the manga as it is the original source, then the anime adaptation and finally the side story Railgun novels.

Outside references
Of course, sometimes outside references are required to give special insight to the article, such as author or artist comments, or special information books such as Toaru Majutsu no Index no Subete, or the Blu-ray booklets.

In which case, simply provide the source for the information such as the booklet number. For sources taken from websites, make sure that the website is a reliable, such as the Project-Index or the ASCII-Media Works websites. One should know that information in websites change, as such when referencing websites append the date when the information from that website was retrieved at the end of the link. Although optional adding it would notify people that the information may have been deleted and a new link should be created.

General information articles
As with the case with referencing outside information, one is required to use a reliable website for citing information. The Wikipedia should be the first stop, though, if one can find a more exact source then by all means, one should it instead. Along with any other external citations, add the date when the information from the website was retrieved. Also, one should also add a reminder on which language the website is in if it is another language other than English.

Dealing with articles with lacking references
If an article lacks any references and citations, then a user should add references and sources on their own, which would be verified later. However, if the user is unable to add any references, then a user can add the template.

Check the Template:Unreferenced page for how the template is displayed.

Use the template as a last resort to pages desperately needing references. It notifies the users that the article maybe unreliable and would coerce users to add references to them.

If all of the article has no reference then add the template at the top of the page. However, if a certain section lacks any references and citations then simply modify the template by editing the parameter.

Such as:

Sentences and phrases with lacking citations
If a sentence or phrase has a dubious or an unreferenced statement, though the user is unwilling to remove it, simply use the template, and tack it at the end of the sentence or phrase.

For example:

Which would display as:

Users
Contributors to the Toaru Majutsu no Index Wiki are recommended to register for an account on Wikia. This allows the user to create a personalized User Page and to access content unavailable to unregistered users. Users can still edit without an account, but may be subject to problems, especially if one's IP address matches that of a blocked user.

Article Creation Guidelines
When creating an article, here are a few reminders to consider:

Character Articles
Characters in Toaru Majutsu no Index (including all sidestories and related media) can have their respective articles. They are only required to be part of the story itself, meaning that they must have appeared at least once in any media, or is notably mentioned within the story, like Full Tuning, which is yet to appear in the Light Novels.

Abilities and Spells
Articles pertaining to certain abilities and spells can only be created if the said ability is not unique to a certain character; otherwise, please expand on the ability on the Abilities section of the respective character. For cases in which the ability has no noted users, it is permitted for the ability to have its own article.

Groups and Organizations
All mentioned groups and organizations may have its own page. It is advised, however, to note characters affiliated with the organization.

Article Migrations
Article migrations occur when an article or media's name is deemed inappropriate or incorrect. What instance was when the Gekisho article was originally called Genshiko due to the similar sounds. Of course it has been remedied since then, however, remnants of it still remain, that is because a deleted or obsolete page remains in the wiki, showing past blunders. Furthermore, migration and renaming creates red links (pages that do not exist in the wiki) if such an event happens, an editor is forced into the tedious tasks in fixing the links. As such, one must be very careful in naming articles, or even ask a bureaucrat or an admin for assistance.

Migration of content
When content inside a page doesn't really match up to the page, one can move it to the appropriate page to it's appropriate sections, via simple copy-pasting. However, one should add a summary when doing so, as so editors will not be confused when content is missing.

Transclution of content
Transclution is when content from a page (any page), is directly included into the page. This happens when one uses the  –  instead of  , which is used for linking.

Transclusions are often used when using templates, but encompasses all pages in the wiki.

Right now, use transclusions only when one using is a template, since transcluding the entire page of its content into another holds no benefit and just clutters articles. However, this is not often the case, for example, the main page holds several pages that are transcluded into it, most notably, the featured articles section. The page that gets transcluded is very small, and can be easily changed by the admin when they see fit.

This is what happens when we transclude This month's featured article.

Writing the below on a page...

Will result into this: