SFGAmWiki:Editing Guidelines

This page describes the standards currently accepted for page formatting and composition by the SFGAmWiki community. Please try to follow these standards when creating and editing pages.

Editing Policies
A few guidelines that it is wise to follow when creating and editing wiki pages:

Always use the Summary box
When editing pages, always fill in the "Summary" box above the Save/Preview buttons before saving, and make sure that you fill it in with something useful describing the edit you made and, if it's not obvious, why. For example, "fixed spelling error" or "added fun fact" or "reverted from vandal 127.0.0.1" are all acceptable. Saying "made some changes" or just filling in the name of the page is not helpful, because it's information that we already have. Making your Summaries accurate and useful makes it vastly easier for the rest of us to keep track of Recent Changes and keeps everybody happy.

Use the Minor Edit button appropriately
As a corollary to the above, if you're making a minor edit (e.g. fixing a spelling error, tweaking, formatting, or reverting a vandalized page to its original state), check the "This is a minor edit" button below the Summary box before saving the page. On the other hand, if you're making an addition, deletion, or other edit that changes the substance of a page (even if it's just a few words), do not mark the edit as minor. Again, this will make things easier for the rest of us.

Don't link to the current page
In other words, a page should not link to itself. Most pages that do so are actually just stubs with a link to edit the current page. This variety of self-link is OK but feel free to expand upon these articles and remove the stub tag. [edit] Link once

A given article should only contain one link to any other page. If a page links to ShockWave in one place, then that should be the only link to ShockWave on that page. Typically this link should be the first instance of the term in the article.

Special Characters
When you must include characters that are not available in 7-bit ASCII encoding (generally, anything you can't type on your keyboard without using special tricks), please use character references, either numeric (&#233; = é) or entity (&eacute; = é) style. Do not use whatever feature of your operating system allows you to insert special characters directly, as this introduces complicated encoding concerns to both the server and the browser. This includes features like Microsoft Word's "AutoCorrect", which often automatically creates such things as arrows, ellipses, em dashes, and left/right quotation marks as you type.

Try to avoid special characters when possible, as some systems and browsers struggle with them. In particular, be sure to use the generic ' and " characters for all single and double quotation marks and apostrophes except in special cases. The exception, however, is the dash|em dash (&mdash; = —), which is much preferable to a single or double hyphen (- or --) when it's used to mark out an independent clause within a sentence or to indicate interruption of a thought.

Don't use conversational style
This is an information site. It should read like Wikipedia, not like your diary.


 * Check your spelling and grammar. Don't use Internet slang (ex. "How r u?" or "c u 2nite"). If you're not 100% sure about the way a word is spelled, type it into Google or Dictionary.com. If you know that you're not the strongest speller, compose your edits in a word processor like Microsoft Word that has spell-checking built in. Also see this list of common misspellings. The SFGAm Wiki staff are very strict about spelling, and if there are numerous typos you make in an edit, we're going to consider it vandalism and you will receive a warning.
 * Don't use "smileys" or "emoticons".
 * Easter Eggs and Fun Facts should be written as statements, not questions. If you're not sure about a fun fact, you can use language like "may" or "could be" to indicate ambiguity; however, unsure and unsubstantiated fun facts are usually quickly deleted. Avoid using weasel words.
 * Don't "reply" to content others have posted. If you think a particular point warrants discussion, post on the article's talk page. If you're 100% sure that something should be changed and don't think a discussion is necessary, just change it. Dialogue goes only on articles' talk pages or the forum.
 * If something on a page contains a factual error, then edit it or remove it. Do not add a comment below saying "this is wrong."
 * Don't leave notes or instructions to future editors like "Add more information here if you find it". Again, use the article's talk page if you want to communicate with other editors.

Maintain a Neutral Point of View (NPOV)
Our knowledge base documents Six Flags Great America, not our personal opinion. Keep articles clean of speculation or any type of judgment or opinion.

Keep Things "Encyclopedic"
The purpose of the SFGAm Wiki is to document the history of Six Flags Great America, not to post "Fun Facts". The average reader will not care about who has been on a ride the most, or if Love at First Fright is your favorite show. That kind of stuff can be thrown on your userpage. If we find these in articles, they will be removed, and the editor that originally made that edit will be notified by a sysop.

Cite your Sources
It is important that we keep everything accurate, so we ask that you please cite any sources you gathered your information from. Basically, if you heard something, give us proof.

Do NOT use a ride operator as a source. Not even ride operators or park employees will know certain things about the park, so they can sometimes be saying complete lies. If you add content, and mention that you got your info from a ride operator, it will be removed.

Don't sign your edits
All contributions are appreciated, but if every user left their mark on every contribution they made, the wiki would be nothing but signatures. If you've made an edit that you're particularly proud of (such as a transcript or screenshot), the correct place to take credit is on your own user page. If you do not have a user account, we respect your anonymity, but your edits will remain anonymous, too.

Do sign your Talk posts
If you make a post on a discussion page, please sign it. If you have a user account, this is as easy as typing Jonrev at the end of your post, or Jonrev 03:49, 2 October 2008 (UTC) to include a time stamp. If you don't have a user account, just sign it with your name or nickname so everybody can tell who's who when reading long conversations. Even better, create an account anyway and use the signature method described. There really is no reason not to if you're going to stick around. Also, please try to keep discussions on the one talk page, not moving it to another talk page and replying.

Be bold, but know when not to be
We encourage you to be bold in making simple edits; if you see something that you think needs to be fixed, then fix it. Please note, however, that in being bold you should not contradict established consensus. Additionally, the reason we encourage boldness is because it's fairly simple to revert a page to a previous state. For larger projects, therefore, the amount of boldness you display in making a change should be directly proportional to the ease of reverting that change. In other words, if it would take us a long time to undo what you've done, then you should start a discussion to see what the community thinks first. In a similar vein, anything that goes against longstanding tradition or that would have a widespread effect on the wiki should be talked about before any action is taken.

Copy/Paste Edits (Direcopy)
Please do not copy and paste an entire Wikipedia article onto the SFGAm Wiki. The article will not be up to our standards and it's really just being lazy. Please only submit your own content that follows the SFGAmWiki Article Guidelines. Articles that have been Directly Copied will be removed.

Article Guidelines
See Article Guidelines

File Policy
Some general guidelines for adding media to the wiki.

Use on Articles
ALL ARTICLES REGARDING A RIDE OR A BUILDING NEED A PHOTO

This will help the non-coaster enthusiast locate a certain place. This rule is less enforced on defunct rides or demolished buildings, but for that case, a photo should be added to prove its existence.

Duplicates
Please check if a file has already been uploaded before you add it to the wiki.

File Format
Whenever possible, upload pictures in a .png, ,jpg, or .jpeg format.

Size
Due to server limitations, please resize your photos to 800 x 600 pixels. This can easily be done by downloading the Microsoft Image Resizer.

Orphaned Images
Orphaned Images are subject to deletion at any time.

POV Photos
Absolutely NO POV PHOTOS of current rides are allowed on the SFGAmWiki. They will be deleted and your account will be blocked for 48 hours. They are strictly against the park rules and we would really like to remain on the park's good side. Repeat offenses will lead to a permaban.

Copyrights
DO NOT upload an image you did not create. If you are not Steven Wilson for example, and you upload an image from GREATAMERICAparks.com, it will be removed and you will be warned by a sysop. Multiple warnings will result in blockings.

This rule excludes logos. You must add that the copyright is owned by Six Flags for logos.

Other Photo Guidelines

 * Uploading racial or pornographic images will result in an immediate ban from the Wiki.


 * Don't replace a photo with one of yours just because you want your photo on the article. A photo should only be replaced with one that is better quality.


 * Speaking of quality, don't upload photos you shot from your camera phone. Camera phone photos are usually terrible quality and will be removed by sysops. The only exception to this rule is if the only known photo of a subject was taken with a camera phone.

Video Links

 * Please only provide a video only if it is a high quality video that clearly depicts what the ride does.


 * As with photos, don't just post a video for the hell of promoting your own videos. They will be removed.

Rumors
ABSOLUTELY NO RUMORS ARE ALLOWED ON THE SFGAmWiki!!

Anyone spreading rumors is subject to a permanent ban, this Wiki is for providing factual information, not for something you heard from the Lemon Chill guy.

Please avoid using "SFGAm" as much as possible!
This is only an abbreviation used by roller coaster enthusiasts and is not the official park's name. The abbreviation "SFGAm" is only allowed in talk pages.