Manual of Style

Basic Principles

This page aims to add a layer of consistency and standardization everywhere across the DEATH BATTLE! Wiki. This is the most important page for new editors on the wiki, however these rules will obviously not apply on a casual basis like discussions, blog posts, etc.

Writing Style

Writing and Formatting

All articles are written in American English.
Correct: center

Incorrect: centre
The Oxford comma (comma after penultimate noun) should be used.
Correct: Frank West, Ultron, and Po

Incorrect: Frank West, Ultron and Po
The ampersand (&) should not be used unless it is a part of a title.
For example, Ratchet & Clank VS Jak & Daxter
Avoid contractions unless you are quoting someone.
Correct: Do not

Incorrect: Don't
Should brackets and parentheses be at the end of a sentence, they must use the correct terminal ending.
(This is correct.)

This is correct (maybe).

(This is incorrect).

This is incorrect (maybe.)
Whenever a dash is need to represent "to" in an infobox, a em dash (—) should be used. (2013 — 2015)
Exclamation marks (!) and question marks (?) should generally be avoided unless quoting someone.
If someone's name at the end of a sentence has a terminal ending, the terminal ending should not be repeated.
Correct: This is Bowser Jr.

Incorrect: This is Bowser Jr..
In character pages, proper titles (Doctor, Lieutenant, Sergeant, etc) should not be bolded, unless it is a part of a nickname.
In addition, shorthand titles (i.e. Dr.) or abbreviations (i.e. AKA) should generally be avoided.
Correct: Doctor Victor von Doom, also known as Doctor Doom

Incorrect: Doctor Victor von Doom, AKA Doctor Doom
Death Battle should be written instead of DEATH BATTLE.
The latter is only used for branding purposes; the former is generally the proper way it is written out on social media.
Italics should be used for brand names outside of Death Battle and its associates.
Correct: Soul Eater

Incorrect: Soul Eater

What You Should NOT Do

NEVER WRITE IN A SUBJECTIVE MANNER. This is a wiki based on giving out factual information; opinions may be left to the comments or Discussion Boards.
NEVER write in first or second person. (I, you, etc)
Do not use profanity unless you are quoting someone.

Numbers

All numbers below double digits should be written out in text format.
Correct: First, second, third... 10th

Incorrect: 1st, 2nd, 3rd... 10th
Dates should be written in longhand MDY format.
Correct: May 15th, 2021

Incorrect: 2021-05-15

Articles

Page Structure

If an article has an overarching notice, this is placed at the top of the page. Normally comes the infobox, basic information, then the main structure of the page. If there is a Navigation Box associated with the page, then this is placed at the bottom of the page.

The Table of Contents should always be structured as such for the following article types:

Fight Pages

Interlude
Combatant A
Combatant B
Prelude
Death Battle
Results
Comparison
Original Track
Composition

Title

Cover Art

Lyrics
Trivia
Production

Easter Eggs

Errors

Other
Notes
References

Fight Galleries

Episode Screenshots
Analyses

Fight
Behind-the-Scenes Content
Bonus Content
Official Artwork
Official Thumbnails
Episode

Fight Only

Previews
Fan Thumbnails
References

Combatants

History
Death Battle Info
Cameo Appearances
Quotes
Gallery
Appearance

Arsenal & Abilities
Trivia
Notes
References
External Links

Transcripts

Character: The name of the character should be written in bold.

Actions should be written in italics.

Multiple templates are used for things such as popups and denoting music.

KO! Announcer {{KO Announcer|s1, s2, or s3}}
FIGHT Announcer: {{Fight Announcer|s1, s2, or s3}}
Popups: {{Popup|text here}}
Music: {{Song|{{Song|Song Name|Artist|youtube=link|spotify=link|soundcloud=link|audionetwork=link}}

Images

Main article: Image Policy

NEVER use fanart in any page under any circumstances. All images must be pulled from official sources if possible.
Combatant portraits should be 300x400px .pngs with the file name "Portrait.namehere"
Combatant icons should be 150x150px .pngs with the file name "Icon.namehere"

Galleries

What is Allowed

Pictures depicting actual scenes of the character in their episode or the sprite/model used in the animation of their Death Battle.
Pictures referring to famous feats or events involving the character that were mentioned in their Death Battle, such as Bane breaking the Bat.
For characters with multiple forms, one picture of each form used in their Death Battle.
1 picture for each of a character's core weapons used or mentioned in their Death Battle.

What is NOT Allowed

Pictures of the character from multiple media they have been in.
Pictures of the character doing nothing with no context.
Pictures of character's alternate forms, weapons, or feats that were not mentioned in their episode of Death Battle (if an episode isn't released, then the pictures can remain until the episode is open for public discussion, one hour after its YouTube release).

Links

When linking characters,
- Any character who has appeared on Death Battle should have a link that directs to their page on this website.
- Any character who has not appeared on Death Battle should have a link that directs to their page on their origin series' main wiki.
When linking music,
- If the song is utilized within an episode's analysis or animation, link to the most official source for said song publicly available.
- If the song is referenced, either through visual, dialogue, or other auditory means that are not playing the song directly, link to the official source for the song.
- If the song does not have a publicly available source, link to an appropriate page on another wiki.
- If the song being brought up has any level of utility to a character (eg. Link's Song of Storms), link to the appropriate page on the original series' home wiki.
Please refrain from linking to trivial or otherwise unnecessary articles for things that generally are shared among series/common knowledge (eg. Water, Oxygen, Flight, etc.)
Do not link to mobile versions of websites. Certain websites, such as Wikipedia, IMDb, or Twitter, have sites exclusively designed for mobile, which can be noted with an m before the domain name (such as "en.m.wikipedia.org"). Please keep this in mind while editing a page.