Raft Wiki:Style Guide

This style guide will serve as a guide for layout, grammatical choices, style of writing, etc, specifically for the Raft Wiki. There may be situations in which it makes sense to diverge, but try asking another editor first.

Getting started

If you're a new editor, welcome and thank you for wanting to improve the Wiki! The first thing you need to know is that you are always welcome to do small or large edits to any page that needs it. With that said, there are a set of guide lines you need to follow when editing the Wiki. This page has information on the Raft-specific ways of doing things, but there is also a Gamepedia-standard we like to follow. If you're new to editing, you definitely want to check it out. And fair warning, there are two ways of learning how to edit: you either copy what you see on the Exemplary Pages or you read guides until you get it. In other words, if you're good at logically deducing format and tendencies from Exemplary Pages, feel free. If you're more of a learn before doing, check out the guide.

With that said, enjoy your time here and have fun. Pick out your expertise or become a jack-of-all-trades - it's up to you!

Headers

The following headers are generally used on all pages, as long as they are applicable. They are listed in the order they should appear on a page. Pages categorized as Animals or Environments do not need to include all headers. If there is no known trivia concerning a specific item, it's simply left out.

Summary

Answers the questions that applies to the entry:

• Items/Resources: "Where is the item found, and how is it collected?"
• Menu items: "How is it acquired (or available from start?), and what is its primary function?
• Living entities: "Where is the entity found, and how does it act?"

Uses

Used for items, and written in bullet-in form (*). Keep it simple and specific. Do not go into details unless they are actually useful (alternative uses are fine).

Trivia

Out-of-game facts, previous functions, bug exploits, and the like goes here. Try to verify claims before writing them in. Speculations can quickly add a lot of unnecessary information.

Gallery

Pictures relating to the page. Make short and precise descriptions of what's in the picture with capitalized start letters except for propositions and articles (Example: "Shark in the Water" or "The Biggest Stone on the Island"). Keep it to 2-3 pictures.

Grammar and Linguistics

Linguistics

Attempt to be consistent with the other pages. Use the pages listed on "Category:Exemplary_Page" as an example for how to write a page.

• Use "the player" when referring to the person playing. Do not use "you".
• All pages start with the sentence: "[Item Name] is a [Category link] (Group name) in Raft". Sometimes, the item is listed in plural, in which case the relevant words are changed: "[Item Names] are [Category Name] [group name] in Raft". The [group name] may refer to objects within the Environment category, or elements within the Structures category. If you're in doubt, check out other pages of the same category.

Grammar

Use oxford commas (comma before the last item when listing: My friend, his girlfriend, and myself).

Numbers

The first ten numbers (1-10) must be spelled out. When in doubt, check this guide. There are a number of situations where writing out the number looks weird, or big numbers that must be written out. Following is a quick run-through (more info in above link):

When to use numerals:

• The number 11 and up should be written as a numeral.
• All percentages, i.e. 4%.
• All numbers relating to time, i.e. 3 minutes, 7 seconds.
• When listing item requirements, i.e. 5 Planks, 2 Ropes.

When to spell it out:

• Numbers zero to ten.
• When the number is at the start of a sentence.
• When two numbers are next to each other, only one can be written out.

If there are multiple numbers in one sentence that don't follow the rules above, be consistent, even if you have to break some of the rules.

Media

Pictures, GIFs and the like must be under 8MB to be uploaded. Make sure all pictures and GIFs show only the main subject and is not littered with other objects unless necessary. Crop images to remove unnecessary information.

All pages concerning visualized content should have pictures of said object in a gallery or GIF. Pictures can be uploaded directly to the Wiki by using the Edit Source function. In the top of the editing field is a "Drop files here" bar. After uploading the files they should be used in one of the following ways:

Galleries

<gallery mode="nolines">

Example.jpg|This is a Correct Formatted Caption
Example.jpg|This Caption is Different

</gallery>

Pictures

Single files can be used using the following code in the Source Editor:

[[File:FILENAME.jpg|left|This is a Description]]

Make sure the filename also contains the right filetype (.jpg, .png, etc.).

GIFs

GIFs function properly when uploaded as a media file to the Wiki. When using GIFs, it is mandatory to use them with the following code, so they are all identical in how they act.

{{GIF|Warthog_Water_Strategy}}

In this above example, the GIF is uploaded to the wiki as "https://raft.gamepedia.com/File:Warthog_Water_Strategy.gif". Make sure to remove the .gif extension and only include the name of the file. The result will look as follows: Template:GIF

ItemText

The template ItemText is used to link items with their matching icon. The item and its icon links to the English version of the page by default, but this can be changed for translated pages. This can be used when listing items made with a specific item. As an example, let's list the use of the item Leather:

* {{ItemText|Backpack}} (4)
* {{ItemText|Leather Helmet}} (4)
* {{ItemText|Leather Body Armor}} (8)
* {{ItemText|Leather Greaves}} (5)

This will show as follows:

• Backpack (4)
• Leather Helmet (4)
• Leather Body Armor (8)
• Leather Greaves (5)

To translate the items, add the translation and change the link destination:

* {{ItemText|Backpack/de|Rucksack}} (4)
* {{ItemText|Leather Helmet/de|Lederhelm}} (4)
* {{ItemText|Leather Body Armor/de|Leder Körperschutz}} (8)
* {{ItemText|Leather Greaves/de|Leder Beinschienen}} (5)

This will result in the following:

• Rucksack (4)
• Lederhelm (4)
• Leder Körperschutz (8)
• Leder Beinschienen (5)

Infoboxes

The Raft wiki currently uses two different infoboxes: the item infobox and the enemy infobox. The item infobox is used for all in-game items that has an icon. The enemy infobox is used, as its name suggests, when describing enemies. In both cases, all available information must be applied to the best ability of the editor. If available the description has to match to the in-game information.

Links

A thorough Wiki has links to all relevant pages when possible. As a rule of thumb, the first time something is mentioned that has a page (or should have), it should be linked and capitalized, i.e. Clock. All following mentions of this page is still capitalized, but no longer linked, i.e. Clock. If the editor is in doubt whether a page exists or should, there are two steps to take. Firstly, search for the page with the expected name - try synonyms if it doesn't exist. Secondly, consider how much information could go into the page and whether it justifies creating it. Feel free to create any page you think fits the criteria.