Editing AsylumProjects:Manual of Style

{{Shortcut|AP:MOS}}

The '''Manual of Style''', often abbreviated '''MoS''' or '''MOS''', is a style guide for Asylum Projects articles. This main page contains basic principles of how to write an article. 

==General principles==

==Article titles, headings, and sections==

===Article Titles===

The title of an article should be of the most well known or current name.  If there are other names the subject of the article may be known as, then create redirects to the main article.  

===Article Headings===

Article headings should be of major portions of information.  For example: a history section, a book section, a link section, etc.  Article headings should not be used for minor bits of information.  If there is only one or two lines of information and the information is worth having it's own section, then consider using a sub heading under a major heading.  

===Article Sub Headings===

Article's with a large amount of information should have its information broken down to headings and sub headings.  As stated above, headings should be used for major points and sub headings should only be used to separate a major section down into it's parts for easier readability and navigation.

==Images==

===Article Images===

*Images placed within an article must be directly related to the article, with the main focus of the image be of the subject of the article.
*Images will not depict any sort of illegal activity or object related to illegal activity. 
*Persons in the image should not be the main focus of the image.
*Exterior images of current state (I.E. modern images) of the institution is permitted with few exceptions.
*Interior images (I.E. modern images) can be posted if it was not obtained illegally.  (If there is doubt as to the legality of the image, then the image shall be discussed and/or removed.) If the institution is closed and in a known abandoned state, then obtaining legal permission to photograph the interior is doubtful and the photographer may be questioned if they had obtained permission to take the interior photo.  However, if the structure is known to give tours and/or gives permission to photograph the interior of the institution, then they are fine and most likely not be questioned.  
*If historical images were censured before being posted here either at the time it was taken or by agency currently holding the copy write on the image, then the image will not be de-censored.  However, if the historical image was not censored at the time the image was taken and produced or by the agency holding the copy write of the image, then this site will not censor the image.  

===Image Thumb Rule===
{| id="mp-topbanner" style="width:100%; background:#CCCCFF; margin-top:1.2em; border:2px solid #ccc;"
| style="width:56%; color:#000;" |
<blockquote><div style="font-size:130%; border:1px; margin:1px; padding:.1em; color:#000;">"One image per info box, one image per two to three paragraphs, no more then four images per gallery in the article, no more then twelve images per article."</div></blockquote>
|}

This thumb rule was created to help keep articles from being over run by the images.  (I.E. an article with a limited amount of information but having a large amount of images.)  To combat this the image thumb rule stipulates:
*An infobox will not have no more then one image and that image will not be larger then 250 pixels.  
*For every two to three paragraphs of information (by paragraphs, we mean a paragraph that has more then three sentences) an image can be placed within the text area.
*If there is enough images to warrant an image gallery in the main article, then there cannot be more then four images in that gallery in the main article.
*If the article is a full size article, then there cannot be more then twelve images within the article.  This does not mean an article with only one or two paragraphs of information can still have twelve images.  '''Remember:''' use good judgment and not add too many images.  If the subject of the article has more then twelve images, then consider created a sub image gallery article to house the rest of the images.

===External Images===
*External images are defined as images that are not hosted directly by this site.  
*External images can be used on the message boards only, all other uses are prohibited.
*External images must be of reasonable size. (I.E. no more then 600 pixels long or wide) This is to prevent long load times or huge images dominating the message board.  If an image is found to be larger then 600 pixels, it may be removed.
*If the photographer/site hosting the image restricts the use or viewing of the image, then it cannot be show on this site, however a simple link to the image is allowed.
*External images must conform to this sites policies and may not be of a spam/advertising nature.

==Article Naming, Renaming, and Redirects==
Asylum Projects is not like other wikis like Wikipedia where they continually change the names of articles whether because the subject of the article has changed it's name or by consensus votes.  The institutions that are the subjects of this site do not change their names too often, thus our article should not have to see renaming all that often.

===Naming New Articles===
When naming new articles, take into account the other names of the subject if you can.  Then select either the most popular name (usually the name that gets the most search hits) or then subjects/institutions most current name.  Either name will do and should be used.  Try not to use nick names and names that were not officially used.  

===Renaming Articles===
Because the subject of the articles rarely change their names, we should not use that as a criteria to rename an article.  If the subject does rename itself, then it's better to just add that new name to the alternate names section of the article's infobox.  The only reasons an article should be renamed is because the name had spelling errors or was a name that the institution had never used.

===Redirects===
Instead of renaming the article, it is better and easier to just create a redirect and using the new name to redirect back to the original article.  That way if someone types in the new name, they'll go to the article that has the information they were looking for.  Plus, it allows for more then one name to direct to one article.  Article redirects should be based off of the names in the alternate names section of the infobox. 

==Referencing==

==External Links==
When adding external links to an article be mindful of our [[AP:LINK|link]] and [[AP:SPAM|spam]] policies.  To sum up both policies: make sure the link is directly related to the subject of the article and is not of promotional nature (For example: a hospital link from a web site that just contains the hospital address and very little else. These types of links are trying to sell hospital services and not any relevant information to this web site.).

When adding external links make sure to take into account these points:
*What is the primary focus of the web site?  Is the site's primary focus history or something else?
*Is the site/link directly related to the subject of the article?
*Does the site ask for money to view something or services? 
*Is the site working/online?
*Does the site help better explain/expand upon the subject matter?

'''Note:''' To those who are thinking of adding their site link to this site for advertising, search engine rankings, or to increase your web page traffic, this site uses nofollow tags. What this means is that adding your link to Asylum Projects will in no way increase your search engine ranking or increase your site traffic through internet search engines.ease 

To add an external link to an article follow these simple steps:
#Go to the bottom of the article and look to see if there is a link section.  If there is skip this step.  Otherwise, edit the article and add this heading: <nowiki>==Links==</nowiki>
#Then add your link under the links heading using this format: <nowiki>*[the complete link and description of link]</nowiki> for example: <nowiki>*[http://www.mylink.com/linktosomething.html This is a link to something]</nowiki>.
#Now hit save and a link with the description you typed will appear under the link heading.

==See Also==
*[[AP:TUTOR]]
*[[template:infobox institution]]
*[[:Category:Help]]

[[Category:Policy]]
@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 ==Referencing==
-Asylum Projects uses a reference system that is both easy and relatively unobtrusive.  If an editor can cite where they got the information, then they are highly encouraged to do so.  References can be as simple as a link to as complex as the MLA/DLA reference style guides.
-===Referencing News/Blog Articles===
-When using a news article as a reference, then the basic information that should be included are:
-*Writer's name.
-*Publishing newspaper/blog.
-*Date published.
-*Link to the article.
-===Referencing Online/Offline Essays and Historical Papers===
-Offline essays can be everything from an in house historical reports to term papers.  While online essays are everything from historical web pages that have history sections to blogs who chronicle  the subject's history.
-Some basic information that should be included with these types of references:
-*Writer's name.
-*Publishing institution/blog/web site (if known).
-*Link to the essay (If from an online essay.).
-===Historical Research===
-Historical research is the act upon researching archives, libraries, and historical associations.  Usually the information is from original reports from the institution itself. Referencing these types of sources can be rather hard.  If you know the source where the information came from, then please reference that source with as much information as you can.
-===Reference Coding===
-To code a reference in Asylum Projects is very easy:
-#To add a reference to a section and/or article, the coding that is used will be <nowiki><ref>text of reference</ref></nowiki>. Place the reference information within the Ref tags.  Also remember that if you are citing a specific fact or section, you need to place these tags and reference immediately after the cited section.  (Also on a side note: if this reference is used for more then one fact/section that you need to cite then within the front Ref tag include this: name=text. For example: <nowiki><ref name=first></nowiki> Then include all the reference information in the first instance of that reference. Then for every time after that that you want to use the same reference, just copy and paste the first ref tag after every use of that reference.)
-#Near the bottom of the article place a heading titled References: <nowiki>==References==</nowiki> and immediatly under that title include this bit of coding: <nowiki><references/></nowiki> and that's it.
-#Hit save page and then within the article you will see a small reference link that looks like this: [1] right after the section you placed the reference.  If you click that small number, you will be sent down to the bottom of the page where you placed the Reference heading and see the cite you created.
 ==External Links==