Pikipedia:General content policy

This page details Pikipedia's policies towards article content in general. More specific policies can be found in Category:Policies. For guidelines, see Pikipedia:General content guidelines.

Objectivity

Neutral point of view

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P:NPV

Information on Pikipedia is meant to be written from a neutral point of view. This means no opinions.

Don't use second-person pronouns

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P:YOU

Outside of guides, never refer to the reader as second person pronouns (you/your). Instead, use nouns or third-person pronouns like "the player" or something else instead. This is because the wiki is an encyclopedia, where the narrator should be invisible to the reader.

Note that if you must refer to the reader, use the gender neutral pronoun (they), not "he or she", "he/she", or "s/he". Only using one gender (he or she) should also be avoided.

No speculation

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P:SPECULATION

Pikipedia covers objective information, not speculation or lies. If you're not sure about something, ask on a talk page, or add some sort of tag like {{game help}}. That said, commonly accepted theories and the like are allowed, as long as they're marked as such.

Canon perspective

See: Pikipedia:Canon policy

Article format

General

  • Articles must belong to as many categories as it makes sense. The deepest category in a tree is preferred; for instance, use 2-Player Battle instead of Pikmin 2.
  • When a subject has multiple names (depending on the game and region), the name of the most recent canon game's US version is used. Articles or sections with info exclusive to an older game may use an old name.
  • For subjects whose name's capitalization is ambiguous, try to follow the guidelines. However, at the very least, the word "Pikmin" must always start with an uppercase P.

Headings

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P:HEADINGS

In all headings (page titles and sections) only proper nouns should be capitalized (however, note that the first letter in a heading will always be capitalized automatically by MediaWiki). The only formatting allowed on headers is italics, which should be used like they would in body text. If you need to link to something, use {{main}} or a relevant link near the start of the section.

Trivia

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P:TRIVIA

Trivia is subjective – what some people consider a fun fact is just normal information for others. However, unlike Wikipedia, this wiki allows "trivia" sections, as long as the information is:

  • Noteworthy: Boring or common pieces of information aren't very interesting to have around, and likely fit in the article's body.
  • Objective: Trivia should be about facts. No unconfirmed information, speculation, or "maybes".
  • Short: In order to be considered a tidbit, it should be possible to explain it in one to three sentences. Anything with a lot of detail is better off explained in its own section.
  • Isolated: Trivia facts should be unattached to most other parts of the subject. If a fact is related to an existing section of information in the article, it likely belongs there.

The did you know section of the main page is not directly related to trivia sections, instead listing interesting facts that newcomers to the series might not know. Spoilers should not exist here, otherwise readers that are just browsing the front page might be accidentally spoiled.

Game modifications

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P:MODS

Articles should not contain information about any Pikmin game running in a way that is not intended. This includes the use of Action Replay and similar devices, as well as changes to the game's internal files. This is because changes are arbitrary: there is no clear line between those that make little difference and those that change the game completely.

Information that can only be obtained through these means but is still true in normal gameplay, however, is welcome on articles. Whether it is important to document how exactly the information is known may vary from case to case.

Leaks

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P:LEAKS

In the case that some Pikmin content somehow gets in the hands of the public when it was clear that the developers intended to keep it a secret, so they can reveal it at a later date, Pikipedia should not document this content. If relevant, Pikipedia can document that the leak happened, but that's about it. At best, showcasing this content could spoil upcoming things for the fans. At worst, it could be a violation of fair use. This can apply to private content leaked by a malicious actor (like a hacker), information accidentally published before the right time and then removed (like a tweet), or to unused content in a game that will likely find use in the future (like in a live game that gets constant updates or some DLC).

Said information should still be held on to, so that if in the future it becomes clear that that content was never meant to be used anywhere, it can be documented on the wiki, assuming good faith.