Contents 1 Template 2 Classes 3 Bronze 4 Silver 5 Gold 6 Things to avoid

An Article Rating Template has been created, so that anyone can easily see how much more work an article needs. It also informs visitors that we know when an article is of poor quality, and that we are working on improving it. The trouble with wikis is that they're always "live" even when they're very much a work-in-progress. While putting up an "under construction" sign is overkill, rating an article helps assure visitors that we do want poor quality articles to be improved.

See Category:Rated Articles for a list of rated articles.

TemplateEdit

The Rating template can be used by anyone, and added to any article. If you need help using it, please contact an Admin.

To request that an article be rated, put {{rating}} into an article without any parameters, which will add them to the Unrated Articles category.

An article which is already tagged for cleanup will not be rated until the issues listed in the cleanup tag have been resolved. Any article which has been requested to be rated will be tagged for cleanup if any issues are found.

To evaluate an article, simply copy the blank template from the Rating template page, and put a 1 next to each requirement the is fulfilled by the article, the template will automatically assign the score.

To see which criteria an already rated article meets, simply look at the source of the Rating template at the bottom of the article. If something is not marked as a "1", then it does not meet the criteria, so you know what needs to be upgraded in the article.

ClassesEdit

The stars are from the in-game Star Rating System, although the colour progression works a little differently.

There are 5 stars in the first 2 sections, rather than the 3 in the game. The article earns a Star for each item. To be a Bronze Class article, an article must meet all Bronze level requirements. Silver Class articles must meet all Bronze and Silver requirements.

There are many optional points in the Gold category, only 5 of these are required for an article to be counted as Gold class.

The requirements of the Bronze and Silver categories should be achievable with any article. Most articles should be able to become Gold articles with a little bit of work.

For example, the article Sea Roses is about an enterable building which isn't ever used in the game, but is still a 16/20 Gold article. (See Talk:Sea Roses) If that article can reach this rating, then any article can.

BronzeEdit

Even the most basic articles should be able to meet all the points in Bronze Class. Any pages which do not meet any Bronze criteria should be tagged for cleanup and upgraded immediately.

Short intro

• With bold title, stating the subject of the article, and list the games where it appears

At least one section heading

• The new article template already includes 4 headings. "Description" is the default.

At least one Category.

• There are categories available for all subjects.

Links to other articles.

• There should already be one in the Intro, but all words which are articles should be linked.

Links from other articles.

• All articles must be linked from other articles. If an article is created from a redlink, then this is already done

SilverEdit

Everything in Silver Class is achievable, but it will take a little more work than the Bronze requirements.

Image

• Screenshot or promotional image, showing or representing, the subject of article

Paragraphs

• Article text arranged into meaningful paragraphs, instead of a single block of text

Sentences

• Article text arranged in sentences, rather than an unconnected list of points

Cross-linking

• Multiple links, to and from relevant articles.

References

• AKA sources or citations. With URLs where possible. Game events should cite specific missions/cutscenes

GoldEdit

Gold Class requirements are mostly optional, and do not apply to all articles. An article must have 5 Gold stars to be rated as Gold.

Details

• Detailed write-up with descriptions of the subject and all appearances in the game. For missions, including what happens in cutscenes and a list of mission objectives. Assume the reader has never played the game.

Trivia

• Whether it be a comparison to a real-life subject, or an inconsequential observation about the in-game subject

Links to wikipedia

• Links to wikipedia regarding real life subjects. These links should almost always be in the trivia section.

Gallery

• Multiple images relevant to each section, additional images or videos in a gallery, with captions on all images.

Video summaries

• Where videos are included, all things demonstrated should also be described in the article.

Lots of Links

• 10 or more links to/from other articles.

Quotes

• Quotes related to the subject of the article, either from a character, or about the subject.

Audio

• Such as a quote, or the sound made by a weapon or vehicle.

Table

• A table containing additional, if applicable. Such as details about each level of an activity.

Infobox

• An appropriate infobox or navigation template.

Things to avoidEdit

• Confusing links
  • Different links should not be next to each other in a sentence.
  • The sentence should be reworded so that there is a normal word between links.
  • Example: Downtown District Chop Shop should be changed to Chop Shop in the Downtown District
• Links in headings
  • The wikia and related Style Guides say that putting links in headings is wrong.
  • It is permissible in level 3 and 4 headings, as they are not as noticeable.
• Punctuation in headings and lists
  • Headings should not be long enough to require punctuation
  • Full-stops/periods should only be used in lists if the list item is longer than a sentence.
  • For reference, note the lack of stops in the Bronze and Silver classes, but their inclusion in the Gold class list.
• Poor spelling, grammar, punctuation
  • These are very minor things which can have a large impact.
  • Modern browsers have in-line spell-checking.
• Cluttered images, videos
  • Articles should not have too many images or videos close together, that's what Galleries are for.
  • Galleries are usually placed as the last thing in an article
  • When a gallery is needed in the middle of an article, it should be a slideshow so that the reader can see it is not the end of the article.
  • Images in slideshows can be seen easier than a thumbnail gallery without opening them in a new page.
• Large blocks of text
  • Never underestimate the value of whitespace.
  • A text-heavy article can be greatly improved just be splitting things into paragraphs.
  • It was the right thing to do in high-school essays, and it's still the right in to do here.

If anyone has any input on these requirements, or if anyone has any suggestions of things to add, please use the talk page.