Contents 1 Please 2 Completed articles 3 Rewriting 4 Stubs 5 Cleanup 6 Language 6.1 Spelling 6.2 Offensive Language 7 Perspective 7.1 Third person 7.2 Current tense 7.3 In-game 8 Opinions 8.1 Speculation 8.2 Anecdotes 9 Glitches 10 Spoilers 11 Notability 11.1 Trivia 11.2 Articles 11.3 Promotional Material 12 Redirects 13 Edit summaries 14 Gender

This is a guideline on how to make better articles, not a list of rules.

• No-one will be punished for not knowing these guidelines.
• New editors should be linked here, so that they can become better editors.

This page is a work in progress list of common sense editing tips. Where possible, examples have been given or the reason behind each tip explained. Feel free to ask questions, leave feedback, or propose changes on the talk page. Your questions, feedback and proposals will help to improve this page for others.

• Saints Row Wiki:Manual of Style is a general formatting guidelines.
• Saints Row Wiki:Article Formatting has formatting guidelines for articles.
• MediaWiki:Newpagelayout is the skeleton template for new articles.
• Saints Row Wiki:Article Ratings shows how articles are rated
• Saints Row Wiki:Policy contains a list of more formal rules

PleaseEdit

• Please upload large images. Wiki software automatically created thumbnails for any sized image, so it is better to upload large images so that people can see details.
• Please do not create empty pages. Blank pages do not help anyone. There is a list of WantedPages which shows which articles are waiting to be created, it is better than wanted articles be listed here than created empty.
  • Due to high vandalism, unregistered users cannot create new articles, but can edit existing articles and leave comments on talk pages.

• Please don't remove things just because you don't understand it, only remove things that you 100% know are false. If you're unsure, start a discussion on the talk page. If something is worded poorly and you don't know what it is trying to say and you don't know enough about the subject to fix it yourself, try using the {{cleanup}} tag to inform other users that the article needs attention.

Completed articlesEdit

There is no such thing as a "completed" or "finished" article. Even if an article has been rated as a 20 star gold-class featured article, it can still be improved, and more information and images can still be added.

RewritingEdit

In most cases, additional information should be added to articles, rather than completely rewriting articles.

While it is acceptable to rewrite an article in order to improve readability, valid information should not be removed, and links should not be removed.

StubsEdit

Articles are not expected to be perfect, and you are aware that additional information is required in an article, the {{stub}} tag should be used to indicate that a section should be expanded.

CleanupEdit

When cleaning up articles and removing unrelated sections, please ensure that the removed sections are recorded elsewhere on the wiki.

If an article has been vandalised, do not just delete the section containing vandalism. View the history of the page and restore the last version of the page before the vandalism started.

LanguageEdit

This is the English language Saints Row Wiki, in most cases, English should be used.

As this is a global wiki, no particular country's version of English is preferred over any other. To do so would be discrimination. All valid regional spellings are acceptable.

When rewording an entire paragraph, it is allowable to replace English-English with American-English, editing only to replace English spelling with American spelling is not constructive.

When talking about an in-game concept, such as "Neighborhood", it should be spelled the way it is spelled in the game. There is not list of preferred spellings, but when in doubt: Use the words the game uses.

Quotes from the game in another language should be quoted verbatim in the original language and accompanied by a translation.

If the name of an in-game subject is in another language, such as "Attrazione", trivia about the name can include relevant non-english quotes.

SpellingEdit

We all make mistakes. Even advanced editors, especially advanced editors. The more text you type, the greater chance that there's going to be a typo.
Spelling is not a "rule", but please preview your changes or use some from of spellcheck. Many browsers underline mispelled words as you are typing.

Offensive LanguageEdit

• What is offensive language? Who does it offend? Why?
• Everyone has the right to be offended by anything they wish.
• No-one has the right to tell other people what they can or cannot say.
• If you wish to use slang and vulgarities in discussions, feel free, but this language does not belong in articles.
• There is nothing wrong with saying "I fucked up", but do not use slang or vulgarities directed towards other users, such as "you fucked up".
• The game itself uses vulgarities such as "shit", "piss", "fuck", "cunt", "cocksucker", "motherfucker", "tits", "ass", "asshole", "bitches", "bullshit", "cock", "douchebag", "nigga" (this spelling only), "slut", "wanker" and "whore"
• Using these words in articles is acceptable in context, and should never be censored. These words should only be used in context. For example, while Tanya is described in dialogue as a slut, that doesn't mean she should always be mentioned as "Tanya the slut".
• If these words offend you, then you should stop playing games in the Saints Row series, and should stop reading this wiki.

Insults, whether vulgar or not, are not welcome. See Saints Row Wiki:Civility for policies about insults and communicating with other users.

PerspectiveEdit

Always use a third person, current tense, neutral perspective.

While the Saints Row manual is written from the perspective of an as-yet-unknown undercover cop, this is a wiki about the game, it is not some fictional historical document from within the game. Articles are not named after in-game events, they are named after in-game titles, such as missions like Bank Error in Your Favor, not "The day the leader of the Saints kidnapped Jessica" If this wiki was written from an in-game perspective it wouldn't be very useful, as it wouldn't make any sense to include the hitpoints of various vehicles or the number of enemies to kill in activities.

Third personEdit

Avoid addressing the reader. "I" and "You" should never be used in articles.

• If the character in the game does something, "The Protagonist (does whatever)" should be used.
• If "the player" must do something, either use "the player", or reword the sentence to avoid it.

In sections about obtaining vehicles or triggering glitches, word the steps without saying "you". For instance, "First, you must drive to Rim Jobs" can be written "First, drive to Rim Jobs", but is better written "At Rim Jobs, retreive the vehicle". Fewer steps are better.

While it is common to say "Unlocked in your wardrobe/garage" and "Unlocked in the player's Garage", there is no need to specify "your" or "player", as it is obviouly yours and not someone elses. Use "Unlocked in the Garage" instead.

For mission articles, events which occur in cutscenes should be separate from events during gameplay. There is a different between what The Protagonist does, and what the player has to do.

The article text should not refer to itself. Don't say "as already mentioned", or "as above" in articles. It is acceptable to use the text "See gallery" as a reference for something which is pictured, although linking to the image itself is preferred.

Current tenseEdit

Events which occur in the game are not history, they are current events, and should be describe as if they are currently occuring.

• Example: "In Mission72, Bob killed Alice, then went to see Carol" should read: "In Mission72, Bob kills Alice, then goes to see Carol". It is a subtle change, but it makes a difference.

Things which happened before the events of the game should still be described in past-tense.

• For instance, "Julius formed the Saints after he left the Vice Kings, and later recruits the Protagonist after he is a bystander in a four-way gang battle".
• As articles should generally describe events in the order they happen in the game, if a later part of the article refers to something mentioned previously, it is acceptable to use past tense at that time. For instance, in a section about Saints Row 2, it is acceptable to refer to Saints Row events in past tense. Although it should always be clear when those events occured, usually through a reference, and not at some unspecified point in the past.

Similarly, there is no "current status" of any subject. This wiki is not part of the Saints Row timeline, events which occur in Saints Row are not "in the past".

• Example: "The Vice Kings were a Gang in Saints Row" should read "The Vice Kings are a Gang in Saints Row". If the Vice Kings are mentioned in a section about Saints Row 2, it's acceptable to refer to them in past tense.

In-gameEdit

There is no strict rule regarding the description of in-game events from an in-game perspective. Try to find a comprimise between describing in-game events are real, and communicating mission objectives to people playing the game.

Mission names should be included as references when mentioning any events which either occur, or are mentioned, during a mission. They can also be used in prose if it is more convenient.

OpinionsEdit

Please do not add opinions and speculation to articles.

Stick to the facts and avoid subjective words like "obviously", "strangely", "interestingly", "ironically" and most other adverbs. If something is obvious, it doesn't need to be stated that it is obvious.

All opinions should be backed up by facts. Although no-one would disagree with the statement "Tow Truck is the hardest activity in the game", it is more helpful to expand and explain that "the Shaft is easily damaged, and cannot be repaired"

The statement "This is the best weapon in the game" is not helpful. It is better to list a breakdown of the weapons attributes, such as it's rate of fire and clip size compared with other weapons.

Do not leave comments in articles. If there is something in an article which is wrong, reword it instead of replying to it. If you think something sucks, write a blog post.

SpeculationEdit

Facts about upcoming games, or facts about the reasons behind certain things which developers have explained should be referenced properly, and include links to the source.

All facts should be presented as facts, not as rumours, or implications, or speculation. In cases of speculation, the facts themselves should be presented, without any suggestion of underlying meaning.

"The word "possibly" should not be used. If something is "rumoured", then there should be a link to the "rumour"

If something may be based on a real life subject, state that a similar real life subject exists, and avoid saying "obviously based on" or "may be based on"

If something is unknown, do not state it in the article. For instance, "where Benjamin King lives in Saints Row 2 is unknown" is useless, instead use the statement "Benjamin King does not appear in Saints Row 2"

AnecdotesEdit

Your personal experiences in the game regarding glitches or funny things which happened should not be included in articles. The fact that glitches or funny things are possible can be added to the trivia section, in the form of "It is possible to (do something)" Feel free to write a Blog post, or leave a message on an article talk page, describing exactly what happened to you while playing the game.

GlitchesEdit

Details about glitches should be included on articles about where the glitch occurs. For instance, a Vehicle Customisation glitch should be mentioned on the Mechanic article. Avoid giving long headings for glitches, use the title Glitch by default.

SpoilersEdit

This wiki is a place for all information about the game. In order to be complete, all plot details are allowed, including anything anyone could consider a "spoiler".

• Spoilers are welcome, as all articles should contain all information about a subject.
• Spoiler warnings are not welcome. Anyone reading an article about a subject should expect to find information about that subject

Cross-subject spoilers are not allowed.

• Events in the game should only be included in relevant articles.
• An article about a vehicle should not contain plot details from missions.
• An article about one character should not contain plot details about another character.
• An article about a Saints Row-only subject should not contain details about a Saints Row 2 subject.

NotabilityEdit

• Everything is worth mentioning.
• Anything that is true should be added.
• Descriptions of the subject go in the Description section.
• Comparisons to real life subjects to in the Trivia section.

Stub pages which cannot be expanded should be considered for merging.

This is dependent on a number of factors, but as a general rule: if nothing is known about them, and no pages link to them, there is no need for a dedicated article.

Nothing should ever be deleted - there is nothing about the game that is too trivial to be added to an article. Everything single fact about the game should be added to this wiki, but that doesn't mean that every single item should have a dedicated article.

TriviaEdit

There is nothing so trivial that it should not be mentioned somewhere on this wiki. If it happens in the game, or is seen in the game, it is notable it should be mentioned somewhere. Whether or not you personally find something interesting is not important. In general, new trivia should be added to the bottom of Trivia section, but feel free to re-arrange trivia sections so that more useful information is mentioned first, and combine trivia items so that related information is together.

ArticlesEdit

Not everything is notable enough to have a dedicated article.

• Pages should generally only be created from Special:WantedPages. If there are no links, then it is likely that the page is not needed.
• All articles should be linked from at least 2 other pages. If the article cannot be linked from 2 pages, then add it as a section in existing article. If the information on that article grows to the point where it needs it's own page, then it can easily be split into a new article.
• If something is only mentioned once in the game, and is only mentioned in one article, then it doesn't need to have it's own page.
• There are exceptions, such as vehicle pages, which deserve their own article regardless, but a minor character who is only mentioned once in the game does not require a dedicated article.
• Non-enterable and non-mission buildings should not have articles. Buildings in a neighbourhood should be listed on the article about that neighbourhood.

Articles on real life subjects, such as voice actors and weapons and vehicles used as inspiration for the game are not required. Any mention of real life subjects should include a link, preferably to wikipedia.

Promotional MaterialEdit

Promotional Material is a great source for insights into changes during development, and for information that is not mentioned in-game. However, if there is conflicting information in promotional material, in-game information supercedes promotional information. In-game titles supercede promotional titles.

Several good examples of this happened during the promotion for Saints Row: The Third, which named several weapon incorrectly. The name "Dildo Bat" does not appear in game, the correct name is The Penetrator. As it does not appear in-game, the term "Dildo Bat" should never be used on this wiki, although a redirect should be created as as people may search for that title.

Promotional material is often created by a marketing team, who do not necessarily know everything about content in-game, and may not have even played the game.

RedirectsEdit

Redirects should be created where-ever possible, for all valid game-names to aid searching, and google.

• Example: Buggy link for Mongoose vehicle, because "Buggy" is displayed in the unlock text for the Mongoose

Linking to redirects is acceptable to make the wiki-source as neat as possible, creating redirects for often-linked terms is recommended. Linking to redirects also allows Special:WhatLinksHere to be used to see the most commonly linked names.

• Example: Races redirect for Racing activity article.

In infoboxes, there is a AKA field for alternate names. All alternate-name redirects should be listed in this field, with a reference to where that name is used. All referenced AKA names should have redirects created.

• In the "Buggy" example, there should be a reference explaining that the name comes from the unlock text.

For Disambiguation redirects, links should usually be changed to point to the specific article, rather than the Disambiguation page.

Edit summariesEdit

Using edit summaries helps explain your edit if it is not immediately understood. If you have removed something from the article, but have not explained why in the edit summary, your edit will probably be reverted.

Avoid personal attacks in edit summaries. While it is acceptable to state "This is incorrect" when removing something, it is unacceptable to write "This is incorrect, whoever wrote this crap is an idiot". Assume good faith. While edit summaries should be used to avoid edit wars, avoid arguments in edit summaries. When undoing something that requires an extended explanation, leave a note on the talk page and add "see talk page" to the edit summary.

GenderEdit

The Protagonist of the game can be set as either Male or Female. For simplicity, the Protagonist will be referred to as male, as the default protagonist of all games in the series are male.

Do not use "he/she" or "his/her". For readability, simply use "he" and "his", unless specifically talking about a line from a female Protagonist. Use "he" rather than "they", but if possible, reword the sentence to be gender neutral.