Knowino:Style

[Work in progress.]

Nearly all material on Knowino is created by a community of volunteer editors.

Meta-categories...


 * Arts (recent changes)
 * People (recent changes)
 * Geography (recent changes)
 * History (recent changes)
 * Mathematics (recent changes)
 * Science (recent changes)
 * Society (recent changes)
 * Technology (recent changes)

encyclopedic content

Random notes...


 * categorisation
 * Special:Search
 * how content is structured


 * writing articles from different approaches; competition; etc.

Forking
See Knowino:Dispute resolution for an explanation of when and how to fork articles.

Types of content

 * articles
 * bibliographies
 * lists of external links
 * media
 * pictures
 * sound clips
 * videos

Style
''[Still under development—please add your own suggestions! This section, and its sub-sections, should probably be changed to paragraph form and made more direct and concise.]''

We need to cater for two main categories of users: those who are looking around casually and soaking up knowledge (the "browsers"), and those who are looking for specific information (the "searchers"). To accommodate "browsers", we need to write articles that are enjoyable to read from start to finish, so a sense of narrative flow and a coherent structure are essential aspects of a good article. And, to help "searchers" locate the information they're looking for, articles need to highlight key details to make them easy to find. Simply put, articles should be enjoyable to read.

Narrative

 * Take the reader on a "guided tour" of the subject matter.
 * Make statistics, key information, and interesting details easy to find.
 * It's okay to use "we", just don't use terms like "you", "I", "the reader", or "the author".
 * Consider the audience—readers first, then contributors.

Linking

 * Link to other articles copiously yet relevantly.
 * Don't be afraid of linking to non-existent articles.
 * Link only the first use of a word or phrase, unless it is particularly relevant to the point.

Conciseness

 * Cut out all unnecessary words.
 * Don't try to sound "fancy".
 * Use simple language in a masterful way.

Illustrations

 * You can use both local media and media on Wikimedia Commons.
 * Pictures "prettify" articles.
 * Avoid confusion by using neat diagrams.
 * Use illustrations to make a good article better, not a bad article acceptable.

Article certification

 * For information on how to certify articles, please see our article certification help.


 * None/Unchecked
 * [to be filled in...]


 * Sighted
 * The article has been casually checked by a reviewer who found no obvious factual errors.


 * Accurate
 * A reviewer has carefully read through the article and determined that, in his or her opinion, its content is factually accurate.


 * Featured
 * The article has gone through a process of rigorous community scrutiny and been recognised for its outstanding quality.