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From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

This is an etiquette and style guide for Virtueverse Wiki articles. It does not address HOW to write, or even WHAT to write. The focus here is more along the lines of presentation.

If you need help with writing mechanics, Strunk and White's Elements of Style is by far the most-cited source. Feel free to snag a copy from your local library, new or used bookstore, or the retired English Composition teacher down the block.

[edit] Definition of Terms

(this list is under construction)

Affiliation

• A formal arrangement such as a group membership or coalition, or a partnership

It is best not to use this unless you're sure that the other party would agree to the affiliation. In the case of NPC 'patrons', your character should have either completed or be in the process of completing that NPC's Patron story arc.

• Note: Supergroups such as the Dawn Patrol have requested permission to use the name from NCSoft. Cases such as this would be the only ones where characters or character groups should claim affiliation with in-game canonical groups.

In-Game Canon

• Anything defined by NCSoft as part of the game storyline. This may include characters, NPC Contacts, Hero or Villain Groups, story arcs, and so forth. These items would not be limited to one character or group, but would be experienced by any and all characters that encounter them. These items can (and should!) be used as 'hooks' for character development, but should not need to be defined as their own Virtueverse Wiki entries. Instead, a link to any ParagonWiki articles should be sufficient.

[edit] Character Pages

Each character page is considered to be VirtueVerse 'canon' for that character. The page author (usually the player of that character) has an idea of their motivations, background history, and personality, and as such, this needs to be respected. However, to best dovetail one character into the milieu that is the Virtueverse, it's a good idea to write up your character's profile from an objective viewpoint.

[edit] What to Include

You should include:

• A basic history of the character
• An idea of how their powers/abilities/weaponry work
• Any affiliations they have
• Information about their motivations and/or personality

You may also wish to include:

• Any quirks they have in social situations
• Trivial items about the character,
• Theme songs or incidental music,
• If you're feeling brave, a "Rumours" section that invites others to drop little tidbits of what they've seen, heard or experienced in regards to the character.

[edit] What Not to Include

• A detailed play-by-play of their battles - these would make good stories, but tend to clutter up the character profile
• A detailed listing of their powersets/enhancement settings
• The character's PvP ranking or reputation. This would be better written as part of their backstory, in a more objective historical overview.

Example: "Hero X has patrolled the contested Siren's Call Zone for months, tirelessly accosting any villains he found skulking about."

instead of

"Hero X has a reputation of 300 in SC."

[edit] A Note on Badge Collections

Some players like to include listings of their badges, but again, since this is primarily an RP resource, using one's badge collection as story hooks is encouraged. For example, "Task Force Commander" could be used as a lead-in to a series of tales based on the task forces accomplished, "Around the Bendis" could be used as a locale "souvenir" for a tale set in Perez Park, et cetera.

[edit] Point of View

So far, the best viewpoint to adopt is of an objective unbiased third party. Many approach this as a news reporter writing a story about the character, or a government official transcribing notes about the character into a database.

[edit] Group Pages

Group pages are very much like character pages - they present a 'public view' of the group. Again, an objective third party writing style is the accepted norm, or barring that, what a publicist for the group would write, in order to attract interested parties.

[edit] What to Include

You should definitely consider including:

• The group's in-character history or mission
  • Who does the group identify with? Who are they against, if anyone?
• The group's recruiting or membership policy
  • Is the group open to any character, or only those of a certain origin, gender, or other subset?
• The group costume requirements
  • Are costume changes or extra costume slots financed or provided to new members?
  • At what level is the group costume enforced?
• The type of gameplay the group engages in
  • XP grinding
  • PvP Play
• The type of roleplay the group engages in
  • Degree of roleplay expected or encountered (casual/light, heavy/immersive)
    • Whether or not the roleplay is teen-rated, PG-13, or adult
• Player demographic and schedule
• Contact information for the group founder and any officers that can answer further questions

If the group is affiliated with other groups (coalitions) or opposed to any groups (rivalries), these items can also be listed.

[edit] Story Pages

There really is no 'style guide' for stories, other than the standard style for writing (poetry or prose). The major points are, keep it readable, keep it engaging, and keep it fun. Stories are considered to be 'Virtueverse canon' insofar as the subject of the story is concerned.

If your story assumes certain things from other characters or groups, do consider a co-author or editing arrangement to keep things straight. Many authors of 'group stories' use a program called MoonEdit for collaborative writing projects. Or, you can trade drafts via email, or 'flesh out' a chat log between all of the characters.

Game canon should be considered (if not always accepted word for word). Some leeway is expected, but naming Lord Recluse as your character's long-lost cousin or bastard father would be pushing things^[1].

[edit] Wiki Editing

[edit] Editing Your Own Pages

You are freely encouraged to edit your own pages, either to add material, or to clarify something already there. However, if you decide to 'retcon' or otherwise do a mass pruning on your character, please take a look at the "What Links Here" link in the Special Pages section. This will list all the pages that link to yours... and will potentially be impacted by your edits. If your character doesn't seem to be a mover and a shaker in the Virtueverse, with many others basing their RP off of your character history, it's a good bet that anything you change will likely not be noticed. But, if you're, say, Ascendant... a major retcon will probably evoke howls of dismay and gnashing of teeth.

[edit] Editing Other People's Pages

It is generally accepted that edits for spelling, grammar, and presentation are OK, as long as you don't alter the story being told. Editing for content is regarded as risky, generally bringing forth the displeasure of the page creator^[2]. If you're in doubt, consider asking the original author, or copying the text you planned to include/rewrite on the character's Talk page, requesting comments from the author.

If an edit you make is reverted by either the page author or one of the admins, please do not resubmit the edit. The reversion is a very clear sign that either the page author or the admins consider your edit inappropriate. Discuss the edit on the talk page or on the Virtueverse BBS.

[edit] Redirects

If your character is known by many names, you are encouraged to create redirect pages to point to the main article. However, creating redirects to pages other than your own is risky, and should only be done with the consent of the author of the target page. Malicious redirects are classed as vandalism (see below).

[edit] Images

Substituting your images for ones already on a page is verboten, unless you have discussed the substitution with the page author and gained their approval. Do not edit, re-upload, or otherwise 'swap out' existing images. They can be reverted, but it's a bloody hassle, and puts the moderators and admins in a "ban somebody!" frame of mind.

[edit] Conduct and Vandalism

This is an excerpt from the Acceptable Use Policy of the hosting provider FOR Virtueverse, the folks that provide the storage space and bandwidth:

Morally objectionable activities will include, but not be limited to: activities designed to defame, embarrass, harm, abuse, threaten, slander or harass third parties; activities prohibited by the laws of the United States and/or foreign territories in which You conduct business; activities designed to encourage unlawful behavior by others, such as hate crimes, terrorism and child pornography; activities that are tortuous, vulgar, obscene, invasive of the privacy of a third party, racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable; activities designed to impersonate the identity of a third party; illegal access to other computers or networks (i.e., hacking); distribution of Internet viruses or similar destructive activities; and activities designed to harm or use unethically minors in any way.

So... please don't cross the above boundaries within any page that you write. We all know this is a reference and encyclopedia for "pretendy fun-time games", but bringing the Real World into play in the above ways will be considered grounds for an immediate ban (and the offending content being removed from the wiki.)

Please do not engage in personal attacks or sniping via talk pages or articles. It's one thing to list your character as a foil or nemesis to someone else's character. However, using your character page to trash the reputation of the other character is frowned upon. Try to limit it to common history, and indicate that the two characters do not get along well. If you wish to showcase opinions your character has of another character, please make it clear that they are opinions only.

Attacking other players/contributors is a definite no-no. There are plenty of other mediums available on the Internet to engage in that type of behavior. Such contributions will be pruned, and may result in banning of accounts.

• Purposefully vandalizing someone else's page is grounds for an immediate and indefinite ban of your Wiki account.

• 'Prank' edits of pages, or prank redirects posted to existing pages, are considered vandalism, and are dealt with as such.

If you find your page has been edited (per the guidelines above) and you feel it's not warranted, place a note on the editor's talk page, telling them why you disagree. Then, encourage them to discuss it with you on the Virtueverse BBS.

Keep in mind that every page on the Wiki has a history associated with it. Anyone can view this history, and compare prior versions of each page posted. As such, edits will leave "breadcrumbs" that can be traced back to the person(s) responsible, and/or be used to restore pages that have been edited without the author's consent. The Wiki admins will use this history to undo malicious/prank edits, and also to determine the person(s) responsible so as to block further digital mayhem.

[edit] Footnotes

1. ↑ Besides which, we know he'd deny it out of spite, anyway.
2. ↑ The administrators of the Virtueverse Wiki tend to be militant about this too, considering it is their job to maintain all of this in the absence of the page creators.