User:Minor Edits/Sandbox9

The Lore namespace is the section of the site devoted to documenting the overall background of The Elder Scrolls (TES) universe in which the games are set. It was previously known as the Tamriel namespace (dating back to the old UESP site), but in July 2008 the namespace was renamed to Lore, following a community discussion about how to best describe the content.

Because the Lore namespace has a fundamentally different purpose than other namespaces, the guidelines for the Lore namespace are also different. The overall intent is to provide an encyclopedia of accurate and verifiable information in The Elder Scrolls universe, separate from game-related details, whereas the game-related namespaces are primarily game guides that focus on those game-related details. This article summarizes the guidelines that are specific to the Lore namespace. All guidelines are subject to revision pursuant to a community consensus.

Content Guidelines

• Avoid Game-Specific Information: Gameplay details should be avoided in Lore articles.
• Perspective: Game events should be described as historical events from the perspective of an anonymous citizen of Tamriel following the latest chronological events known to us through the officially approved TES media (historically, the events of the latest video game or novel). The articles are still expected to be encyclopedia-style, but designed as if they were (extraordinarily well-researched and polished) reference materials for a citizen of Tamriel.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall in Lore: Relevant, noteworthy real-world information may be included in a note in the "Notes" section of page (see, for example, Lore:Solstheim), though it's advised to have a talk page discussion before introducing such information and achieve a consensus. Some pages, such as Lore:Calendar, may find it necessary to ignore this rule in order to best help the reader.
• Images: To better complement the Lore's unique perspective, depictions of in-game maps, banners, drawings, etchings, paintings, diagrams, and similar non-screenshot materials which are relevant to the topic are preferred when they are available. Of course, the ultimate decisions remain with the contributors and agreements they may reach on the talk pages.

Citations in Lore

• Cite Your Source: In general, every sentence should be cited using proper in-line citations.
  • Some transitional sentences, or ones containing very basic in-game information, may avoid this rule, but additions which remain uncited will generally be flagged and/or removed.
  • Special citation formats may be used rarely for exceptionally complicated pages which were created using a wide variety of resources.
  • Many lore articles need updating; there is still much uncontroversial content which remains uncited. If you see an unsupported, uncited sentence conveying information you suspect may be erroneous, cite it for review at the end of the sentence using a template such as {{fact}} or go to the article's talk page.
• Original Research: Original research is strongly disfavored in UESP articles. Even if a series of statements can logically be put together to reach a conclusion, that conclusion does not belong on UESP unless it has already been stated elsewhere (in valid source material).
  • A core goal of wikipedia is to summarize what's already known, like any encyclopedia, rather than to come up with new information.
  • Exceptions to this rule may be possible, but those exceptions need to be discussed on the talk page beforehand.
• Multi-Topic Articles: E.g., Lore:People A, Lore:Books A, Lore:Factions A, and Lore:First Era. Pages like these should generally not contain any information from out-of-game content (OOG), and also should not contain any controversial points. Articles which contain many "snippets" about multiple topics should stick to basic, widely accepted facts about those topics.
  • If there are any facts that need additional explaining, then the topic needs to have its own article (e.g., Lore:Vivec instead of just the snippet on Lore:Gods_V).
  • This OOG ban encompasses the sections of any lore articles which are transcluded into other namespaces.
• In-game Sources: These should be the primary focus of all articles, including summarizing them and explaining their meaning.
  • Officially approved materials that did not make appearances in the games may be considered in-game sources for the purposes of these guidelines, most notably the Pocket Guides to the Empire and full-length novels such as Books:The Infernal City and Books:Lord of Souls.
• Out-of-Game Content (OOG): Any OOG should appear low on a single-topic page for which it is substantially relevant and include an OOG disclaimer (an example can be seen on the Lore:Firsthold page). Using solely OOG to support definitive statements of fact should be avoided.
  • Talk first: A talk page discussion should happen before introducing new information from, or citations to, OOG. OOG should only be used when it helps to explain in-game content. The UESP need not start documenting every fact mentioned in OOG.
  • OOG by Game Developers: OOG that has been written by a game developer should receive preferential treatment, especially for those works which reconcile apparent contradictions amongst the in-game sources.
    • This includes additional books, drafts of in-game books, developer interviews, etc.
    • Note: We've begun using a {{Stored URL}} template, {{TIL}}, for links to The Imperial Library so that they may be fixed quickly if URLs on that site are changed.
  • Other OOG: OOG that has not been written by a game developer in general do not belong in UESP articles.

Format Guidelines

These are guidelines specific to the lore namespace; see the UESPWiki:Style Guide and its layout pages for more general formatting information.

• There's room for variation: The specific layout of independent sections within singe-topic lore articles is not important, so long as they are in general conformity with articles of similar subjects.
• Use as Needed: It almost goes without saying that various sections need only be included as needed.
• Trails: Applicable trails for each topic should be included.
• Links: Links to relevant articles inside the lore namespace should be used if available. Links to other namespaces are generally inappropriate if a lore article covers the topic or will soon cover the topic, and they should not be transcluded to an unrelated namespace.

Content

• Content includes the introduction of a page and may come in a number of unique sections and sub-sections. The content sections are those which should not break the fourth wall.
• Typically, topics for which there is little to say should redirect to entries on the multi-topic pages for their respective Lore sections. Others with more relevant information should have their own single-topic page; the associated multi-topic page should include a brief summary and an integrated link to the single-topic page (no "see main article", if possible).
• Content which is transcluded to other pages should use <noinclude></noinclude> tags to stop unwanted content, notably inline citations and unnecessary sections, from appearing elsewhere.

Gallery

• Galleries are for any images on the wiki which are iconic for the subject matter that don't already appear in the article.
  • If it is only composed of maps, the section may be entitled "Maps" until such time other relevant non-map images are added.

Notes

• The Notes section is for miscellaneous but relevant information that, for whatever reason, does not fit well in the Content section, notably game references and other behind-the-scenes real-world information.
  • If ambiguity persists in the article, there may also be a "featured in" note to articulate what TES-related media a subject has appeared in or been otherwise involved with.

References

• References should be proper in-line citations, not merely links.
• If the best or only support for a proposition comes from an in-game source for which no book citation is available, contributors may simply cite to the events of the game, preferably in a specific manner (see, e.g., Lore:Barbas and Lore:Throat of the World).
• Special citation formats may be used where appropriate.

See Also

• This section is meant to link to relevant articles in other namespaces relayed with the simple "For more information ..." structure.
  • This section may or may not include a list of relevant books in alphabetical order, even if they are cited and appear in the reference section.

Understanding Lore Categories

• There are 10 different categories of the Lore namespace. In general, each category should have an Overview page (though that's still not true across the board). Most of them consist of multi-topic pages listing all known subjects relevant to their focus, with single-topic articles used to expound on topics where appropriate. The following sections have suggestions which are meant to help clarify the nuances in some of these categories.
• Snippet entries are those where what little is known about a subject is included in a short entry on the appropriate multi-topic page.

Lore:Bestiary

• See Lore talk:Bestiary for discussion on what belongs in the Bestiary.

Lore:Factions

• Generally, "faction" means any named association of people not covered in one of the other categories.

Lore:Flora

• See the above link for what qualifies as Flora.

Lore:Gods

• One of the key criteria for determining what's a deity in the TES universe is whether any known groups in the game have ever worshipped something as a higher form of life.
• In those rare cases where a character may belong in both this and another category, the practice has been to have a single-topic article in the category where the majority of the information on the subject is focused. This usually means a snippet in the Gods multi-topic articles and a longer article elsewhere (see, e.g., Lore:Tiber Septim and Lore:Gods T#Talos; we know plenty about Tiber Septim the man, but comparatively little about Talos the god).

Lore:History

• Most historical events are summarized in the timelines (e.g., Lore:First Era) and at Lore:Wars.

Library

• The Lore Library is composed of book pages, all of which transclude transcripts of in-game books to the game namespace page where the content was originally entered, as well as any other namespaces for subsequent games where the writing made an appearance and the content was substantially unaltered.
• Books in a series have their own umbrella pages (see, e.g., A Dance in Fire).
• Some writings in TES games include "letter pics", or "fancy letters", which are pictures of a stylized letter that are put in the place of the first letter of the book, and possibly sections within the book (e.g., Skyrim:2920, First Seed, v3). The letter pics are subject to change in each new game, and some books already have multiple versions used (e.g., Oblivion:The Argonian Account, Book 1 and Skyrim:Argonian Account, Book 1). The current practice has been to omit the letter pics from the lore book pages where they have no special significance while still transcluding them to their applicable namespace(s) (e.g., Lore:The Argonian Account, Book 1).
  • Note: The Template:LetterPic is now available to easily display letter pics in appropriate namespaces, but currently may only be used for books which used letter pics in both Skyrim and Oblivion, such as the example above.
• All other pictures typically appear on the lore book page roughly how they first appeared alongside the text in the game(s) (for example, Lore:Herbalist's Guide to Skyrim).
  • The appearance of a book on a game namespace page should not be changed merely because the version in a new game has some minor differences. In this situation, both game namespace pages should appear as they did in their respective games, and the Lore page itself may take the best of both worlds by incorporating new info and improvements while omitting any typos introduced into the new versions of old text.
  • If a text has been substantially altered, a new lore book page may become necessary in order to most easily maintain the integrity of the content (see, e.g., Lore:The Real Barenziah and Lore:The Real Barenziah (Daggerfall)).

• The Lore Library is not meant for each and every scrap of paper in every game, and no OOG should ever appear here. For that, see The Imperial Library. The Lore Library is for any literature in TES video games which substantially contributes to the goal of the Lore namespace: to provide an encyclopedia of accurate and verifiable information in The Elder Scrolls universe, separate from game-related details.
  • There is no one easy answer for what new literature meets this criteria; which writings are added is decided in the months, and in some cases years, following a TES video game's release.
  • Factors include:
    • Title- Almost all fully-fledged "books" are included in the Library. While the title is informative, it can sometimes be misleading (see, e.g., The Windhelm Letters and the Charwich-Koniinge Letters), and other material besides these books may be admissible based on other factors.
    • Authorship- Literature besides journals, notes and letters which have an acknowledged author/editor are likely lore material.
    • In-game Appearance- Determining whether the cover is hard, the size, its availability, etc., can clear up ambiguity for some writings.
    • Relevance- The determination whether the information contained in the writing is inherently or tangentially important to fulfilling the goal of the lore namespace. Many writings, even scrolls, can become part of the lore namespace for this reason (see, e.g., Lore:Cap'n Dugal's Journal, Lore:Lymdrenn Tenvanni's Journal and Lore:Agnar's Journal).
    • Game Specificity- The game-specific nature of the content of some writings can preclude it from Lore. Some books are excluded because they offer virtually nothing but game-specific information (for example, Skyrim:Whiterun Home Decorating Guide). However, editors may still cite to book pages in other namespaces if necessary (see, e.g., the citations to Skyrim:Kodlak's Journal on Lore:Companions).

• See Template:Lore Book for parameters available for lore book pages.

People

• Includes people noteworthy from a Lore perspective; people who are only noteworthy to fans (such as Morrowind:Fargoth or Skyrim:M'aiq the Liar) are typically not mentioned because they are relatively unknown figures in the TES universe.
• In some cases, it may be appropriate to include an entry for a persona, not an actual person, such as Lore:People G#The Gray Fox.

Lore:Places

• Obviously, every in-game location should not be added. "Places" for lore typically include realms of existence, celestial bodies (including planets), continents, major bodies of water, major islands, provinces, counties/holds, cities, settlements, and significant landmarks.

Lore:Races

• Generally, unless quoting material, the races of TES are referred to in the same manner that most members of that race refer to themselves in-game (so we would say Dunmer, not Dark Elf, and Orc, even though they're also called Orsimer). See UESPWiki:Spelling for more policies on word choice.
• Certain creatures have the makings of being considered races; if you're wondering whether something in the TES universe should be considered a race, the determination is best made through forming a consensus on the Lore talk:Races or UESPWiki:Community Portal on how the TES games have meant to portray that group (please check to see if your concern has already been addressed).

Lore:Appendices

• Generally, sections for notes, a gallery, and references should be included if feasible (in many cases, it's not). Appendices often follow special citation rules.

Drafter's Comments

This is meant to be a restatement, not a revision, of the rules of thumb and policies being practiced across the lore namespace. It is an amalgam of proposals and suggestions from various contributors, notably Nephele, Rpeh, Kalis Agea, Legoless, Temple-Zero, Sload, Gaebrial, GK, TheRealLurlock, a little from myself, and I'm sure a few others I'm missing. They were made in a variety of comments in a variety of discussions over a variety of years, and compiled here over the last few days because, well, it seemed about time. The lore space is functioning just fine, it's just a matter of saying how. New lore information from Skyrim has tapered off, and as we continue fine-tuning the lore sections in general, we should have all agreed upon matters outlined. It holds some historically controversial topics, but this is overdue as it is.

Much of the silence is purposeful, meaning I tried to leave plenty of room for variation and divergence, as well as room for growth and reform in the guidelines as necessary. The language is carefully conditioned to state as little as seemed reasonable in absolute terms; there's plenty of room for exceptions and accommodation of articles which are emerging or nascent. I'm more or less just restating the community disposition in many matters.

Nothing in these guidelines is meant to call for an immediate overhaul of the lore namespace, it is all simply meant to get everyone on the same page moving forward.

Suggestions are appreciated.

Minor Edits 05:54, 14 January 2012 (UTC)