ContactsLaw Documentation:Style Guide

Contributions to this wiki should follow this style guide.

How To Use This Wiki

This wiki is implemented using MediaWiki, which is the same software that powers Wikipedia.

For general help with MediaWiki, refer to MediaWiki Help.

Key topics include:

• Formatting
• Links
• Images
• Lists
• Tables

Naming Conventions

Article Names

• Use the singular form (e.g. Contact, not Contacts)
• Capitalise Each Word
• Choose the shortest possible name (that isn't ambiguous)
• Prefix with a category name to resolve ambiguity (e.g. Document:Template)

Headings

• Capitalise Each Word
• Be consistent with other articles
• External Links should always be last (if included)

Note: MediaWiki uses the headings to automatically build the Table of Contents for each article.

Terminology

• Be consistent (when in doubt, use the same terms that appear to end users in the software)
• Avoid ambiguity (e.g. the term "field" could refer to many different concepts, while "text field" or "custom field" are more specific)
• Avoid region-or-jurisdiction-specific terms (e.g. "sales tax" vs "GST", "conveyancing" vs "settlements")

Formatting

• Use bold formatting to introduce the main topic of the article (and other key terms)
• Use italic formatting for notes and remarks
• Use monospace formatting for code, expressions and other syntax
• Less is more, don't over-decorate
• NEVER USE ALL CAPS
• Always start from the lowest heading level and do not skip levels when using sub-headings

Links

Internal Links

e.g. Main Page

• Create internal links to other articles wherever they are known to exist (and update your articles to include them once they do exist)
• Do not over-link, only decorate the first occurrence (or first per heading if appropriate)
• Override the link text if you need to use the plural form of a word (e.g. Contact|contacts) or other variations
• Do not use link text that is completely different to the article name (e.g. Matter|file)

External Links

e.g. Google

• Ensure that the URL you are linking to is reasonably permanent
• Use sensible link text (e.g. the title of the web page)
• Consider placing external links in a separate section at the end of the article
• Do not create external links to articles in this wiki

Special Features

• Place articles in categories. Most articles should belong to at least one category. Avoid categories that will only ever contain one article.
• If you create new categories, be sure to create the article for the category itself (otherwise, readers will not be able to see the list of articles).
• Use hatnotes to link to articles that elaborate further on topics you cover briefly, e.g.
  Main page: Hatnote
• Format abbreviations (e.g. ATO) to let readers know what they stand for (when introducing them for the first time).

External Links

• Wikipedia Manual of Style - For any topics not covered here, you should refer to Wikipedia's style guide.