Writing and Editing Guide

This guide outlines a standard of clean, consistent formatting for article writing on this wiki. A more expansive set of style guidelines can be found on Wikipedia at Manual of Style.

The Mafia Wiki strongly urges all its editors to use source mode when editing. The visual editor works fine for making minor text edits, but it's really poor at doing much else and ends up doing more harm than good in most cases. To set source editing as your default, hover your cursor over your avatar at the very top of any page (right between the search bar and the little bell). Click on "My preferences", then the editing tab and it's the first drop down menu.

Creating an Article

There are multiple ways to create an article. You can click the "Add a page" link under the Contribute menu, use a create box like the one below, type the article name into the URL bar, or simply click on a Red Link on another page. We also have a Page Creation Tool that you can use. <createbox> width=24 break=no buttonlabel=Create new article align=left </createbox>

Naming the Article

Do not create an article if you're unsure what its full name should be. All words of the name should be capitalized with the exception of minor words, which include a, an, and, for, from, in, of, on, or, the, to, and with.

The names of character articles should be their first name as it's most commonly used in the game, followed by their last name. If they're called Sal Marcano, that's what the article's name should be, not Salvatore Marcano. Their given full name is then listed in the infobox under "Full Name". If they also go by a nickname, that should be listed under "Aliases".

Under most circumstances, unnamed characters do not require their own article. You shouldn't create articles with titles such as "Bartender" or "Unnamed Assassin". In the rare event that an unnamed character page is created, it will be done after a community discussion where a proper name is selected.

Businesses should be their full name as it appears in the game. Do not add words like restaurant, bar, club, gun store, etc. to the name unless it's listed that way in game. Weapons should be what's listed in the game menu. If it's listed simply as a "Shotgun" then that is the proper name: no assumptions on brand, make, or model should be included. Vehicles should be named as their make followed by their model, such as Smith Thunderbolt. Insignificant items such as food and beverages may be included in the same article from previous games as long as they're placed under their own heading.

In the event an item appears in two games, like if Mafia III uses the same weapon or vehicle names as Mafia II, then the original article should be renamed and a disambiguation page should be created. Our article on Disambiguation explains the process in detail.

Real World Places, Events or Items

Linking to a Wikipedia article on real world information, like the Vietnam War, is preferable to creating one here; simply link to it in the article using the format [[Wikipedia:Vietnam War]].

Vehicles and weapons used in the Mafia series are typically based on real world equivalents. The design section of these articles are used for the in-game design only, not it's real world counterpart.
A vehicle or weapons real world counterpart may be noted in the trivia section with a link to their corresponding Wikipedia page. Often, more than one real world item may have been used in the design of the in-game model, in this case only the one which it most resembles will be listed.

Writing an Article

To take the guesswork out of page creation this wiki uses preloaded page templates. When you first create your article take a look above the edit box on your new page and you will see links to all the page types listed there. Simply click the one you need and the infobox, section headers, and image gallery will automatically be added, so all you need to do is start typing. See the example images below.

Adding an Infobox

The first item on the page should be the infobox. We have infobox templates for every type of article on the wiki here.

Lead Section

The article should start with an introductory lead section. Before the first subheading, the lead section should not contain a header. The table of contents, if displayed, appears after the lead section and before the first subheading.

The lead should be a brief description of the page topic, no more than a sentence or two long.
The lead typically starts off with the article name in bold, as in "Bill Eakin is a character in Mafia III..." or "The Smith Thunderbolt is a vehicle in Mafia II..."

Quotes

After the lead section is where you place a quote if one is used. To add a quote, use the template {{Quote|Quote goes here.|'''Person's Name'''}}.

Only add one quote per character article. In the case of major characters, what quote to use will be based on a community consensus or vote.
Not all characters need a quote. If they only have a few lines in the game, chances are they've said nothing worth quoting.

The Article Body

All articles should be in American English. The two most important things to keep in mind when writing an article is historical tone and perspective. Historical tone means that articles should be written as if they are about real people, places and events that actually exist in the world. To keep historical tone, avoid mentioning the game, chapter or mission names directly in the article and never refer to "the player", use the protagonist name instead.

Perspective means that an article should be written as it pertains to its subject, not the game's protagonist. For example, if a character is killed by the protagonist (aka the player), describe their death and the events leading up to it from their point of view, not the protagonist's.

Articles must flow smoothly and make a logical transition between topics. If you're writing about a person, start with their earliest history and work your way forward chronologically. Protagonist articles should NOT recap everything they do in the entire game. This is where page linking comes into play to give a brief explanation of significant events while linking to their page so readers can get the full story. Other character articles should follow the same rule.

Titles such as don or capo start with a capital letter when used as a title: "Don Morello". When used generically, they should be in lower case: "Sergio is a great underboss." The correct formal name of an office is treated as a proper noun. Hence: "Frank Colletti is the Consigliere of the Salieri crime family."
Avoid excessive use of titles; there's no need to list a person's title or family affiliation on every mention of their name unless the purpose of the sentence is to make reference to it.

Trivial Information

Not to be confused with trivia entries, trivial information is minor elements of gameplay that are insignificant to the article and the average reader. While we strive to provide relevant information on our pages, we also like to keep them brief and on point. Some of the more minor aspects of the game are better left for the players to experience themselves. We ask that you respect that and not fill our articles with every little detail and nuance on its subject. Longer is not always better, the only thing you accomplish with an overly detailed and lengthy article is insuring that fewer people will likely read it.

Appearances Section

The appearances section is where you add references to missions that involve that person or take place at that location. Don't mention minor events like simply driving through a neighborhood. Keep the mentions brief, such as "The mission Balls and Beans takes place at this location".

Adding Links

Page linking offers the reader the opportunity to easily find other pages mentioned in the one they're reading and is the main method of navigating a wiki. To add a link to an article, use the format [[Article Name Here]]. Don't oversaturate any sentence or paragraph with links. If a section is showing up as mostly blue on the page, consider removing some of the less important ones. Always avoid placing multiple links in succession.

Pages should only be linked once in the article body, typically the first time they're mentioned. Additional links in infoboxes are acceptable.
As our article names use capitalization for major words, you may need to make a piped link when capitalization would be inappropriate. When this is necessary use the format [[Article Name Here|article name here]], substituting lowercase letters where needed. This format should also be used to link names when their full name is not appropriate, such as [[Vito Scaletta|Vito]], or when making a word plural as in [[Soldato|soldatos]].

Adding Images

Image names must always follow our established format. Typically that will be the name of the main page where they are to be used followed by a number. For example, images of Lincoln Clay to be used on his page will be named "Lincoln Clay" followed by the next corresponding number, such as "Lincoln Clay 5.png" (or .jpg, as applicable). The main image for each page will use just the page name it appears on, so the image in Lincoln's infobox will always be "Lincoln Clay.png" with no numbers added. Please read our Media Policy page for further explanation of our image policies. If you need information on how to capture images, please see our Image Capture Guide.

Main images used in an infobox are to be changed by the Mafia Wiki admins only.
Images uploaded with improper names will be deleted.
Only upload images with the .png or .jpg format.
Only upload images you created yourself. Images that contain copyright or watermarks will be removed.

Adding Video

The only videos authorized on the Mafia Wiki are game trailers and other official video content from the game publishers. No walkthrough, music or other personal videos are to be uploaded or linked on any page, including profiles, without permission from Mafia Wiki admins.

Adding Audio

Audio files found within the game are copyrighted by 2K Games and therefore only low resolution sample clips of 60 seconds or less may be uploaded. All sound files uploaded to the wiki must be approved by the site administrators in advance. Music used in the Mafia game soundtracks are copyrighted by their respective owners, and so these files are not to be uploaded to the Mafia Wiki.

Trivia Entries

The Mafia wiki is not an indiscriminate collection of trivial factoids. Pieces of trivia related to the Mafia games are boundless, but not necessarily helpful. Use careful consideration on what you add to these sections.

Trivia entries should be kept to a bare minimum, be no more than one or two lines long, and only include relevant information not appropriate for the article itself.
Items worthy of mentioning should be of general interest to all readers, relate to the game itself and should never contain speculation or opinions.
Trivia entries are one of the more abused sections of an article. Left unchecked, they quickly become disorganized and distract from the article rather than improve it. Don't take it personally if your trivia entry is removed or edited.

Adding a Gallery

Most articles benefit from a gallery rather than posting excessive images throughout the article itself. When creating a gallery, two or more pictures should use the slideshow option and be the last thing in the article. For the sake of uniformity, all slideshows should use a width of 300 and be positioned to the left.

Spoilers

This wiki is about the Mafia series of games; by its very definition this whole wiki is a spoiler. Do not add phrases like "spoiler alert" or keep information out of an article because it may spoil the plot for the reader.

Citations

As a general rule, we do not use external citations for information written in our articles. All information should come from the game itself or through official material released by the publisher that's been uploaded here.

References linking to internal sources that were not part of the gameplay, such as The Story of Frankie Potts or the Lincoln Clay Case Files, should be used. Wherever possible, information of this type should be grouped together to limit the number of citation links on the page.
The only outside referencing used here should be in line links to an appropriate Wikipedia article.
Cut content and information from beta and demo versions that didn't make it into the game should be clearly labeled as such and placed in the trivia section or the Cut Content page along with verification such as screen shots or game files referencing the content.

External Links

The only external linking we typically allow is Wikipedia. The only exceptions are on voice actor and musician articles, where you may also include their IMDB page and personal website in the infobox.

Writing a Walkthrough

Another kind of article found on the Mafia Wiki is a walkthrough. A walkthrough is an instructional account of how to proceed through a given mission in the game. Because these types of articles can be highly subjective and opinionated in nature, all walkthroughs require approval from site admins before they get published.

Walkthroughs should be written from a second person point of view in a clear and concise manner and be free of gaming lingo, slang, and netspeak. They should be brief and to the point at all times and serve as an abbreviated guide rather than a step-by-step tutorial. They should give all the information in a simple and concise manner without a lot of unnecessary details, allowing the reader to get the basics of what needs to be done and get back to their game quickly.

Editing an Article

Following the above guidelines will not ensure a perfect article the first time, but it will give the article a strong skeleton. It's ultimately your job as an editor to put meat on it. When editing an article it's important to know your subject and have a plan.

Before you add something to an article, make sure that information isn't already on the page somewhere else or there isn't another article where it's better suited. You should never edit an article that you haven't completely read.
Insure your edits don't interrupt the flow of the article. Jumping from one idea to the next will only confuse the reader, always proofread the entire section you're editing before you hit submit to make sure all the ideas still flow together.
When you edit an article, even if it's just a small edit or to undo a previous one, place a brief statement in the "Edit summary" box explaining your changes. This can help other users understand why you made the changes and prevent confusion.
We all have our own style; if every author wrote in exactly the same way it would be boring. Keep that in mind before you make an edit. Rephrasing a sentence or paragraph simply because you think it sounds better written your way is greatly discouraged.

Conclusion

We've tried to give you all the basics here, but there's always more information than can be covered in a single article. Help pages contain a wealth of information on just about every conceivable topic, including the more technical aspects of editing. That being said, sometimes the best method of learning is to just look around at other pages and see how it's been done before. Of course, if you're stuck and simply can't figure something out, feel free to ask one of our staff. We have plenty of experienced people so we should be able to answer just about any question you have.