MarioWiki talk:Manual of Style

My goal was to make it more effective than two previous help pages, new pages and expanding articles, combined. Have I done just that with this, is it the same, or have I made it worse? Wa _T^C_@^Y 03:42, 2 March 2007 (EST)

Its good. even if I know almost everything, its a good definition, and a great tutorial. Max2 (talk) Like It?

Yeah, me too. Info about what kind of articles can be made, choosing an effective page to create, etc. Still, very good page. P.S. Do we really have an average of 500 edits a day? 500 a week would make more sense.Knife (talk) 20:57, 2 March 2007 (EST)

I've only done 1000 edits in 4 weeks. 500 a week makes more sense. Max2 (talk)

I suggest both of you check Recent changes at 500 edits and see on any given day whether another day is shown or not. (Today's a great example) Wa _T^C_@^Y 21:34, 4 March 2007 (EST)

And sorry to burst your bubble, Max, but you don't have 1000 contributions. You have just over 900. Pretty close, though. --KPH2293 21:39, 4 March 2007 (EST)

About You

I see where the "don't use you, even in commands" policy is coming from, but I think it is a bit misguided. I believe "you" is acceptable, even in fairly formal writing, when providing instructions on how to do something. For example:

BAD USE OF YOU: In Super Mario Bros., you must defeat Bowser and rescue the Princess. BAD USE OF YOU: In most Mario Kart games, your cart only has one character on it, but in Mario Kart Double Dash!! you get to control two characters. ACCEPTABLE USE OF YOU: To defeat Bowser, jump on his axe.

When giving a long series of instructions, continuously writing "the player" and similar terms becomes unacceptable due to repetition.

"The player must jump up several platforms, and then he or she must activate the Launch Star. The player must then free the Luma, which turns into a Pull Star. He or she must use the Pull Star to..."

as opposed to

"Jump up several platforms and activate the Launch Star. Free the Luma, which turns into a Pull Star, and use the Pull Star to..."

Comments? Demyx 14:45, 28 November 2007 (EST)

A replacement of "you" does not have to be "the player", it can also be "Mario", "Luigi", or whoever is the playable character. - Cobold (talk · contribs) 14:57, 28 November 2007 (EST)

Yes, and that is more acceptable than "the player" in many cases, but my main point is that "you" and commands are acceptable in instructions even in fairly formal writing. Demyx 15:07, 28 November 2007 (EST)

"Appearance" Section

Recently, there have been some questions regarding the "Appearance" section on the Peach (item) page. Should it be removed, kept as is, changed? If people want another example, I did up the MC Ballyhoo article in the same way. We need to think about how this will effect long and short articles, so... have a peek. Stumpers! 20:00, 25 January 2008 (EST)