Editing Draft:Manual of Style

{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{MoS guideline|MOS:|BTW:MOS}}
{{Style|expanded=all}}

This '''Manual of Style''' ('''MoS''' or '''MOS''') is the [[style manual]] for all BattleTechWiki [[BattleTechWiki:What is an article?|articles]] (though provisions related to accessibility apply across the entire project, not just to articles). This primary page is supported by further [[:Category:BattleTechWiki Manual of Style|detail pages]], which are cross-referenced here and listed at [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Contents]]. If any contradiction arises, this page has precedence.

{{Anchor|Clarity}}Editors should write articles using straightforward, succinct, easily understood language and structure articles with consistent, reader-friendly layouts and formatting (which are detailed in this guide).

{{Anchor|Stability}}Where more than one style or format is acceptable under the MoS, one should be used consistently within an article and [[#Retaining existing styles|should not be changed]] without good reason. [[BattleTechWiki:Edit warring|Edit warring]] over stylistic choices is unacceptable.

New content added to this page should directly address a persistently recurring style issue.

{{TOC limit|3}}

==Retaining existing styles==
{{Shortcut|MOS:VAR|MOS:STYLEVAR|MOS:STYLERET}}
{{Redirect|MOS:VAR|a list of more specific derived and related rules|BTW:VARS}}
Sometimes the MoS provides more than one acceptable style or gives no specific guidance. The principle that "When either of two styles is acceptable it is inappropriate for a BattleTechWiki editor to change from one style to another unless there is some substantial reason for the change."

Edit-warring over style, or enforcing optional style in a [[BattleTechWiki:Bot policy#Assisted editing guidelines|bot-like]] fashion without prior consensus, [[BattleTechWiki:Disruptive editing|is never acceptable]].

Unjustified changes from one acceptable, [[#Consistency within articles|consistently-applied]] style in an article to a different style may generally be [[BattleTechWiki:Reverting|reverted]]. Seek [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style#Opportunities for commonality|opportunities for commonality]] to avoid disputes over style.

If you believe an alternative style would be more appropriate for a particular article, seek [[BattleTechWiki:Consensus|consensus]] by discussing this at the article's talk page or{{snd}}if it raises an issue of more general application or with the MoS itself{{snd}}at [[BattleTechWiki talk:Manual of Style]]. If a discussion does not result in consensus for the change at the article, continue to use the already-established style there. If discussion fails to reach a consensus regarding which of two or more competing styles to use at all, then default to the style that was used in the first post-[[BattleTechWiki:Stub|stub]] version of the article in which one of the applicable styles appeared. (This fall-back position does not give [[BattleTechWiki:Arguments to avoid on discussion pages#Unchallenged material (or content age)|unchallengable primacy]] to that particular style during consensus discussion, nor give the editor who imposed that earliest style [[BattleTechWiki:Ownership of content|any more say]] in the discussion.)

{{Crossref|For retention of an article's established national variety of English (and potential reasons to change it), see {{section link||National varieties of English}}.}}

==Article titles, sections, and headings <span class="anchor" id="Article titles, headings, and sections"></span>==
{{Shortcut|MOS:AT}}

===Article titles===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Article titles}}

A title should be a recognizable name or description of the topic, [[BattleTechWiki:Common sense|balancing]] the criteria of being natural, sufficiently precise, concise, and consistent with those of related articles.

For formatting guidance see the {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Article titles|Article title format}} section, noting the following:
*Capitalize the initial letter (except in rare cases, such as {{xt|eBay}}), but otherwise follow [[sentence case]] ({{xt|Funding of UNESCO projects}}), not title case ({{!xt|Funding of UNESCO Projects}}), except where title case would be expected were the title to occur in ordinary prose. See [[BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (capitalization)]].
*To italicize, add {{tlx|italic title}} near the top of the article. For mixed situations, use, e.g., <code><nowiki>{{DISPLAYTITLE:</nowiki>{{zwsp}}<nowiki>Interpretations of ''2001: A Space Odyssey''}}</nowiki></code>, instead. Use of italics should conform to {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting|Italic type}}.
*Do not use [[Article (grammar)|articles]] (''a'', ''an'', or ''the'') as the first word ({{xt|Economy of the Second Empire}}, not {{!xt|The economy of the Second Empire}}), unless it is an inseparable part of a name ({{xt|The Hague}}) or title of a work (''{{xt|A Clockwork Orange}}'', ''{{xt|The Simpsons}}'').
*Normally use [[noun]]s or [[noun phrase]]s: {{xt|Early life}}, not {{!xt|In early life}}.
*The final character should not be punctuation unless it is an inseparable part of a name ({{xt|[[Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!]]}}, {{xt|''[[Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?]]''}}) or an abbreviation ({{xt|[[Inverness City F.C.]]}}), or when a closing round bracket or quotation mark is required ({{xt|[[John Palmer (1814 schooner)|''John Palmer'' (1814 schooner)]]}}).
*Whenever quotation marks or apostrophes appear, add a [[BattleTechWiki:Redirect|redirect]] for the same title using apostrophes.

Subject both to the above and to [[BattleTechWiki:Article titles]], the rest of the MoS, particularly {{section link||Punctuation}}, applies also to the title.

{{crossref|See also [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Titles of works]], for cases where an article about a published work has a title that coincides with the work's title.}}

===Section organization===
{{Shortcut|MOS:SO}}
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Layout}}

An article's content should begin with an introductory {{em|lead<!-- Do not add the word "lede" here. See footnotes at BTW:LEAD for details. --> section}}{{snd}}a concise summary of the article{{snd}}which is never divided into sections {{crossref|(see [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Lead section]])}}. The remainder of the article is typically divided into [[Help:Section|sections]].

[[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Infoboxes|Infoboxes]], images, and related content in the lead section must be right-aligned.

Certain standardized [[Help:Template|templates]] and [[Help:Wikitext|wikicode]] that are not sections go at the very top of the article, before the content of the lead section, and in the following order:
*A [[BattleTechWiki:Short description|short description]], with the {{tlx|Short description}} template
*A [[BattleTechWiki:Hatnote|disambiguation hatnote]], most of the time with the {{tlx|Hatnote}} template {{crossref|(see also {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Hatnote#Hatnote templates}})}}
*No-output templates that indicate the article's established date format and English-language variety, if any (e.g., {{tlx|Use dmy dates}}, {{tlx|Use Canadian English}})
*Banner-type maintenance templates, [[BattleTechWiki:Template index/Disputes|Dispute]] and [[BattleTechWiki:Template index/Cleanup|Cleanup templates]] for article-wide issues that have been flagged (otherwise used at the top of a specific section, after any sectional hatnote such as {{tlx|main}})
*An [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Infoboxes|infobox]], which is optional (except in special cases like {{tlx|Taxobox}} and {{tlx|Chembox}}, or a variant thereof, at applicable articles); usually also includes the first image
*An introductory image, when an infobox is not used, or an additional image is desired for the lead section (for unusually long leads, a second image can be placed midway through the lead text)

If an article has at least four section headings, a navigable [[BattleTechWiki:Table of contents|table of contents]] appears automatically, just after the lead.

If the topic of a section is covered in more detail in a dedicated article {{cross reference|(see [[BattleTechWiki:Summary style]])}}, insert {{tlx|main|{{var|Article name}}}} or {{tlx|further|{{var|Article name}}}} immediately under the section heading.

As explained in detail in {{slink|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Layout|Standard appendices and footers}}, several kinds of material (mostly optional) may appear after the main body of the article, in the following order:
*Books or other works created by the subject of the article, under a section heading "Works", "Publications", "Discography", "Filmography", etc. as appropriate (avoid "Bibliography", confusable with reference citations)
*Internal links to related English BattleTechWiki articles, with section heading "See also"
*Notes and references, with a section heading "Notes" or "References" (usually the latter), or a separate section for each in this order {{crossref|(see [[BattleTechWiki:Citing sources]])}}; avoid "Bibliography", confusable with the subject's works
*Relevant books, articles, or other publications that have not been used as sources; use the section heading "Further reading"; be highly selective, as [[BattleTechWiki:What BattleTechWiki is not#BattleTechWiki is not a directory|BattleTechWiki is not a bibliographic directory]]
*Relevant [[BattleTechWiki:External links|and appropriate]] websites that have not been used as sources and do not appear in the earlier appendices, using the heading "External links", which may be made a subsection of "Further reading" (or such links can be integrated directly into the "Further reading" list instead); [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Layout#Links to sister projects|link templates for sister-project content]] also usually go at the top of this section when it is present (otherwise in the last section on the page)
*The following final items never take section headings:
**Internal links organized into [[BattleTechWiki:Categories,_lists,_and_navigation_templates#Navigation_templates|navigational boxes]]
**[[BattleTechWiki:Stub sorting|Stub templates]], if needed
**[[BattleTechWiki:Authority control|Authority control]] metadata, if needed, using {{tlx|Authority control}} (distinguishes uses of the same name for two subjects, or multiple names for one subject)
**[[BattleTechWiki:Categorization|Categories]], which should be the very last material in the article's source code

[[BattleTechWiki:Stand-alone lists|Stand-alone list articles]] have some additional layout considerations.

===Section headings<span class="anchor" id="Section management"></span>===
{{Shortcut|MOS:HEAD|MOS:HEADINGS|MOS:SECTIONS|MOS:SECTIONHEAD}}
{{See also|Help:Section|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Headings|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Layout#Order of article elements|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Section headings}}

Section headings should generally follow the guidance for [[#Article titles|article titles]] (above), and should be presented in [[sentence case]] ({{xt|Funding of UNESCO projects in developing countries}}), not title case ({{!xt|Funding of UNESCO Projects in Developing Countries}}).

{{shortcut|MOS:BLANKLINE}}
{{Anchor|Blank line}}
The heading must be on its own line, with one blank line just before it; a blank line just ''after'' is optional and ignored (but do not use ''two'' blank lines, before or after, because that will add unwanted visible space).

{{Anchor|Section headings (technical best practice)}}For technical reasons, section headings should:
*{{Anchor|Section headings (necessary point 1)}}Be unique within a page, so that [[Template:Section link|section link]]s lead to the right place.
{{shortcut|MOS:NOSECTIONLINKS}}
*{{Anchor|Section headings (necessary point 2)}}Not contain [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Linking#Principles|link]]s, especially where only part of a heading is linked.
*{{Anchor|Section headings (necessary point 3)}}Not contain images or [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Icons#Encyclopedic purpose|icons]].
*{{Anchor|Section headings (necessary point 4)}}Not contain <[[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Mathematics#Typesetting of mathematical formulae|math]]> markup.
*{{Anchor|Section headings (necessary point 5)}}Not contain citations or footnotes.
*{{Anchor|Section headings (necessary point 6)}}Not misuse [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Lists#Description (definition, association) lists|description list]] markup ("<code>;</code>") to create [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Pseudo-headings|pseudo-headings]].
*{{Anchor|Section headings (necessary point 7)}}Not contain template transclusions.

{{Anchor|Section headings (main technical reason)}}These technical restrictions are necessary to avoid technical complications and are not subject to override by local consensus.

{{anchor|1=SECTIONSTYLE|2=Section headings (styling best practice)}}As a matter of consistent style, section headings should:
{{Shortcut|MOS:SECTIONSTYLE|MOS:NOBACKREF}}
*{{Anchor|Section headings (style point 1)}}Not redundantly refer back to the subject of the article, e.g., {{xt|Early life}}, not {{!xt|Smith's early life}} or {{!xt|His early life}}.
*{{Anchor|Section headings (style point 2)}}Not refer to a higher-level heading, unless doing so is shorter or clearer.
*{{Anchor|Section headings (style point 3)}}Not be numbered or lettered as an outline.
*{{Anchor|Section headings (style point 4)}}Not be phrased as a question, e.g., {{xt|Languages}}, not {{!xt|What languages are spoken in Mexico?}}.
*{{Anchor|Section headings (style point 5)}}Not use color or unusual fonts that might cause [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Headings|accessibility problems]].
*{{Anchor|Section headings (style point 6)}}Not be wrapped in [[Help:Wikitext|markup]], which may break their display and cause other accessibility issues.

{{Anchor|Section headings (main styling reason)}}These are broadly accepted community preferences.
{{Anchor|SECTIONCOMMENT|Section comment}}
{{short|MOS:SECTIONCOMMENT}}
An [[#Invisible comments|invisible comment]] on the same line must be {{em|inside}} the <code>==&nbsp;==</code> markup:
{{block indent|1=
{{xt|1=<code><nowiki>==Implications<!--This comment works fine.-->== </nowiki></code>}}<br />
{{xt|1=<code><nowiki>==<!--This comment works fine.-->Implications== </nowiki></code>}}<br />
{{!xt|1=<code><nowiki>==Implications==<!--This comment causes problems.--> </nowiki></code>}}<br />
{{!xt|1=<code><nowiki><!--This comment breaks the heading completely.-->==Implications== </nowiki></code>}}
}}
It is more usual practice to put such comments {{em|below}} the heading.

{{Anchor|SECTIONANCHOR|Section anchor}}
{{short|MOS:SECTIONANCHOR}}
<section begin="heading links" />Before changing a heading, consider whether you might be breaking existing links to it.<section end="heading links" /> If there are many [[Help:Link#To a section|links to the old title]], create an [[Help:Anchor|anchor]] with that title to ensure that these still work. Similarly, when linking to a section, leave an invisible comment at the heading of the target section, naming the linking articles, so that if the heading is later altered these can be fixed. For (a combined) example:
{{block indent|1=
{{xt|1=<code><nowiki>==Implications{{subst:</nowiki>[[Template:Anchor|Anchor]]<nowiki>|Consequences}}==</nowiki><br /><nowiki><!-- Section linked from [[Richard Dawkins]], [[Daniel Dennett]]. --></nowiki></code>}}
}}
which will be saved in the article as:
{{block indent|1=
{{xt|1=<code>==Implications{{code|1={{Anchor|Consequences}}}}==<br /><nowiki><!-- Section linked from [[Richard Dawkins]], [[Daniel Dennett]]. --></nowiki></code>}}
}}

The advantage of using <code><nowiki>{{subst:Anchor}}</nowiki></code>, or simply inserting the <code><nowiki><span></nowiki></code> tags directly, is that when edits are made to the section in the future, the anchor will not be included in page history entries as part of the section name. When <code><nowiki>{{Anchor}}</nowiki></code> is used directly, that undesirable behavior ''does'' occur. Note: if electing to insert the span directly, do not abbreviate it by using a self-closing tag, as in <code><nowiki>==Implications<span id="Consequences" />==</nowiki></code>, since in HTML5 that XML-style syntax is valid only for certain tags, such as {{nowrap |<code>&lt;br /></code>}}. See {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Linking|Avoiding broken section links}} for further discussion.

====Heading-like material====
The above guidance about sentence case, redundancy, images, and questions also applies to [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Tables#Captions and headers|headers of tables]] (and of table columns and rows). However, table headings can incorporate citations and may begin with, or be, numbers. Unlike page headings, table headers do not automatically generate link anchors. Aside from sentence case in glossaries, the heading advice also applies to the ''term'' entries in [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Lists#DLIST|description lists]]. If using [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Glossaries#Linking|template-structured glossaries]], terms will automatically have link anchors, but will not otherwise. Citations for description-list content go in the ''term'' or ''definition'' element, as needed.

==National varieties of English==
{{Shortcut|MOS:ENGVAR}}
{{see also|BattleTechWiki:Article titles#National varieties of English|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Spelling}}

National varieties of English (for example, [[American English]] or [[British English]]) differ in vocabulary (''elevator'' vs. ''lift''{{hairspace}}), spelling (''center'' vs. ''centre''), and occasionally grammar {{crossref|(see {{section link||Plurals}}, below)}}. Articles such as [[English plurals]] and [[Comparison of American and British English]] provide information about such differences. The English BattleTechWiki prefers no national variety over others.

An article's date formatting ({{xt|{{#time: F j, Y}}}} vs. {{xt|{{#time: j F Y}}}}) is also related to national varieties of English{{snd}}see [[MOS:DATEFORMAT]] and especially [[MOS:DATETIES]] and [[MOS:DATEVAR]].

===Consistency within articles<span class="anchor" id="Internal consistency"></span>===
{{Shortcut|MOS:ARTCON|MOS:CONSISTENT}}
{{hatnote|See also [[BattleTechWiki:Consistency]] for additional policies and guidelines on consistency.}}

{{em|Within a given article}} the conventions of one particular variety of English should be followed consistently. Exceptions include:
*'''Quotations, titles of works (books, films, etc.)''' should be as given in the source (but see {{section link||Typographic conformity}}, below);
*'''Proper names''' use the subject's own spelling, e.g., {{xt|joint project of the United States Department of Defense and the Australian Defence Force}}; {{xt|International Labour Organization}}<!--This example is here because it uses -our and -ization at the same time; it is Oxford spelling.-->;
*For articles about '''chemistry'''-related topics, the international standard spellings {{xt|aluminium}}, {{xt|sulfur}}, {{xt|caesium}} (and derivative terms) should be used, regardless of the national English variant employed in the article generally. See {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (chemistry)|Element names}}.

===Opportunities for commonality===
{{shortcut|MOS:COMMONALITY}}

For an international encyclopedia, using vocabulary common to all varieties of English is preferable.
*Use universally accepted terms rather than those less widely distributed, especially in titles. For example, [[Glasses|{{xt|glasses}}]] is preferred to the national varieties {{!xt|spectacles}} ([[British English]]) and {{!xt|eyeglasses}} ([[American English]]); [[Ten million|{{xt|ten million}}]] is preferable to [[crore|{{!xt|one crore}}]] ([[Indian English]]).
*If a variant spelling appears in a title, make a [[BattleTechWiki:Redirect|redirect]] page to accommodate the others, as with [[artefact]] and [[artifact]], so that all variants can be used in searches and linking.
*Terms that differ between varieties of English, or that have divergent meanings, may be [[Gloss (annotation)#In linguistics|glossed]] to prevent confusion, for example, {{xt|the trunk (American English) or boot (British English) of a car&nbsp;...}}.
*Use a commonly understood word or phrase in preference to one that has a different meaning because of national differences (rather than {{!xt|alternate}}, use {{xt|alternative}} or {{xt|alternating}}, as appropriate), except in technical contexts where such substitution would be inappropriate ({{xt|alternate leaves}}; {{xt|alternate law}}).
*When more than one variant spelling exists within a national variety of English, the most commonly used current variant should usually be preferred, except where the less common spelling has a specific usage in a specialized context, e.g., ''connexion'' in [[Connexionalism|Methodist connexionalism]].

{{crossref|printworthy=y|For assistance with specific terms, see {{section link|Comparison of American and British English|Vocabulary}}, and [[American and British English spelling differences]]; most dictionaries also indicate regional terms.}}

===Strong national ties to a topic===
{{Shortcut|MOS:TIES}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Strong national ties to a topic|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Unit choice and order}}

An article on a topic that has strong ties to a particular English-speaking nation should use the (formal, not colloquial) English of that nation. For example:
<!--
Please DO NOT add more examples here. This is not a list of English dialects.
ENGVAR is concerned with English varieties that exist in a codified, formal written register with their own style guides.
-->
{{Columns-list|colwidth=22em|
*[[Afrikaners]] ([[South African English]])
*[[American Civil War]] ([[American English]])
*[[Australian Defence Force]] ([[Australian English]])
*[[Christchurch]] ([[New Zealand English]])
*[[Dublin]] ([[Hiberno-English]])
*[[Great Fire of London]] ([[British English]])
*[[Lagos]] ([[Nigerian English]])
*[[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] ([[Pakistani English]])
*[[Mumbai]] ([[Indian English]])
*[[Vancouver]] ([[Canadian English]])
*[[Wanchai Tower]] ([[Hong Kong English]])
}}

For topics with strong ties to [[Commonwealth of Nations]] countries and other [[British Empire|former British territories]], use [[Commonwealth English]] orthography, largely indistinguishable from British English in encyclopedic writing (excepting Canada, which uses [[Canadian English#Spelling|a different orthography]]).

===Retaining the existing variety===
{{Shortcut|MOS:RETAIN}}
{{See also|#Retaining existing styles|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Retaining the existing format}}
{{redirect|BTW:RETAIN|the general editing policy|BTW:PRESERVE|the title policy|BTW:TITLEVAR}}

When an English variety's [[#Consistency within articles|consistent usage]] has been established in an article, maintain it in the absence of consensus to the contrary. With few exceptions (e.g., when a topic has [[#Strong national ties to a topic|strong national ties]] or the change reduces ambiguity), there is no valid reason for changing from one acceptable option to another.

{{anchor|FPSR|FMC}}When no English variety has been established and discussion does not resolve the issue, use the variety found in the first post-[[BattleTechWiki:Stub|stub]] revision that introduced an identifiable variety. The established variety in a given article can be documented by placing the appropriate [[:Category:Varieties of English templates|variety of English template]] on its talk page.

An article should not be edited or renamed simply to switch from one variety of English to another. {{tlxs|uw-engvar}} may be placed on an editor's talk page to explain this.

==Capital letters==
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters}}

BattleTechWiki article titles and section headings use sentence case, not title case; see [[BattleTechWiki:Article titles]] and {{section link||Section headings}}. For capitalization of list items, see {{section link||Bulleted and numbered lists}}. Other points concerning capitalization are summarized below. Full information can be found at [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters]]. The central point is that BattleTechWiki does not capitalize something unless it is consistently capitalized in a substantial majority of independent, [[BattleTechWiki:Reliable sources|reliable sources]].

===Capitalization of ''The''===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Capitalization of The}}

Generally, do not capitalize the word ''the'' in mid-sentence: {{xt|throughout the United Kingdom}}, not {{!xt|throughout The United Kingdom}}. Conventional exceptions include certain proper names ({{xt|he visited The Hague}}) and most titles of creative works ({{xt|Tolkien wrote ''The Lord of the Rings''}}{{snd}}but be aware that ''the'' may not be part of the title itself, e.g., {{xt|Homer composed the ''Odyssey''}}).

There are special considerations for: [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Music#Names (definite article)|band names]] &middot;&nbsp;[[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Institutions|institution names]] &middot;&nbsp;[[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Biography#NICKNAMETHE|nicknames]] &middot;&nbsp;[[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Titles#Indefinite and definite articles|titles of works]] &middot;&nbsp;[[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Trademarks#TMTHE|trademarks]].

===Titles of works<span id="Capitalization-Titles"></span>===
{{main|BTW:Manual of Style/Titles of works}}

The English-language titles of compositions (books and other print works, songs and other audio works, films and other visual media works, paintings and other artworks, etc.) are given in {{em|[[title case]]}}, in which every word is given an initial capital except for certain less important words (as detailed at {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters|Composition titles}}). The first and last words in an English-language title are always capitalized.
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|''An Eye for an Eye''}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|''Worth the Fighting For''}}

Capitalization in foreign-language titles varies, even over time within the same language; generally, retain the style of the original for modern works, and follow the usage in current English-language reliable sources for historical works. When written in the Latin alphabet, many of these items should also be in [[#Italics|italics]], or enclosed in [[#Names and titles|quotation marks]].
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|Les Liaisons dangereuses}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|"Hymnus an den heiligen Geist"}}

===Titles of people===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Biography#Titles of people}}
*'''In generic use''', use lower case for words such as ''president'', ''king'', and ''emperor'' ({{xt|De Gaulle was a French president}}; {{xt|Louis XVI was a French king}}; {{xt|Three prime ministers attended the conference}}).
*'''Directly before the person's name''', such words begin with a capital letter ({{xt|President Obama}}, not {{!xt|president Obama}}). Standard or commonly used names of an office are treated as proper names ({{xt|David Cameron was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom}}; {{xt|Hirohito was Emperor of Japan}}; {{xt|Louis XVI was King of France}}). Royal styles take capitals ({{xt|Her Majesty}}; {{xt|His Highness}}); exceptions may apply for particular offices.

===Religions, deities, philosophies, doctrines===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Religions, deities, philosophies, doctrines, and their adherents}}
{{see|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Religion}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Titles#Religious texts}}
*'''Religions, sects, and churches''' and their followers (in noun or adjective form) start with a capital letter. Generally, "the" is not capitalized before such names ({{xt|the Unitarians}}, not {{!xt|The Unitarians}}).
*'''[[Religious text]]s''' are capitalized, but often not italicized ({{xt|the Bhagavad Gita}}, {{xt|the Quran}}, {{xt|the Talmud}}, {{xt|the Granth Sahib}}, {{xt|the Bible}}). Do not capitalize "the" when using it in this way. Some derived adjectives are capitalized by convention, and some are not ({{xt|biblical}}, but {{xt|Quranic}}); if unsure, check a dictionary.
*'''[[Honorific]]s for deities''', including proper names and titles, start with a capital letter ({{xt|God}}, {{xt|Allah}}, {{xt|the Lord}}, {{xt|the Supreme Being}}, {{xt|the Great Spirit}}, {{xt|the Horned One}}, {{xt|Bhagavan}}). Do not capitalize "the" in such cases or when referring to major religious figures or characters from mythology ({{xt|the Prophet}}, {{xt|the Messiah}}, {{xt|the Virgin}}). Common nouns for deities and religious figures are not capitalized ({{xt|many gods}}; {{xt|the god Woden}}; {{xt|saints and prophets}}).
*'''Pronouns for figures of veneration or worship''' are not capitalized, even if capitalized in a religion's scriptures ({{xt|God and his will}}).
*'''Broad categories of mythical or legendary beings''' start with lower-case letters ({{xt|elf}}, {{xt|fairy}}, {{xt|nymph}}, {{xt|unicorn}}, {{xt|angel}}), although in works of fantasy, such as the novels of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] and some video games, initial capitals are sometimes used to indicate that the beings form a culture or race in a [[fictional universe]]. Capitalize the names or titles of individual creatures ({{xt|the Minotaur}}, {{xt|Pegasus}}) and of groups whose name and membership are fixed ({{xt|the Magi, or the Three Wise Men}}, {{xt|the Furies}}). Generalized references are not capitalized ({{xt|these priests}}; {{xt|several wise men}}; {{xt|cherub-like}}).
*'''Spiritual or religious events''' are capitalized only when referring to specific incidents or periods ({{xt|the Great Flood}} and {{xt|the Exodus}}; but {{xt|annual flooding}} and {{xt|an exodus of refugees}}).
*'''Philosophies, theories, movements, and doctrines''' use lower case unless the name derives from a proper name ({{xt|capitalism versus Marxism}}) or has become a proper name ({{xt|republican}}, a system of political thought; {{xt|Republican}}, a political party). Use lower case for doctrinal topics or canonical religious ideas (as opposed to specific events), even if they are capitalized by some religious adherents ({{xt|virgin birth}}, {{xt|original sin}}, {{xt|transubstantiation}}).
*'''[[Platonic idealism|Platonic]] or transcendent ideals''' are capitalized in the context of philosophical doctrine ({{xt|Truth}}, {{xt|the Good}}); used more broadly, they are in lower case ({{xt|Superman represents American ideals of truth and justice}}). Use capitals for personifications represented in art ({{xt|the guidebook mentioned statues of Justice and Liberty}}).
*{{anchor|Eponyms|EPONYM|EPONYMS}}'''[[Eponym]]s''' are capitalized ([[Edwardian era|{{xt|Edwardian}}]], [[De Morgan's laws|{{xt|De Morgan's laws}}]], [[Alice in Wonderland syndrome|{{xt|Alice in Wonderland syndrome}}]], [[Plaster of Paris|{{xt|plaster of Paris}}]], [[Platonic idealism|{{xt|Platonic idealism}}]], [[Draconian constitution|{{xt|Draconian constitution of Athens}}]]), except in idiomatic uses disconnected from the original context and usually lower-cased in sources ([[Platonic relationship|{{xt|a platonic relationship}}]]; {{xt|complained of draconian workplace policies}}). An entire phrase in which an eponym is an adjective [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Religions, deities, philosophies, doctrines, and their adherents|is not capitalized]] except when the phrase is itself a proper name (e.g., the [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Titles|title of a published work]]: [[The China Syndrome|{{xt|''The China Syndrome''}}]]).

===Calendar items===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Calendar items}}
*'''Months, days of the week, and holidays''' start with a capital letter ({{xt|June}}, {{xt|Monday}}; {{xt|the Fourth of July}} refers only to the US Independence Day{{snd}}otherwise {{xt|July 4}} or {{xt|4 July}}).
*'''Seasons''' are in lower case ({{xt|her last summer}}; {{xt|the winter solstice}}; {{xt|spring fever}}), except in personifications or in proper names for periods or events ({{xt|Old Man Winter}}; {{xt|competed on the Spring Circuit}}).

{{Anchor|People, animals, plants, and other organisms}}<!-- It is unlikely this was used much, and the phrase can simply be searched for and replaced. -->

===Animals, plants, and other organisms===
{{Shortcut|MOS:LIFE}}
{{Hatnote|For more detail on capitalization, see {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters|Animals, plants, and other organisms}}; on italicization, {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting|Italic face}}. See also {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Lead section|Organisms}} for handling of first sentence. See [[BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (fauna)]] and [[BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (flora)]] for article title guidelines.}}

When using '''[[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic ("scientific") names]]''', capitalize and italicize the genus: {{xt|''Berberis''}}, {{xt|''Erithacus''}}. (Supergenus and subgenus, when applicable, are treated the same way.) Italicize but do not capitalize taxonomic ranks at the level of species and below: {{xt|''Berberis darwinii''}}, {{xt|''Erithacus rubecula superbus''}}, {{xt|''Acacia coriacea'' subsp. ''sericophylla''}}; no exception is made for proper names forming part of scientific names. Higher taxa (order, family, etc.) are capitalized in Latin ({{xt|Carnivora}}, {{xt|Felidae}}) but not in their English equivalents ({{xt|carnivorans}}, {{xt|felids}}); they are not italicized in either form, except for viruses, where all names accepted by the [[International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses|ICTV]] are italicized ({{xt|''Retroviridae''}}).

'''[[Cultivar]]''' and '''[[cultivar group]]''' names of plants are not italicized, and are capitalized (including the word ''Group'' in the name); cultivar names appear within single quotes ({{xt|''Malus domestica'' 'Red Delicious'}}), while cultivar groups do not ({{xt|''Cynara cardunculus'' Scolymus Group}}).

'''English [[Common name|vernacular ("common") names]]''' are given in lower case in article prose ([[Plains zebra|{{xt|plains zebra}}]]<!-- animal species -->, [[Mountain maple|{{xt|mountain&nbsp;maple}}]]<!-- plant species -->, and [[Southwestern red-tailed hawk|{{xt|southwestern red-tailed hawk}}]]<!-- bird subspecies -->) and in sentence case at the start of sentences and in other places where the first letter of the first word is capitalized. They are additionally capitalized where they contain proper names: [[Przewalski's horse|{{xt|Przewalski's&nbsp;horse}}]]<!-- eponym -->, [[California condor|{{xt|California&nbsp;condor}}]]<!-- typical geonym -->, and [[Fair-maid-of-France|{{xt|fair-maid-of-France}}]]<!-- unusual but important illustrative case -->. This applies to species and subspecies, as in the previous examples, as well as to general names for groups or types of organism: [[Bird of prey|{{xt|bird&nbsp;of&nbsp;prey}}]]<!-- cross-order ecological niche -->, [[Oak|{{xt|oak}}]]<!-- plant family -->, [[Great apes|{{xt|great&nbsp;apes}}]]<!-- animal family -->, [[Bryde's whales|{{xt|Bryde's&nbsp;whales}}]]<!-- species group -->, [[Livestock guardian dog|{{xt|livestock&nbsp;guardian&nbsp;dog}}]]<!-- domestic type -->, [[Poodle|{{xt|poodle}}]]<!-- domestic breed group but not a breed -->, [[Van cat|{{xt|Van&nbsp;cat}}]]<!-- domestic geographic landrace -->, [[Wolfdog|{{xt|wolfdog}}]]<!-- hybrid/crossbreed/mongrel not recognized as a standardized breed -->. When the common name coincides with a scientific taxon, do not capitalize or italicize, except where addressing the organism taxonomically: {{xt|A lynx is any of the four medium-sized wild cat species within the genus ''Lynx''.}} Non-English vernacular names, when relevant to include, are handled like any other foreign-language terms: italicized as such, and capitalized only if the rules of the native language require it. Non-English names that have become English-assimilated are treated as English ([[Ayahuasca|{{xt|ayahuasca}}]], [[Okapi|{{xt|okapi}}]]).

Create [[BattleTechWiki:Redirect|redirects]] from alternative capitalization and spelling forms of article titles, and from alternative names, e.g., [[Adélie Penguin]], [[Adelie penguin]], [[Adelie Penguin]] and ''[[Pygoscelis adeliae]]'' should all redirect to [[Adélie penguin]].

===Celestial bodies===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Celestial bodies}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (astronomical objects)}}
The words ''sun'', ''earth'', ''moon'' and ''solar system'' do not take capitals in general use ({{xt|The sun was over the mountain top}}; {{xt|The tribal people thought of the whole earth as their home}}). They are capitalized when the entity is personified ({{xt|Sol Invictus ('Unconquered Sun') was the Roman sun god}}) or when used as the name of a specific body in a scientific or astronomical context ({{xt|The Moon orbits the Earth}}; but {{xt|Io is a moon of Jupiter}}).

Names of planets, moons, asteroids, comets, stars, constellations, and galaxies are proper names, and therefore capitalized ({{xt|The planet Mars is in the constellation Gemini, near the star Pollux}}). The first letter of every word in such a name is capitalized ({{xt|Alpha Centauri}} and not {{!xt|Alpha centauri}}; {{xt|Milky Way}}, not {{!xt|Milky way}}). Words such as ''comet'' and ''galaxy'' should be capitalized when they form part of a proper name, but not when they are used as a generic term ({{xt|Halley's Comet is the most famous of the comets}}; {{xt|The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy}}).

===Compass points<span class="anchor" id="Compass"></span>===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Compass points}}

Do not capitalize '''directions''' such as ''north'', or their related forms ({{xt|We took the northern road}}), except where they are parts of proper names ({{xt|Great North Road}}, {{xt|Great Western Drive}}, {{xt|South Pole}}).

Capitalize '''names of regions''' if they have attained proper-name status, including informal conventional names ({{xt|Southern California}}; {{xt|the Western Desert}}), and derived terms for people (e.g., a ''Southerner'' as someone from the [[Southern United States]]). Do not capitalize descriptive names for regions that have not attained the status of proper names, such as {{xt|southern Poland}}.

Composite directions may or may not be hyphenated, depending on the [[#National varieties of English|variety of English adopted]] in the article. {{xt|Southeast Asia}} and {{xt|northwest}} are more common in American English; but {{xt|South-East Asia}} and {{xt|north-west}} in British English. In cases such as {{xt|north–south dialogue}} and {{xt|east–west orientation}}, use an en dash; see {{section link||En dashes: other uses}}.

===Proper names versus generic terms<span id="Institutions"></span>===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Institutions|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Capitalization of ''The''}}

Capitalize names of particular institutions ({{xt|the founding of the University of Delhi}};{{nbsp}} {{xt|the history of Stanford University}}) but not generic words for institutions ({{xt|the high school is near the university}}). Do not capitalize ''the'' at the start of an institution's name, regardless of the institution's preferred style. There are rare exceptions, when a leading ''The'' is represented by a ''T'' in the organization's acronym: {{xt|The International Cat Association (TICA)}}.

Treat political or geographic units similarly: {{xt|The city has a population of 55,000}};{{nbsp}} {{xt|The two towns merged to become the City of Smithville}}. Do not mimic the style of local newspapers which refer to their municipality as ''the City'' or ''The City''; an exception is the [[City of London]], referred to as {{xt|the City}} in a context that already makes the subject clear, as distinct from [[London]] and [[Greater London]]. When in doubt, use the full name for [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility|accessibility]] reasons; users of text-to-speech systems usually cannot hear a difference between ''city'' and ''City''.

==Ligatures==
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (use English)#Modified letters}}
{{Shortcut|MOS:LIGATURE}}

[[Typographic ligature|Ligatures]] should be used in languages in which they are standard (hence {{xt|Moreau's last words were ''clin d'œil''}} is preferable to {{xt|Moreau's last words were ''clin d'oeil''}}) but not in English ({{xt|encyclopedia}} or {{xt|encyclopaedia}}, not {{!xt|encyclopædia}}), except in proper names ({{xt|Æthelstan}}, not {{!xt|Aethelstan}}).

==Abbreviations<span class="anchor" id="Acronyms and abbreviations"></span><span class="anchor" id="Acronyms"></span><span class="anchor" id="Initialisms"></span><span class="anchor" id="Shortenings"></span>==
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Abbreviations}}
{{see also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Biography#Initials}}

Abbreviations are shortened forms of words or phrases. In strict analysis, they are distinct from [[Contraction (grammar)|contractions]], which use an [[apostrophe]] (e.g., ''won't'', see {{Section link||Contractions}}), and [[initialism]]s. An initialism is formed from some or all of the initial letters of words in a phrase. Below, references to abbreviations should be taken to include acronyms, and the term ''acronym'' to apply also to initialisms.

===Write first occurrences in full===
{{Shortcut|MOS:1STOCC|MOS:1STABBR}}

When an abbreviation will be used in an article, first introduce it using the full expression:
{{Block indent|{{xt|an early local area network (LAN) developed by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC){{nbsp}}... DEC's later LAN products were{{nbsp}}...}}}}

Do not use capitals in the full version merely because capitals are used in the abbreviation: {{!xt|an early Local Area Network (LAN)}}.

Except in special circumstances, common abbreviations (such as {{xt|PhD}}, {{xt|DNA}}, {{xt|USSR}}) need not be expanded even on first use.

===Plural forms===
Pluralize [[acronyms]] by adding ''-s'' or ''-es'': {{xt|Three CD-ROMs and two BIOSes were released}}. (Do not [[Apostrophe#Abbreviations|use apostrophes to form plurals]]: {{!xt|Three CD-ROM's and two BIOS's were released}}.)

===Punctuation and spacing<span class="anchor" id="Periods (full stops) and spaces"></span><span class="anchor" id="Full stops and spaces"></span><span class="anchor" id="op.cit."></span>===
An abbreviation may or may not be terminated with a full point (also called a ''period'' or ''full stop''). A consistent style should be maintained within an article. North American usage is typically to end all abbreviations with a period/point ({{xt|Dr. Smith of 42&nbsp;Drummond St.}}) but in common British and Australian usage, no period/point is used if the abbreviation (contraction) ends in the last letter of the unabbreviated form ({{xt|Dr Smith of 42&nbsp;Drummond St}}) unless confusion could result. This is also common practice in scientific writing. Regardless of punctuation, words that are abbreviated to more than one letter are spaced ({{xt|op.&nbsp;cit.}} not {{!xt|op.cit.}} or {{!xt|opcit}}). There are some exceptions: {{xt|PhD}} {{crossref|(see above)}} for "Philosophiae Doctor"; {{xt|BVetMed}} for "Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine". In most situations, BattleTechWiki uses no such punctuation inside acronyms and initialisms: {{xt|GDP}}, not {{!xt|G.D.P.}}

===US and U.S.<span class="anchor" id="US"></span><span class="anchor" id="U.S."></span><span class="anchor" id="USA"></span><span class="anchor" id="U.S.A."></span>===
{{redirect|MOS:US|the use of the word "us"|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style#First-person pronouns}}
{{Shortcut|MOS:US|MOS:USA|MOS:NOTUSA}}
{{xt|US}} is a commonly used abbreviation for {{xt|United States}}, although {{xtn|U.S.}} – with periods and without a space – remains common in North American publications, including in news journalism.  Multiple American style guides, including ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'' (since 2010), now deprecate "U.S." and recommend "US".

For [[#Opportunities for commonality|commonality]] reasons, use {{xt|US}} by default when abbreviating, but [[#Retaining existing styles|retain]] {{xtn|U.S.}} in American or Canadian English articles in which it is already established, unless there is a good reason to change it. Because use of periods for abbreviations and acronyms should be consistent within any given article, use {{xt|US}} in an article with other country abbreviations, and especially avoid constructions like {{!xt|the U.S. and the UK}}. In longer abbreviations that incorporate the country's initials ({{xt|USN}}, {{xt|USAF}}), never use periods. When the United States is mentioned with one or more other countries in the same sentence, {{xt|US}} (or {{xtn|U.S.}}) may be too informal, especially at the first mention or as a noun instead of an adjective ({{xt|France and the United States}}, not {{!xt|France and the US}}). Do not use the spaced {{!xt|U.&nbsp;S.}} or the archaic {{!xt|U.S.&nbsp;of&nbsp;A.}}, except when quoting. Do not use {{!xt|U.S.A.}} or {{!xt|USA}} except in a quotation, as part of a proper name ({{xt|Team USA}}), or in certain technical and formal uses (e.g., the [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-3]], [[FIFA country codes|FIFA]], and [[List of IOC country codes|IOC country codes]]).

===Circa===
{{Hatnote|See also: {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers|Uncertain, incomplete, or approximate dates}} for examples.}}

To indicate ''approximately'', the use of {{tlx|circa}}, showing as {{xt|1={{circa}}}}, is preferred over circa, c., ca., or approx.

===Avoid unwarranted use===
<span class="anchor" id="unwarranted abbreviations"></span>
{{Hatnote|See also: {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers|Units of measurement}} for when to abbreviate units of measurement.}}

Avoid abbreviations when they might confuse the reader, interrupt the flow, or appear informal. For example:
*Do not use {{!xt|approx.}} for {{xt|approximate(ly)}} except in an infobox or table (in which case use {{tlx|abbr|approx.|approximately}} at first occurrence: {{xt|{{abbr|approx.|approximately}}}}).
*Do not use the legalism {{!xt|Smith J}} for {{xt|Justice Smith}}. <!-- this might be better in [[BTW:JARGON]] -->

===Do not invent===
Avoid devising [[BattleTechWiki:BattleTechWiki is not a dictionary#Neologisms|new abbreviations]], especially acronyms. For example, {{xtn|World Union of Billiards}} is good as a {{em|translation}} of {{xt|[[Union Mondiale de Billard]]}}, but neither it nor the reduction {{!xt|WUB}} is used by the organization or by independent sources; use the original name and its official abbreviation, {{xt|UMB}}.

If it is necessary to abbreviate in a tight space, such as a [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Tables#Captions and headers|column header in a table]], use widely recognized abbreviations. For example, for {{xt|New Zealand gross national product}}, use {{xt|NZ}} and {{xt|GNP}}, with a link if the term has not already been written out in the article: {{xt|NZ&nbsp;[[Measures of national income and output|GNP]]}}. Do not make up initialisms such as {{!xt|NZGNP}}.

===HTML tags and templates===
Either {{tag|abbr|o}} or {{tlx|abbr}} can be used for abbreviations and acronyms: {{tag|abbr|params=title="World Health Organization"|content=WHO|wrap=yes}} or {{tlx|abbr|WHO|World Health Organization}} will generate {{abbr|WHO|World Health Organization}}; [[mouseover|hovering]] over the rendered text causes a [[tooltip]] of the long form to pop up.

===Ampersand===
{{Shortcut|MOS:AMP|MOS:&}}

In normal text and headings, use ''and'' instead of the [[ampersand]] (''&''): {{xt|January 1&nbsp;and&nbsp;2}}, not {{!xt|January 1&nbsp;&&nbsp;2}}. But retain an ampersand when it is a legitimate part of the style of a proper noun, the title of a work, or a trademark, such as in ''[[Up & Down (album)|Up&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Down]]'' or [[AT&T]]. Elsewhere, ampersands may be used with consistency and discretion where space is extremely limited (e.g., tables and infoboxes). Quotations [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style#Typographic conformity|may be cautiously modified]], especially for consistency where different editions are quoted, as modern editions of old texts routinely replace ampersands with ''and'' (just as they replace other disused [[glyph]]s, [[Typographic ligature|ligatures]], and abbreviations). Another frequent permissible but not required use is in short bibliographic references to works by multiple authors, e.g.: {{xt|<nowiki><ref>Lubbers & Scheepers (2002); Van Hiel & Mervielde (2002); Swyngedouw & Giles (2007); Van Hiel (2012).</ref></nowiki>}}.

==Italics==
{{Shortcut|MOS:IT|MOS:ITAL}}
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Italic type}}

===Emphasis<span id="Do not use capitals for emphasis"></span>===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Emphasis}}

Italics are used for emphasis, rather than [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Boldface|boldface]] or [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters#All caps and small caps|capitals]]. But overuse diminishes its effect; consider rewriting instead.

Use {{tag|em}} or {{tlx|em|...}} for emphasis. This allows [[Help:User style|user style sheets]] to handle emphasis in a customized way, and helps reusers and translators.
*Correct: <code>{{mxt|<nowiki>The meerkat is <em>not</em> actually a cat.</nowiki>}}</code>
*Correct: <code>{{mxt|<nowiki>The meerkat is {{em|not}} actually a cat.</nowiki>}}</code>

===Titles<span id="Italics-Titles"></span>===
{{/titles hatnote include|where=MOS#I-T}}
{{shortcut|MOS:NOITALIC}}
Use italics for the titles of works (such as books, films, television series, named exhibitions, computer games, music albums, and artworks). The titles of articles, chapters, songs, episodes, storylines, research papers and other short works instead take double quotation marks.

Italics are not used for major religious works ({{xt|the Bible}}, {{xt|the Quran}}, {{xt|the Talmud}}).
Many of these titles should also be in [[#Titles of works|title case]].

===Words as words===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Words as words}}
{{for|the policy when a word or phrase itself may be an encyclopedic subject|BTW:WORDISSUBJECT}}

Use italics when {{em|mentioning}} a word or character {{crossref|(see [[Use–mention distinction]])}} or a string of words up to one sentence ({{xt|the term ''panning'' is derived from ''panorama''}}; {{xt|the most common letter in English is ''e''}}). When a whole sentence is mentioned, double quotation marks may be used instead, with consistency ({{xt|The preposition in ''She sat on the chair'' is ''on''}}; or {{xt|The preposition in "She sat on the chair" is "on"}}). Quotation marks may also be used for shorter material to avoid confusion, such as when italics are already heavily used in the page for another purpose (e.g., for many non-English words and phrases). {{em|Mentioning}} (to discuss grammar, wording, punctuation, etc.) is different from {{em|quoting}} (in which something is usually expressed on behalf of a quoted source). Quotation is done with quotation marks, never italics, nor both at once {{crossref|(see {{section link||Quotations}} for details).}}

A closely related use of italics is when introducing or distinguishing terms: {{xt|The ''natural numbers'' are the integers greater than 0.}}

===Foreign words===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Foreign terms}}
Italics is indicated for phrases in other languages and for isolated foreign words that are not common in everyday English. However, proper names (such as place names) in other languages are not usually italicized, nor are terms in non-Latin scripts. The {{tlx|lang}} template and its variants support all [[ISO 639]] language codes, correctly identifying the language and automatically italicizing for you. Please use these templates rather than just manually italicizing non-English material. {{Crossref|(See {{section link|BTW:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Other languages}} for more information.)}}

===Scientific names===
Use italics for the scientific names of plants, animals, and [[Kingdom (biology)|all other organisms]] except viruses at the [[genus]] level and below (italicize {{xt|''Panthera leo''}} and {{xt|''Retroviridae''}}, but not {{xt|Felidae}}). The hybrid sign is not italicized ({{xt|''Rosa''&nbsp;×&nbsp;''damascena''}}), nor is the "connecting term" required in [[Trinomial nomenclature#In botany|three-part botanical names]] ({{xt|''Rosa gallica'' subsp. ''officinalis''}}).

===Quotations in italics<span id="Italics and quotations"></span>===
{{Shortcut|MOS:ITALQUOTE}}{{See also|#Quotations}}

Do not use italics for quotations. Instead, use quotation marks for short quotations and [[#Block quotations|block quoting]] for long ones.

===Italics within quotations===
Use italics within quotations to reproduce emphasis that exists in the source material. If it is not clear that the source already included italics (or some other styling) for emphasis, add the editorial note {{xt|[emphasis in original]}} after the quotation.

If adding emphasis that was not in the original, add the editorial note {{xt|[emphasis added]}} after the quotation.
*{{xt|"Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince: And {{em|flights of angels}} sing thee to thy rest." [emphasis added]}}

===Effect on nearby punctuation===
{{Shortcut|MOS:ITALPUNCT}}

Italicize only the elements of the sentence affected by the emphasis. Do not italicize surrounding punctuation.
*{{em|Incorrect:}} {{!xt|What are we to make of {{em|that?}}}} (The question mark applies to the whole sentence, not just to the emphasized ''that'', so it should not be italicized.)
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|What are we to make of {{em|that}}?}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|Four of Patrick White's most famous novels are ''A Fringe of Leaves'', ''The Aunt's Story'', ''Voss'', and ''The Tree of Man''.}} (The commas, the period, and the word ''and'' are not italicized.)

==Quotations==
{{See|BattleTechWiki:Do not include the full text of lengthy primary sources}}
{{for|the essay|BattleTechWiki:Quotations}}
{{Redirects here|MOS:QUOTE|the section on quotation characters|MOS:CURLY}}
{{Shortcut|MOS:QUOT|MOS:QUOTE|MOS:QUOTATIONS}}

[[BattleTechWiki:Non-free content#Guideline examples|Brief quotations of copyrighted text]] may be used to illustrate a point, establish context, or attribute a point of view or idea. While quotations are an indispensable part of BattleTechWiki, try not to overuse them. Using too many quotes is incompatible with an encyclopedic writing style and may be [[BattleTechWiki:Copyrights|copyright infringement]], and so most of the content should be in the editor's own words. Consider paraphrasing quotations into plain and concise text when appropriate (while being aware that [[BattleTechWiki:Close paraphrasing|close paraphrasing]] can still violate copyright). [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Quotations|It is incorrect to put quotations in italics]] unless the material would be italicized for some other reason.

===Original wording===
<span class="anchor" id="Principle of minimal change"></span><span class="anchor" id="Minimal change"></span><span class="anchor" id="PMC"></span><span class="anchor" id="PLC"></span><span class="anchor" id="MINIMALCHANGE"></span><span class="anchor" id="MINCHANGE"></span><span class="anchor" id="LEASTCHANGE"></span>
{{Redirect|BTW:PMC|closure of requested moves by page movers|BattleTechWiki:Requested moves/Closing instructions#Closure by a page mover}}
{{Redirect|BTW:PLC|inclusion guidelines for organizations|BattleTechWiki:Notability (organizations and companies)|the handling of the abbreviation "plc" in article titles|BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (companies)}}
{{Shortcut|MOS:PMC|MOS:SIC|MOS:TYPOFIX}}

Quotations must be [[BattleTechWiki:Verifiability|verifiably]] attributed, and the wording of the quoted text must be faithfully reproduced. This is referred to as the {{strong|principle of minimal change}}. Where there is good reason to change the wording, bracket the changed text; for example, {{!xt|"Ocyrhoe told him his fate"}} might be quoted as {{xt|"Ocyrhoe told [her father] his fate"}}. If there is a significant error in the original, follow it with {{tlx|sic}} (producing {{xt|{{sic}}}}{{hsp}}) to show that the error was not made by BattleTechWiki. <!-- IF EDITING THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE, PLEASE UPDATE THE DOCUMENTATION AT [[Template:Sic/doc]] ACCORDINGLY --> However, insignificant spelling and typographic errors should simply be silently corrected (for example, correct {{!xt|basicly}} to {{xt|basically}}).

Use [[#Ellipses|ellipses]] to indicate omissions from quoted text. Legitimate omissions include extraneous, irrelevant, or parenthetical words, and unintelligible speech ({{!xt|umm}} and {{!xt|hmm}}), but do not omit text where doing so would remove important context or alter the meaning of the text. Vulgarities and obscenities should be shown exactly as they appear in the quoted source; BattleTechWikins should [[BattleTechWiki:Offensive material#How to treat offensive material in articles|never bowdlerize words]] ({{!xt|G-d d--m it!}}), but if the text being quoted ''itself'' does so, copy the text verbatim and use {{tlx|sic}} to indicate that the text is quoted as shown in the source.

In direct quotations, retain dialectal and archaic spellings, including capitalization (but not archaic glyphs and ligatures, as detailed below in {{slink||Typographic conformity}}).

===Point of view<span class="anchor" id="Quotation point of view"></span>===
{{Shortcut|MOS:QUOTEPOV}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Neutral point of view#Attributing and specifying biased statements|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Expressions of doubt}}

Quotation should be used, with attribution, to present emotive opinions that cannot be expressed in BattleTechWiki's own voice, but never to present cultural norms as simply opinional:

*Acceptable: {{xt|Siskel and Ebert called the film "unforgettable".}}
*Unacceptable: {{!xt|The site is considered "sacred" by the religion's scriptures.}}

Concise opinions that are not overly emotive can often be reported with attribution instead of direct quotation. Use of quotation marks around simple descriptive terms can [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Expressions of doubt|imply something doubtful]] regarding the material being quoted; sarcasm or [[weasel words]] such as ''supposedly'' or ''so-called'', might be inferred.

*Permissible: {{xt|Siskel and Ebert called the film interesting.}}
*Unnecessary and may imply doubt: {{!xt|Siskel and Ebert called the film "interesting".}}
*Should be quoted: {{xt|Siskel and Ebert called the film "interesting but heart-wrenching".}}

===Typographic conformity===
{{Shortcut|MOS:CONFORM}}

A quotation is not a [[wikt:facsimile|facsimile]] and, in most cases, it is not a requirement that the original formatting be preserved. Formatting and other purely typographical elements of quoted text should be adapted to English BattleTechWiki's conventions without comment, provided that doing so will not change or obscure meaning or intent of the text. These are alterations which make no difference when the text is read aloud, for example:

*Normalize dashes and hyphens: see {{Section link||Dashes}}. Use the style chosen for the article: unspaced [[em dash]] or spaced [[en dash]].
*Convert apostrophes and quotation marks to BattleTechWiki's style:
**These should be straight, not curly or slanted. See {{section link||Quotation marks}}.
**When quoting a quotation that itself contains a quotation, alternate between using double and single quotes for each quotation. See {{section link||For a quotation within a quotation}} for details.
*When quoting text from non-English languages, the outer punctuation should follow [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style#Quotation marks|the Manual of Style for English quote marks]]. If there are nested quotations, follow the rules for correct punctuation in that language. If there are multiple styles for a language, the one used by the BattleTechWiki for that language is preferred unless the punctuation itself is under discussion.
*:{{xt|The cynical response "L'auteur aurait dû demander&nbsp;: «&nbsp;à quoi sert-il d'écrire ceci&nbsp;?&nbsp;» mais ne l'a pas fait" was all he wrote.}}
*Remove spaces before punctuation such as periods and colons.
*Generally preserve bold and italics {{cross reference|(see {{section link||Italics}})}}, but most other styling should be altered. {{!xt|{{Underline|Underlining}}}}, {{!xt|spac&nbsp;ing}} within words, {{!xt|1=co<span style="color:Goldenrod;">lor</span>s}}, {{!xt|ALL CAPS}}, {{Smallcaps|{{!xt|small caps}}}}, etc. should generally be normalized to plain text. If it {{em|clearly}} indicates emphasis, use italic {{em|emphasis}} ({{tlx|em}}) or, in an already-italic passage, boldface (with {{tlx|strong}}). For titles of books, articles, poems, and so forth, use italics or quotation marks following [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Titles|the guidance for titles]]. Italics can also be added to mark up [[#Foreign terms|non-English terms]] (with the {{tlx|lang}} template), for an [[#Animals, plants, and other organisms|organism's scientific name]], and to indicate a [[#Words as words|words-as-words]] usage.
*Expand an abbreviation (not already used in the content before the quotation) as a square-bracketed change, or explain it using {{tlx|abbr}}.
*Normalize archaic glyphs and ligatures in English that are unnecessary to the meaning. Examples include ''[[æ]]''→''ae'', ''[[œ]]''→''oe'', ''[[Long s|ſ]]''→''s'', and ''[[Thorn (letter)#Abbreviations|þ<sup>e</sup>]]''→''the''. {{crossref|(See also {{section link||Ampersand}}.)}}

{{crossref|See {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Titles#Typographic conformity}} for special considerations in normalizing the typography of titles of works.}}

However, national varieties should not be changed, as these may involve changes in vocabulary. For example, a quotation from a British source should retain British spelling, even in an article that otherwise uses American spelling. {{crossref|(See {{section link||Consistency within articles}}.)}} Numbers also usually [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Quotations, titles, etc.|should not be reformatted]].

Direct quotation should not be used to preserve the formatting preferred by an external publisher (especially when the material would otherwise be unchanged), as this tends to have the effect of [[Scare quotes|scare-quoting]]:
*{{em|Acceptable}}: {{xt|The animal is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.}}
*{{em|Unacceptable}}: {{!xt|The animal is listed as "Endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.}}

Italics can be used to mark a particular usage as a [[term of art]] (a case of "[[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Words as words|words as words]]"), especially when it is unfamiliar or should not be reworded by a non-expert:
*{{em|Permissible}}: {{xt|The animal is listed as ''critically endangered'' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.}}

When quoting a complete sentence, it is usually recommended to keep the first word capitalized. However, if the quoted passage has been integrated into the surrounding sentence (for example, with an introduction such as "{{var|X}} said that"), the original capital letter may be lower-cased.
*{{xt|LaVesque's report stated: "The equipment was selected for its low price. This is the primary reason for criticism of the program."}}
*{{xt|LaVesque's report said that "the equipment was selected for its low price".}}
*{{xt|The program was criticized primarily because "the equipment was selected for its low price", according to LaVesque.}}

It is normally unnecessary to explicitly note changes in capitalization. However, for more precision, the altered letter may be put inside square brackets: {{nobr|"The" → "[t]he".}}
*{{xt|The program was criticized primarily because {{nobr|"[t]he}} equipment was selected for its low price", according to LaVesque.}}

===Attribution===
The reader must be able to determine the source of any quotation, at the very least via a footnote. The source must be named {{em|in article text}} if the quotation is an opinion {{Crossreference|(see {{Section link|BattleTechWiki:Neutral point of view|Attributing and specifying biased statements}})}}. When attributing a quotation, avoid [[BattleTechWiki:Words to avoid#Synonyms for said|characterizing it in a biased manner]].

===Quotations within quotations===
See {{section link||For a quotation within a quotation}}.

===Linking===
{{Shortcut|MOS:LINKQUOTE|MOS:LWQ}}

Be conservative when linking within quotations; link only to targets that correspond to the meaning clearly intended by the quote's author. Where possible, link from text outside of the quotation instead – either before it or soon after. (If quoting [[hypertext]], add an editorial note, {{xt|[link in original]}} or {{xt|[link added]}}, as appropriate, to avoid ambiguity as to whether the link was made by the original author.)

===Block quotations<span class="anchor" id="Block quotations"></span><span class="anchor" id="Block quotes"></span>===
{{Shortcut|MOS:BQ|MOS:BLOCKQUOTE}}

Format a long quote (more than about forty words or a few hundred characters, or consisting of more than one paragraph, regardless of length) as a [[block quotation]], indented on both sides. Block quotations should be enclosed in {{tlx|blockquote}}.

Do not enclose block quotations in quotation marks (and especially avoid large, decorative quotation marks; those provided by the {{tlx|cquote}} template have been disabled in mainspace). Block quotations using a colored background are also discouraged.

Use {{tnull|blockquote}} and so on only for actual quotations; [[#Indentation|indentation for other purposes]] is done differently.

It is conventional to precede a block quotation with an introductory sentence (or sentence fragment) and append the source citation to that line. Alternatively, the {{tnull|blockquote}} template provides parameters for attribution and citation which will appear below the quotation. {{Crossref|(For use of dashes with attributions, see {{section link||Other uses (em dash only)}}.)}} This below-quotation attribution style is intended for famous quotations and is unusual in articles because it may strike an inappropriate tone. A quotation with no cited source should be flagged with {{tlx|quote without source}}, or deleted.

Line breaks and indentation inside a {{tnull|blockquote}} or {{tag|blockquote|o}} are generally ignored; use {{xtag|poem}} or {{tlx|poem quote}} for poetry, lyrics, and similar material:

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
{{blockquote|<poem>
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
            Meant in croaking "Nevermore."
</poem>}}
</syntaxhighlight>
This gives:
{{xt|{{blockquote|<poem>
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
            Meant in croaking "Nevermore."
</poem>}}}}

Or quote such material inline, with line breaks indicated by <code><nowiki>{{nbsp}}/</nowiki></code>, and paragraph or stanza breaks by <code><nowiki>{{nbsp}}//</nowiki></code>.

{{Shortcut|MOS:PQ|MOS:PULLQUOTE}}
{{Anchor|Pull quotes|Pull quote|Pull quotations|nocquote|reason=The old name of Template:Pull_quote was Template:Cquote, and "nocquote" was historically used to refer to this MOS section, which now has its own shortcuts.}}
[[Pull quote]]s do not belong in BattleTechWiki articles. These are the [[BattleTechWiki:What BattleTechWiki is not#BattleTechWiki is not news|news and magazine style]] of "pulling" material already in the article to reuse it in attention-grabbing decorative quotations. This unencyclopedic approach is a form of [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Editorializing|editorializing]], produces [[BattleTechWiki:Writing better articles#Provide context for the reader|out-of-context]] and [[BattleTechWiki:Neutral point of view#Due and undue weight|undue emphasis]], and may [[BattleTechWiki:No original research|lead the reader to conclusions]] not supported in the material.

===Foreign-language quotations===
{{Shortcut|MOS:FOREIGNQUOTE|MOS:QUOTEFOREIGN}}

Quotations from foreign-language sources should appear with a translation into English, preferably a modern one. Quotations that are translations should be explicitly distinguished from those that are not. Indicate the original source of a translation (if it is available, and not first published within BattleTechWiki), and the original language (if that is not clear from the context).

If the original, untranslated text is available, provide a reference for it or include it, as appropriate.

When editors themselves translate foreign text into English, care must always be taken to include the original text, {{em|in italics}} (except for non-Latin-based writing systems, and best done with the {{tlx|lang}} template which both italicizes as appropriate and provides language metadata); and to use actual and (if at all possible) common English words in the translation. Unless you are certain of your competency to translate something, see [[BattleTechWiki:Translation]] for assistance.

==Punctuation==
{{Shortcut|MOS:PUNCT}}
{{For|a brief guide to how some punctuation marks are used in BattleTechWiki for special purposes, e.g., [[Help:List#List basics|description lists]]|Help:Punctuation}}

===Apostrophes===
{{anchor|Foreign characters that resemble apostrophes|reason=Old subheading that was merged in.}}
{{Shortcut|MOS:'|MOS:APOSTROPHE}}

*Use straight apostrophes ({{big|{{mxt|'}}}}), not curly apostrophes ({{big|{{!mxt|’}}}}). Do not use accent marks or backticks ({{big|{{!mxt|`}}}}) as apostrophes.
*Templates such as {{tlx|'}} and {{tlx|'s}} are helpful when an apostrophe (or single quote) appears at the beginning or end of text in italics or bold, because italics and bold are themselves indicated by sequences of single quotes. Example: {{xt|''Dynasty''{{'s}} first season}} (markup: {{nobreak|<code><nowiki>''Dynasty''{{'s}} first season</nowiki></code>}}).
*Letters resembling apostrophes, such as the [[{{okina}}okina]] ({{xt|&nbsp;{{big|{{okina}}}}&nbsp;}}{{snd}}''markup:'' {{tlx|okina}}), [[Saltillo (linguistics)|saltillo]] ({{xt|&nbsp;{{big|{{saltillo}}}}&nbsp;}}{{snd}}''markup:'' {{tlx|saltillo}}), Hebrew [[ayin]] <!-- Arabic ʿayn or Hebrew ayin --><!-- --> ({{xt|&nbsp;{{big|{{ayin}}}}&nbsp;}}{{snd}}''markup:'' {{tlx|ayin}}) and Arabic [[hamza]] ({{xt|&nbsp;{{big|{{hamza}}}}&nbsp;}}{{snd}}''markup:''{{tlx|hamza}}), should be represented by those templates or by their [[Unicode]] values.
**Templates cannot be used in article titles; if necessary, use the corresponding Unicode character directly. Per [[BTW:TITLESPECIALCHARACTERS]], also make a redirect from the ASCII form to aid searches. Forms without apostrophe-like characters are sometimes preferred by [[BTW:COMMONNAME]] (e.g. [[Hawaii]] but not [[Keali{{okina}}i Reichel]]). 
*:{{crossref|printyworthy=y|See also {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Hawaii-related articles|Orthography, spelling and formatting}}}}
*For [[Wade–Giles]] romanizations of Mandarin Chinese, use {{tlx|wg-apos}}.
*For languages with [[ejective consonants]] and the like, use {{tlx|hamza}}.
*For the Cyrillic [[soft sign]], when indicated at all, use {{tlx|softsign}} or {{tlx|hamza}}.
*For usage of the possessive apostrophe, see {{section link||Possessives}}.
*For further treatment of apostrophe usage (possessive, elision, formation of certain plurals, foreign-language issues) see the article [[Apostrophe]].

===Quotation marks===
{{Shortcut|MOS:QUOTEMARKS|MOS:SPEECHMARKS|MOS:"}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style#Quotations}}

In the material below, the term ''quotation'' includes conventional uses of quotation marks such as for titles of songs, chapters, episodes, and so on. Quotation marks are also used in other contexts, such as in [[#Animals, plants, and other organisms|cultivar names]].

====Quotation characters====
{{Shortcut|MOS:CURLY|MOS:CQ|MOS:STRAIGHT}}
*Use {{xt|{{big|<b>"</b>}}straight{{big|<b>"</b>}}}} quotation marks, not {{!xt|{{big|<b>“</b>}}curly{{big|<b>”</b>}}}} ones. (For single-apostrophe quotes: {{xt|{{big|<b>'</b>}}straight{{big|<b>'</b>}}}}, not {{!xt|{{big|<b>‘</b>}}curly{{big|<b>’</b>}}}}.)
*Do not use accent marks, backticks ({{!xt|{{big|'''`'''}}text{{big|'''´'''}}}}), low-high ({{!xt|„&nbsp;“}}) or [[guillemet]] ({{!xt|«&nbsp;»}}) marks as quotation marks (except when such marks are {{em|internal}} to quoted non-English text{{snd}}see [[MOS:CONFORM]]). The symbols {{!xt|′}} and {{!xt|″}} seen in edit window dropdowns are [[prime (symbol)|prime]] and double prime: these are used to designate [[Minute and second of arc|units of angular measurement]], and not as apostrophes or quote marks.
*Quotation marks and apostrophes in imported material [[#Typographic conformity|should be changed]] if necessary to comply with the above.

====Double or single<span id="Double or single quotation marks"></span><span id="Single quotation marks"></span>====
{{Shortcut|MOS:DOUBLE|MOS:SINGLE|MOS:SIMPLEGLOSS}}

Most quotations take double quotation marks ({{xt|Bob said: "Jim ate the apple."}}).
Exceptions:
*Plant cultivars take single quotation marks ({{xt|''Malus domestica'' 'Golden Delicious'}}; see [[BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (flora)]]).
*[[Gloss (annotation)#In linguistics|Glosses]] that translate or define unfamiliar terms take single quotes; simple glosses require no comma before the definition ({{xt|Turkic qazaq 'freebooter' is the root of ''Cossack''; ''republic'' comes from Latin res publica, loosely meaning 'public affair'.}}). The {{tl|Gloss}} template can be used for this; e.g. casa {{tlx|gloss|house}} yields: casa {{gloss|house}}.

====For a quotation within a quotation====
{{Shortcut|MOS:QWQ|MOS:QINQ}}

Use single quotes:
*{{xt|Darwin wrote in his introduction that "the maxim 'de minimis lex non curat' does not apply to science".}}
For deeper nesting, alternate between single and double quotes:
*{{xt|He said, "That book asserts, 'Confucius said "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.{{" ' "}}}}

For quote marks in immediate succession, add a sliver of space by using {{nowrap|{{tl|" '}}}}, {{nowrap|{{tl|' "}}}}, or (as in the example just given) {{nowrap|{{tl|" ' "}}}}:
*{{xt|He announced, "The answer was 'Yes!{{' "}}}} Markup: <code>He announced, "The answer was 'Yes!{{tl|' "}}</code>
*{{!xt|He announced, "The answer was 'Yes!'"}} (simply jamming things together looks awful in most fonts)
*{{!xt|He announced, "The answer was 'Yes!'{{nbsp}}"}} (a regular space is too much)

====Article openings<span id="Quotation marks in article openings"></span>====
In the bolded text typically appearing at the opening of an article:
*Any quotation marks that are part of the title should be in bold just like the rest of the title (from ''[["A" Is for Alibi]]'': {{xt|'''''"A" Is for Alibi''''' is a mystery novel&nbsp;...}}).
*Quotation marks ''not'' part of the article title should not be bolded (from the article [[Jabberwocky]]: {{xt|"'''Jabberwocky'''" is a nonsense poem&nbsp;...}}; from [[Babe Ruth]]: {{xt|'''George Herman''' "'''Babe'''" '''Ruth''' was an American baseball player&nbsp;...}}).

====Punctuation before quotations====
{{Shortcut|MOS:QUOTEPUNCT}}
If a non-quoted but otherwise identical construction would work grammatically without a comma, using a comma before a quotation embedded within a sentence is optional:
*{{xt|The report stated "There was a 45% reduction in transmission rate."}} ([[wikt:cf.|Cf.]] the non-quotation {{xt|The report stated there was a 45% reduction in transmission rate.}})
*{{xt|The report stated, "There was a 45% reduction in transmission rate."}}
The comma-free approach is often used with partial quotations:
*{{xt|The report observed "a 45% reduction in transmission rate".}}
A comma is required when it would be present in the same construction if none of the material were a quotation:
*{{xt|In Margaret Mead's view, "we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities" to enrich our culture.}}
Do not insert a comma if it would confuse or alter the meaning:
*{{xt|Caitlyn Jenner expressed concerns about children "who are coming to terms with being true to who they are".}} (Accurate quote of a statement about {{em|some}} children{{snd}}specifically those children "who are coming to terms{{nbsp}}...")
*{{!xt|Caitlyn Jenner expressed concerns about children, "who are coming to terms with being true to who they are".}} (Changes the meaning to imply Jenner was expressing concern about {{em|all}} children, while separately observing that children, in general, "are coming to terms{{nbsp}}...")
It is clearer to use a colon to introduce a quotation if it forms a complete sentence, and this should always be done for multi-sentence quotations:
*{{xt|The report stated: "There was a 45% reduction in transmission rate."}}
*{{xt|In a letter to his son, Albert Einstein wrote: "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving."}}
No additional punctuation is necessary for an explicit [[#Words as words|words-as-words]] scenario:
*{{xt|The message was unintelligible except for the fragments "help soon" and "how much longer before".}}

====Names and titles<span class="anchor" id="Quotation marks-Titles"></span><span id="Quotation marks with names and titles"></span>====
{{/titles hatnote include|where=MOS#P-QM-N&T}}

Quotation marks should be used for the following names and titles:
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
*Articles and chapters (books and periodicals italicized)
*Short stories (books and periodicals italicized)
*Sections of musical pieces (pieces italicized)
*Individual strips from comics and webcomics (comics italicized)
*Poems (long or epic poems italicized)
*Songs (albums, song cycles, operas, operettas, and oratorios italicized)
*Individual episodes of television and radio series and [[Serial (radio and television)|serials]] (series title italicized)
}}

{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|The Beatles wrote "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" for their album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''.}}

Do not use quotation marks or italics for:
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
*Ancient writings
*Concert tours
*Locations
*Myths and epics
*Prayers
}}

Many, but not all, of the above items should also be in [[#Titles of works|title case]].

====Punctuation inside or outside<span class="anchor" id="LP"></span><span class="anchor" id="LQ"></span><span class="anchor" id="TQ"></span><span class="anchor" id="logical quotes"></span><span id="Punctuation inside or outside quotation marks"></span>====
{{Shortcut|MOS:LQ|MOS:LQUOTE|MOS:INOROUT|MOS:LOGICAL}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Logical quotation on BattleTechWiki}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style#Effect on nearby punctuation|label 1=BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style § Italics: Effect on nearby punctuation}}<!-- Another kind of punctuation "in or out". -->

<!-- EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: Changes to this section may escalate into heated dispute. Please consider raising any proposed changes for discussion and consensus-building on the talk page before editing. -->
Use the "[[Quotation marks in English#British practice|logical quotation]]" style in all articles, regardless of the variety of English in which they are written. Include terminal punctuation within the quotation marks only if it was present in the original material, and otherwise place it after the closing quotation mark. For the most part, this means treating periods and commas in the same way as question marks: keep them inside the quotation marks if they apply only to the quoted material and outside if they apply to the whole sentence. Examples are given below.
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|Did Darla say, "Here I am"?}} (question mark applies to whole sentence)
*{{em|Incorrect:}} {{!xt|Did Darla say, "Here I am?"}} (incorrect to apply the question mark to the quotation)
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|Darla said, "Where am I?"}} (question mark applies to quoted material only)

If the quotation is a single word or a sentence fragment, place the terminal punctuation outside the closing quotation mark. When quoting a full sentence, the end of which coincides with the end of the sentence containing it, place terminal punctuation inside the closing quotation mark.
*{{xt|Miller wanted, he said, "to create something timeless".}}
*{{xt|Miller said: "I wanted to create something timeless."}}

If the quoted sentence is followed by a [[clause]] that should be preceded by a comma, omit the [[full stop]] (period). I.e., do not replace the stop/period with a comma {{em|inside}} the quotation. But other terminal punctuation, such as a question mark or exclamation mark, may be retained.
*{{xt|Livingston then said, "It is done", and turned to the people.}}
*{{xt|Livingston then exclaimed, "It is done!", and turned to the people.}}

If the quoted sentence is followed by a clause identifying the speaker, use a comma outside the quotation mark instead of a full stop inside it, but retain any other terminal punctuation, such as a question mark.
*{{xt|"There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet", said Kennedy.}}
*{{xt|By asking "Who are you?", da Gama prompts Adamastor to tell his story.}}

Do not follow quoted words or fragments with commas inside the quotation marks, except where a longer quotation has been broken up and the comma is part of the full quotation.
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|"I began to change, opening the way to confidence and courage", said Turner.}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|"I began to change," said Turner, "opening the way to confidence and courage."}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|"I began to change, opening the way", said Turner, "to confidence and courage."}}
*{{em|Incorrect:}} {{!xt|"I began to change, opening the way," said Turner, "to confidence and courage."}}

==== Quotation marks and external links ====
External links to article titles should have the title in quotes inside the link. The [[Help:Citation Style 1|CS1]] and [[Help:Citation Style 2|CS2]] citation templates do this automatically, and untemplated references should do the same.

*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|{{cite news |last1=Kiefer |first1=Francine |title=Clinton: The Early Years |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1998/0529/052998.us.us.3.html |work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |date=May 29, 1998 |ref=none}}}} (Using {{tl|cite news}})
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt| Kiefer, Francine (May 29, 1998). [https://www.csmonitor.com/1998/0529/052998.us.us.3.html "Clinton: The Early Years"]. ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''.}} (Untemplated)
*{{em|Incorrect:}} {{!xt| Kiefer, Francine (May 29, 1998). "[https://www.csmonitor.com/1998/0529/052998.us.us.3.html Clinton: The Early Years]". ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''.}}  (Untemplated)

==== Quotation marks and internal links ====
Internal links (wikilinks) accompanied by quotation marks should usually have the quotes outside the link. This applies to titles of works in quotation marks (songs, episodes, etc.)
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|Play it, Sam. Play "[[As Time Goes By (song)|As Time Goes By]]".}}  (Using <code><nowiki>"[[ ]]"</nowiki></code>.)
*{{em|Incorrect:}} {{!xt|Play it, Sam. Play [[As Time Goes By (song)|"As Time Goes By"]].}} (Using <code><nowiki>[[" "]]</nowiki></code>.)
However, quotation marks are needed inside wikilinks when the quotation mark is part of the link, or where the linked display text includes quotation marks indicating slang, nicknames, common names, or similar usage.
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|The term ''soccer'' comes from [[Oxford "-er"]] slang, which was prevalent at the [[University of Oxford]] in England from about 1875....}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|A Cockney accent [[Rhoticity in English|drops the "r"]] after a vowel.}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|The [[Dynamo Sports Club|Proletarian Sports Society "Dynamo"]] was established in Moscow in 1923.}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|President Suharto's [[New Order (Indonesia)|"New Order"]] administration received U.S. support for its economic policies.}}
*{{em|Correct:}} {{xt|Japan's [[Lost Decades|"Lost Decades"]] began in 1991.}}

===Brackets and parentheses===
{{Shortcut|MOS:B&P|MOS:BRACKET|MOS:PAREN}}
{{Redirect|MOS:PAREN|use of parentheses (round brackets) in article titles|BTW:Article titles#Parenthetical disambiguation|deprecated inline parenthetical citations|BTW:Citing sources#Parenthetical referencing}}
This section applies to both round brackets {{xt|(&nbsp;)}}, often called [[Bracket|parentheses]], and square brackets {{xt|[&nbsp;]}}.

If a sentence contains a bracketed phrase, place the sentence punctuation outside the brackets {{xt|(as shown here).}} However, where one or more sentences are wholly inside brackets, place their punctuation inside the brackets. There should be no space next to the inner side of a bracket. An opening bracket should usually be preceded by a space. This may not be the case if it is preceded by an opening quotation mark, another opening bracket, or a portion of a word:
*{{xt|He rose to address the meeting: "(Ahem)&nbsp;... Ladies and gentlemen, welcome!"}}
*{{xt|Only the royal characters in the play ([Prince] Hamlet and his family) habitually speak in blank verse.}}
*{{xt|We journeyed on the Inter[continental].}}
*{{xt|Most people are right-handed. (Some people are left-handed, but that does not make right-handed people "better" than left-handed people.)}}

There should be a space after a closing bracket, except where a punctuation mark follows (though a spaced dash would still be spaced after a closing bracket) and in unusual cases similar to those listed for opening brackets.

Avoid adjacent sets of brackets. Either put the parenthetical phrases in one set separated by semicolons, or rewrite:
*{{em|Avoid}}: {{!xt|Nikifor Grigoriev ({{circa|1885}}&nbsp;– 1919) (also known as Matvii Hryhoriiv) was a Ukrainian insurgent leader.}}
*{{em|Better}}: {{xt|Nikifor Grigoriev ({{circa|1885}}&nbsp;– 1919; also known as Matvii Hryhoriiv) was a Ukrainian insurgent leader.}}
*{{em|Better}}: {{xt|Nikifor Grigoriev ({{circa|1885}}&nbsp;– 1919) was a Ukrainian insurgent leader. He was also known as Matvii Hryhoriiv.}}

Square brackets are used to indicate editorial replacements and insertions within quotations, though this should never alter the intended meaning. They serve three main purposes:
*To clarify: {{xt|She attended [secondary] school}}, where this was the intended meaning, but the type of school was unstated in the original sentence.
*To reduce the size of a quotation: {{xt|X contains Y, and under certain circumstances, X may contain Z as well}} may be reduced to {{xt|X contains Y [and sometimes Z]}}. When an ellipsis ({{xt|...}}) is used to indicate that material is removed from a direct quotation, it should not normally be bracketed. {{crossref|(See {{section link||Ellipses}} for an exceptional case.)}}
*To make the grammar work: Referring to someone's statement {{xt|"I hate to do laundry"}}, one could properly write {{xt|She "hate[s] to do laundry"}}.

If a sentence includes subsidiary material enclosed in square or round brackets, it must still carry terminal punctuation {{em|after}} those brackets, regardless of any punctuation within the brackets. {{Block indent|{{xt|She refused all requests (except for basics such as food, medicine, etc.).}}}} However, if the entire sentence is within brackets, the closing punctuation falls within the brackets. {{xt|(This sentence is an example.)}}

====Brackets and linking====
Square brackets inside of links must be [[Escape character|escaped]]:

{| class="wikitable"
| He said, "<code>{{mxt|<nowiki>[[John Doe|John &amp;#91;Doe&amp;#93;]]</nowiki>}}</code> answered." ||
He said, "[[John Doe|John &#91;Doe&#93;]] answered."
|-
| He said, "<code>{{mxt|<nowiki>[[John Doe|John {{bracket|Doe}}]]</nowiki>}}</code> answered." ||
He said, "[[John Doe|John {{bracket|Doe}}]] answered."
|-
| <code>{{mxt|<nowiki>[https://example.com On the first day &amp;#91;etc.&amp;#93;]</nowiki>}}</code> ||
[https://example.com On the first day &#91;etc.&#93;]
|-
| <code>{{mxt|<nowiki>[https://example.com On the first day {{bracket|etc.}}]</nowiki>}}</code> ||
[https://example.com On the first day {{bracket|etc.}}]
|}

The {{xtag|nowiki}} markup can also be used: {{tag|nowiki|content=[Doe]}} or {{tag|nowiki|content=[etc.]}}.

If a URL itself contains square brackets, the wiki-text should use the [[URL encoding|URL-encoded]] form <code><nowiki>https://</nowiki>example.com/foo.php?query={{bxt|%5B}}xxx{{bxt|%5D}}yyy</code>, rather than&nbsp;...<code>query={{!bxt|&#91;}}xxx{{!bxt|&#93;}}yyy</code>. This will avoid truncation of the link after <code>xxx</code>.

===Ellipses<span class="anchor" id="Ellipsis"></span><span class="anchor" id="Ellipses"></span><span class="anchor" id="..."></span><span class="anchor" id="Ellipsis style"></span><span class="anchor" id="Ellipsis function and implementation"></span>===
{{Shortcut|MOS:ELLIPSIS|MOS:ELLIPSES|MOS:DOTDOTDOT|MOS:…}}
Use an ''[[ellipsis]]'' (plural ''ellipses'') if material is omitted in the course of a quotation, unless square brackets are used to [[Gloss (annotation)|gloss]] the quotation {{crossref|(see {{section link||Brackets and parentheses}}, and the points below)}}.

*BattleTechWiki's style for an ellipsis is three unspaced dots ({{xt|<code>...</code>}}); do not use the precomposed ellipsis character ({{!xt|<code>…</code>}})<!-- Possibly we should explain the precomposed character in terms of its code point or something --> or three dots separated by spaces {{nobr|({{!xt|<code>. . .</code>}})}}
*Generally, use a non-breaking space before an ellipsis, and a regular space after it: {{nobr|{{xt|<code>"Alpha, Bravo,<nowiki>{{nbsp}}</nowiki>... Zulu"</code>}}}}
**But where an ellipsis is immediately followed by any of <code>. ? ! : ; , ) ] }</code> or by a closing quotation mark (single or double), use a non-breaking space before the ellipsis, and no space after it:
**: {{xt|<code><nowiki>Jones wrote: "These stories amaze me. The facts suffer so frightfully{{nbsp}}..."</nowiki></code>}}
**: {{xt|<code><nowiki>"But what of the other cities? London, Paris{{nbsp}}...?"</nowiki></code>}} (Place terminal punctuation after an ellipsis only if it is textually important, as is often the case with exclamation marks and question marks but rarely with periods.)
**Or, if the ellipsis immediately follows a quotation mark, use no space before the ellipsis, and a non-breaking space after it:
**: {{xt|<code><nowiki>He continued to pursue Smith ("...{{nbsp}}to the ends of the earth", he had sworn) until his own death.</nowiki></code>}}

; {{visible anchor|Pause or suspension of speech}}
: Three dots are occasionally used to represent a pause in or suspense of speech, in which case the punctuation is retained in its original form: {{xt|Virginia's startled reply was "Could he&nbsp;...? No, I can't believe it!"}}. When it indicates an incomplete word, no space is used between the word fragment(s) and the ellipsis: {{xt|The garbled transmission ended with "We are stranded near San L...o", interpreted as a reference to either San Leandro or San Lorenzo.}}
; {{Anchor|Ellipses with square brackets}}With square brackets
:Square brackets may be placed around an ellipsis that indicates omitted text to distinguish it from an ellipsis that is part of the quoted text: {{xt|She retorted: "How do I feel? How do you {{em|think}} I&nbsp;... This is too much!&nbsp;[...] Take me home!"}}. In this example, the first ellipsis is part of the quoted text and the second ellipsis (in square brackets) indicates omitted text.

===Commas===
{{Shortcut|MOS:COMMA|MOS:,}}

<ul><!--Do not convert this to a wikimarkup list; that approach cannot handle embedded tables.-->
<li>
A pair of [[comma]]s can bracket an [[Apposition|appositive]], [[relative clause]], or [[parenthesis (rhetoric)|parenthetical phrase]] (as can brackets or dashes, though with greater interruption of the sentence). For example:

{| role="presentation" style="background:transparent"
|-
| {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|John Smith, Janet Cooper's son, is a well-known playwright.}}
|-
| {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|Janet Cooper's son John Smith is a well-known playwright.}} (when Janet has multiple sons)
|-
| {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|Janet Cooper's son, John Smith, is a well-known playwright.}} (when Janet has only one son)
|}
Always use a ''pair'' of commas for this, unless another punctuation mark takes the place of the second comma:
{| role="presentation" style="background:transparent"
|-
| {{em|Incorrect:}}
| {{!xt|The newest member, John Smith was blunt.}}<!-- There's actually a way to parse this such that it would be acceptable in some styles, but WP articles don't use such styles. -->
|-
| {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|Blunt comments came from the newest member, John Smith.}}
|-
| {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|The newest member, John Smith{{snd}}himself a retired teacher{{snd}}was blunt.}}
|}
</li>

<li>
Don't let other punctuation distract you from the need for a comma, especially when the comma collides with a bracket or parenthesis:

{| role="presentation" style="background:transparent"
|-
| {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|Burke and Wills, fed by locals (on beans, fish, and ''ngardu''), survived for a few months.}}
|-
| {{em|Incorrect:}}
| {{!xt|Burke and Wills, fed by locals (on beans, fish, and ''ngardu'') survived for a few months.}}
|}
</li>

<li>{{anchor|fewer commas}}
Modern writing uses fewer commas; there are usually ways to simplify a sentence so that fewer are needed.

{| role="presentation" style="background:transparent"
|-
| {{em|Clear}}:
| {{xt|Schubert's heroes included Mozart, Beethoven, and Joseph and Michael Haydn.}}
|-
| {{em|Awkward}}:
| {{!xt|Mozart was, along with the Haydns, both Joseph and Michael, and also Beethoven, one of Schubert's heroes.}}
|}
</li>

{{Shortcut|MOS:GEOCOMMA}}
<li>{{anchor|Geographical references}}
In geographical references that include multiple levels of subordinate divisions (e.g., city, state/province, country), a comma separates each element and follows the last element unless followed by terminal punctuation or a closing parenthesis. The last element is treated as [[BattleTechWiki:Basic copyediting#Parenthetical comma|parenthetical]].

{| role="presentation" style="background:transparent"
|-
| {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|He traveled through North Carolina before staying in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the night.}}<!-- About a 10-hour drive if he started in Virginia Beach and passed through Winston-Salem. -->
|-
| {{em|Incorrect:}}
| {{!xt|He traveled through North Carolina before staying in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the night.}}
|}

Also include commas when the geographical element is used as a disambiguator:

{| role="presentation" style="background:transparent"
|-
| {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|Hantratty received a PhD from the University of California, Irvine, in 1977.}}
|-
| {{em|Incorrect:}}
| {{!xt|Hantratty received a PhD from the University of California, Irvine in 1977.}}
|}
</li>

{{shortcut|MOS:DATECOMMA}}
<li>{{anchor|Date commas}}
[[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Dates, months, and years|Dates]] in month–day–year format require a comma after the day, as well as after the year, unless followed by other punctuation. The last element is treated as [[BattleTechWiki:Basic copyediting#Parenthetical comma|parenthetical]].

{| role="presentation" style="background:transparent"
|-
| {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|He set October 1, 2011, as the deadline for Patterson to meet his demands.}}
|-
| {{em|Incorrect:}}
| {{!xt|He set October 1, 2011 as the deadline for Patterson to meet his demands.}}
|}
</li>

{{shortcut|MOS:QUOTECOMMA}}
<li>{{anchor|Quotation commas}}
Place quotation marks by following {{Section link||Punctuation inside or outside}}. This is called "logical quotation".

{| role="presentation" style="background:transparent"
|-
| {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|She said, "The weather changes too often", and made other complaints.}}
|-
| {{em|Incorrect:}}
| {{!xt|She said, "The weather changes too often," and made other complaints.}}
|}
</li>

<li>
A comma may be included before a quotation embedded within a sentence {{crossref|(see {{section link||Quotation marks}})}}.
</li>

</ul>

====Serial commas<span class="anchor" id="Serial comma"></span><span class="anchor" id="Oxford comma"></span><span class="anchor" id="Oxford commas"></span><span class="anchor" id="Harvard comma"></span><span class="anchor" id="Harvard commas"></span>====
{{Shortcut|MOS:SERIAL|MOS:OXFORD|MOS:HARVARD}}
{{Redirect|MOS:OXFORD|Oxford spelling|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Spelling#British English with "-ize" (Oxford spelling)}}

A [[serial comma]] (sometimes also called an ''Oxford comma'' or ''Harvard comma'') is a comma used immediately before a conjunction (''and'', ''or'', ''nor'') in a list of three or more items.

{{Block indent|{{xt|ham, chips, and eggs}} {{spnd}}serial comma}}
{{Block indent|{{xt|ham, chips and eggs}} {{spnd}}no serial comma}}

Editors may use either convention so long as each article is internally consistent. Serial commas are more helpful when article text is complex, such as a list with multi-word items (especially if one contains its own "''and''"{{--)}} or a series of probably unfamiliar terms.

However, there are cases in which either omitting or including the serial comma results in ambiguity:

{{Block indent|{{!xt|The author thanked her friends, Sinéad O'Connor and Bob Marley}} {{spnd}}which may list either four or more people (the friends and the two people named) or two people (O'Connor and Marley, who are the friends).}}

{{Block indent|{{!xt|The author thanked a friend, Sinéad O'Connor, and Bob Marley}} {{spnd}}which may list either two people (O'Connor, who is the friend, and Marley) or three people (the first being the friend, the second O'Connor, and the third Marley).}}

In such cases of ambiguity, clarify one of four ways:
*Add or remove the serial comma.
*Use separate sentences, bullet lists, or some other structural change to clarify.
*Recast the sentence ("friends" case):
**To list two people: {{xt|The author thanked her friends Sinéad O'Connor and Bob Marley.}}
***Clearer: {{xt|The author thanked two friends – Sinéad O'Connor and Bob Marley.}}
**To list several people:
**: {{xt|The author thanked Sinéad O'Connor, Bob Marley and her friends}} or
**: {{xt|The author thanked Sinéad O'Connor, Bob Marley, and her friends}}.
***But not: {{!xt|The author thanked Bob Marley, Sinéad O'Connor[,] and her friends}} {{spnd}}introduces ambiguity about ''her''.
*Recast the sentence ("friend" case):
**To list two people: {{xt|The author thanked Bob Marley and her friend, Sinéad O'Connor.}}
***Or be more specific when possible (the commas here set off non-restrictive [[Apposition|appositives]]): {{xt|The author thanked her childhood friend, Sinéad O'Connor, and her mentor, Bob Marley.}}
**To list three people: {{xt|The author thanked Bob Marley, Sinéad O'Connor, and a friend.}}
***Clarity with gender-specific terms such as ''mother'' can be tricky; {{!xt|The author thanked her mother, Kim Thayil, and Sinéad O'Connor}} is unclear because readers may not know [[Kim Thayil]] is male and wouldn't be the same person as the mother.
***Clearer: {{xt|The author thanked Kim Thayil, Sinéad O'Connor, and her own mother}} or {{xt|The author thanked her mother and musicians Kim Thayil and Sinéad O'Connor}}.

===Colons===
{{Shortcut|MOS:COLON}}
{{For|the "colon trick" (for linking to a category, image, or interwiki link without adding the page to the category, displaying the image, or adding the interwiki link)|Help:Colon trick}}

A [[Colon (punctuation)|colon]] ({{xt|:}}) introduces something that demonstrates, explains, or modifies what has come before, or is a list of items that has just been introduced. The items in such a list may be separated by commas, or if they are more complex and perhaps themselves contain commas, the items should be separated by semicolons or arranged in a bulleted list.

{{Block indent|{{xt|We visited several tourist attractions: the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which I thought could fall at any moment; the Bridge of Sighs; the supposed birthplace of Petrarch, or at least the first known house in which he lived; and so many more.}}}}

A colon may also be used to introduce [[Quotation marks in English#Quotations and speech|direct speech]] enclosed within quotation marks. {{crossref|(See {{section link||Quotation marks}}.)}}

In most cases, a colon works best with a complete grammatical sentence before it. When what follows the colon is also a complete sentence, start it with a capital letter, but otherwise do not capitalize after a colon except where doing so is needed for another reason, such as for a proper name. When a colon is being used as a separator in an article title, section heading, or list item, editors may choose whether to capitalize what follows, taking into consideration [[#Retaining existing styles|the existing practice]] and [[BattleTechWiki:Article titles#Consistent titling|consistency with related articles]].

Except in technical usage ({{xt|a 3:1 ratio}}), no sentence should contain multiple colons, no space should precede a colon, and a space (but never a hyphen or dash) should follow the colon.

===Semicolons===
{{Shortcut|MOS:SEMICOLON|MOS:COMMASPLICE|MOS:;}}
{{for|usage in marking up description (definition) lists|Help:List#Description lists}}

A [[semicolon]] ({{xt|;}}) is sometimes an alternative to a full stop (period), enabling related material to be kept in the same sentence; it marks a more decisive division in a sentence than a comma. If the semicolon separates clauses, normally each clause must be independent (meaning that it could stand on its own as a sentence). In many cases, only a comma or only a semicolon will be correct in a given sentence.

{| role="presentation" style="margin:0.2em 0 0.5em 1.6em; background:transparent"
|-
| style="padding-right:1em" | {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|Though he had been here before, I did not recognize him.}}
|-
| style="padding-right:1em" | {{em|Incorrect:}}
| {{!xt|Though he had been here before; I did not recognize him.}}
|}

Above, "Though he had been here before" cannot stand on its own as a sentence, and therefore is not an independent clause.

{| role="presentation" style="margin:0.2em 0 0.5em 1.6em; background:transparent"
|-
| style="padding-right:1em" | {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|Oranges are an acidic fruit; bananas are classified as alkaline.}}
|-
| style="padding-right:1em" | {{em|Incorrect:}}
| {{!xt|Oranges are an acidic fruit, bananas are classified as alkaline.}}
|}

This incorrect use of a comma between two independent clauses is known as a [[comma splice]]; however, in certain kinds of cases, a comma may be used where a semicolon would seem to be called for:

{| role="presentation" style="margin:0.2em 0 0.5em 1.6em; background:transparent"
|-
| {{em|Accepted}}: || {{xt|"Life is short, art is long."}} (two brief clauses in an [[aphorism]]; see ''[[Ars longa, vita brevis]]'')
|-
| {{em|Accepted}}: || {{xt|"I have studied it, you have not."}} (reporting brisk conversation, such as this reply of [[Isaac Newton|Newton]]'s)
|}

A sentence may contain several semicolons, especially when the clauses are parallel in construction and meaning; multiple unrelated semicolons are often signs that the sentence should be divided into shorter sentences or otherwise refashioned.

{| role="presentation" style="margin:0.2em 0 0.5em 1.6em; background:transparent"
|-
| style="padding-right:1em" | {{em|Unwieldy}}:
| {{!xt|Oranges are an acidic fruit; bananas are classified as alkaline; pears are close to neutral; these distinctions are rarely discussed.}}
|-
| style="padding-right:1em" | {{em|One better way}}:
| {{xt|Oranges are an acidic fruit, bananas are alkaline, and pears are close to neutral; these distinctions are rarely discussed.}}
|}

Semicolons are used in addition to commas to separate items in a listing, when commas alone would result in confusion.

{| role="presentation" style="margin:0.2em 0 0.5em 1.6em; background:transparent"
|-
| style="padding-right:1em" | {{em|Confusing}}:
| {{!xt|Sales offices are located in Boston, Massachusetts, San Francisco, California, Singapore, and Millbank, London, England.}}
|-
| style="padding-right:1em" | {{em|Clear}}:
| {{xt|Sales offices are located in Boston, Massachusetts; San Francisco, California; Singapore; and Millbank, London, England.}}
|}

====Semicolon before "however"====
{{Shortcut|MOS:HOWEVER}}

The meaning of a sentence containing a trailing clause that starts with the word ''however'' depends on the punctuation preceding that word. A common error is to use the wrong punctuation, thereby changing the meaning to one not intended.

When the word ''however'' is an adverb meaning "nevertheless", it should be preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma. Example:

{| role="presentation" style="margin:0.2em 0 0.5em 1.6em; background:transparent"
|-
| || {{xt|It was obvious they could not convert these people; however, they tried.}}
|-
| {{em|Meaning}}: || {{xt|It was obvious they could not convert these people; nevertheless, they tried.}}
|}

When the word ''however'' is a conjunction meaning "in whatever manner", or "regardless of how", it may be preceded by a comma but not by a semicolon, and should not be followed by punctuation. Example:

{| role="presentation" style="margin:0.2em 0 0.5em 1.6em; background:transparent"
|-
| || {{xt|It was obvious they could not convert these people, however they tried.}}
|-
| {{em|Meaning}}: || {{xt|It was obvious they could not convert these people, regardless of how they tried.}}
|}

In the first case, the clause that starts with "however" cannot be swapped with the first clause; in the second case this can be done without change of meaning:

{| role="presentation" style="margin:0.2em 0 0.5em 1.6em; background:transparent"
|-
| || {{xt|However they tried, it was obvious they could not convert these people.}}
|-
| {{em|Meaning}}: || {{xt|Regardless of how they tried, it was obvious they could not convert these people.}}
|}

If the two clauses cannot be swapped, a semicolon is required.

A sentence or clause can also contain the word ''however'' in the middle, if it is an adverb meaning "although" that could have been placed at the beginning but does not start a new clause in mid-sentence. In this use, the word may be enclosed between commas. Example:

{| role="presentation" style="margin:0.2em 0 0.5em 1.6em; background:transparent"
|-
| || {{xt|He did not know, however, that the venue had been changed at the last minute.}}
|-
| {{em|Meaning}}: || {{xt|However, he did not know that the venue had been changed at the last minute.}}
|}

===Hyphens===
{{Shortcut|MOS:HYPHEN}}

[[Hyphen]]s ({{xt|-}}) indicate conjunction. There are three main uses:
{{multiple image
 | direction     = horizontal
 | total_width   = 400
 | caption_align = center
 | image1        = Globe Toters-A Birla Preschool,Indore (cropped).jpg
 | image2        = Peuters_in_het_tehuis_zitten_met_zijn_allen_op_de_po,_Bestanddeelnr_252-0385.jpg
 | image3        = Graduates 2014 IMG 2779 (14083168633).jpg
 | caption1      = Four-year-old children
 | caption2      = Four year-old children
 | caption3      = Four-year old children
}}
{{multiple image
 | direction     = horizontal
 | total_width   = 400
 | caption_align = center
 | image1        = Haring 03.jpg
 | image2        = Great white Dyer island 2010-07.jpg
 | caption1      = A man {{nobr|eating fish}}
 | caption2      = A man-eating fish
}}

# In hyphenated personal names ({{xt|John Lennard-Jones}}, {{xt|Omar al-Bashir}}).
# To link [[prefix]]es with their main terms in certain constructions ({{xt|quasi-scientific}}, {{xt|pseudo-Apollodorus}}, {{xt|ultra-nationalistic}}).
#*A hyphen may be used to distinguish between [[homograph]]s ({{xt|re-dress}} means ''dress again'', but {{xt|redress}} means ''remedy'' or ''set right'').
#*There is a clear trend to join both elements in all varieties of English ({{xt|subsection}}, {{xt|nonlinear}}). Hyphenation clarifies when the letters brought into contact are the same ({{xt|non-negotiable}}, {{xt|sub-basement}}) or are vowels ({{xt|pre-industrial}}), or where a word is uncommon ({{xt|co-proposed}}, {{xt|re-target}}) or may be misread ({{xt|sub-era}}, not {{!xt|subera}}). Some words of these sorts are nevertheless common without the hyphen (e.g., {{xt|cooperation}} is more frequently attested than {{xtg|co-operation}} in contemporary English).
# To link related terms in [[compound modifier]]s:
#*Hyphens can aid ease of reading (that is, they can be {{xt|ease-of-reading}} aids) and are particularly useful in long noun phrases: {{xt|gas-phase reaction dynamics}}. But never insert a hyphen into a proper name ({{xt|Middle Eastern cuisine}}, not {{!xt|Middle-Eastern cuisine}}).
#*A hyphen can help to disambiguate (some {{xt|short-story writers}} are quite tall; {{xt|a government-monitoring program}} is a program that monitors the government, whereas {{xt|a government monitoring program}} is a government program that monitors).
#*Compounds that are hyphenated when used {{em|[[Attributive adjective|attributively]]}} (adjectives before the nouns they qualify: {{xt|a light-blue handbag}}, {{xt|a 34-year-old woman}}) or {{em|[[substantive]]ly}} (as a noun: {{xt|she is a 34-year-old}}) are usually not hyphenated when used {{em|[[Predicative expression|predicatively]]}} (descriptive phrase separated from the noun: {{xt|the handbag was light blue}}, {{xt|the woman is 34 years old}}). Where there would otherwise be a loss of clarity, however, a hyphen may be used in the predicative form as well ({{xt|hand-fed turkeys}}, {{xt|the turkeys were hand-fed}}). Awkward attributive hyphenation can sometimes be avoided with a simple rewording: {{xt|Hawaiian-native species}} → {{xt|native Hawaiian species}}.
#*Avoid using a hyphen after a standard ''{{nowrap|-ly}}'' adverb ({{xt|a newly available home}}, {{xt|a wholly owned subsidiary}}) unless part of a larger compound ({{xt|a slowly-but-surely strategy}}). In rare cases, a hyphen can improve clarity if a rewritten alternative is awkward, but rewording is usually preferable: {{!xt|The idea was clearly stated enough}} can be disambiguated as {{xt|The idea clearly was stated often enough}} or {{xt|The idea was stated with enough clarity}}.
#*A few words ending in ''{{nowrap|-ly}}'' function as both adjectives and adverbs ({{xt|a kindly-looking teacher}}; {{xt|a kindly provided facility}}). Some such dual-purpose words (like {{xt|early}}, {{xt|only}}, {{xt|northerly}}) are not standard ''{{nowrap|-ly}}'' adverbs, because they are not formed by addition of ''{{nowrap|-ly}}'' to an independent current-English adjective. These need careful treatment: {{xt|Early flowering plants appeared around 130&nbsp;million years ago}}, but {{xt|Early-flowering plants risk damage from winter frosts}}; {{xt|only child actors}} (no adult actors) but {{xt|only-child actors}} (actors without siblings).
#*A hyphen is normally used when the adverb ''well'' precedes a participle used attributively ({{xt|a well-meaning gesture}}; but normally {{xt|a very well managed firm}}, because ''well'' itself is modified) and even predicatively, if ''well'' is necessary to, or alters, the sense of the adjective rather than simply intensifying it ({{xt|the gesture was well-meaning}}, {{xt|the child was well-behaved}}, but {{xt|the floor was well polished}}).
#*In some cases, such as {{xt|diode–transistor logic}}, the independent status of the linked elements requires an en dash instead of a hyphen. {{crossref|pw=y|See {{Section link||Dashes}}.}}
#*{{shortcut|MOS:SUSPENDED|MOS:HANGING}}Use a '''[[suspended hyphen]]''' (also called a ''hanging hyphen'') when two compound modifiers are separated ({{xt|two- and three-digit numbers}}; {{xt|a ten-car or -truck convoy}}; {{xt|sloping right- or leftward}}).
#*Values and units used as compound modifiers are hyphenated only where the unit is given as a whole word; when using the unit symbol, separate it from the number with a [[non-breaking space]] (<code>&amp;nbsp;</code>).

<div class="block-indent" style="padding-left: 5em; padding-right: 0; overflow: hidden;"><!--The underlying code adapted from {{block indent}} which doesn't work around wikitables.-->
{| style="background:transparent"
|-
| {{em|Incorrect:}} || {{!xt|9-mm gap}}
|-
| {{em|Correct:}} || {{xt|9&nbsp;mm gap}} (markup: <code>9&amp;nbsp;mm gap</code>)
|-
| {{em|Incorrect:}}&nbsp; &nbsp; || {{!xt|9&nbsp;millimetre gap}}
|-
| {{em|Correct:}} || {{xt|9-millimetre gap}}
|-
| {{em|Correct:}} || {{xt|12-hour shift}}
|-
| {{em|Correct:}} || {{xt|12&nbsp;h shift}} (markup: <code>12&amp;nbsp;h shift</code>)
|}
</div>

'''Multi-word hyphenated items:''' It is often possible to avoid multi-word hyphenated modifiers by rewording ({{xt|a four-CD soundtrack album}} may be easier to read as {{xt|a soundtrack album of four CDs}}). This is particularly important where converted units are involved ({{xt|the 6-hectare-limit (14.8-acre-limit) rule}} might be possible as {{xt|the rule imposing a limit of six hectares (14.8 acres)}}, and the ungainly {{!xt|4.9-mile (7.9&nbsp;km) -long tributary}} as simply {{xt|4.9-mile (7.9&nbsp;km) tributary}}).

For optional hyphenation of compound '''points of the compass''' such as ''southwest/south-west'', see {{section link||Compass points}}.

Do not use a capital letter after a hyphen except for a proper name following the hyphen: {{xt|Graeco-Roman}} and {{xt|Mediterranean-style}}, but not {{!xt|Gandhi-Like}}. In titles of published works, when given in [[title case]], follow the capitalization rule for each part independently ({{xt|''The Out-of-Towners''}}), unless reliable sources consistently do otherwise in a particular case ({{xt|''The History of Middle-earth''}}).

Hyphenation rules in other languages may be different. Thus, in French a place name such as {{xt|Trois-Rivières}} ('Three Rivers') is hyphenated, when it would not be in English. Follow reliable sources in such cases.

'''Spacing:''' A hyphen is never followed or preceded by a space, except when hanging {{crossref|(see above)}} or when used to display parts of words independently, such as {{xt|the prefix sub-}}{{nbsp}}and {{xt|the suffix{{nbsp}}-less}}.

'''Image filenames and redirects:''' Image filenames are not part of the encyclopedic content; they are tools. They are most useful if they can be readily typed, so they usually use hyphens instead of dashes. Similarly, article titles with dashes should also have a corresponding redirect from a copy of the title with hyphens: for example, {{xt|[[Michelson-Morley experiment]]}} redirects to {{xt|[[Michelson–Morley experiment]]}}.

'''Non-breaking:''' A [[non-breaking hyphen]] ({{tlx|nbhyph}}) will {{em|not}} be used as a point of line-wrap.

{{Shortcut|MOS:SHY|MOS:SOFTHYPHEN}}
{{Anchor|shy}}
'''Soft hyphens:''' Use [[soft hyphen]]s to mark locations where a word will be broken and hyphenated {{em|if necessary}} at the end of a line of text, usually in [[Longest English words|very long words]] or narrow spaces (such as captions, narrow table columns, or text adjacent to a very wide image), for example: {{tlx|shy|Penn|syl|va|nia and Mass|a|chu|setts style themselves com|mon|wealths.}}. Use sparingly to avoid making wikitext difficult to read and edit. For more information, see [[Help:Line-break handling#%3Cwbr /%3E and soft hyphens|Help:Line-break handling]].

'''Encoding''': The hyphen is represented by the {{small|ASCII/UNICODE [[hyphen-minus|HYPHEN-MINUS]]}} character, which is entered by the hyphen or minus key on all standard keyboards. Do not use the {{small|[[Hyphen#Unicode|UNICODE HYPHEN]]}} character.

Hyphenation involves many subtleties that cannot be covered here; the rules and examples presented above illustrate the broad principles.

=== Dashes<span id="Em dashes"></span><span id="Unspaced em dash"></span><span id="En dashes"></span><span id="Spaced en dash"></span> ===
{{redirect|BTW:DASH|the overview of BattleTechWiki discussions|BattleTechWiki:Dashboard}}
{{Shortcut|MOS:DASH|MOS:EMDASH|MOS:ENDASH}}

Two forms of dash are used on BattleTechWiki: '''[[en dash]]''' ({{xt|–}}) and '''[[em dash]]''' ({{xt|—}}). To enter them, click on them in the [[Help:CharInsert|CharInsert toolbar]], or enter them manually as:
*<code>&amp;ndash;</code> or <code>&amp;mdash;</code>
*{{tlx|endash}} or {{tlx|emdash}}
Do not use a double hyphen (<code>--</code>) to stand in for a dash. {{crossref|(See also: [[BattleTechWiki:How to make dashes]].)}}

Sources use dashes in varying ways. For consistency and clarity, BattleTechWiki adopts the following principles.

====In article titles====
In [[BattleTechWiki:Article titles|article titles]], do not use a hyphen ({{xt|-}}) as a substitute for an en dash, for example in ''[[eye–hand span]]'' (since ''eye'' does not modify ''hand''). Nonetheless, to aid searching and linking, provide a redirect with hyphens replacing the en dash(es), as in ''[[eye-hand span]]''. Similarly, provide [[Template:Category redirect|category redirects]] for categories containing dashes. When an en dash is being used as a separator in an article title or section heading, editors may choose whether to capitalize what follows, taking into consideration [[#Retaining existing styles|the existing practice]] and [[BattleTechWiki:Article titles#Consistent titling|consistency with related articles]].

====Punctuating a sentence (em or en dashes)====
{{Anchor|DASHVAR}}Dashes are often used to mark divisions within a sentence: in pairs (parenthetical dashes, instead of parentheses or pairs of commas) or singly (perhaps instead of a colon). They may also indicate an abrupt stop or interruption, in reporting quoted speech. In all these cases, use either unspaced em dashes or spaced en dashes, with consistency in any one article:
*An em dash is {{em|unspaced}} (with no space on either side):
{{Block indent|{{xt|Another "planet" was detected—but it was later found to be a moon of Saturn.}}}}
*An en dash is {{em|spaced}} (with a space on each side) when used as sentence punctuation:
{{Block indent|{{xt|Another "planet" was detected{{spaced ndash}}but it was later found to be a moon of Saturn.}}}}
Ideally, use a non-breaking space before the en dash, which prevents the en dash from occurring at the beginning of a line (markup: {{tlx|spaced ndash}} or {{tlx|snd}} or <code>&amp;nbsp;–</code> or <code>&amp;nbsp;&amp;ndash;</code>):
{{Block indent|<code><nowiki>Another "planet" was detected{{snd}}but it was later found to be a moon of Saturn.</nowiki></code>}}
But do not insert a non-breaking or other space where the en dash should be unspaced {{crossref|printworthy=y|(see {{section link||Other uses (en dash only)}})}}.

Dashes can clarify the sentence structure when there are already commas or parentheses, or both.
*{{xt|The book summarizes works of some major philosophers in chronological order: Descartes, Locke, Hume{{snd}}but not his ''Treatise'' (deemed too complex for the target audience){{snd}}and Kant.}}

{{anchor|Spare the dash}}{{Shortcut|MOS:SPARETHEDASH|MOS:NOTRIPLEDASH}}
Use dashes sparingly. More than two in a single sentence makes the structure unclear; it takes time for the reader to see which dashes, if any, form a pair.
*{{xt|The birds{{snd}}at least the ones Darwin collected{{snd}}had red and blue feathers.}}
*{{xt|"We have run aground at{{snd}}", was the final, incomplete message received from the ship.}}
*Avoid: {{!xt|First{{snd}}at a marshy site leveled with landfill{{snd}}came the workshop{{snd}}then administrative and other buildings.}}
*Better: {{xt|First{{snd}}at a marshy site leveled with landfill{{snd}}came the workshop; administrative and other buildings were erected later.}}

=====In ranges that might otherwise be expressed with ''to'' or ''through''<span id="Ranges"></span><span id="Number ranges"></span>=====
{{Shortcut|MOS:ENTO|MOS:ENFROM|MOS:RANGE|MOS:RANGES}}
{{Hatnote|This section is about ranges of numbers, dates, or times. For other ranges, such as ranges of physical locations, see {{section link||In compounds when the connection might otherwise be expressed with to, versus, and, or between}}.}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Ranges}}

For ranges between numbers, dates, or times, use an en dash:
*{{xt|pp.&nbsp;7–19}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|64–75%}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|Henry&nbsp;VIII reigned 1509–1547}}

Do not change hyphens to dashes in filenames, [[URL]]s, or templates such as {{tlx|Bibleverse}} (which formats verse ranges into URLs), even if a range is embedded in them.

Do not mix en dashes with ''between'' or ''from''.
*{{xt|450–500 people}}
*{{xt|between 450 and 500 people}}, not {{!xt|between 450–500 people}}
*{{xt|from 450 to 500 people}}, not {{!xt|from 450–500 people}}
*{{xt|from 1961 to 1964}}, not {{!xt|from 1961–1964}}
*{{xt|between the 1961–1962 and 1967–1968 seasons, ticket sales dropped substantially}} (or {{xt|between the 1961–62 and 1967–68 seasons}})

The en dash in a range is always unspaced, except when either or both elements of the range include at least one space, hyphen, or en dash; in such cases, {{tl|snd}} between them will provide the proper formatting.
*{{nobr| {{xt|July 23, 1790{{snd}}December 1, 1791}}}} (not {{nobr| {{!xt|July 23, 1790–December 1, 1791}}}})
*{{nobr| {{xt|14 May{{snd}}2 August 2011}}}} (not {{nobr| {{!xt|14 May–2 August 2011}}}})
*{{nobr| {{xt|1–17 September}}}} (and note in this case that the second element of the range is ''17'' not ''17{{nbsp}}September'');&nbsp;&nbsp; {{nobr| {{xt|February–October 2009}}}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{nobr| {{xt|1492{{snd}}7 April 1556}}}}
*{{nobr| {{xt|Christmas Day{{snd}}New Year's Eve}}}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{nobr| {{xt|Christmas 2001{{snd}}Easter 2002}}}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{nobr| {{xt|10:30 pm Tuesday{{snd}}1:25 am Wednesday}}}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{nobr| {{xt|6:00 p.m.{{snd}}9:30 p.m.}}}} (but {{nobr| {{xt|6:00–9:30 p.m.}}}})
*{{xt|wavelengths in the range {{nobr| 28 mm{{snd}}17&nbsp;m.}}}}
*{{nobr| {{xt|pages 5-7{{snd}}5-9}}}}<!-- The three elements of this range are each hyphenated. Example: the range is three pages "5-7", "5-8", and "5-9". -->

If negative values are involved, an unspaced en dash might be confusing:
*{{xt|−10 to 10}}, not {{!xt|−10–10}} (though {{xt|−10{{snd}}10}} might work in a table consistently formatted with {{var|x}}–{{var|y}} constructions)

=====In compounds when the connection might otherwise be expressed with ''to'', ''versus'', ''and'', or ''between''<span class="anchor" id="ENBETWEEN"></span>=====
{{Shortcut|MOS:ENBETWEEN}}

Here, the relationship is thought of as parallel, symmetric, equal, oppositional, or at least involving {{em|separate or independent elements}}. The components may be nouns, adjectives, verbs, or any other independent part of speech. Often, if the components are reversed there would be little change of meaning.
*{{xt|boyfriend–girlfriend problems}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|the Paris–Montpellier route}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|a New York–Los Angeles flight}}
*{{xt|iron–cobalt interactions}}; the components are parallel and reversible; iron and cobalt retain their identity
*Wrong: {{!xt|an iron–roof shed}}; ''iron'' modifies ''roof'', so use a hyphen: {{xt|an iron-roof shed}}
*Wrong: {{!xt|a singer–songwriter}}; not separate persons, so use a hyphen: {{xt|a singer-songwriter}}
*{{xt|red–green colorblind}}; red and green are separate independent colors, not mixed
*Wrong: {{!xt|blue–green algae}}; a blended, intermediate color, so use a hyphen: {{xt|blue-green algae}}
*{{xt|a 51–30 win}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|a 12–0 perfect season}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|a 22–17 majority vote}}; but prefer spelling out when using words instead of numerals: {{xt|a six-to-two majority decision}}, not with the awkward {{!xt|six–two}};&nbsp;&nbsp;avoid confusingly reversed order: {{!xt|a 17–22 majority vote}}, with parties, result, and number order in logical agreement.}}
*{{xt|a 50–50 joint venture}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|a 60–40 split}};&nbsp;&nbsp; avoid using a slash (stroke) here, which indicates division
*{{xt|the Uganda–Tanzania War}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|the Roman–Syrian War}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|the east–west runway}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|the Lincoln–Douglas debates}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|a carbon–carbon bond}}
*{{xt|diode–transistor logic}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|the analog–digital distinction}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|push–pull output}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|on–off switch}}
*{{xt|a pro-establishment–anti-intellectual alliance}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|Singapore–Sumatra–Java shipping lanes}}
*{{xt|the ballerina's rapid walk–dance transitions}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|a male–female height ratio of 1.14}}

Generally, use a hyphen in compounded proper names of single entities.
*[[Guinea-Bissau|{{xt|Guinea-Bissau}}]]; Bissau is its capital, and this name distinguishes the country from neighboring [[Guinea]]
*{{xt|Wilkes-Barre}}, a single city named after two people, but {{xt|Minneapolis–Saint Paul}}, an area encompassing two cities
*{{xt|John Lennard-Jones}}, an individual named after two families

{{Anchor|Anglo-|Dual nationalities}}
{{Shortcut|MOS:DUALNATIONALITIES}}
Use an en dash between the names of nations or nationalities when referring to an association between them. For people and things identifying with multiple nationalities, use a hyphen when using the combination adjectivally and a space when they are used as nouns, with the first used attributively to modify the second.
*{{xt|an Italian–Swiss border crossing}};&nbsp;&nbsp; but {{xt|an Italian-Swiss newspaper}} for {{xt|Italian-speaking Swiss}}
*{{xt|France–Britain rivalry}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|French–British rivalry}}
*{{xt|an Indian-American scientist}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|was especially popular with Indian Americans}}
*Wrong: {{!xt|Franco–British rivalry}}; ''Franco-'' is a {{em|combining form}}, not an independent word, so use a hyphen: {{xt|Franco-British rivalry}}

A slash or some other alternative may occasionally be better to express a ratio, especially in technical contexts {{crossref|(see {{section link||Slashes}})}}.
*{{xt|the protein–fat ratio}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|the protein/fat ratio}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|the protein-to-fat ratio}}
*Colons are often used for strictly numeric ratios, to avoid confusion with subtraction and division: {{xt|a 3:1 ratio}};&nbsp;&nbsp;{{xt|a three-to-one ratio}} {{crossref|(see {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers|Ratios}})}}.

Use an en dash for the names of two or more entities in an attributive compound.
*{{xt|the Seifert–van Kampen theorem}};&nbsp;&nbsp; {{xt|the Alpher–Bethe–Gamow theory}}
*{{xt|the Seeliger–Donker-Voet scheme}} (developed by Seeliger and Donker-Voet)
*{{xt|Comet Hale–Bopp}} or just {{xt|Hale–Bopp}} (discovered by Hale and Bopp)

Do not use an en dash for hyphenated personal names, even when they are used as adjectives:
*{{xt|Lennard-Jones potential}} with a hyphen: named after John Lennard-Jones

Do not use spaces around the en dash in any of the compounds above.

=====Instead of a hyphen, use an en dash when applying a prefix or suffix to a compound that itself includes a space, dash or hyphen<span class="anchor" id="En dash across open compounds"></span>=====
{{Shortcut|MOS:PREFIXDASH|MOS:SUFFIXDASH}}
<!-- This list of examples only includes compounds that have a space in them, but this should also apply when a compound includes a dash or hyphen. Such examples should be included. -->
*{{xt|ex–prime minister Thatcher}} (consider recasting: {{xt|former prime minister Thatcher}})
*{{xt|pre–World War II aircraft}} (consider recasting: {{xt|aircraft from before World War II}})
*{{xt|[[post–September 11 anti-war movement]]}}
*{{xt|[[Trans–New Guinea languages]]}}
<!-- *{{xt|[[post-Hartree–Fock]]}} -->
*{{xt|Turks and Caicos–based company}}
*{{xt|a Rodgers and Hammerstein–esque musical number}}

The form of category names follows the corresponding main articles, e.g., {{cat|Trans–New Guinea languages}}. 
However, the principle is not extended when compounding other words in category names, e.g., {{cat |Tennis-related lists}} and {{cat |Table tennis-related lists}} both use hyphens.

{{Anchor|To separate items in certain lists}}<!-- Old section name, may be linked-to. -->

=====To separate parts of an item in a list=====
{{Shortcut|MOS:LISTDASH}}

Spaced en dashes are sometimes used between parts of list items. For example:
*{{xt|James Galway{{snd}}flute; Anne-Sophie Mutter{{snd}}violin; Maurizio Pollini{{snd}}piano.}}
or
*{{xt|"The Future" – 7:21}}
*{{xt|"Ain't No Cure for Love" – 6:17}}
*{{xt|"Bird on the Wire" – 6:14}}

Editors may choose whether to capitalize what follows, taking into consideration [[#Retaining existing styles|the existing practice]] and [[BattleTechWiki:Article titles#Consistent titling|consistency with related articles]].

====Other uses (en dash only)<span id="En dashes: other uses"></span>====
The [[en dash]] (–) has other roles, beyond its use as a sentence-punctuating dash {{crossref|(see immediately above)}}. It is often analogous to the hyphen {{crossref|(see {{section link||Hyphens}})}}, which {{em|joins components}} more strongly than the en dash; or to the slash {{crossref|(see {{Section link||Slashes}})}}, which {{em|separates alternatives}} more definitely. Consider the exact meaning when choosing which to use.

====Other uses (em dash only)====
An [[#Indentation|indented]] em dash may be used before a name or other source when attributing below a [[#Block quotations|block quotation]], poem, etc. This dash should not be fully spaced, though it is best for [[BattleTechWiki:Reuse|metadata]] and [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility|accessibility]] reasons to [[hair-space]] it from the name.because the actual Unicode character ({{hair space}}) is almost invisible, the meaning of the numerical HTML entity ({{!mxt|&amp;#8202;}}) is a bit obscure, and the named HTML entity "{{!mxt|&amp;hairsp;}}" is not standard and not supported in many browsers.}} Most of BattleTechWiki's quotation templates with attribution-related parameters already provide this formatting.

For example, {{mxt|{{tlp|in5}}—{{tl|hair space}}Charlotte Brontë}} will produce:

{{in5}}—{{hair space}}Charlotte Brontë

====Other dashes====
{{Shortcut|MOS:NEGATIVE}}

Do not use [[Typewriter#Typewriter conventions|typewriter approximations]] or other substitutes, such as two hyphens ({{!xt|--}}), for em or en dashes.

For a negative sign or subtraction operator use {{Unichar|2212|MINUS SIGN|nlink=Plus and minus signs#Minus sign|html=}}, which can also be generated by clicking on the {{Code|−}} following the {{Code|±}} in the {{xt|Insert}} toolbar beneath the edit window. Do not use {{Unichar|2212}} inside a {{tag|math|o}} tag, as the character gives a syntax error; instead use a normal hyphen {{Unichar|002D}}.

===Slashes (strokes)<span class="anchor" id="Slashes"></span>===
{{redirect|BTW:SLASH|information on subpages, which contain a slash in their titles|BTW:SUB}}
{{Shortcut|MOS:SLASH|MOS:STROKE|MOS:/}}

Generally, avoid joining two words with a [[Slash (punctuation)|slash]], also called a forward slash, stroke or solidus ({{xt|&nbsp;/&nbsp;}}), because it suggests that the words are related without specifying how. Replace with clearer wording.

An example: {{!xt|The parent/instructor must be present at all times.}} Must both be present? (Then write {{xt|the parent and the instructor}}.) Must at least one be present? (Then write {{xt|the parent or the instructor}}.) Are they the same person? (Use a hyphen: {{xt|the parent-instructor}}.)

In circumstances involving a distinction or disjunction, the en dash {{crossref|(see above)}} is usually preferable to the slash: {{xt|the digital–analog distinction}}.

An unspaced slash may be used:
*to indicate [[phonemic]] [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Pronunciation|pronunciations]] ({{xt|''rivet'' is pronounced {{IPA|/ˈrɪvət/}}}});
*in a fraction (<code>7/8</code>, but see other techniques at {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers|Fractions and ratios}});
*to indicate regular defined yearly periods that do not coincide with calendar years (e.g., {{xt|the 2009/2010 fiscal year}}), if that is the convention used in reliable sources (see {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers|Long periods of time}} for further explanation);
*to express a ratio, in a form in which a slash is conventionally used (e.g., {{xt|the price-to-earnings ratio, or P/E ratio for short}});
*in an expression or abbreviation widely used outside BattleTechWiki (e.g., {{xt|n/a}} or {{xt|N/A}} for ''not applicable'').

A spaced slash may be used:
*to separate run-on lines in quoted poetry or song ({{xt|To be or not to be: that is the question:&nbsp;/ Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer&nbsp;/ The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune}}), or rarely in quoted prose, where careful marking of a paragraph break is textually important;
*to separate items that include at least one internal space ({{xt|the NY&nbsp;31 east&nbsp;/ NY&nbsp;370 exit}}), where for some reason use of a slash is unavoidable.

To avoid awkward linebreaks, code spaced slashes (and fraction slashes) with a non-breaking space on the left and a normal space on the right, as in: <code>My mama told me&amp;nbsp;/ You better shop around</code>. For short constructions, both spaces should be non-breaking: {{nobr|<code>x&amp;nbsp;/&amp;nbsp;y</code>}}. On the other hand, if two long words are connected by an unspaced slash, an {{tl|wbr}} added after the slash will allow a linebreak at that point.

Do not use the [[backslash]] character ({{!xt|&nbsp;\&nbsp;}}) in place of a slash.

Prefer the division operator ({{xt|&nbsp;÷&nbsp;}}) to slash or fraction slash when representing elementary arithmetic in general text: {{xt|{{nowrap|10 ÷ 2 {{=}} 5}}}}. In more advanced mathematical formulas, a [[Vinculum (symbol)|vinculum]] or slash is preferred: <math>\textstyle\frac{x^n}{n!}</math> or {{xt|{{var|x}}<sup>{{var|n}}</sup>/{{var|n}}!}} {{cross reference|1=(see {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers|Common mathematical symbols}} and [[Help:Displaying a formula]])}}.

====And/or====
{{Shortcut|MOS:ANDOR}}

Avoid writing {{!xt|and/or}} unless other constructions would be lengthy or awkward. Instead of {{!xt|Most had trauma and/or smoke inhalation}}, write simply {{xt|trauma or smoke inhalation}} (which would normally be interpreted as an [[inclusive-or]] to imply ''or both''); or, for emphasis or precision or both, write {{xt|trauma or smoke inhalation or both}}. Where more than two possibilities are present, instead of {{!xt|x, y, and/or{{nbsp}}z}} write {{xt|one or more of x, y, and{{nbsp}}z}} or {{xt|some or all of x, y, and{{nbsp}}z}}.

===Number (pound, hash) sign and numero<span class="anchor" id="Number signs"></span><span class="anchor" id="Number sign"></span>===
{{Shortcut|MOS:NUMBERSIGN|MOS:NUMERO|MOS:HASH|MOS:POUND}}
{{For|pound sterling and other currency symbols|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Currencies and monetary values}}
{{see also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers}}

Avoid using the [[Number sign|{{!xt|#}}]] symbol (known as the [[number sign]], hash sign, pound sign, or octothorpe) when referring to numbers or rankings. Instead write {{xt|number}}, {{xt|No.}} or {{xt|Nos.}}; do not use the symbol [[Numero sign|{{!xt|№}}]]. For example:
{| role="presentation" style="margin:0.2em 0 0.5em 1.6em; background:transparent"
|-
| style="padding-right:1em" | {{em|Incorrect:}}
| {{!xt|Her album reached #1 in the UK album charts.}}
|-
| style="padding-right:1em" | {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|Her album reached number one in the UK album charts.}}
|-
| style="padding-right:1em" | {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|Her album reached {{Abbr|No.|Number}} 1 in the UK album charts.}}
|-
| style="padding-right:1em" | {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|Her albums ''Foo'' and ''Bar'' reached {{abbr|Nos.|Numbers}} 1 and 3.}}
|-
| style="padding-right:1em" | {{em|Correct:}}
| {{xt|Her albums ''Foo'' and ''Bar'' reached numbers one and three in the UK album charts.}}
|}

An exception is issue numbers of comic books, which unlike for other periodicals are conventionally given in general text in the form {{xt|#1}}, unless a volume is also given, in which case write {{xt|volume two, number seven}} or {{xt|{{Abbr|Vol.|Volume}} 2, {{Abbr|No.|Number}} 7}}. Another exception are periodical publications carrying both, issue ''and'' number designations (typically one being a year-relative and the other an absolute value); they should be given in the form {{xt|2 #143}} in citations, or be spelt out as
{{xt|{{Abbr|Iss.|Issue}} 2, {{Abbr|No.|Number}} 143}} in text. When using the [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Abbreviations|abbreviations]], write {{xt|<code><nowiki>{{abbr|Vol.|Volume}}</nowiki></code>}}, {{xt|<code><nowiki>{{abbr|Iss.|Issue}}</nowiki></code>}}, {{xt|<code><nowiki>{{abbr|No.|Number}}</nowiki></code>}}, or {{xt|<code><nowiki>{{abbr|Nos.|Numbers}}</nowiki></code>}}, at first occurrence.

===Terminal punctuation<span id="Punctuation at the end of a sentence"></span>===
{{Shortcut|MOS:FULLSTOP|MOS:EXCLAMATION|MOS:PERIOD}}
*Exclamation and question marks have almost no application in encyclopedic writing.
*For the use of three periods in succession, see {{section link||Ellipses}}.
*In some contexts, no terminal punctuation is necessary. In such cases, the sentence often does not start with a capital letter. See {{section link||Quotations}} and {{section link||Quotation marks}}.
*[[Sentence fragment]]s in captions or lists should in most cases not end with a period. See {{section link||Formatting of captions}} and {{section link||Bulleted and numbered lists}}.

===Spacing<span id="Spaces following terminal punctuation"></span>===
{{Shortcut|MOS:DOUBLESPACE|MOS:PUNCTSPACE}}

In normal text, never put a space before a comma, semicolon, colon, period/full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark (even in quoted material; see {{section link||Typographic conformity}}).

Some editors place two spaces after a period/full stop ({{crossref|see [[Sentence spacing]]}}); these are condensed to one space when the page is rendered, so it does not affect what readers see.

===Consecutive punctuation marks===
{{Shortcut|MOS:CONSECUTIVE}}

Where a word or phrase that includes terminal punctuation ends a sentence, do not add a second terminal punctuation mark. If a quoted phrase or title ends in a question mark or exclamation mark, it may confuse readers as to the nature of the article sentence containing it, and so is usually better reworded to be mid-sentence. Where such a word or phrase occurs mid-sentence, new terminal punctuation (usually a period) must be added at the end.

{| role="presentation" style="margin:0.2em 0 0.5em 1.6em; background:transparent"
|-
| {{em|Incorrect:}} || {{!xt|Slovak returned to the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1985 after growing tired of What Is This?.}}
|-
| {{em|Acceptable}}: || {{xt|Slovak returned to the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1985 after growing tired of What Is This?}}
|-
| {{em|Better}}: || {{xt|Slovak, having grown tired of What Is This?, returned to the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1985.}}
|-
| {{em|Incorrect:}} || {{!xt|He made several films with Sammy Davis Jr..}}
|-
| {{em|Correct:}} || {{xt|He made several films with Sammy Davis Jr.}}
|}

===Punctuation and footnotes===
{{Shortcut|MOS:CITEPUNCT|MOS:PUNCTFOOT|MOS:REFPUNCT|MOS:PUNCTREF|MOS:REFSPACE|MOS:PF}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Citing sources}}

'''Ref tags''' ({{tag|ref}}) are used to create ''[[Help:Footnotes|footnotes]]'' (sometimes called ''endnotes'' or just ''notes''), as [[BattleTechWiki:Citing sources#Inline citations|citation footnotes]] and sometimes [[Help:Explanatory notes|explanatory notes]]. All ref tags should {{em|immediately}} follow the text to which the footnote applies, with no intervening space. Refs are placed {{em|after}} adjacent punctuation, not before (apart from the exceptions below). Adjacent ref tags should have no space between them, nor should there be any between ref tags and [[:Category:Inline templates|inline dispute/cleanup templates]].

When ref tags are used, a [[Help:Footnotes#Creating the footnote list|footnote list]] must be added, and this is usually placed in the [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Layout#Notes and references|References]] section, near the end of the article in the [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Layout#Standard appendices and footers|standard appendices and footers]].

{{Hatnote|Note: In the examples below, the superscript callouts (for example here{{Dummy ref|10}}) are dummies and are not clickable.}}
*{{em|Example}}: [[Flightless bird]]s have a reduced [[Keel (bird anatomy)|keel]],{{Dummy ref|10}} and they also have smaller wing bones than flying birds of similar size.{{Dummy ref|11}}{{Dummy ref|12}}

'''Exceptions''': Ref tags are placed {{em|before}} dashes, not after. Where a footnote applies only to material within parentheses, the ref tags belong just before the closing parenthesis.
*{{em|Example}}: Paris is not the capital city of England{{snd}}the capital of which is London{{Dummy ref|10}}{{snd}}but that of France,{{Dummy ref|11}} and it is widely known as a beautiful city.{{Dummy ref|12}}
*{{em|Example}}: Kim Jong-un (Korean: 김정은;{{Dummy ref|10}} Hanja: 金正恩{{Dummy ref|11}}) is the [[Supreme Leader (North Korean title)|Supreme Leader of North Korea]] and the [[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea|leader]] of the [[Workers' Party of Korea]].{{Dummy ref|a}}

===Punctuation after formulae===
A sentence that ends with a formula should have terminal punctuation (period, exclamation mark, or question mark) after the formula. Within a sentence, place other punctuation (such as commas or colons) after the formula just as if the text were not a formula. See {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Mathematics|Punctuation after formulae}}.

==Dates and time==
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Chronological items}}

For ranges of dates and times, see {{section link||En dashes: other uses}}.

Dates should be [[BattleTechWiki:Linking|linked]] only when they are germane and topical to the subject, as discussed at {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Linking|Chronological items}}.

===Time of day===
{{Main|MOS:TIME}}

Times of day are normally expressed in figures rather than words. Context determines whether the [[12-hour clock|12-]] or the [[24-hour clock|24-hour]] format is more appropriate.
*Twelve-hour clock times are written in one of two forms: {{xt|11:15&nbsp;a.m.}} and {{xt|2:30&nbsp;p.m.}}, or {{xt|11:15&nbsp;am}} and {{xt|2:30&nbsp;pm}} (wherein the spaces should be [[#Non-breaking spaces|non-breaking]]). Use {{xt|noon}} and {{xt|midnight}} rather than {{!xt|12&nbsp;pm}} and {{!xt|12&nbsp;am}}; it may need to be specified whether ''midnight'' refers to the start or end of a date.
*Twenty-four-hour clock times are written in the form {{xt|08:15}} and {{xt|22:55}}, with no suffix. Midnight written as {{xt|00:00}} begins the day; {{xt|24:00}} ends it.

===Dates<span id="Choice of format"></span><span id="Days"></span>===
{{Main|MOS:DATEFORMAT}}

Full dates are formatted {{xt|{{nobr|10 June 1921}}}} or {{xt|{{nobr|June 10, 1921}}}}; or where the year is omitted, use {{xt|{{nobr|10 June}}}} or {{xt|{{nobr|June 10}}}}.
*The dates in the ''text'' of any one article should all have the same format (day-first or month-first).
**For date formats in citations, see {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Citing sources|Citation style}}.
**Dates in quotations and titles are always left as-is.
**If a numerical format is required (e.g., for conciseness in lists and tables), use the YYYY-MM-DD format: {{xt|{{nobr|2005-04-03}}}}.
*Articles on topics with strong ties to a particular English-speaking country should generally use the more common date format for that country (month-first for the US, except in military usage; day-first for most others; articles related to Canada may use either consistently). Otherwise, do not change an article from one date format to the other without good reason.

===Months===
{{Main|MOS:MONTH}}
*For month and year, write {{xt|June 1921}}, with no comma.
*Abbreviations for months, such as {{xt|Feb}}, are used only where space is extremely limited. Such abbreviations should use three letters only, and should not be followed by a period (full point) except at the end of a sentence.

===Seasons===
{{Main|MOS:SEASON}}
*Avoid ambiguous references to [[seasons]], which are different in the southern and northern hemispheres.
*Names of seasons may be used when there is a logical connection to the event being described ({{xt|the autumn harvest}}) or when referring to a phase of a natural yearly cycle ({{xt|migration typically starts in mid-spring}}). Otherwise, neutral wording is usually preferable ({{xt|He was elected in November 1992}}, not {{!xt|He was elected in the fall of 1992}}).
*Journals and other publications that are issued seasonally (e.g., "Summer 2005") should be dated as such in citations {{crossref|(for more information, see {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Citing sources|Seasonal publication dates and differing calendar systems}})}}.

===Years and longer periods===
{{Main|MOS:DECADE|MOS:CENTURY|MOS:ERA}}
*Do not use ''the year'' before the digits ({{xt|1995}}, not {{!xt|the year 1995}}), unless the meaning would otherwise be unclear.
*Decades are written in the format {{xt|the 1980s}}, with no apostrophe. Use the two-digit form ('80s) only with an established social or cultural meaning. Avoid forms such as {{!xt|the 1700s}} that could refer to ten or a hundred years.
*Years are denoted by [[Anno Domini|AD and BC]] or, equivalently, [[Common Era|CE and BCE]]. Use only one system within an article, and do not change from one system to the other without good reason. The abbreviations are written without periods, and with a [[#Non-breaking spaces|non-breaking space]], as in {{xt|5&nbsp;BC}}. Omit AD or CE unless omitting it would cause ambiguity.

More information on all the above topics can be found at {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers|Chronological items}}, including the handling of dates expressed in different calendars, and times corresponding to different time zones.

===Current===
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:As of|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Relative time references}}

Terms such as "current", "now", and "recent" should be avoided. What is current today may not be tomorrow; situations change over time. Instead, use date- and time-specific text. To help keep information updated use {{tlx|As of}}, which will allow editors to catalog and update dated statements.

{| role="presentation" style="margin:0.2em 0 0.5em 1.6em; background:transparent"
|-
| {{em|Incorrect:}} || {{!xt|He is the current ambassador to&nbsp;...}}
|-
| {{em|Correct:}} || {{xt|As of March 2011, he is the ambassador to&nbsp;...}}
|}

==Numbers<span id="Spelling out numbers"></span>==
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Numbers}}
*Integers from zero to nine are spelled out in words. Integers greater than nine {{em|expressible in one or two words}} may be expressed either in numerals or in words. Other numbers are given in numerals or in forms such as {{xt|21{{nbsp}}million}}. See {{section link|MOS:NUM|Numbers as figures or words}}.
*In general, in numbers with five or more digits to the left of the decimal point, use commas to group those digits. Numbers with four digits are at the editor's discretion: {{xt|12,345}}, but either {{xt|1,000}} or {{xt|1000}}. See {{section link|MOS:NUM|Grouping of digits}}.
*In general, use decimals rather than fractions for measurements, but fractions are sometimes used with [[imperial units|imperial]] and [[U.S. customary units|U.S. customary]] units. Keep articles internally consistent.
*[[Scientific notation]] (e.g., {{xt|{{val|5.8|e=7|u=kg}}}}) is preferred in scientific contexts. Markup: <code><nowiki>{{val|5.8|e=7|u=kg}}</nowiki></code>.
*Write out "million" and "billion" on the first use. After that, unspaced "M" can be used for millions and "bn" for billions: {{xt|70M}} and {{xt|25bn}}. See {{section link|MOS:NUM|Numbers as figures or words}} for similar words.
*Write {{xt|3%}}, {{xt|three percent}}, or {{xt|three per cent}}, but not {{!xt|3{{nbsp}}%}} (with a space) or {{!xt|three{{nbsp}}%}}. "Percent" is American usage, and "per cent" is British usage {{crossref|(see {{section link||National varieties of English}})}}. In ranges of percentages written with an en dash, write only a single percent sign: {{xt|3–14%}}.
*Indicate uncertainties as e.g., {{xt|{{val|1.534|0.35|e=23|u=m}}}}. Markup: <code><nowiki>{{val|1.534|0.35|e=23|u=m}}</nowiki></code>. See {{section link|MOS:NUM|Uncertainty and rounding}} for other formats.

==Currencies==
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Currencies and monetary values}}
*Use the full abbreviation on first use ({{xt|US$}} for the US dollar and {{xt|A$}} for the Australian dollar), {{em|unless the currency is already clear from context}}. For example, the government of the United States always spends money in American dollars, and never in Canadian or Australian dollars.
*Use only one symbol with ranges, as in {{xt|$250–300}}.
*In articles that are not specific to a country, express amounts of money in [[United States dollars]], [[euros]], or [[pounds sterling]]. Do not link the names or symbols of currencies that are commonly known to English-speakers ({{xt|$}}, {{xt|€}}, {{xt|£}}), unless there is a particular reason to do so; do not use potentially ambiguous currency symbols, unless the meaning is clear in the context.
*In country-specific articles, use the currency of the country. On first occurrence, consider including conversion to US dollars, euros, or pounds sterling, at a rate appropriate to the context. For example, {{xt|Since 2001 the grant has been 10,000,000 [[Swedish krona|Swedish kronor]] (€1.0M as of August 2009)}}. Wording such as "approx." is not appropriate for simple rounding-off of the converted amount.
*Generally, use the full name of a currency, and link it on its first appearance if English-speakers are likely to be unfamiliar with it ({{xt|52 [[Nepalese rupee]]s}}); subsequent occurrences can use the currency sign (just {{xt|88 Rs}}).
*Most currency symbols are placed {{em|before}} the number, and unspaced {{nobr|({{xt|$123}} not {{!xt|$ 123}}).}}

==Units of measurement==
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Units of measurement}}
*The main unit in which a quantity is expressed should generally be an [[International System of Units|SI]] unit or [[Non-SI units mentioned in the SI|non-SI unit officially accepted for use with the SI]]. However,
**Scientific articles may also use specialist units appropriate for the branch of science in question.
**In non-scientific articles with strong ties to the United States, the main unit is generally a U.S. customary unit ({{xt|22 pounds (10 kg)}}).
**In non-scientific articles with strong ties to the United Kingdom, although the main unit is generally a metric unit ({{xt|10 kilograms (22 lb)}}), imperial units are still used as the main units in some contexts ({{xt|7 miles (11 km) by road}}).
*Where English-speaking countries use different units for the same measurement, provide a conversion in parentheses. Examples: {{xt|the Mississippi River is {{convert|2320|mi|km|0}} long}}; {{xt|the Murray River is {{convert|2375|km|mi|0}} long}}. See {{tlx|convert}}.
*In a direct quotation, always retain the source's units. Any conversion should follow in square brackets (or, an obscure use of units can be explained in the article text or a [[BattleTechWiki:Footnotes|footnote]]).
*Where space is limited (such as tables, infoboxes, parenthetical notes, and mathematical formulas) unit symbols are preferred. In prose, unit names should be given in full if used only a few times but symbols may be used when a unit (especially one with a long name) is used repeatedly after spelling out the first use (e.g., {{xt|Up to 15 kilograms of filler is used for a batch of 250{{nbsp}}kg}}), except for unit names that are hardly ever spelled out ({{xt|°C}} rather than {{!xt|degrees Celsius}}).
*Most unit names are not capitalized (see {{section link||National varieties of English}} for spelling differences).
*Use "per" when writing out a unit, rather than a slash: {{xt|metre per second}}, not {{!xt|metre/second}}.
*Units unfamiliar to general readers should be presented as a name–symbol pair on first use, linking the unit name ({{xt|Energies were originally 2.3 [[megaelectronvolt]]s (MeV), but were eventually 6{{nbsp}}MeV}}).
*For ranges, see {{section link||En dashes: other uses}}, and MOS:NUM, at {{section link|nopage=y|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers|Date ranges|Percentages|Unit names and symbols|Formatting of monetary values}}.
*Unit symbols are preceded by figures, not by spelled-out numbers. Values and unit symbols are separated by a [[non-breaking space]]. For example, {{xt|5&nbsp;min}}. The percent sign and units of degrees, minutes, and seconds {{em|for angles and coordinates}} are unspaced.

==Common mathematical symbols==
{{Shortcut|MOS:COMMONMATH}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Mathematics}}
*For a negative sign or subtraction operator, use a minus sign ({{xt|−}}, Unicode character U+2212 <small>MINUS SIGN</small>). Input by clicking on it in the insert box beneath the edit window or by typing <code>&amp;minus;</code>.
*For multiplication, use a multiplication sign ({{unichar|d7|MULTIPLICATION SIGN}}) or a dot ({{unichar|22c5|DOT OPERATOR}}), which are input by clicking on them in the edit toolbox under the edit window or by entering <code>&amp;times;</code> or <code>&amp;sdot;</code>. Care should be taken not to confuse the dot operator (in the "Math and logic" section of the edit toolbox) with an interpunct (in the "Insert" section of the edit toolbox) or a bullet. The letter {{xt|x}} should not be used to indicate multiplication, but it is used (unspaced) as the substitute for "by" in terms such as {{xt|[[4x4]]}}.
*[[Exponentiation]] is indicated by a superscript, {{xt|''a''<sup>''n''</sup>}} (typed as <code><nowiki>''a''<sup>''n''</sup></nowiki></code>.
*Do not use programming language notation outside computer program text. In most programming languages, subtraction, multiplication, and exponentiation are represented by the [[hyphen-minus]] <code>-</code>, the [[asterisk]] <code>*</code>, and either the [[caret]] <code>^</code> or the double asterisk <code>**</code>; [[scientific notation]] is replaced by [[E notation]].
*Symbols for [[binary operator]]s and [[binary relation|relations]] are usually spaced on both sides:
**plus, minus, and plus-or-minus (as binary operators): {{xt|+}}, {{xt|−}}, {{xt|±}} (as in {{xt|5&nbsp;−&nbsp;3}});
**multiplication and division: {{xt|×}}, {{xt|÷}};
**equals, does not equal, equals approximately: {{xt|{{=}}}}, {{xt|≠}}, {{xt|≈}};
**is less than, is less than or equal to, is greater than, is greater than or equal to: {{xt|<}}, {{xt|≤}}, {{xt|>}}, {{xt|≥}}.
*Symbols for [[unary operator]]s are closed-up to their operand:
**positive, negative, and positive-or-negative signs: {{xt|+}}, {{xt|−}}, {{xt|±}} (as in {{xt|−3}});
**other unary operators, such as the exclamation mark as a [[factorial]] sign (as in {{xt|5!}}).
*Variables are italicized, but digits and punctuation are not; only ''x'' and ''y'' are italicized in {{xt|2(5''x''&nbsp;+&nbsp;''y'')<sup>2</sup>}}.
*{{tlx|math}} can be used to style formulas to distinguish them from surrounding text. For single variables, {{tlx|mvar}} is handy.

==Grammar and usage ==
{{short|MOS:GRAMMAR}}
{{clear|right}}

===Possessives===
{{Shortcut|MOS:POSS|MOS:'S}}
{{For|the apostrophe character|#Apostrophes}}
{{For|thorough treatment of the English possessive|Apostrophe}}

====Singular nouns====
For the possessive of singular nouns, including proper names and words ending in ''s'', add ''&apos;s'' ({{xt|my daughter's achievement}}, {{xt|my niece's wedding}}, {{xt|Cortez's men}}, {{xt|the boss's office}}, {{xt|Illinois's largest employer}}, {{xt|Descartes's philosophy}}, {{xt|Verreaux's eagle}}). Exception: abstract nouns ending with an /s/ sound when followed by ''sake'' ({{xt|for goodness' sake}}, {{xt|for his conscience' sake}}). If a name ending in ''s'' or ''z'' would be difficult to pronounce with ''&apos;s'' added ({{xt|Jesus's teachings}}), consider rewording ({{xt|the teachings of Jesus}}).<!--From googling around, this bit about "s or z" is (a) something on which there's split opinion, and (b) part of a larger set of rules on similar edge cases. See https://data.grammarbook.com/blog/apostrophes/apostrophes-with-names-ending-in-s-ch-or-z/ . So I'm not sure why we're discussing just this one.-->

====Plural nouns====
{{Shortcut|MOS:PLURALNOUN}}
*For a normal plural noun ending with a pronounced ''s'', form the possessive by adding just an apostrophe ({{xt|my sons' wives}}, {{xt|my nieces' weddings}}).
*For a plural noun {{em|not}} ending with a pronounced ''s'', add ''<nowiki />'s'' ({{xt|women's careers}}, {{xt|people's habits}}, {{xt|mice's whiskers}}; {{xt|The two Dumas's careers were controversial}}, but where rewording is an option, this may be better: {{xt|The career of each Dumas was controversial}}).

====Official names====
Official names (of companies, organizations, or places) should not be altered. ({{xt|[[St Thomas' Hospital]]}} should therefore {{em|not}} be rendered as {{!xt|St Thomas's Hospital}} or {{!xt|St. Thomas Hospital}}, even for consistency.)

===Pronouns===
{{shortcut|MOS:PRONOUN}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Writing better articles#Use of pronouns}}

====First-person pronouns<span class="anchor" id="First-person pronouns"></span>====
{{Shortcut|MOS:I|MOS:OUR|MOS:PERSON|MOS:WE}}

To maintain an objective and impersonal encyclopedic voice, an article should never refer to its editors or readers using ''I'', ''my'', ''we'', ''us'', ''our'', or similar words: {{!xt|We note that some believe that bats are bugs}}. But some of these words are acceptable in certain figurative uses. For example:
*In historical articles to mean the modern world as a whole: {{xt|Only portions of ''De re publica'' have come down to us.}}
*The [[author's we|author's ''we'']] found in scientific writing ({{xt|We construct {{mvar|S}} as follows}}), though [[English passive voice|passive voice]] may be preferable ({{xt|{{mvar|S}} is constructed as follows}}).The [[English passive voice|passive voice]] is inappropriate for some forms of writing, but it is widely used in encyclopedia articles, because the passive voice avoids inappropriate first- and second-person constructions as well as tone problems. The most common uses of encyclopedic passive are to keep the focus on the subject instead of performing a [[BattleTechWiki:What BattleTechWiki is not#BattleTechWiki is not a newspaper|news-style]] shift to dwelling on a non-notable party. Contrast {{xt|The break-in was reported to police the next morning}}, versus {{!xt|Assistant manager Peggy Plimpton-Chan reported the break-in to police the next morning}}.}}

====Second-person pronouns<span class="anchor" id="Second-person pronouns"></span>====
{{Shortcut|MOS:YOU|MOS:BAIT|MOS:PEDAGOGY|MOS:SOCRATIC}}
{{redirect|BTW:YOU|"BattleTechWiki is not about {{em|you}}"|BTW:NOTYOU}}

Avoid addressing the reader using ''you'' or ''your'', which sets an inappropriate tone {{crossref|(see also {{section link||Instructional and presumptuous language}})}}.
*Use a noun or a third-person pronoun: instead of {{!xt|When you move past "Go", you collect $200}}, use {{xt|A player passing "Go" collects $200}}, or {{xt|When a player passes "Go", they collect $200}}.
*If a person cannot be specified, or when implying "anyone" as a subject, the impersonal pronoun ''[[One (pronoun)|one]]'' may be used: {{xt|a sense that one is being watched}}. Other constructions may be preferable if the pronoun ''one'' seems stilted: {{xt|a person's sense of being watched}}.
*The [[English passive voice|passive voice]] may sometimes be used instead: {{xt|Impurities are removed before bottling}}.
*Do not bait links, e.g., "{{!xt|Click here for more information}}"; let the browser's normal highlighting invite a click. ("{{!xt|Click here}}" also makes no sense to someone reading on paper.)
*Likewise, "See: (reference)" or "Consider&nbsp;..." are milder second-person baits, common in academic writing ([[pedagogy]]). This interactive personality is inconsistent with an encyclopedia's passive presentation of objective matter.
**"See" and the like can be used to internally cross-reference other BattleTechWiki material. Do not italicize words like "see". Such a cross reference should be parenthetical, so the article text stands alone if the parenthetical is removed. {{tlx|Cross reference}} can be used for this: {{tlx|Cross reference|(see <nowiki>[[Chicken]]</nowiki>)}}, {{tlx|Cross reference|(See <nowiki>[[Dacian language]]</nowiki> for details.)}} It is usually better to rewrite the material to integrate these links contextually rather than use [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Self-references to avoid|explicit BattleTechWiki self-references]].
*Do not address the reader with the [[Socratic method]] by asking and answering questions. {{!xt|Did [[Francis Bacon|Bacon]] write [[Shakespeare]]? Then who wrote Bacon?}}

===Plurals===
{{Shortcut|MOS:PLURALS|MOS:SINGULAR}}
{{See also|English plurals|Collective noun}}
{{for|the article title guideline|BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (plurals)}}

Use the appropriate plural; allow for cases (such as ''[[excursus]]'' or ''[[hanif]]'') in which a word is now listed in major English dictionaries, and normally takes an ''s'' or ''es'' plural, not its original plural: {{xt|two excursuses}}, not {{!xt|two ''excursus''}} as in Latin; {{xt|three hanifs}}, not {{!xt|three ''hunafa''}} as in Arabic.

Some [[collective noun]]s{{snd}}such as ''team'' (and proper names of them), ''army'', ''company'', ''crowd'', ''fleet'', ''government'', ''majority'', ''mess'', ''number'', ''pack'', and ''party''{{snd}}may refer either to a single entity or to the members that compose it. In British English, such words are sometimes treated as singular, but more often treated as plural, according to context (but singular is not actually {{Em|incorrect}}). In North American English, these words are almost invariably treated as singular; the major exception is that when a sports team is referred to by its short name, plural verbs are commonly used, e.g. {{xt|the [[Miami Heat|Heat]] are playing the Lakers tonight}}.

Names of towns and countries usually take singular verbs (even when grammatically plural: {{xt|the United States is in North America}}, {{xt|the Netherlands is also known as Holland}}), but exceptionally in British English, typically when used to refer to a sports team named after a town or country or when discussing actions of a government, plural is used. For example, in {{xt|[[England national football team|England]] are playing [[Germany national football team|Germany]] tomorrow}}, ''England'' refers to a [[Association football|football]] team; but in {{xt|England is in the Northern hemisphere}}, it refers to the country. See also {{section link||National varieties of English}} including {{section link||Opportunities for commonality}}.

===Verb tense<span class="anchor" id="Tense"></span><span class="anchor" id="TENSE"></span><span class="anchor" id="VERBTENSE"></span>===
{{Shortcut|MOS:TENSE|MOS:VERB|MOS:WAS|MOS:COMPNOW}}
{{redirect|MOS:PRESENT|text=For the guideline on words such as "currently", "soon", and "recently", see {{slink|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Statements likely to become outdated}}}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Biography#Tense|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Relative time references|BattleTechWiki:Writing better articles#Tense in fiction}}

By default, write articles in the present tense, including those covering works of fiction {{crossref|(see {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Writing better articles|Tense in fiction}})}} and products or works that have been discontinued. Generally, use past tense only for past events, and for subjects that are dead or no longer meaningfully exist. Use past tense for articles about periodicals no longer produced, with common-sense exceptions.<!-- RfC that resulted in preceding sentence at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Permalink/974747679#RfC:_Should_"is"_or_"was"_be_used_to_describe_periodical_publications_that_are_no_longer_being_published? -->
*{{xt|The PDP-10 is a mainframe computer family manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation from 1966 into the 1980s.}}
*{{xt|''Earth: Final Conflict'' is a Canadian science fiction television series that ran for five seasons between October 6, 1997, and May 20, 2002.}}
*{{xt|The Gordon Riots of 1780 were{{nbsp}}...}}
*{{xt|The Beatles were an English rock band that formed in Liverpool in 1960.}}
*{{xt|Barack Obama is a former president of the United States}} (not {{!xt|Barack Obama was a president of the United States}}).
*{{xt|Jumbo Comics was an adventure anthology comic book published by Fiction House from 1938 to 1953.}}
*{{xt|''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a radio show that aired live from 1974 to 2016}} (not {{!xt|''A Prairie Home Companion'' was a radio show}}).
*{{xt|''Flappy Bird'' is a mobile game developed by Vietnamese video game artist and programmer Dong Nguyen}} (not {{!xt|''Flappy Bird'' was a mobile game}}).

Tense can be used to distinguish between current and former status of a subject: {{xt|Dún Aonghasa {{strong|is}} the ruin of a prehistoric Irish cliff fort. Its original shape {{strong|was}} presumably oval or D-shaped, but parts of the cliff and fort have since collapsed into the sea.}} (Emphasis added to distinguish the different tense usages; Dún Aonghasa is a structure that was later damaged by an event.)

Always use present tense for verbs that describe genres, types, and classes, even if the subject of the description (e.g. program, library, device) no longer exists, is discontinued, or is unsupported/unmaintained.

==Vocabulary<span class="anchor" id="VOCAB"></span><span class="anchor" id="VOCABULARY"></span>==
===Contractions===
{{shortcut|MOS:CONTRACTIONS}}
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Abbreviations#Contractions}}

Avoid [[Contraction (grammar)|contractions]], which have little place in formal writing. For example, write {{xt|''do not''}} instead of {{!xt|''don't''}}. Use of {{xt|o'clock}} is an exception. Contracted titles such as {{!xt|Dr.}} and {{!xt|St}} generally should not be used but may apply in some contexts (e.g., quoted material, place names, titles of works).

===Gender-neutral language===
{{Redirect|MOS:GENDER|the style guideline regarding pronoun usage for individuals whose gender might be questioned|MOS:GENDERID}}
{{for|an essay with suggestions and sample usage|BattleTechWiki:Gender-neutral language}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Writing about women}}
{{Shortcut|MOS:GNL|MOS:S/HE}}

Use [[gender-neutral language]] – avoiding the [[generic he|generic ''he'']] and [[generic she|generic ''she'']], for example – if this can be done with clarity and precision. This does not apply to direct quotations or the titles of works (''{{xt|The Ascent of Man}}''), which should not be altered, or to wording about one-gender contexts, such as an all-female school ({{xt|When any student breaks that rule, she loses privileges}}).

References to space programs, past, present and future, should use gender-neutral phrasing: {{xt|human spaceflight}}, {{xt|robotic probe}}, {{xt|uncrewed mission}}, {{xt|crewed spacecraft}}, {{xt|piloted}}, {{xt|unpiloted}}, {{xt|astronaut}}, {{xt|cosmonaut}}, not {{!xt|manned}} or {{!xt|unmanned}}. Direct quotations and proper nouns that use gendered words should not be changed, like {{xt|Manned Maneuvering Unit}}.
{{Shortcut|MOS:SHIP}}
Ships may be referred to using either neuter forms ("it", "its") or feminine forms ("she", "her", "hers"). Either usage is acceptable, but each article should be internally consistent and employ one or the other exclusively. As with all optional styles, articles should not be changed from one style to another unless there is a substantial reason to do so. See {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Military history|Pronouns}}.

===Contested vocabulary===
Avoid words and phrases that give the impression of straining for formality, that are unnecessarily regional, or that are not widely accepted. See [[List of commonly misused English words]]; see also {{section link||Identity}}.

===Instructional and presumptuous language===
{{Shortcut|MOS:INSTRUCT||MOS:NOTE|MOS:NOTETHAT|MOS:NOTED|MOS:PRESUME|MOS:QUESTION}}
{{redirect|MOS:NOTE|footnotes|Help:Footnotes|hatnotes|BattleTechWiki:Hatnote|musical notes|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Music#Images and notation}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Editorializing|BattleTechWiki:Writing better articles#Information style and tone|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Self-references to avoid#Note that&nbsp;...}}

Avoid phrases such as {{!xt|remember that}} and {{!xt|note that}}, which [[Imperative mood|address readers directly]] in an [[BattleTechWiki:Writing better articles#Tone|unencyclopedic tone]] and lean toward [[BattleTechWiki:What BattleTechWiki is not#BattleTechWiki is not a manual, guidebook, textbook, or scientific journal|instructional]]. They are a subtle form of [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Self-references to avoid|BattleTechWiki self-reference]], "breaking the [[fourth wall]]". Similarly, phrases such as {{!xt|of course}}, {{!xt|naturally}}, {{!xt|obviously}}, {{!xt|clearly}}, and {{!xt|actually}} make presumptions about readers' knowledge, may [[BattleTechWiki:Neutral point of view|express a viewpoint]], and may call into question the reason for including the information in the first place. Do not {{em|tell}} readers that something is interesting, ironic, surprising, unexpected, amusing, coincidental, etc. Simply present sourced facts neutrally and allow readers to draw their own conclusions. Such constructions can usually just be deleted, leaving behind proper sentences with a more academic and less pushy tone: {{!xt|Note that this was naturally subject to controversy in more conservative newspapers.}} becomes {{xt|This was subject to controversy in more conservative newspapers.}}

Avoid rhetorical questions, especially [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style#Section headings|in headings]]. Use a heading of {{xt|Active listening}} and text such as {{xt|The term ''active listening'', coined in&nbsp;...}}, not {{!xt|What is ''active listening''?}}

For issues in the use of [[Template:Crossreference|cross-reference]]s{{snd}}e.g., {{xt|{{crossref|(see also [[Bulverism]]}})}}{{snd}}see {{sectionlink||Second-person pronouns}}.

===Subset terms===
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Please clarify|BattleTechWiki:Vagueness}}
{{Shortcut|MOS:SUBSET}}

A ''subset term'' identifies a set of members of a larger class. Common subset terms are ''including'', ''among'', and ''etc.'' Avoid redundant subset terms (e.g., mis-constructions like {{!xt|{{strong|Among}} the most well-known members of the fraternity are {{strong|included}} two members of the Onassis family}} or {{!xt|The elements in stars {{strong|include}} hydrogen, helium, {{strong|etc.}}}}). The word ''including'' does not introduce a complete list; instead, use ''consisting of'', or ''composed of''.

===Identity===
{{Shortcut|MOS:IDENTITY|MOS:ID}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Biographies#Child named for parent or predecessor|BattleTechWiki:Verifiability#Self-published or questionable sources as sources on themselves}}

When there is a discrepancy between the term most commonly used by reliable sources for a person or group and the term that person or group uses for themselves, use the term that is most commonly used by recent reliable sources. If it is unclear which is most used, use the term that the person or group uses.

Disputes over how to refer to a person or group are addressed by BattleTechWiki [[BattleTechWiki:Content policies|content policies]], such as those on [[BattleTechWiki:Verifiability|verifiability]], and [[BattleTechWiki:Neutral point of view|neutral point of view]] (and [[BattleTechWiki:Article titles|article titles]] when the term appears in the title of an article).

Use specific terminology. For example, it is often more appropriate for people or things from Ethiopia (a country in Africa) to be described as ''Ethiopian'', not carelessly (with the risk of [[stereotyping]]) as ''African''.

====Gender identity<span class="anchor" id="GENDERID"></span>====
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Biography#Gender identity}}

[[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Biography#Gender identity|Specific guidelines apply]] to any person whose gender might be questioned, and any living transgender or non-binary person. In summary:
*Use gendered words only if they reflect the person's latest self-identification as reported in recent sources.
*If the person is living and was not notable yet when a former name was in use, that name should not be included in any BattleTechWiki page, even in quotations, as a privacy matter. Exception: Do not expunge or replace names in source citations (whether as authors or mentioned in work titles).
*Former names under which a living person was notable should be introduced with "born" or "formerly" in the lead sentence of their main biographical article. Name and gender matters should be explained at first appearance in that article, without overemphasis. In articles on works or other activities of such a person, use their current name by default, and give another name associated with that context in a parenthetical or footnote, only if they were notable under that name. In other articles, do not go into detail about such a person's name or gender except when directly relevant to the context.
*Avoid confusing constructions by rewriting. Paraphrase, elide, or use square brackets to replace portions of quotations as needed to avoid confusion, former names, and mismatching gendered words.
{{Crossref|printworthy=y|For examples and finer points, see {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Biography#Gender identity}}.}}

===Foreign terms===
{{Shortcut|MOS:FOREIGN}}
{{See also|BTW:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Other languages|BTW:Manual of Style/Lead section#Foreign language|:Category:BattleTechWiki Manual of Style (regional)|Help:Interlanguage links}}

==== Terms without common usage in English {{anchor|No common usage in English|reason=Old section name, surely has incoming links.}} ====
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Foreign terms}}

Non-English terms should be used sparingly. In general, [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Foreign terms|use italics]] for phrases and words that are not current in English. This is best done with the {{tlx|lang}} template using the appropriate [[ISO language code]], e.g., {{tlx|lang|es|casa}}. There are alternatives to the {{tnull|lang}} template which also provide additional information about a foreign word or phrase, such as a link to the language name; {{crossref|printworthy=y|see [[:Category:BattleTechWiki multilingual support templates]]}}. As BattleTechWiki does not apply italics to foreign names of people, places, or organizations, the alternative template {{tlx|langr}} can be used to apply the language markup without italicizing. Templates like {{tlx|lang}} automatically italicize text written using the Latin alphabet, so specifying italics is unnecessary. 

Text written in non-Latin scripts such as Greek, Cyrillic, and Chinese should not be italicized or put in bold, as the difference in script is already sufficient to visually distinguish the text. In general, any non-Latin text should include an appropriate romanization.

====Terms with common usage in English====
{{anchor|Common usage in English|reason=Old section name, surely has incoming links.}}
[[Loanword]]s and borrowed phrases that have common usage in English{{snd}}{{xt|Gestapo}}, {{xt|samurai}}, {{xt|vice versa}}{{snd}}do not require italics. A rule of thumb is to not italicize words that appear in major general-purpose English-language dictionaries.

==== Spelling and romanization ====
{{Shortcut|MOS:Ñ|MOS:NOTLATIN|MOS:ROMANIZATION|MOS:ROMANISATION|MOS:DIACRITICS}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (use English)#Modified letters|BattleTechWiki:Romanization|:Category:Romanization}}

Names and terms originally written using a non-[[Latin script]]—such as the [[Greek alphabet]], the [[Cyrillic alphabet]], or [[Chinese characters]]—must be [[romanized]] for English-language use. If a particular romanization of the subject's name is [[BattleTechWiki:Article titles#Use commonly recognizable names|most common]] in English ({{xt|Tchaikovsky}}, {{xt|Chiang Kai-shek}}), that form should be used. Otherwise, the romanization of names should adhere to a particular widely used system for the language in question ({{xt|Aleksandr Tymoczko}}, {{xt|Wang Yanhong}}). 

The use of [[diacritic]]s in foreign words is neither encouraged nor discouraged. Use generally depends on whether they appear in reliable English-language sources, though with some additional constraints imposed by site guidelines. Provide [[BattleTechWiki:Redirect#Alternative names and languages|redirects]] from alternative forms that include or exclude diacritics.

Proper names in languages written using the [[Latin alphabet]] can include letters with diacritics, [[Typographic ligature|ligatures]], and other characters that are not commonly used in contemporary English. BattleTechWiki normally retains these special characters, except where there is a well-established English spelling that replaces them with English standard letters. Examples:
*The name of the article on Hungarian mathematician [[Paul Erdős]] is spelt with the [[double acute accent]], and the alternative spellings ''Paul Erdos'' and ''Paul Erdös'' redirect to that article.
*Similarly, the name of the article on the Nordic god [[Ægir]] is so spelt, with redirects from the ligature-free form [[Aegir]] and the Swedish spelling [[Ägir]].
*However, the region of Spain named Aragón in Spanish and Aragó in Catalan is given as [[Aragon]], without the accent, as this is the established English name. Non-English forms with diacritics appear in the article's lead section.
Use of diacritics is determined on a topic-by-topic basis; a [[BattleTechWiki:Consensus#Levels of consensus|small group of editors]] cannot prohibit or require the use of diacritics within a given class of articles.

Spell a name consistently in the title and the text of an article. {{crossref|(Relevant policy: [[BattleTechWiki:Article titles]]; see also [[BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (use English)]].)}} For a foreign name, phrase, or word, adopt the spelling most commonly used in English-language [[BattleTechWiki:Verifiability#Reliable sources|reliable sources]], including but not limited to those already cited in the article. For punctuation of compounded forms, see relevant guidelines in {{section link||Punctuation}}.

A non-English [[Proper and common nouns|proper name]] should generally not be italicized, unless it would be for some other reason; this is most commonly when it is the [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Titles of works#FOREIGNTITLE|title of a major published work]], as in [[Les Liaisons dangereuses|{{xt|Les Liaisons dangereuses}}]]; or when it is being compared in a [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Words as words|words-as-words]] manner to another name for the same subject, e.g., {{xt|'''Nuremberg''' (Nürnberg)}}. When the name should not be italicized, language markup can still be used to ensure proper pronunciation in screen readers, with the {{para|italic|unset}} parameter: {{tlx|lang|de|italic{{=}}unset|Nürnberg}}.

Sometimes usage will be influenced by other guidelines, such as {{section link||National varieties of English}}, which may lead to different choices in different articles.

====Other non-English concerns<span class="anchor" id="Other concerns"></span>====
*For non-English vernacular names of species, see {{section link||Animals, plants, and other organisms}}.
*For handling of foreign-language quotations, see {{section link||Foreign-language quotations}}.
*For non-English characters that resemble single quotation marks and apostrophes, see {{section link||Foreign characters that resemble apostrophes}}.
*For actual non-English quotation characters, see {{section link||Quotation characters}}.
*For capitalization in foreign-language work titles, see {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Titles#Capitalization in foreign-language titles}}.
*For [[interlinear gloss]]es and their particular uses of small-caps (and italics and single quotes), see {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#All caps and small caps}}.

===Technical language<span id="JARGON"></span>===
{{Shortcut|MOS:JARGON}}
{{redirect|BattleTechWiki:Jargon|an explanation of jargon used on BattleTechWiki|BattleTechWiki:Glossary}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:What BattleTechWiki is not#BattleTechWiki is not a manual, guidebook, textbook, or scientific journal|BattleTechWiki:Make technical articles understandable}}

Some topics are intrinsically technical, but editors should try to make them understandable to as many readers as possible. Minimize [[jargon]], or at least explain it or tag it using {{tlx|Technical}} or {{tlx|Technical-statement}} for other editors to fix. For unavoidably technical articles, a separate introductory article (like [[Introduction to general relativity]]) may be the best solution.

Avoid excessive ''wikilinking'' (linking within BattleTechWiki) as a substitute for parenthetic explanations such as the one in this sentence. Do not introduce new and specialized words simply to teach them to the reader when more common alternatives will do. 

When the notions named by jargon are too complex to explain concisely in a few parenthetical words, [[BattleTechWiki:Make technical articles understandable#Write one level down|write one level down]]. For example, consider adding a brief background section with {{tlx|main}} tags pointing to the full treatment article(s) of the prerequisite notions; this approach is practical only when the prerequisite concepts are central to the exposition of the article's main topic and when such prerequisites are not too numerous. Short articles, such as [[BattleTechWiki:Stub|stubs]], generally do not have such sections.

{{crossref|printworthy=y|For italicization and other markup of introduced terms, see: {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Words as words}}.}}

===Geographical items===
{{Shortcut|MOS:GEO|MOS:PLACE}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (geographic names)|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Abbreviations#Special considerations}}

<section begin="MOS:GEO" />'''Geographical''' or '''place names''' are the nouns used to refer to specific places and geographic features. These names often give rise to conflict, because the same places are called different things by different peoples speaking different languages. Many place names have a historical context that should be preserved, but common sense should prevail. There can be few places that have not been parts of more than one culture or have had only one name. As proper nouns, all such place names (but not terms for types of places) [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Place names|have major words capitalized]].

A place should generally be referred to consistently by the same name as in the title of its article {{crossref|(see [[BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (geographic names)]])}}. An exception may be made when there is a widely accepted historical English name appropriate to the given context. In cases where such a historical name is used, it should be followed by the modern name in round brackets (parentheses) on the first occurrence of the name in applicable sections of the article. This resembles linking; it should not be done to the detriment of style. On the other hand, it is probably better to provide such a variant too often than too rarely. If more than one historical name is applicable for a given context, the other names should be added after the modern English name, that is: "historical name (modern name, other historical names)".

This is an English-language encyclopedia, so established English names are preferred if they exist, and spellings in non-English alphabets should always be transcribed into the Roman alphabet. In general, other articles should refer to places by the names which are used in the articles on those places, according to the rules described at [[BattleTechWiki:Naming conventions (geographic names)]]. If a different name is appropriate in a given historical or other context, then that may be used instead, although it is normal to follow the first occurrence of such a name with the standard modern name in parentheses.

Names in languages with no particular present-day or historical ties to the place in question (English excepted, of course) should {{em|not}} be listed as alternatives.

Avoid anachronism. An article about [[Junípero Serra]] should say he lived in [[Alta California|Alta Mexico]], not in [[California]], because the latter entity did not yet exist in Serra's time. The Romans invaded [[Gaul]], not [[France]], and [[Thabo Mbeki]] was the president of the [[Republic of South Africa]], not of the [[Cape Colony]]. To be clear, you may sometimes need to mention the current name of the area (for example "in what is now France"), especially if no English name exists for that area in the relevant historical period.<section end="MOS:GEO" />

==Media files==
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Creation and usage of media files}}

===Images===
{{Shortcut|MOS:IM}}
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Images}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Images|BattleTechWiki:Image use policy|BattleTechWiki:Picture tutorial}}

*Each image should be inside the level{{nbs}}2 section to which it relates, within the section defined by the most recent <code>==Heading==</code> delimited by two equal signs, or at the top of the lead section. Do not place images immediately above section headings.
*Avoid [[BattleTechWiki:Sandwich|sandwiching text]] horizontally between two images that face each other, and between an image and an infobox or similar.
*It is often preferable to place images of people so they "look" toward the text. Do not achieve this by reversing the image.<!-- Can create a false presentation e.g., by reversing the location of scars or other features. -->
*Any [[BattleTechWiki:Picture tutorial#Galleries|galleries]] should comply with {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Image use policy|Image galleries}}. Consider [[BattleTechWiki:Wikimedia sister projects#Where to place links|linking to additional images on Commons]] instead.
*Avoid referring to images as being to the left, the right, above or below, because image placement varies with platform, and is meaningless to people using screen readers; instead, use captions to identify images.
*An image's {{para|alt}} text takes the image's place for those who are unable to see the image. See [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility/Alternative text for images]].

===Other media files===
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Videos}}

Other media files include video and audio files. Style recommendations for such files largely follow recommendations for image files (as far as applicable).

===Avoid using images to convey text<span id="Avoid entering textual information as images"></span>===
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Text}}
{{Shortcut|MOS:TEXTASIMAGES}}

Textual information should almost always be entered as text rather than as an image. True text can be colored and adjusted with [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]] tags and templates, but text in images cannot be. Images are not searchable, are slower to download, and are unlikely to be read as text by devices for the visually impaired. Any important textual information in an image should also appear in the image's alt text, caption, or other nearby text.

For entering textual information as audio, see [[BattleTechWiki:WikiProject Spoken BattleTechWiki]].

===Captions===
{{Shortcut|MOS:CAPTION}}
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Captions}}

Photographs and other graphics should have captions, unless they are unambiguous depictions of the subject of the article or when they are "self-captioning" images (such as reproductions of album or book covers). In a biography article no caption is necessary for a portrait of the subject pictured alone, but one might be used to give the year, the subject's age, or other circumstances of the portrait along with the name of the subject.

====Formatting of captions====
*Captions normally start with a capital letter.
*Most captions are not complete sentences but merely [[sentence fragment]]s which should not end with a period. However, if any complete sentence occurs in a caption, then every sentence and every sentence fragment in that caption should end with a period.
*The text of captions should not be specially formatted, except in ways that would apply if it occurred in the main text (e.g., italics for the Latin name of a species).
*Captions should be succinct; more information can be included on its description page, or in the main text.
*Captions for technical charts and diagrams may need to be substantially longer than usual; they should fully describe all elements of the image and indicate its significance.

==Bulleted and numbered lists==
{{Shortcut|MOS:LISTBULLET|MOS:LISTNUMBERED}}
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Lists|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Embedded lists}}
{{further information|Help:List}}
*Do not use lists if a passage is read easily as plain paragraphs.
*Use proper wiki markup- or template-based list code {{crossref|(see [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Lists]] and [[Help:List]])}}.
*Do not leave blank lines between items in a bulleted or numbered list unless there is a reason to do so, since this causes the Wiki software to interpret each item as beginning a new list.
**Indents (such as this) are permitted if the elements are [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Embedded lists#"Children" (i.e., indentation)|"child" items]].
*Use numbers rather than bullets only if:
**a need to refer to the elements by number may arise;
**the sequence of the items is critical; or
**the numbering has some independent meaning, for example in a listing of musical tracks.
*Use the same grammatical form for all elements in a list, and do not mix sentences and sentence fragments as elements, for example when the elements are:
**'''complete sentences''' – each one is formatted with sentence case (its first letter is capitalized) and a final period (full point);
**'''sentence fragments''' – the list is typically introduced by an introductory fragment ending with a colon;
**'''titles of works''' – they retain the original capitalization of the titles;
**'''other elements''' – they are formatted consistently in either sentence case or lower case.

==Links==
===Wikilinks===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Linking}}
{{See also|Help:Link}}

'''Make [[Help:Link|links]] only where they are relevant and helpful in the context''': Excessive use of hyperlinks can be distracting and may slow the reader down. Redundant links (like the one in {{!xt|the tallest people on [[Earth]]}}) clutter the page and make future maintenance harder. High-value links that {{em|are}} worth pursuing should stand out clearly.

'''Linking to sections''': A hash sign&nbsp;(<code>#</code>) followed by the appropriate heading will lead to a relevant part of a page. For example, <code><nowiki>[[Apostrophe#Use in non-English names]]</nowiki></code> links to a particular section of the article [[Apostrophe]].

'''Initial capitalization''': BattleTechWiki's [[MediaWiki]] software does not require that wikilinks begin with an upper-case character. Capitalize the first letter only where this is naturally called for, or when specifically referring to the linked article by its name (see also related rule for [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Uses of italics that are specific to BattleTechWiki|italics in cross-references]]): {{xt|[[Snake]]s are often [[venomous]], but [[lizard]]s only rarely {{crossreference|(see [[Poison]])}}.}}

'''Check links''': Ensure the destination is the intended one; many dictionary words lead to disambiguation pages and not to complete or well-chosen articles.

===External links===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:External links}}

External links should not normally be used in the body of an article. Instead, articles can include an ''External links'' section at the end, pointing to further information outside BattleTechWiki as distinct from citing sources. The standard format is a primary heading, <code>==External links==</code>, followed by a bulleted list of links. Identify the link and briefly indicate its relevance to the article. For example:

{{Block indent|{{plain list|
*<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>*[https://history.nih.gov/exhibits/history/index.html History of NIH]</syntaxhighlight>
*<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>*[https://nih.gov/ National Institutes of Health homepage]</syntaxhighlight>
}} }}

These will appear as:

{{Block indent|
*[https://history.nih.gov/exhibits/history/index.html History of NIH]
*[https://nih.gov/ National Institutes of Health homepage]
}}

Where appropriate, use [[:Category:External link templates|external link templates]] such as {{tlx|Official website}} and {{tlx|URL}}.

Add external links with discretion; BattleTechWiki is [[BattleTechWiki:What BattleTechWiki is not#BattleTechWiki is not a mirror or a repository of links, images, or media files|not a link repository]].

==Miscellaneous==
===Keep markup simple===
{{Shortcut|MOS:MARKUP|MOS:SIMPLIFY}}
[[File:Keep it Simple.jpg|right|90px]]
Other things being equal, keep [[Help:Wiki markup|markup]] simple. This makes wikitext easier to understand and edit, and the results seen by the reader more predictable. Use HTML and CSS markup sparingly. See: [[KISS principle]].

In general, wikitext formatting is considered easier to use than HTML and wikitext is preferred if there are equivalents; see [[Help:HTML in wikitext]]. [[BattleTechWiki:HTML 5#Obsolete elements and attributes|Obsolete elements and attributes]] should be updated or removed. There are many templates that allow HTML markup to be used without putting it in articles directly, such as {{tl|em}} (see [[MOS:EMPHASIS]]) and {{tl|strong}} (see [[MOS:BOLD]]).

An [[Character entity reference|HTML character entity]] is sometimes better than the equivalent Unicode character, which may be difficult to identify in edit mode; for example, <code>&amp;Alpha;</code> is explicit whereas <code>&Alpha;</code> (the upper-case form of Greek <code>α</code>) may be misidentified as the Latin <code>A</code>.

===Formatting issues===
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting}}

Modifications in font size, blank space, and color {{crossref|(see {{section link||Color coding}})}} are an issue for the BattleTechWiki site-wide [[Cascading Style Sheets|style sheet]] and should be reserved for special cases only.

Typically, the use of custom font styles:
*reduces consistency, as the text no longer looks uniform;
*reduces usability, as it may be impossible for people with custom style sheets (e.g. for accessibility reasons) to override it, and may clash with a different [[Skin (computing)|skin]] or inconvenience people with color blindness {{crossref|(see below)}}; and
*causes disputes, as other editors may disagree aesthetically with the choice of style.

Specify font sizes {{em|relatively}} (for example with <code>font-size: 85%</code>) rather than {{em|absolutely}} (like <code>font-size: 8pt</code>). The resulting font size of any text should not drop below 85% of the page's default font size.

====Color coding====
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Color}}{{Shortcut|MOS:COLORCODING}}

Do not use color {{em|alone}} to mark differences in text: they may be invisible to people with [[color blindness]] and useless in black-and-white printouts or displays.

Choose colors such as [[maroon (color)|<span style="background: white; color: maroon">maroon</span>]] and [[teal|<span style="background: white; color: teal">teal</span>]] that are distinguishable by readers with the most common form of colorblindness, and {{em|additionally}} mark the differences with change of font or some other means ([[maroon (color)|<span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: maroon; font face: Times New Roman">maroon and alternative font face</span>]], [[teal|<span style="background: white; color: teal">teal</span>]]). Avoid low contrast between text and background colors. See also [[color coding]].

Even for readers with unimpaired color vision, excessive background shading of table entries impedes readability and recognition of Wikilinks. Background color should be used only as a {{em|supplementary}} visual cue and should be subtle (consider using lighter, less-dominant [[Pastel (color)|pastel]] hues) rather than glaring.

====Indentation<span class="anchor" id="INDENT"></span><span class="anchor" id="Indent"></span><span class="anchor" id="indenting"></span>====
{{Shortcut|MOS:INDENT}}
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Indentation}}

Do not use quotation templates to indent non-quotations. Various templates are available for indentation, including {{tlx|block indent}} to indent an entire block and {{tlx|in5}} to indent inline.

Do not use <code>:</code> ([[description list]] markup) to indent text in articles, even though it is common on talk pages. It causes accessibility problems and outputs invalid HTML. {{Crossref|See {{section link|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Indentation}} for alternatives.}}

===Controlling line breaks<span id="Non-breaking spaces"></span>===
{{Shortcut|MOS:NBSP}}
{{See also|Help:Line-break handling|Template:Spaces}}

It is sometimes desirable to force a text segment to appear entirely on a single line{{mdashb}}that is, to prevent a line break (line wrap) from occurring anywhere within it.
*A '''[[non-breaking space]]''' (or '''hard space''') will never be used as a line-break point. Markup: for {{xt|19{{nbsp}}kg}}, code <code>19&amp;nbsp;kg</code> {{em|or}} <code>19{{t|nbsp}}kg</code>.
*Or use {{tlx|nowrap}}, {{tlx|nobreak}}, or {{tlx|nobr}} (all equivalent). Markup: for {{xt|{{nobr|5° 24′ N}}}}, code {{tlx|nobr|5° 24′ N}}.

It is desirable to prevent line breaks where breaking across lines might be confusing or awkward. For example:
{{columns list|colwidth=15em|
*<code>17{{t|nbsp}}kg</code>
*<code>AD{{t|nbsp}}565</code>
*<code>2:50{{t|nbsp}}pm</code>
*<code>£11{{t|nbsp}}billion</code>
*<code>May{{t|nbsp}}2014</code>
*{{tlx|nobr|5° 24′ 21″ N}}
*<code>Boeing{{t|nbsp}}747</code>
*<code>123{{t|nbsp}}Elm Street</code>
*<code>World War{{t|nbsp}}II</code>
*<code>Pope Paul{{t|nbsp}}VI</code>
*<code><nowiki>''</nowiki>E.{{t|nbsp}}coli<nowiki>''</nowiki></code>
}}

Whether a non-breaking space is appropriate depends on context: whereas it is appropriate to use <code>12{{t|nbsp}}MB</code> in prose, it may be counterproductive in a table (where an unattractive break may be acceptable to conserve precious horizontal space) and unnecessary in a short parameter value in an infobox (where a break would never occur anyway).

A line break may occur at a '''thin space''' (<code>&amp;thinsp;</code>, or {{tlx|thinsp}}), which is sometimes used to correct too-close placement of adjacent characters. To prevent this, consider using {{tlx|nobr}}.

Insert non-breaking and thin spaces as [[named character reference]] (<code>&amp;nbsp;</code> or <code>&amp;thinsp;</code>), or as templates that generate these ({{tlx|nbsp}}, {{tlx|thinsp}}), and never by entering them directly into the edit window from the keyboard{{snd}}they are visually indistinguishable from regular spaces, and later editors will be unable to see what they are. Inside wikilinks, a construction such as {{nobr|<code><nowiki>[[World War&amp;nbsp;II]]</nowiki></code>}} works but {{nobr|<code>[[World War{{t|nbsp}}II]]</code>}} doesn't.

===Scrolling lists and collapsible content===
{{Shortcut|MOS:SCROLL|MOS:COLLAPSE|MOS:DONTHIDE}}
{{Redirect|BTW:COLLAPSE|the guideline on collapsing off-topic talk page discussions|BTW:TALKOFFTOPIC}}
{{See also|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Users with limited CSS or JavaScript support}}

[[Help:Scrolling list|Scrolling lists]], and collapsible templates that toggle text display between ''hide'' and ''show'', can interfere with readers' ability to access our content. Such mechanisms should not be used to conceal "[[BattleTechWiki:Spoiler|spoiler]]" information. Templates should [[BattleTechWiki:Template namespace#Guidelines|not normally be used to store article text]] at all, as it interferes with editors' ability to find and edit it.

When such features are used, take care that the content will still be [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Users with limited CSS or JavaScript support|accessible on devices that do not support JavaScript or CSS]], and to the greater than 60% of BattleTechWiki readers who use the [[Help:Mobile access|mobile version of the site]], which has a limited set of features and does not support collapsing (any collapsible templates will either be automatically uncollapsed or hidden entirely). Mobile ability to access the content in question is easy to test with the "Mobile view" link at the bottom of each page.

{{em|Collapsible templates should not conceal article content by default upon page loading.}} This includes [[BattleTechWiki:Citing sources#Footnotes|reference lists]], [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Tables|tables]] and [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Embedded lists|lists]] of article content, [[BattleTechWiki:Image use policy#Image galleries|image galleries]], and [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Captions|image captions]].

When hiding content is desired, it must be done using the <code>collapsible</code> parameter of relevant templates, or manually-added CSS classes <code>mw-collapsed</code>, and <code>autocollapse</code> (see [[Help:Collapsing]]). Other methods of hiding content should not be used, as they may render content inaccessible to many users, such as those browsing BattleTechWiki with [[JavaScript]] disabled, browsing the mobile version, or using proxy services such as [[Google Web Light]].

Collapsed or auto-collapsing ''cells'' or ''sections'' may be used with tables if they simply repeat information covered in the main text (or are purely supplementary, e.g., several past years of statistics in collapsed tables for comparison with a table of uncollapsed current stats). Auto-collapsing is often a feature of [[BattleTechWiki:Categories, lists, and navigation templates#Navigation templates|navboxes]]. A few [[BattleTechWiki:Infobox|infoboxes]] also use pre-collapsed sections for infrequently accessed details. If information in a list, infobox, or other non-navigational content seems extraneous or trivial enough to inspire pre-collapsing it, consider raising a discussion on the article (or template) talk page about whether it should be [[BattleTechWiki:What BattleTechWiki is not#BattleTechWiki is not an indiscriminate collection of information|included at all]]. If the information is important and the concern is article density or length, consider [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Layout#Body sections|dividing the article into more sections]], integrating [[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Trivia sections|unnecessarily list-formatted information]] into the article prose, or [[BattleTechWiki:Summary style|splitting the article]].

===Invisible comments===
{{Shortcut|MOS:COMMENT}}
{{redirect|BTW:COMMENT|the expression of personal opinions in articles|BattleTechWiki:What BattleTechWiki is not#BattleTechWiki is not a publisher of original thought}}
{{for|invisible control characters|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Private Use Area and invisible formatting characters}}
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Hidden text}}

Editors use "invisible" comments{{snd}}not shown in the rendered page seen by readers of the article, but visible in the source editing mode when an editor opens the article for editing{{snd}}to communicate with one another.

Invisible comments are useful for alerting other editors to issues such as common mistakes that regularly occur in the article, a section title's being the target of an incoming link, or pointing to a discussion that established a consensus relating to the article. They should not be used to instruct other editors not to perform certain edits, although where existing local consensus is against making such an edit, they may usefully draw the editor's attention to that. Avoid adding too many invisible comments because they can clutter the wiki source for other editors. Check that your invisible comment does not change the formatting, for example by introducing unwanted white space in the rendered page.

To leave an invisible comment, enclose the text you intend to be read only by editors between <code>&lt;!--</code> and <code>--&gt;</code>. For example:
*{{tag|!--|content=&nbsp;If you change this section title, also change the links to it on the pages&nbsp;...&nbsp;|wrap=yes}} {{small|(there are bots which can do this, see [[MOS:RENAMESECTION]])}}
*{{tag|!--|content=&nbsp;When adding table entries, remember to update the total given in the text.&nbsp;|wrap=yes}}
This notation can be inserted with a single click in [[Help:Wiki markup|wiki markup]], just under the edit pane in edit mode.

===Pronunciation===
{{Main|BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Pronunciation}}

'''Pronunciation''' in BattleTechWiki is indicated in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA). In most situations, for ease of understanding by the majority of readers and across variants of the language, [[Phonetic transcription#Narrow versus broad transcription|quite broad]] IPA transcriptions are best for English pronunciations. See [[Help:IPA/English]] and [[Help:IPA]] (general) for keys, and {{tlx|IPA}} for templates that link to these keys. For English pronunciations, [[Help:Pronunciation respelling key|pronunciation respellings]] may be used {{em|in addition to}} the IPA.

==See also==
*[[BattleTechWiki:Editing policy|Editing policy]] – explains BattleTechWiki's general philosophy of editing
*[[BattleTechWiki:What BattleTechWiki is not#BattleTechWiki is not a manual, guidebook, textbook, or scientific journal|BattleTechWiki is not a manual, guidebook, textbook, or scientific journal]]{{snd}}we write for a general, not technical, readership as much as we can
*[[Help:Introduction to the Manual of Style|Manual of Style tutorial]]{{snd}}a quick introduction to the style guide for articles
*[[Help:Introduction to the Manual of Style/Manual of Style quiz|Manual of Style quiz]]{{snd}}test your Manual of Style knowledge
*[[BattleTechWiki:Styletips|Styletips]] – a list of advice for editors on writing style and formatting
*[[BattleTechWiki:Manual of Style/Contents|Manual of Style Contents]] – guidelines for film, novels, biographies, military history, etc.
*[[BattleTechWiki:Identifying and using style guides|Identifying and using style guides]]{{snd}}an essay providing a summary of off-site style guides' influences on MoS and their uses as sources in BattleTechWiki articles
*[[BattleTechWiki:If MOS doesn't need a rule on something, then it needs to not have a rule on that thing]]{{snd}}resisting MOSbloat

===Guidance===
*[[BattleTechWiki:Annotated article|Annotated article]] – is a well-constructed sample article, with annotations
*[[BattleTechWiki:Article development|Article development]] – lists the ways in which you can help an article grow
**[[BattleTechWiki:Basic copyediting|Basic copyediting]] – gives helpful advice on copy-editing
**[[BattleTechWiki:Writing better articles|Better articles]] – guidance on how to make articles better
**[[BattleTechWiki:The perfect article|Perfect article]] – point-by-point guidance on what makes a great article
*[[BattleTechWiki:Avoiding common mistakes|Avoiding common mistakes]] – gives a list of common mistakes and how to avoid them
*[[BattleTechWiki:Be bold|Be bold]] – suggests a bold attitude toward page updates
*[[BattleTechWiki:Citing sources|Citing sources]] – explains process and standards for citing references
*[[Help:Editing|Editing]] – is a short primer on editing pages
*[[Style guide]] – contains links to the style guides of some magazines and newspapers
*[[Help:Wiki markup|Wiki markup]] – explains the codes and resources available for editing a page
*[[BattleTechWiki:In versus of|BattleTechWiki:''in'' versus ''of'']] – proper use of ''in'' and ''of'' (or some alternatives, as ''from'' and ''on'')

{{Manual of Style}}
{{BattleTechWiki policies and guidelines}}

[[Category:Manual of Style| ]]