MarioWiki:Proposals

Writing guidelines
None at the moment.

New features
None at the moment.

Removals
None at the moment.

Update the Manual of Style to discourage contractions on the wiki
First of all, I'm aware this proposal might sound pedantic. It's perfectly fine to use in every day speech and writing because it's easier than to use the whole structure when it doesn't matter that much; see, I just did that four times now. However, they do sound unprofessional on a site that is treated as an encyclopedia. Using structures such as "it's" and "don'ts" in main space sentences create the impression of a personal addressing to the reader, much like the use of "you's" would. Therefore, I propose that the manual of style be updated to simply state that contractions are not really welcome on the wiki, and that current instances should be expanded to their full forms when spotted. I'm not saying the manual should downright enforce writing without contractions because that would be a colossal maintanance undertaking. But really, what you do when you contract a structure is basically replace one letter with an apostrophe. I don't think omitting one letter reduces the effort, and frankly, sometimes it's annoying to see that so aggressively put in practice.

Proposer: Deadline: October 27, 2018, 16:45 GMT

Do it

 * 1) This can't, I mean cannot be accepted much longer.
 * 2) I agree. It should not be 'Mario can't do it'. It must be 'Mario cannot do it.'
 * 3) As long as it's enforced on the same line as how we already enforce proper usage of italics (see comment below), I'm for this. Per Super Radio.
 * 4) - I've been writing like this anyway when it comes to content pages, so I guess I've already agreed.
 * 5) I’ve recently been removing some contractions when preforming maintenance edits to articles, so I do not have a problem with doing this.
 * 6) I know we aren't (are not) Wikipedia. However, it does do this. And if it works there, it should work here too. As long as it doesn't effect official contractions (quotes and article titles), I am ok with this. Even though, I am part of the problem thus far. So, I per the proposal.
 * 7) *looks forlornly at the glitch pages*
 * 8) This change would definitely improve the overall quality of the writing on the wiki, and saying Donkey kong did not do it sounds a lot better than Donkey kong didn't do it, in my opinion.
 * 9) Contractions are a type of slang, which already contradict most style guides anyway. Support.
 * 10) Per all.
 * 11) I will admit, I fall a bit short of being able to say I support this fully, however I believe I will cast a vote of approval. While it could propose minor problems for those with less integrity in their sentence form, I do believe it can still be put into effect, especially if every change, major and minor, is examined for contractions. It would take quite an effort, but in the end, I do see this significantly improving the appearance of the Wiki’s pages. You have my approval.

Don't

 * 1) While I'm not entirely against this proposal, I feel that, as Super Radio mentioned before, it is huge maintenance to remove contractions, and monitor their use on this wiki. It is somewhat contradictory to enforce a rule against the usage of contractions, because the manual of style uses contractions quite a lot for its explanations. We just need to discuss when contractions will not be tolerated, and when they're just fine to use.
 * 2) I think contractions are fine. I do agree that they can get out of hand sometimes, but it's better to just fix a few small instances of contraction overdose than discourage contractions entirely.
 * 3) Changing vote, as this seems unnecessary.
 * 4) I seriously do not see why our not being able to use contractions whenever necessary would be unprofessional. The only thing that's a definite standard is not using the word "you" in mainspace articles since this is to be treated like an "encyclopedia site". So I'm voting no here.

Comments
While I certainly agree, I don't think we should draw a hard line on using contractions, just notify users when they use them, like what we already do for users who forget to use proper italics. 13:01, 13 October 2018 (EDT)
 * True, maybe I should have worded my proposal this way... -- 13:04, 13 October 2018 (EDT)

@MarioManiac1981: The proposal only addresses content in main space articles (Super Mario Bros., Princess Peach, Super Mushroom etc.), not talk pages and project pages, like this one or the guidelines. -- 15:18, 13 October 2018 (EDT)

@Yoshi the SSM: Don't be so harsh on yourself :) -- 16:46, 13 October 2018 (EDT)

Miscellaneous
None at the moment.