This page delineates the formatting standards for all pages on the Aesthetics Wiki. To find page qualification and quality standards, please read Allowed Pages.
Page content
Sections
Page content should begin with an introductory section that concisely and accurately summarizes the information on the page. Non-section elements that all pages should have are:
- A table of contents: This will appear automatically when headings and subheadings are added, and should be left-aligned.
- An infobox: Infoboxes must be inserted by the page editors, and should be right-aligned.
Sections that are required for all pages:
- Visuals: This section should include a summary description and list of common visuals in the aesthetic, including colors, patterns, textures, effects, objects, symbols, and other visual schema, in that order.
- There are two formats that this section could follow: bullet points and paragraphs. Bullet pointed lists should include the individual photographic subjects included in the aesthetic. Some examples of bullet points could include "clouds" and "suburban houses." These objects should be specific enough to paint an image of the aesthetic in the reader's mind. For example, "nature" would be a poor example, as the natural world includes many types of biomes. Paragraph form sections are valuable in that they clarify the specific connotations and components of different visuals in a more descriptive manner. It also allows for grouping various sub-visuals together. Because many people come onto this wiki for quick information, some short phrases (similar to ones in bullet pointed lists) should be bolded.
- Gallery: The gallery should contain pictures, including art, photos, collages, and screenshots, that exemplify the aesthetic subject of the article. Art must be credited to artists; photos must be credited to photographers. Images without credit should be removed.
Sections that are not required, but should be included on most pages:
- History: Pages should include a section documenting some history of the aesthetic, including its inspirations, early communities, and development over time.
- Philosophy: Pages should include a section describing the beliefs and emotions expressed by the aesthetic. Although this section is important, many pages do not have it, and the exclusion of it will likely not affect the decision to keep or delete your page.
- References: This section should include a list of all citations used in the article.
Sections that are not required and should be included as appropriate:
- Fashion: This section is common, although not required. It should contain information about fashion styles related to the aesthetic, including fabrics and textiles, types of clothing, accessories, hairstyles, and makeup.
- Media: Most pages have this section. It should include lists of movies, television shows, books, plays, and other entertainment that inspire or exemplify the aesthetic. The listed media should follow the format that is typically expected in writing titles. This means they should be capitalized properly and either put in quotation marks or italicized, depending on the length of the work. Provide the author's name in the book section and the year of release for video games, movies, and television shows. The names and dates are not italicized.
Different forms of media should be placed under the correct subheadings. The order for media types is: Books, Authors, Comics & graphic novels, Film, Television (Animation subheading, includes anime), Plays, Musicals, Podcasts, Video games. Note that pages do not need all media forms.
- Music: This section should contain genres, artists, albums, and songs related to the aesthetic, listed under subheadings in that order.
- Activities: The activities section should include a description and list of common activities in the aesthetic, including sports, crafts, games, and travel, listed under subheadings in that order.
- Criticism: Some aesthetics or aesthetic communities are controversial. This section should be included on pages about those aesthetics to describe why they are criticized.
Sections should appear in the following order: History, Philosophy, Controversy, Visuals, Fashion, Media, Music, Activities, Gallery, References.
Accompanying Photographs
Photographs should be compiled in a gallery at the bottom of the page. Accompanying photographs that illustrate what the text is describing should not exceed the length of the article.
Page titles, headings, and sections
Page titles
Page titles should be either the most popular term used to describe the aesthetic being documented or, if the aesthetic is unnamed, a concise, accurate, distinct, and recognizable name that is likely to appear in searches for the aesthetic. A suffix is not usually necessary for naming aesthetics. If an aesthetic name uses a suffix, please do not add a space between it and the root word. It is confusing and visually unappealing.
The first letter of page titles should be capitalized.
Section headings
All sections listed above should be titled with a heading, and further divided into subheadings as necessary and appropriate. Headings and subheadings should appear in descending order as listed in the editor.
Section headings should not contain:
- The name of the aesthetic (i.e. “Cottagecore visuals”).
- Links.
- Images.
- Citations or footnotes.
As a matter of style, headings should also not:
- Use fonts or colors not provided in the editor.
- Be bold
- Be italicized
Writing
Promotions
Pages on the Aesthetics Wiki are not to be used for self-promotion. The names of the originators of the aesthetic should be included under Creators; however, self-praise and links to social media are discouraged unless they are relevant to the aesthetic.
Style
Writing should use correct grammar and punctuation. Do not include emojis, colored text, or fonts not provided in the editor. Please do not begin articles with "[Aesthetic name] is an aesthetic...." It is redundant. The purpose of the Aesthetics Wiki to document aesthetics. Do not:
- Give advice, recommendations, or how-to regarding readers’ use of the aesthetics. For example:
Do not write: “The fashion section is just a guide. You don’t have to wear anything here if you don’t want to!”
This could be fixed to: “This is a list of common fashion items in the aesthetic.”
- Make moral judgements. For example:
Do not write: “Communism is a terrible ideology that is known to have killed millions.”
This could be fixed to: “This aesthetic has been heavily criticized for romanticizing Communist regimes.”
Plagiarism
Do not plagiarize. Pages that contains plagiarized content may either have the content removed or be deleted entirely. Content that is taken directly from Wikipedia and other Wikis is considered plagiarized. All works on the wiki should be from unique and new writing, except for quotes with citations.
Artificial Intelligence
Any use of artificial intelligence is prohibited. This includes using AI to write an article for the wiki or to create images.
Aesthetic templates
Editors should not list themselves as "Creators" unless they created the aesthetic subject of the page. Page creators should not be listed as Creators. Claiming to have created an aesthetic is and will be considered plagerism without proper proof.
Trivia: Page content
- Fill out an infobox. This must at least contain a picture and have information in 2 - 3 of the main fields.
- Link to or upload at least six external examples of your aesthetic. At least three of these must be images.
- You can and should also mention examples of the aesthetic in media (films, books, music, music videos, TV). Twitter and Tumblr text posts that mention or evoke the aesthetic can be quoted or included as screenshots. We don't expect an academic level of existing documentation. But please, prove what you're talking about does exist, even if you're the first to notice it and name it.
- If information is taken from from an external source, cite it. Citations can be added by typing <ref> and adding the link to the source.
When adding an image, name the file before uploading. Many image files have long, vague names and are difficult to search for.