FHODS Archive:Editing guidelines

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This page documents an official policy of the FHODS Archive.
Editors are expected to follow this guideline. Significant changes should be discussed on the talk page first.

This page sets out the FHODS Archive Editing Guidelines — the conventions and standards that all editors are expected to follow when creating or updating content on this wiki. Following these guidelines helps maintain a consistent, accurate, and accessible archive that will serve researchers, members, and the general public for years to come.

If you are new to editing, see Help:Editing for a basic introduction to wikitext. If you are unsure about a specific situation, raise it on the relevant talk page or contact an administrator.

Core principles

All editing on the FHODS Archive should be guided by the following principles:

Accuracy. Only add information you are confident is correct. If you are uncertain, note it or raise it on the talk page rather than guessing.
Verifiability. Where possible, information should be traceable to a source — a programme, a press cutting, a society record, or other primary material.
Neutrality. The archive is a factual record. Write descriptively rather than evaluatively. Avoid promotional language or personal opinion.
Respect. Many articles concern living people or the recent memories of members and families. Write with care and sensitivity.

Creating new articles

Deciding what merits an article

An article is appropriate for any of the following:

A FHODS production (any production staged by the society, however minor).
A person who performed in, directed, produced, or was otherwise significantly involved in FHODS activities.
A venue used by FHODS for performances or rehearsals.
A season or period of the society's activity.
An organisational role, committee, or event of lasting significance to the society.

If you are unsure whether a subject warrants its own article, create a stub and flag it for discussion rather than leaving the information out altogether.

Article titles

Use the most natural and commonly recognised name for the subject.
For productions, use the title as it appeared on the programme, followed by the year in parentheses if disambiguation is needed: The Mikado (1975).
For people, use their full name as commonly used in FHODS records: Joan Ashworth. Where two people share a name, disambiguate with birth year or role: Joan Ashworth (director).
Avoid abbreviations in titles.

Stub articles

A stub is a short article that covers the basics but is incomplete. Stubs are welcome — a brief, accurate article is more useful than no article at all. Mark stubs with {{Stub}} at the foot of the article so other editors know it needs expanding.

Writing style

Tone and register

Write in a clear, factual, encyclopaedic tone. Imagine the audience as a researcher or future member encountering FHODS history for the first time.
Use the past tense for historical events and productions. Use the present tense only for information that is currently true (for example, descriptions of venues that still exist).
Avoid flowery or promotional language. Phrases such as "a magnificent performance" or "the society's finest hour" are matters of opinion and do not belong in article prose. Save such descriptions for direct quotations from reviews, clearly attributed.

Person names

Give a person's full name on first mention in an article. Subsequent mentions may use surname only.
Do not use honorifics (Mr, Mrs, Miss, Dr) except within direct quotations or where a title is integral to the subject's identity.

Dates

Use the format day Month year throughout: 14 February 1962. Do not use numeric-only dates (14/02/1962) as these are ambiguous.
For decade references, use: the 1970s (no apostrophe).
For approximate dates, use: circa 1955 or c. 1955.

Numbers

Spell out numbers one to nine in prose. Use numerals for 10 and above, and always for years, page numbers, and quantities with units.
Use numerals consistently within a single sentence if mixing small and large numbers: 3 soloists and 24 chorus members.

Quotations

Short quotations (up to around 40 words) should be run into the text with double quotation marks.
Longer quotations should be placed in a blockquote using <blockquote>…</blockquote>.
Always attribute quotations clearly — give the source and, where known, the date.
Do not alter the wording of a quotation. Use [square brackets] to add clarifying words, and an ellipsis … to indicate omitted text.

Article structure

Articles should generally follow this structure, omitting sections that do not apply:

Lead section — a brief summary of the subject (no heading). For a production, this should include the title, composer/playwright, year, and venue. For a person, name, principal roles, and approximate period of involvement.
Background or Biography — relevant context.
Productions or Involvement — a list or prose account of the subject's connection to FHODS productions.
Notes — numbered footnotes, if used.
Sources — a bulleted list of sources consulted.
External links — see FHODS_Archive:Linking_Policy.

Use == for top-level section headings, === for subsections. Do not use a top-level heading for the lead section.

Sourcing and references

What counts as a source

The following are acceptable sources for the FHODS Archive:

Society records, minute books, and correspondence held by FHODS.
Production programmes.
Contemporary press reviews and newspaper reports.
Photographs and other primary documents.
Oral accounts from members, provided they are clearly identified as such.
Published local histories and reference works.

Wikipedia is not an acceptable source. It may point you toward a source, but cite the underlying source directly.

Adding references

Where a specific fact comes from a specific source, add an inline citation using <ref> tags:

The society was founded in 1887.^[1]

Collect references in a == Notes == section at the foot of the article using:

↑ FHODS Minute Book, vol. 1, p. 1.

If an article does not yet have citations but the information is believed to be accurate, add {{Uncited}} to flag it for future improvement.

Living people

Take particular care when writing about living people. Do not add personal information (addresses, family details, employment outside FHODS) that has not been made publicly available by the person themselves. If in doubt, omit it.

Formatting

Bold and italic

Use bold ('''text''') only for the subject name on its first appearance in the lead section of an article about that subject.
Use italics (''text'') for titles of productions, shows, films, and publications. For example: The Pirates of Penzance, The Folkestone Herald.
Do not use bold for emphasis within prose.

Lists

Use bulleted lists (*) for unordered items such as cast lists or sources. Use numbered lists (#) only where sequence matters. Do not use lists where prose reads more naturally — a list of two or three items is usually better written as a sentence.

Tables

Tables are appropriate for cast and production lists. Keep tables simple. Use the standard wikitable class:

Role	Performer
Mabel	Joan Ashworth

Talk pages

Every article has a corresponding talk page (accessed via the Discussion tab). Use talk pages to:

Raise doubts about the accuracy of information.
Propose significant changes before making them.
Discuss how to handle disputed or sensitive material.
Leave notes for other editors working on the same article.

Sign your talk page posts with four tildes (~~~~), which will automatically expand to your username and the date.

Do not use talk pages for general discussion about FHODS unrelated to the article itself.

Editing others' work

The FHODS Archive is a collaborative project. You may edit any article, including work started by someone else, provided you follow these guidelines. If you are making a significant change to an established article — removing content, restructuring it, or changing a conclusion — it is courteous to explain your reasoning in the edit summary or on the talk page.

When correcting errors, be precise. Fix what is wrong without making unnecessary additional changes in the same edit, as this makes it harder to review what has changed.

Edit summaries

Always fill in the edit summary field before saving. A brief, clear summary helps other editors understand what you have changed and why. For example:

Added cast list from 1975 programme
Fixed date — programme confirms February not March
Minor copyedit

For minor typographical corrections, tick the minor edit box.

What not to add

The following content should not be added to the FHODS Archive:

Personal opinions or editorialising not attributed to a named source.
Unverified rumour or gossip.
Content copied verbatim from external sources without clear licensing permission.
Private personal information about living individuals.
Content unrelated to FHODS and its activities.
Promotional material for external organisations or commercial services.

Enforcement

Edits that do not follow these guidelines may be revised or reverted by any editor. Persistent disregard for these guidelines — particularly the addition of inaccurate, unsourced, or inappropriate content — may result in editing restrictions at the discretion of administrators. If you believe an edit has been wrongly reverted, raise the matter on the relevant talk page.

[1] FHODS Minute Book, vol. 1, p. 1.

[1]