Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum:Naming conventions

Helpful articles

The naming of pages in the Lexicanum has to be done according to the Naming conventions detailed below. There is also a number of conventions to be considered when writing articles that have - strictly speaking - nothing to do with names but which will for practical reasons also be included here.

Article naming conventions

General naming requirements

The name of an article should be exactly as it appears in the cited source. If multiple sources with different spelling variants of a specific name are used for the article in question the most recent source takes precedence - but all other spelling variants must be listed in the opening sentence of the article.

It is not allowed to change any given name from the exact way it is given in the cited source in the name of "logic", "ease of use", "clarity", "distinction" or any other subjective reasoning. Such considerations must be implemented by using Redirects, not by changing the name of the article.

Example: If there were a unit bearing the name "5th Ganymede Heavy Infantry Regiment" it is not allowed to shorten the name to for example "5th Ganymede" (if there is no source naming it exactly like this, obviously)

Specific cases

Articles

The article The should only be included in the name of an article if it forms an integral and consistent part of the name itself. One very good indicator for that is that is included in a product name (e.g. on the book or box cover) and is consistently written in texts in upper case, like for example The Purge, The Tranzia Rebellion (Audio Drama) or The Rock. Appropriate Redirects should however be created from the name version without the article (paying attention to naming conflicts, obviously).

Singular vs. plural

As a rule of thumb all articles should be named according to their singular form, for example "Space Marine" is preferred to "Space Marines". Again appropriate redirects should be used, for example from "Space Marines" to "Space Marine".

In specific cases where the plural form is the usually used one and the singular form is rarely (or never) encountered the plural form is permitted - this should however really only be done in very specific cases and with good reason.

Adjectives

If there is a corresponding noun that is to be used, no specific articles for adjectives are allowed if corresponding nouns exist.

Example: Do no create an article named "Cadian", as there is a known noun - "Cadia".

Special characters

Article names that are based on the Latin alphabet but include special characters (e.g. é, ð, Ð, æ, Æ) or diacritical characters (e.g. á, Õ) are written (as said above) exactly as given in their corresponding source. It is however recommended to create appropriate redirects, for example from "Kharn" to "Khârn".

Titles, ranks, type descriptions etc.

Titles, rank designations, type descriptions or other addendums are generally speaking not allowed in the naming of articles. Examples for such designations would be Commissar XY, Captain XY, General XY, Warlord XY, Squad XY etc.

The corresponding conventions obviously also apply to Alien titles, ranks, type descriptions etc., see below.

T'au

See T'au naming conventions to distinguish between the name proper and its titles or descriptions.

Official names vs. inofficial names, monikers, nicknames

The page name is generally the "proper" name of an individual, unit etc. Redirects should however be created from known monikers. For example while the Titan legion Legio Crucius is also commonly known as the Warmongers, its proper name is definitely Legio Crucius. Games Workshop sometimes uses the distinction of High Gothic and Low Gothic for this kind of different names, speaking in their terms the High Gothic name is (when known) always the proper one. In some cases the proper name might however not be known and/or the moniker forms an integral part of the name that is always mentioned. In such cases the moniker is the appropriate article name.

Name conflicts

In many instances Games Workshop uses the same name for different things, e.g. there is both a spaceship and a planet called "Armageddon". The Mediawiki system however does not permit the existence of two articles with the same name, therefore in such cases a Disambiguation must be created and the nature of all affected items must be specified in parentheses behind the actual name, e.g. "Armageddon (ship)" and "Armageddon (planet)". For more details see the Help article on Disambiguations.

First and last names

Articles about individuals are always named according to the pattern "first name last name" (or given name family name), not "last name, first name". So for example "Sebastian Yarrick", not "Yarrick, Sebastian".

Capitalization

The normal rules for capitalization should always be strictly followed.

Style conventions when writing articles

The following only applies to general writing, not to the naming of articles.

Numbers

Cardinal numbers up to twelve should be written in words, except when telling the time. Ordinal numbers up to twelfth should be written in words except in dates. Cardinal and ordinal numbers above twelve and twelfth should be written in either figures or words as seems in each case more convenient. See also here.

Example:

• "Third War for Armageddon" instead of "3rd War for Armageddon". It is recommended to put a redirect in place from "3rd War for Armageddon" to "Third War for Armageddon".

Adjectives

Obviously adjectives should be used when writing articles but pay attention that when necessary and appropriate the internal link is written in the correct form. So if for example you want to use the adjective "Cadian" in a text (for example as in "a Cadian soldier"), make sure that the corresponding internal link is not a [[Cadian]] soldier but a link to the correct article, i.e. a [[Cadia|Cadian]] soldier.

Singular and plural

As with adjectives the use of both singular and plural forms of nouns in text is essential. And likewise attention should be paid that when necessary and appropriate the Internal link is written in the correct form. So if for example you want to use the plural "Space Marines" in a text, make sure that the corresponding internal link is not [[Space Marines]] but a link to the correct article, i.e. [[Space Marine|Space Marines]] (or alternatively [[Space Marine]]s).

Capitalization

The normal rules for capitalization should always be strictly followed.

Special characters

If names include special characters that correct spelling (see naming conventions above) has to be used throughout the text.

Disambiguations

Pay special attention to Disambiguations. internal links used in articles must always be directed at the dorrect target page, not at a Disambiguation page.

Abbreviations

Generally abbreviations should not be used in the Lexicanum.