User:Seb26/Personal prose handbook

Prose

 * Do not use "they" when referring to a group or multiples of nouns;
 * Do not use due to the fact that;
 * Avoid straining to stuff a lot of details into one sentence, with bits hanging off the edges; example: With two thirds of the population suffering from an unknown virus, with three quarters of the two thirds have worn a yellow t-shirt in the past three months, the government, formed when the Constitution was written in 1901, decided to take action, with opposition leader John Doe stating that, "Taking action is a bad idea."
 * Try: With two thirds of the population suffering from an unknown virus, with three quarters of the two thirds have worn a yellow t-shirt in the past three months, the government, formed when the Constitution was written in 1901, decided to take action , with  Opposition leader John Doe stat ing  that, "Taking action is a bad idea."
 * Do not use French spacing;

Reference formatting

 * Cite news for news items, Cite web for web pages (not news articles), and Citation for referencing pages without valid URLs;
 * When referencing an news article or other page (a page that hasn't officially been published online, or has but later expired), avoid using the URL for an archived version unless it is explicitly clear that the publisher has given the archiver permission to archive. Do not cite the archiver as the publisher, and do not cite the original publisher under the  parameter. Generally, archive sites (like archive.org) and fansites do not have permission to archive.
 * Do not use YYYY-MM-DD formatting for dates in the  parameter (use this in the   parameter) – use January 1, 2008 or 1 January 2008 depending on the way the rest of the article formats its dates.
 * Cite the publisher as the publisher, not shorthand URL: e.g., Australian Broadcasting Corporation, not abc.net.au; News Limited, not news.com.au – ignore this rule if there is no apparent publisher of the page (i.e., if the name of the site is redfruits.com as opposed to Red Fruits)