Wikipedia:Update/1/General style changes during July 2009


 * Accessibility
 * Added to lead section: "For assistance with accessibility, see: Help:Accessibility"
 * Expanded WP:ACCESS from the June 30 version
 * In WP:ACCESS, moved some links to the footnotes. Also, added: "It can cause problems if cells that are not in the first row or column contain a colspan/rowspan. If the content of the joined cells does not actually apply to all of the corresponding cells in the first row or column, then the voice browser may incorrectly report the header that applies to those cells."


 * Avoid neologisms
 * In WP:NEO, added link: protologisms
 * Created WP:NEO: Wiktionary:List of protologisms


 * Avoid peacock terms
 * In the lead section, changed "- In Wikipedia articles, try to avoid peacock terms which merely promote the subject of the article without imparting real information. Examples include describing people as "important", "main" or "among the greatest" in their field without explaining why. Peacock terms often reflect unqualified opinion, and usually do not help establish the significance of a topic. They should be especially avoided in the lead section." to "In Wikipedia articles, forgo unsourced or unexplained peacock terms that merely promote the subject of the article without imparting verifiable information. Examples include describing people as "important", "main" or "among the greatest" in their field without explaining why. When you use these terms, make sure you have sources to support them, and that the reader understands why the person or subject is so regarded."
 * Added to WP:PEACOCK: "Their inclusion in this list does not mean they should be avoided, simply that they must be used appropriately." Words added to the list: "leading", "trusted".


 * Avoid weasel words
 * Some material moved from WP:WEASEL up to WP:WEASEL
 * Added to WP:WEASEL: "Uninformative. The purpose of an encyclopedia is to spread accurate and useful information. Weasel words are neither accurate nor informative."


 * Citing sources
 * Added to WP:CITE: "The original-language quotation aids readers in verification, and the translation makes the information accessible to readers that do not read the original language."
 * Added to WP:CITE: "Where no agreement can be reached, defer to the style used by the first major contributor."
 * Some endsection material was moved to WP:CITE
 * In WP:CITE, removed [Inline citations are mandated by ...] "(to a lesser extent) the good article criteria. They are particularly appropriate for supporting statements of fact ..."
 * In WP:CITE, removed: "Author-date references are the most commonly used citation style in the physical and social sciences (whereas author-title or author-page citations are the most commonly used style in the arts and the humanities). Author-date references are used in some of Wikipedia's articles on science and medicine."
 * Added to WP:CITE: "Template:Citation/core - is how the vast majority of citation processing occurs within medaiwiki."
 * Added to WP:CITE: Improving referencing efforts, Inline citation, List of sources


 * External links
 * In WP:EL, changed "include appropriate external links in an "External links" section at the end and/or in the appropriate location within an infobox or navbox." to "include appropriate external links in an "External links" section at the end of the article, and in the appropriate location within an infobox, if applicable."


 * How to copy-edit
 * Added links in the lead section: copy-editing, fact checking
 * In WP:COPYEDIT, expanded and moved down: "See also notices should be in a section titled "See also" if relevant to most of the article. For notices specific to a particular section, use one of these hatnotes." Also added: [1980's commencement address was exceptional] "(Better: The commencement address of 1980 was exceptional)."
 * New section: WP:COPYEDIT: Copyedit, Copyedit-section, inappropriate tone


 * Layout
 * Added to WP:LAYOUT: "Related – this generates Related terms:"
 * In WP:LAYOUT, changed ""Bibliography" is occasionally used if the list contains only books." to ""Bibliography", "Discography", or "Filmography" are occasionally used where appropriate."
 * Expanded WP:LAYOUT from the June 30 version
 * In WP:LAYOUT, changed "Title: The most frequent choice is a "References" header. But other articles use "Notes" and "References" as headers for two sections, or "References" and "Footnotes" as headers for two sections ..." to "Title: The most frequent choice is "References"; other articles use "Notes", "Footnotes" ..."
 * In WP:LAYOUT, added [A bulleted list, usually alphabetized,] "of a reasonable number" [of recommended publications]


 * Lead section
 * Added to the lead section: [It should] "define the topic," [establish context, ...]. Also added: [the notability of the article's subject should be established in the first sentence of the lead,] "if possible."
 * Added to WP:LEAD: [In general, specialized terminology ] "and symbols" [should be avoided in an introduction.] "Mathematical equations and formulas should not be used except in mathematics articles."
 * Added to WP:LEAD: [The first paragraph of the introductory text needs to unambiguously define the topic for the reader,] "without being overly specific."
 * Added to WP:LEAD: Lead section TT first sentence content, Lead section TT first sentence format, Lead section TT text


 * Linking
 * Changed substantially from the June 30 version


 * Manual of Style (dates and numbers)
 * Added to WP:MOSNUM: "For instance, one should not replace "since the start of 2005" by because some information (the start of 2005) would be lost."
 * In WP:MOSNUM, removed "The prefix "giga-" and its symbol G should be limited to computing and scientific contexts."
 * In WP:MOSNUM, added "Generally," [use units consistently]. Also added: "Nominal and defined values should be given in the original units first, even if this makes the article inconsistent: for example, When the Republic of Ireland adopted the metric system, the road speed limit in built-up areas was changed from 30 mph to 50 km/h. (The focus is on the change of units, not on the 3.6% increase.)"
 * Shortened WP:MOSNUM from the June 30 version
 * Added to WP:MOSNUM:
 * "(When they form a compound adjective, values and spelled out units should be separated by a hyphen.)"
 * "the percent sign [is] unspaced".
 * [When unit symbols are combined by division, use a slash ...] "Exceptions include "mph" for the mile per hour, "psi" for pounds per square inch, etc."
 * [When dimensions are given, values each number [sic] should be followed by a unit] "name or symbol"


 * Manual of Style (text formatting)
 * In the lead section, changed "This is Wikipedia's style manual for text formatting. Use it for guidance on when to apply various formatting techniques, such as bold, italics and underlining." to "This page provides guidance on when to format text in articles ."


 * Manual of Style (titles)
 * In WP:MOSTITLE, changed "genera and species (but not higher taxa)" to "genera and all lower taxa (but not higher taxa)"


 * Manual of Style (trademarks)
 * In the lead section, changed "presentation" to "formatting"


 * Manual of Style (writing about fiction)
 * In WP:WAF, changed "is usually taken from secondary sources about the fictional world," to "is usually taken from secondary sources about the work of art or the fictional world contained therein,"
 * Added and deleted a few examples


 * Self-references to avoid
 * Added to WP:SELF:


 * The perfect article
 * Added to WP:PERFECT: "is not a dictionary article as it is not about a word and how it is used; it is about an idea, which it explores thoroughly."


 * Words to avoid
 * Added to WP:AVOID: "militant"
 * Added to WP:AVOID: "left his body"