Wikipedia:WikiProject Puerto Rico/Standards

The Puerto Rico WikiProject (PR) developed these article standards for page formatting and layout based on best practices developed through WP:Consensus and other discussions involving the wider Wikipedia community. These standards are not set in stone, however, and can be ignored if warranted for a particular Puerto Rico article, but they should be used on nearly all Puerto Rico articles under this project's scope. If someone finds a case where the Wikipedia Manual of Style (MOS) and these standards conflict, that editor should follow the MOS and let PR know so this document can be updated.

American vs. British English
Editors are encouraged to create and edit Puerto Rico articles following American English spelling.

Editors are encouraged to use the template  (example: ) in all Puerto Rico articles to help accomplish this. The template is added at the beginning of an article. Adding this template accomplishes two purposes: (1) standardizes spelling to follow the American English spelling in all articles, and (2) directs spell-checker BOTs to follow the American English spelling when operating on such articles, changing words spelled with the British spelling to the American spelling.

For example: The article Hospital San Lucas (a hospital in Puerto Rico) was created on 12 December 2011 using American English spelling but the "Use American English" template wasn't added to the article. Subsequently, on 18 September 2016 an editor changed the article to follow British spelling. The "Use American English" template was added on 22 September 2019 to help avoid this in the future. The article was modified again on 29 November 2019 to follow the American spelling.

Note: This does not affect date formats, i.e., an article can follow the American spelling while following the British date format.

Spanish (foreign) words
If the word is found in an English language dictionary it doesn't need to be italicized. For example, the word barrio does exist in the English dictionary, as can be seen in wordreference.com, so it does not need to be italicized. Words that are not in the English dictionary should have the language template around them or be italicized.
 * would render as Estamos Bien. Putting two single quotes at the beginning and end of the word works, as well.

Pronunciation
Add a pronunciation key after foreign names. When a foreign name has a set English pronunciation (or pronunciations), include both the English and foreign-language pronunciations; the English transcription must always be first. If the native name is different from the English name, the native transcription must appear after the native name.

For example: Venezuela (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, )

which gives: Venezuela (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, )

Translation
It is appropriate to translate text within the article and reference titles, from Spanish to English, but be careful with machine language translations. On the Álvaro Betancourt article, the reference titles are translated, making it possible for readers to understand them. Here's an example of a translated reference title parameter: "Triunfan los Vaqueros y los Gladiadores" [Vaqueros and Gladiadores succeed]- Notice it's not been translated to "Cowboys and Gladiators succeed" because those are names.

The use of "U.S."
The Territories of the United States have various types of relationships with the US. "Unincorporated territories are not integral parts of the United States and no promise of statehood or a status approaching statehood is held out to them." See here for an explanation: Integrated Renewable Resource Management for U.S. (pdf)

Sometimes with viral situations, false information spreads quickly. Unfortunately, this has been the case with P.R., the property of the US, and Puerto Ricans, the people who live there.

Many people think the US territories are "in" or "part of" the U.S., but that is not the case. Specifically, the U.S. are 50 states and Washington DC. See a map of the United States here, and here, in the CIA World Fact Book which also states "note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia, no overseas territories."

While the US Congress does have final say in many of the territories' affairs that is not the same as saying that the territories are "part of" or "in" the US.

This is an encyclopedia, (encyclopaedia in the UK) and being precise here is important.

PR is "foreign in a domestic sense".

PR is a colony of the US.

PR is a territory of the US.

PR belongs to but is not part of the US.

PR is an insular area of the US.

The Encyclopedia Britannica says "PR is associated with the US."

That is why, aside from not using "Puerto Rico, United States" in addresses, sometimes it can be beneficial to point out that the territories of the US, including Puerto Rico, are not constituent parts of "the United States". This can be accomplished by inserting, in the proper place of the body of the article, the phrase "United States and its territories", to qualify that the territories are also included.

PR, being the most populated of the territories is often spoken of along with the 50 states and DC. Many times we hear the newscasters state, the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico.

We do not want to continue to spread falsehoods "that PR is in the US or part of the US". WP has grappled with this issue for many, many years. Nowhere have we learned that P.R. is "part of" or "in" the United States. The Supreme Court of the United States has said that it is not part of the US.

Of course, it is easier to say it is, but WP:VERIFY.

Infobox
The following standards address the entries to be made for the display of the location of an entity (or place of birth of a person) in infoboxes.

Puerto Rico is not located in the United States, is not part of the United States and is not a U.S. state. Because Puerto Rico "belongs to but is not part of the United States", the United Nations states it is a colony of the United States. "...the Insular Cases produced the doctrine of territorial incorporation. This doctrine holds that fully incorporated territories are afforded all the rights and privileges of the Constitution, while unincorporated territories are only afforded the particular Constitutional rights and privileges as designated by Congress."

In most cases, there is no need to obfuscate the reader with the political relationship of the United States and Puerto Rico. In addition, information in the infobox "summarizes key features of the page's subject"; thus, if the subject of the article is, say, a municipality, the infobox should not have facts that allude to the political relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico.

An official definition of what constitutes the United States can be found on the United States USGS website, on this USGS page.

In addition, the CIA World Factbook, a US Government publication, under the Geography section of the United States, gives the area of the United States and notes that it includes "no overseas territories":

Area


 * total: 9,833,517 sq km


 * land: 9,147,593 sq km


 * water: 685,924 sq km

"note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia, no overseas territories" (the emphasis is ours)

The US Social Security Administration defines Puerto Rico as being outside of the United States as well.

For these and other reasons argued in numerous Wikipedia discussions throughout years, the Infobox of Puerto Rico-related articles should not include "United States" (or "US"). (Note: The Wikipedia article List of sovereign states accurately details what "the United States" is, and we encourage editors to use it as a guide whenever a question raises over the topic of "Is Puerto Rico part of the United States?")

Regarding the inclusion of "United States" in the infobox, there have been many discussions over the years because Puerto Rico is not in the U.S. but is a place that belongs to the U.S. while not "a part of the U.S." "United States" thus shouldn't be included in addresses. Puerto Rico in many respects behaves as a country and is a country, but is not a sovereign state because it is a commonwealth, and an unincorporated territory of the United States.

The following examples reflect the proper handling of "location" and similar parameters (such as city/ state/ country, etc.) in infoboxes:

Barrios, subbarrios and communities in Puerto Rico
Example: In the Infobox of barrios, such as the barrio of Pueblo Viejo, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Do use:

which renders as:
 * Commonwealth: 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico
 * Municipality:     Guaynabo

Biographies on people born in Puerto Rico - "Place of Birth" parameter
Example: In the Infobox of biographies (such as baseball biography, politician, and others) such as José Hernández (baseball), Do use:

which renders as:
 * Born: July 14, 1969 (age 50)
 * Río Piedras, Puerto Rico

Cays and Islets of Puerto Rico
The U.S. Library of Congress shows places in P.R., including the location of cays and islets of Puerto Rico as being in Puerto Rico.

Companies based in Puerto Rico
Example: In the Infobox "company", such as Martex Farms, Do use:

which renders as:
 * Location: Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico

Geologic formations of Puerto Rico
Example: In the Infobox of "rockunit", such as Lares Limestone, Do use:

which renders as:
 * Region:     Caribbean
 * Country: Puerto Rico

Rationale: Geological formations follow regional geology natural boundaries; they do not obey political powers of sovereign states. "Puerto Rico" is included, as with other world geologic regions, as a location within the geological region, not as a political entity.

Hospitals in Puerto Rico
Example: In the Infobox of hospitals, such as Professional Hospital Guaynabo, Do use:

which renders as:
 * Location:    Guaynabo, Puerto Rico

Libraries in Puerto Rico
Example: In the Infobox of libraries, such as Biblioteca Municipal Mariana Suárez de Longo, Do use:

which renders as:
 * Location:    Ponce, Puerto Rico

Military installations of the United States in Puerto Rico
Example:

In the infobox of military installations such as Campamento Santiago, Do use:

which renders as:
 * Salinas, Puerto Rico

Rationale: Location of base is in Puerto Rico.

Municipalities of Puerto Rico
Example: In the infobox of municipalities, such as the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Do use:

which renders as:
 * Commonwealth: 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

Museums in Puerto Rico
Example: In the Infobox of museums, such as Museo del Autonomismo Puertorriqueño, Do use:

which renders as:
 * Location:    Ponce, Puerto Rico

Organizations in Puerto Rico
Example: In the Infobox "organization", such as Centro Ponceño de Autismo, Do use:

which renders as:
 * Location:    Ponce, Puerto Rico

Status: Not done?

Parks and Plazas (squares) in Puerto Rico
Example: In the Infobox of parks, such as Parque Luis Muñoz Rivera, Do use:

which renders as:
 * Location:    San Juan, Puerto Rico

Rivers in Puerto Rico
Example: In the Infobox of rivers, such as Chiquito de Cibao River, Do use:

which renders as:
 * Commonwealth: Puerto Rico
 * Municipality:      Lares

Universities in Puerto Rico
Example: In the Infobox of universities, such as UPRRP College of Natural Sciences, Do use:

which renders as:
 * Location:    San Juan, Puerto Rico

Wikidata items
An effort should be made to check the values in Wikidata items are correct. Sometimes infobox Information or other article elements, such as images, are transcluded from wikidata into articles. This is especially true on different language wikis; many pull data from wikidata into their respective articles.

Citizenship
Dual citizenship of those born in Puerto Rico should be reflected in the wikidata item with two instances of "Country of Citizenship": one for the United States and one for Puerto Rico. For additional information, see The CIA World Factbook, under Country=Puerto Rico, then follow the link to People and Society, then see under the Nationality section.

Arecibo Observatory
Note: Information seen in the displayed infobox is transcluded from properties in its Wikidata item. According to the United States Supreme Court: Puerto Rico belongs to but is not part of the United States. If the label in the infobox states "location" it should be Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

Order of common article sections
As a reminder, per WP:MOSLAYOUT, the order of common sections of article is as follows:
 * See also - can contain the portals (PR and/or Roads portals)
 * Notes (i.e., those using the template)
 * Footnotes (i.e., those using the template)
 * References (i.e., those using the template) - can contain the portals (PR and/or Roads portals) if article doesn't have a See also section
 * Further reading
 * External links
 * Templates, are to be last (i.e., just before Categories)

Location of Puerto Rico portal image link

 * 1) The Puerto Rico portal image link is to be placed in every Puerto Rico-related article under the "See also" section in the wikitext, as opposed to any other section (such as the "References" section).
 * 2) For Puerto Rico road articles, two road portal images are to be coded under the "See also" section in the wikitext: Puerto Rico and United States road portals.
 * 3) For the road portal images, the Puerto Rico WikiProject will standardize on the use of the roads template in "boxed" format as opposed to using a bullet list format:
 * (a) Boxed format:
 * ==See also==
 * {|style="background:white;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"


 * }
 * (b) Bullet format (not to be used):
 * ==See also==
 * ==See also==

Population of each barrio
With the culmination of the 2020 census, the changes to the barrio articles should (1) retain the 2010 population and source (2) add the 2020 population and source. This will help readers see the change from 2010 through 2020 as there has been much speculation on the effects of Hurricane Maria with an exodus from Puerto Rico. While municipality articles do have a table showing historical population, currently the barrio articles do not. A table could be added later; but for now, at least keep the 2010 #'s and source when we get the 2020 census results.

Terminology

 * The term to use when referring to Subdivisions of Puerto Rico's municipalities should be barrio, not ward. This is how the municipal subdivisions are referred to in countless official US (i.e. Census) and PR documents. See here based on consensus.

The future of Puerto Rico is at stake
To whomever it may concern,

Look, I am going to be very real here. Everybody and everyone who loves and adores democracy in the United States of America needs to be extremely concerned, scared, and worried about the future of Puerto Rico because if heaven forbid Donald John Trump (a.k.a. The Donald) gets back into the White House at high noon on January 20, 2025 he will never ever allow Puerto Rico to become the 51st state of the United States especially since he will turn the United States into an autocracy as well as a dictatorship and will do whatever it takes to be president for life! Remember, people, this is the exact same man who gave the residents of Puerto Rico a very shitty treatment in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria back in 2017! Also he desperately wanted to trade Puerto Rico to the Kingdom of Denmark in exchange for Greenland especially if Puerto Rico was not granted complete and total independence from the United States! So that means in 2024, not only will the future of the United States AND democracy hang in the balance but so will the future of Puerto Rico as well!

Thank you and/y gracias,

NJRobbie

3:39 p.m. E.D.T. September 23, 2023


 * I don't mean to be sarcastic but I will be sarcastic with Yes, we're very afraid. . You've been on WP for a long time. Surely, you don't really believe that you should put a comment like these on a Project page? My question to you was simple. Why do you say PR is in the US? For years you've been saying this. Now you say we should be very afraid... What in God's name are you talking about? --The Eloquent Peasant (talk) 20:10, 23 September 2023 (UTC)


 * I'm referring to your edits: 1, 2, 3. Would you like to discuss WP:PRUS? Something that Donald Trump has nothing to do with. But okay. Cheers!- --The Eloquent Peasant (talk) 20:13, 23 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I think we Puerto Ricans sometimes live in fear of Crime in Puerto Rico or the Economy of Puerto Rico but whether it becomes a state or not is something we live in fear of. So no worries NJRobbie. The Eloquent Peasant (talk) 20:25, 23 September 2023 (UTC)