Help:CreateIndividualSpacecraftArticle

To quickly create a canon vessel article that matches the format in use with other canon vessels:

1. Open the new article. Note that if your vessel shares a name with something else, like a planet or a BattleMech you should put additional identifying information in parentheses after the name as a part of the article name, e.g. "Ripper (Individual Vincent-class WarShip)". See Policy:Article Naming#Ships for more complete guidance on how to name the article when a naming conflict exists.

2. Paste the following code into the edit field:


{{infoBoxIndividualSpacecraft
| image      = 
| vesselname = 
| prevname   = 
| type       = 
| class      = 
| prevclass  = 
| servicesince = 
| serviceuntil = 
}}

== History ==


== Notes ==


== References ==
<references />

== Bibliography ==

[[Category: Individual DropShips]] / [[Category: Individual JumpShips]] / [[Category: Individual WarShips]]
[[Category: Individual XXX-class DropShips]] / [[Category: Individual XXX-class JumpShips]] / [[Category: Individual XXX-class WarShips]] 
[[Category: Individual Battlecruisers]] / [[Category: Individual Battleships]] / [[Category: Individual Carriers]] / 
[[Category: Individual Corvettes]] / [[Category: Individual Cruisers]] / [[Category: Individual Destroyers]] / 
[[Category: Individual Frigates]] / [[Category: Individual Heavy Cruisers]] / [[Category: Individual Transports]] / 
[[Category: Individual Yard-Ships]]

3. Delete the fields from the image line if you do not have a corresponding picture. Note that if you are including a picture, it should be a picture of the specific vessel in question; including a picture of the McKenna's Pride in an article on the McKenna's Pride is fine, but including a generic picture of a McKenna-class battleship is incorrect - those pictures belong in the article about the class of vessel, not an article on an individual vessel.

4. Add the correct data to the other lines. If there is no information available to fill in a field, just leave it blank; blank fields will typically not be displayed in the article. Here are some pointers to help you populate these fields:

  • The vesselname field is for the latest known name of the vessel. Do not include any naval prefixes, e.g. "Warspite" is correct, "SLS Warspite" is incorrect. This field will default to the pagename if no other name is given.
  • The prevname field is for any previous names that the vessel has had. Some ships have had numerous previous names - if the vessel you're writing about is one of those, seperate the names with blank lines using the following code as an example:
| prevname   = Lollipop <br>Nosferatu <br>Rampant Gerbil
  • The type field is for the type of vessel you're writing the article about; this should be inside the square brackets that make the type a link, e.g.: [[DropShip]]
  • The class field is for the class of vessel you're writing about, which should also be inside the square brackets that make the type a link, e.g.: [[Excalibur]]. You don't need to worry about putting the class in italics - the template does that for you automatically.
  • The prevclass field is for use if the vessel has changed class during her lifetime - for example, if the vessel you're writing about was an Avatar-class heavy cruiser but was later substantially rebuilt as a Liberator-class heavy cruiser. Most vessels never change class, so don't worry if this field is blank.
  • servicesince is the time when the hull in question first slipped its moorings. This is known for comparatively few vessels, and in most cases only the year of completion is known, if any information at all.
  • serviceuntil is the date when the hull in question was decommissioned or destroyed. If any such information is available it will typically be included in the article text as well. Add a brief explanation (e.g. "destroyed") when putting a date or year into this field.

5. Fill in the other sections to the best of your ability - the References section should populate itself, if you're following the guidance given in the References help page. Don't worry if there's not a lot of information available about the vessel you're writing about; many vessels are only mentioned in passing in canon.

6. When you're populating the other sections, remember the following pointers to make your article consistent with all the others:

  • A vessel's name should always be in italics; Warspite is correct, Warspite is incorrect.
  • The first time you use a vessel's name in an article, that name should be in bold as well as in italics.
  • The naval prefix for a ship should never be in italics; SLS is correct, SLS is incorrect. This means that:
  • SLS Warspite is correct,
  • SLS Warspite is incorrect, and
  • SLS Warspite is incorrect.
  • A handy reference list of naval prefixes seen in canon can be found in the Naval prefixes page.
  • If in doubt, refer to a vessel in the female voice - she, her, etc.
  • The first time you give the name of a vessel, it often helps the reader if you also identify her class, for example "The Invader-class JumpShip Xanadu..."
  • Sometimes people talk about one or more "sister ships". A sister ship is always a ship of the same class - not a ship from the same squadron, Clan, navy or year of manufacture.

7. Select the appropriate categories for the vessel and delete those that are not applicable - and also delete the "/" characters. Don't be worried if all you know about the vessel you're writing about is that she's a DropShip, JumpShip or WarShip - many vessels don't have their class named in canon. If the class of ship is known, then replace the "XXX" character with the name of that class. The third line of categories is for use when you're writing about WarShips; if you aren't writing about a WarShip, just delete them. If you are writing about a WarShip, you can always check which categories are needed by looking at the article for that particular class of WarShip. If you're writing about a sub-class of ship, such as a Pocket WarShip, note that the category you should use is that of the parent class, i.e. an Excalibur-class Pocket WarShip would have the Category "Individual Excalibur-class DropShips".

8. Click on the Show preview button and review your article for mistakes.

9. Press the Save page button.

10. Bask in the pride of your article, with our thanks.