SmashWiki:Manual of Style/Words to Watch: Difference between revisions

{{Proposed policy}}

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SmashWiki is not censored, but '''certain expressions and phrases should still be avoided''', as they may introduce bias to an article or a viewpoint, or cause information to become unclear or inarticulate. This addendum to [[SW:MoS|our manual of style]] is intended to help users to avoid using improper words that can introduce inadvertent bias to pages,<!-- as part of [[SmashWiki:Neutral Point of View]],--> or lead to imprecise information that is vague.

Note that words that are not featured on this page may still be problematic in certain contexts; similarly, some words on this page may still be usable in articles with no ill effects if the context calls for it.

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Also known as "{{s|wikipedia|peacock terms}}", puffery refers to the use of words that overly promote or disparage a subject without summarising verifiable information. Terms that promote puffery, such as great, fantastic, awesome, incredible, landmark, best, worst, horrible, dreadful, appalling, awful, or gimmicky should ideally be replaced either with facts or attribution to demonstrate a point. For instance, simply stating {{SSB4|Cloud}} has a horrible recovery is unacceptable; stating Cloud's recovery is poor as a result of several "blind spots" in [[Climhazzard]]'s ledge [[sweetspot]]s and its low vertical and horizontal distances would be acceptable.

The use of certain adverbs should be avoided, as such terms can inadvertently give undue focus to a point, such as "notably", "unusually", and "interestingly". Phrases can also introduce such inadvertent focus, such as "it should be noted" or "of particular note", and they should be avoided if possible. SmashWiki should also not attempt to presume too much about the reader's perspective, and editors should avoid the use of words such as "obviously", "naturally", "clearly", and "of course". As NPoV also states SmashWiki should describe disputes, but not engage in them, SmashWiki should not take a view as to whether an event was "fortunate" or "thankful".

Clichés, idioms, and similar phrases should be avoided in preference of direct, literal expressions. The phrases "double-edged sword", "mixed bag", and "jack of all trades", for instance, should be avoided. Outside of idioms potentially misrepresenting the scale of a viewpoint, readers unused to the idiom or who do not speak English as a first language may misconstrue the meaning or scale of a statement.

Absolute specifications of time are preferred over relative constructions, such as "recently", "currently", and "to date", as this can lead to statements becoming outdated and can prevent readers from getting an appropriate frame of reference for older events. Specific ages should also be avoided where possible, as phrases such as "17 years old" or "2 years ago" will require constant updating to remain accurate.

 

While the phrase "as of" can be used to address times, by giving a concrete starting date of a certain event, its use should also be avoided where possible.

[[SmashWiki:What_SmashWiki_is_not#SmashWiki_is_not_censored|SmashWiki is not censored]], and as a result, a number of words considered offensive may be used in the mainspace, such as in the terms [[Rapetent]], [[ESRB leak|Motherfucking Leaker]] or [[Death by Rape]]. Outside of direct contexts, however, offensive language should not be used, unless removing such vulgarities causes information to become less relevant or accurate.