IMFDB:Style Guide

General

• The titles of film, games, and television programs should be in italics. Individual television episodes should be in quotes. (Battlestar Galactica, "Exodus (Part II)")

• Periods are not necessary as space fillers in tables.

• Initialisms do not need periods. (For example, "LAPD" not "L.A.P.D.", "SWAT" not "S.W.A.T.") The only exception is if an initialism with periods is part of a work's name (eg F.E.A.R. or S.W.A.T.) in which case it should be written that way.

• [[Category:_____ Produced/Filmed]] or [[Category:_____ Produced]] categories should refer to the countries that produced the film/show, not filming location. (For example, Battlestar Galactica is not considered a Canadian production just because it was shot in Vancouver.) American productions do not need to be noted.

• It is not necessary to link a page to itself.

• Tables should be in ascending order by date.

• All pages and edits must be in English. This includes discussion and user talk pages.

• Made-for-TV movies are classified as Films.

• Redirects should be used whenever possible.

• Titles that begin with "The" should have the "The" moved to the rear (for example, Departed, The, rather than The Departed.) A common move is to create the page with the "The" in front, then move the page later to create a redirect. Titles that begin with "A" should be left as is.

• Titles which start with ellipses (...<title>) should omit the ellipses. For example, ...And Justice for All. should just be And Justice for All. (This is due to technical limitations.)

• If a weapon cannot be identified for certain, it is preferred that it be labeled "unknown" or "unidentified" rather than guessing.

• Foreign films should always go under the American release title unless there isn't an American release title, then page title should be <Translated English Title> (<Original Title>). (For example, Woman Cop, The (La Femme Flic))

• Screenshots should be tagged with [[Category: Screenshot]] or {{SS}} and poster and cover art with [[Category: Poster and Cover Art]] or {{PCA}}. Behind the scenes images such as screencaps from making-of featurettes or production stills should be tagged [[Category:Behind the Scenes Image]]

• For simplicity's sake, hyphens and x's (-, x) should be used rather than en/em dashes and multiplication symbols (–, —, ×).

Media titles

• All media titles must have cover art or a poster. All cover art or posters must be at least 300 pixels wide, preferably portrait, in English if possible.

• Infoboxes are optional. If used, please use the appropriate template.

• If infoboxes are not used, thumbnails of the cover art or poster is to be right justified and set to 300 pixels. ([[Image:<Poster>.jpg|thumb|right|300px|''<Title>'' (<year>)]])

• Level 2 headings should be the default setting for weapons. (for example, == Colt Detective Special == ). Level 1 headings should be used when differentiating different types of weapons or factions, Level 3 for variation of the same weapon.

• Thumbnails of "full-screen" (4x3 ratio) screencaps should be set at 500 pixels, thumbnails for "widescreen" screencaps (1.66:1, 16:9, 1:85:1, 2.35:1) screencaps should be set to 600 pixels. Lower quality screencaps, from unrestored films, VHS copies or those filmed in 16mm may have thumbnails set to 400px. For reference, please see here.

• Actors holding weapons should be identified (if possible) and hyperlinked at least once on a media page. ("James Bond (Roger Moore) uses a ...", "Militant #2 (Darrel Heath) uses a ...") Subsequent mentions do not need to be hyperlinked.

• Identified weapons should be hyperlinked at least once on the page. ("A Browning M2HB is seen mounted...") Subsequent mentions do not need to be hyperlinked.

• An image of any identified weapon must be present, unless one is not available. Weapon images must be set to at least 300 pixels, with justification set to none.

• Hyperlinks do not belong in the headings or subheadings.

• Firearms IDs should be based primarily on the visual evidence (screenshots.) Dialogue and source material can reinforce IDs, but can not override visual evidence.

• Spoilers should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Identifying any actor using any weapon takes precedence, however. If absolutely necessary, please use {{Spoiler}} at the top of the page.

• For video games, please identify the characters by name in any descriptions or captions. ("The player" refers to YOU, sitting in front of your TV or monitor.)

• Media with the same name should be differentiated in the title by year of release. (for example, Medal of Honor (1999)) Titles with generic titles should have the year in the title as well (Point Blank, Bulletproof, Flashpoint) When in doubt, just search for the title in IMDB.

• Screencap captions should describe the screencap, not give away future events or plot points. For example:

Good: Inspector Notre Dame holds his Beretta 92FS Inox to Vinz's head. Note the blued slide, and that the barrel appears to be threaded and fitted with a thread protector. (Description of what is depicted in the screencap itself, with emphasis on the prop used.)

Bad: Inspector Notre Dame with his Beretta 92FS Inox right before he shoots Vinz in the head. (Giving away future events not depicted in the screencap.)

Good: Massachusetts State Police officers firing M16 rifles at a funeral. Although all of these rifles have M16A2 hand guards, only the rifle on the far right has an A2 receiver; the others have A1-style receivers. (Description of what is depicted in the screencap itself, with emphasis on the props used.)

Bad: Massachusetts State Police officers firing M16 rifles at <insert character>'s funeral. Although all of these rifles have M16A2 hand guards, only the rifle on the far right has an A2 receiver; the others have A1-style receivers. (Giving away plot points not depicted in the screencap.)

• Screencap captions should not criticize or mock gun handling by actors. Exceptionally impressive gun handling skills and continuity errors can be noted, however.

• External links to IMDB or official webpages should be avoided.

• Media pages should include either [[Category:Movie]], [[Category:Television]], [[Category:Video Game]], or [[Category:Anime]], depending on what is appropriate. Appropriate genre and director categories should also be added.

Weapons pages

• Only create tables for categories where the gun actually appears. In other words, if the gun has only appeared in Film, do not create a table for Video Games or Television.

• If a weapon is mocked up or otherwise standing in for another weapon, the entry goes on the page of the base weapon. For example, a PKM mocked up as an MG34 will go on the PKM page, with a note about the modifications.

• Gun images should be tagged with [[Category:Gun Image]] or {{Gun Image}}

Actor pages

• Actor page titles should match that actor's IMDB page. That means the given name is first and surname is last, as in the western style. This includes East Asian actors. Exceptions may be granted if that actor is better known by his Asian name (example, Chow Yun-Fat.)

• An image of the actor should be on every actor page. This image should show the actor's face clearly, with eyes open, and it is preferred that he or she be holding a gun, although not to his or her own head.

• Thumbnails of actor images should be right justified and set to between 300 and 450 pixels, depending on the orientation of the image and if a screenshot, the aspect ratio.

• Actor pages should include [[Category:Actor]], and either [[Category:Actor Male]] or [[Category:Actor Female]]. The templates {{ActorM}} and {{ActorF}} combine the two categories and may also be used.

• If the actor is deceased, please indicate so on the page. (For example, "Ernest Borgnine (1917-2012) uses a ..." Please also add [[Category: Deceased Actor]] to the bottom of the page.

• Film and television credits should be separated. Each should use a Level 2 heading. ( == Film == )

• The actor and weapon must be physically present to qualify for inclusion. Voice acting and motion capture credits should not be listed, though video game full-motion video (FMV) sequences with real actors qualify for inclusion.

• If a television credit is a guest role, the episode name and date (year) should be included. That information should be readily available on the internet.

• For television credits, the episode name and number goes with the notes, not the show title. (for example, "Blood on the Scales" (S04E16))

• It it preferred that film and television credits be in table form.

• Actors need to be in control of a particular weapon to receive an entry. This would exclude actors grappling for a weapon, or holding up a weapon in a plastic bag.

• Biographies may be included on actor pages, but they must be short, and can note things like achievements, famous relatives, premature death, notoriety, or fame outside of acting.

Screen Captures

• Black bars should be cropped from all screenshots.

• Not-Safe-For-Work images should be altered with the appropriate censor bars or pixelization. (American standards for NSFW apply, so no nudity or excessive gore.)

• Aside from the aforementioned black bars, screencaps should not be cropped. If a part of the image needs to be emphasized, please highlight that particular section with circles, arrows, or numbers.

• Closed captions and subtitles in the screencaps of film and television titles should be avoided if at all possible.

• Screencaps should be left in their native aspect ratios.

• Watermarked images should be avoided, especially if it proves intellectual property theft. (Theft of intellectual property is morally and legally wrong.)

• Only JPEGs are allowed.

• Screencaps should be uniquely named. Overly generic names should be avoided, (for example, Bond_PPK.jpg, or revolver.jpg) as well as overly technical names (for example, vlcsnap-2012-11-21-16h05m37s240.jpg.) Aim for something simple, unique, and yet still descriptive. (for example "Skyfall_HK416_01.jpg" or "H50_S2E11_M4.jpg".)