Help:Voice
Unrevised Style Guide SectionThis section of the Style Guide has not been revised from early drafts. As a result, this information is disorganized (as you can see) and possibly not representative of current wiki policies. While you may find useful guidance here, it should not be taken as gospel nor used to settle disputes without wiki mod confirmation.
The voice we aim for is the dry, factual style you see in encyclopedias and on most online wikis (notably Wikipedia), a style known as third person biographical. This lends our fiction an air of seriousness and respectability, which also often makes for excellent dry humor. The events of Blaseball are often absurd, and we can tell these otherworldly, impossible tales with a dry wit that makes for a quietly exciting piece of fiction. Maintaining mystery is a key element to the wonder of Blaseball.
If this sort of style is unfamiliar to you, we recommend starting with just recording the basic facts of a person. You may want to say "Blaseball Bob is the greatest player on the team and always wins us games from the most impossible of circumstances." Instead, try "Blaseball Bob is a skilled athlete and has a record of winning games against long odds." The difference here is that in the first example, the author is expressing their emotional connection to Blaseball Bob, and is therefore producing biased writing. In the second example, the author is making simple statements that are provable. Blaseball Bob is skilled, and we know he is skilled because his record shows his victories. Overall, the key is not to pass a judgement on the subject of the article, but to simply tell the reader what the facts are.
Similarly, speculation should be used carefully within wiki writing. It can be tempting to incorporate the latest fan theories about a non-player character's motives, the effects of new Modifications, or the directions of a plot. When Wikipedia or other encyclopedias do this, however, they make sure to document the entirety of a discussion— and more importantly, cite sources for those opinions, too. With that in mind, contributors should avoid speculation on canonical pages, and be sure to cite fictional sources (or deploy a comedic [who?] template) within fan lore.
Tense, Headings, and Other Details
Please write in past tense when writing historical entries, and switch to present tense when describing states of being that are current, e.g. "Blaseball Bob is on the Wiki Librarians."
The first heading on each player page will be “Official League Records,” which contain notable historical moments for that given player. After that, headings such as "History," "Background," "Time with [Team]," "Personality," or other headings describing significant events deserving of their own sections are acceptable. Headings should be as descriptive as possible while encompassing the section's contents. For example, "Relationship with Wiki McBlaseball" is a better heading than "Personal Life" if that's all that's being discussed, but "Personal Life" more accurately describes a section discussing a player’s house, their relationship with Wiki McBlaseball, and their three children from a past marriage. Extended sections covering multiple topics may also be broken up with further sub-headings to aid readability.
When writing in third person biographical, refer to names in full upon first mention, then only use the last name going forward, even if there are other names a person may go by in fiction. Exceptions are people with mononyms; citing a quotation where a person uses a first name, nickname, or other familiar name; or being clear about multiple people with the same last name.
Part I: Wiki Content
Part II: Wiki Contributions
Part III: Style
