Style Guide: Difference between revisions

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Welcome to the Voices In The Dust. Please use this style guide to make sure that your sources easy to access.
== Overview ==
[[Main Page|Voices in the Dust]] will undergo periodic review by the [[Repair Lab]] to maintain a consistent style throughout the archive. This page details several stylistic conventions across the [[Main Page|Voices in the Dust]].


* Citations/links to outside websites should be archived using archive.org (also called the Wayback Machine). For a guide on how to do this, see: [[:File:Archiving Websites and Preventing Broken Links.pdf|Hertz, J. Archiving Websites and Preventing Broken Links. October 17, 2025.]]
=== Resources and Materials ===
* For process uploading new documents and adding citations see: [https://voicesinthedust.org/images/a/ab/Documents_and_Citations_on_Media_Wiki.pdf Hertz, J. Documents and Citations on Media Wiki. October 17, 2025.]
For all resources and materials, when there are multiple authors, list only the first followed by "et al." The title should be in title case, meaning all words except propositions are capitalized. Link the document through its title.


Overall Notes:
:'''Newspaper Articles:''' Author Last Name, Title, ''Newspaper'', Date


* Citations go outside of punctuation
:The date should be in the form of month day, year, for example, January 1, 2026.
* Omit any information not available


== Uploading Documents ==
:'''Academic Articles:''' Author Last Name, Title, ''Journal'', Volume, Issue, Page Range, DOI, Year
In the upload box: Title. Date.


* Title is the title of the document, not the title of the file.
:Write out the full journal title without abbreviation.


* Capitalization is Title Case
:'''Press Release:''' Title, Source, "Press Release, Date
* Date is in the form month day, year, e.g., January 1, 2000.
* If there is no day and/or year, report as: January 2000. Or: 2000.
** Separate each element with a period.


== Linking Documents and References ==
:'''Law:''' Title, Chapter or Section Number, Location, Date (if available)


* Name: Last name and first initial. (e.g. Doe, J.)
=== Sources ===
** If more than one author: Last-name et al. (e.g. Doe, J. et al.)
Numerical citations are placed outside of punctuation. Citations follow the same formatting as described for Resources and Materials but include a period at the end.
* Title is title case (meaning: The First Letter Of Each Word Is Capitalized)
* Source, if journal or newspaper title, then ''italicize''. Write the full journal title (no abbreviations).
* Pages, separate with n-dash
* Date is in the form month day, year. (e.g. May 23, 2024)
** If there is no day and/or year, report as: May 2024. Or: 2024.
* Hyperlink the entire thing!


Examples with varying levels of information available:
=== Uploads ===
Where possible, we have opted not to change the document title when it is uploaded to the archive. This decision was based on the thought that useful information may be present in the file title, especially those documents received from agencies and offices through requests under the [[Virginia Freedom of Information Act (VFOIA)]].


* Name. Title. ''Source.'' Article number. Issue number. Pages. Date.
The ''Destination Filename'' will be generated by Mediawiki from the file name. In the ''Summary Box'', write: '''[Document Title]'''. '''[Date]'''.
** Doe, J. Example Paper Title. ''Fictional Journal.'' Article 3. Issue 9. Pages 40-55. January 1, 2000.  


* Name. Title. Date.
This is the title of the document, not the file. The document title should use title case capitalization, and the date should be in the form of month day, year, for example, January 1, 2026. If there is no day, report January 2026. If there is no day or month, report 2026 only.
** Doe, J. Example Paper Title. January 1, 2000.


* Title. Date.
=== Weblinks ===
** Example Paper Title. January 1, 2000.
Because website links can change, especially links to governmental pages, we encourage editors to upload a pdf of the webpage content. The second best option is to use [https://help.archive.org/help/using-the-wayback-machine/ Archive.org], also known as the Wayback Machine, which will preserve a snapshot of a given website at a given time. However, these snapshots may not constitute a permanent record, and they may still face deletion.
 
=== Photographs ===
Photographs should include credit to the photographer and source, if not taken by the person uploading the image. Please include descriptive alt text to make photographs accessible to all [[Main Page|Voices in the Dust]] users.


== Documents ==
== Documents ==

Latest revision as of 23:20, 17 February 2026

Overview

Voices in the Dust will undergo periodic review by the Repair Lab to maintain a consistent style throughout the archive. This page details several stylistic conventions across the Voices in the Dust.

Resources and Materials

For all resources and materials, when there are multiple authors, list only the first followed by "et al." The title should be in title case, meaning all words except propositions are capitalized. Link the document through its title.

Newspaper Articles: Author Last Name, Title, Newspaper, Date
The date should be in the form of month day, year, for example, January 1, 2026.
Academic Articles: Author Last Name, Title, Journal, Volume, Issue, Page Range, DOI, Year
Write out the full journal title without abbreviation.
Press Release: Title, Source, "Press Release, Date
Law: Title, Chapter or Section Number, Location, Date (if available)

Sources

Numerical citations are placed outside of punctuation. Citations follow the same formatting as described for Resources and Materials but include a period at the end.

Uploads

Where possible, we have opted not to change the document title when it is uploaded to the archive. This decision was based on the thought that useful information may be present in the file title, especially those documents received from agencies and offices through requests under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (VFOIA).

The Destination Filename will be generated by Mediawiki from the file name. In the Summary Box, write: [Document Title]. [Date].

This is the title of the document, not the file. The document title should use title case capitalization, and the date should be in the form of month day, year, for example, January 1, 2026. If there is no day, report January 2026. If there is no day or month, report 2026 only.

Weblinks

Because website links can change, especially links to governmental pages, we encourage editors to upload a pdf of the webpage content. The second best option is to use Archive.org, also known as the Wayback Machine, which will preserve a snapshot of a given website at a given time. However, these snapshots may not constitute a permanent record, and they may still face deletion.

Photographs

Photographs should include credit to the photographer and source, if not taken by the person uploading the image. Please include descriptive alt text to make photographs accessible to all Voices in the Dust users.

Documents