Help:Naming conventions
WikiPaintball naming conventions establish consistent rules for naming articles about paintball teams, players, tournaments, organisations, manufacturers, equipment, fields and other subjects.
The purpose of these conventions is to make articles easy to find, prevent duplication and ensure that different subjects with identical or similar names can be distinguished.
Article titles should be accurate, concise, recognisable and supported by reliable sources.
General principles
All WikiPaintball articles should follow these principles:
- Use the established name. Prefer the official name or the name most commonly used in contemporary paintball publications, tournament records and other reliable sources.
- Keep titles concise. Do not add unnecessary descriptions, locations or dates.
- Use British English. Apply British spelling consistently, except when reproducing official names.
- Preserve proper names. Retain genuine brand names, team names, abbreviations and distinctive spellings.
- Avoid invented names. Do not create unofficial names to make article titles more descriptive or consistent.
- Avoid ambiguity. Where multiple subjects have the same name, use qualifying information to distinguish them.
- Prefer historical accuracy. Use names appropriate to the documented identity of a team, organisation or product.
- Use redirects. Alternative names, common abbreviations and previous names should generally redirect to the relevant article when they identify the same subject unambiguously.
Article titles should not contain unnecessary words such as "paintball", "team", "company" or "tournament" unless these are part of the established name or required to distinguish otherwise ambiguous subjects.
Paintball teams
Standard team names
Paintball teams should normally use their established names without additional qualifiers.
Examples:
Do not routinely add "(paintball team)" or the team's country to otherwise unambiguous names.
Teams with geographic names
When a team's established name includes a city, region or country, retain that name.
Examples:
Do not add a second geographic qualifier unless necessary to distinguish two different subjects.
Geographic words should not be removed from official names merely to shorten article titles.
Multiple teams with the same name
When two or more unrelated paintball teams have the same established name, each should receive a qualified article title.
The unqualified name should become a disambiguation page.
Use the following format where appropriate:
- Team Name (Country paintball team)
- Team Name (City paintball team)
- Team Name (Region paintball team)
For example, if unrelated teams named Chaos were documented in New Zealand and Australia, their titles would be:
- Chaos (New Zealand paintball team)
- Chaos (Australia paintball team)
These are examples of the naming format, not assertions about the existence of particular teams.
Use country names rather than nationality adjectives in geographic qualifiers.
If multiple teams with the same name existed in one country, use more specific locations where these can be established.
If location alone does not distinguish them, a documented period of activity may be added, for example:
- Team Name (Auckland paintball team, 1990s)
- Team Name (Auckland paintball team, 2010s)
Periods must be supported by evidence. Do not invent founding dates or assume when a team ceased operating.
Equal treatment of identical names
No unrelated team automatically receives priority because it was more successful, operated earlier, was better known or had an article created first.
When two unrelated teams share an identical name, both should receive qualified titles and the unqualified title should serve as a disambiguation page.
Existing articles should be renamed where necessary.
Team name changes
A team that changes its name should generally retain a single article if reliable evidence establishes that it remained the same team.
The article should normally use the most recent established name, with former names explained in the history section.
Previous names should redirect to the article where they unambiguously identify the same team.
However, shared players, sponsors, management, venues or equipment do not automatically establish continuity between two teams.
Where two organisations are historically distinct, they should have separate articles.
Secondary and affiliated teams
Secondary squads, development teams and affiliated teams may use names containing terms such as:
- II
- 2
- B
- Academy
- Kids
- Factory
- Division-specific designations
These should be preserved when they form part of the documented team name.
A secondary squad should receive a separate article only where sufficient independent information exists to justify one.
Do not assume that two similarly named teams are affiliated without supporting evidence.
National teams
National representative teams should generally use the format:
- Country national paintball team
For example:
Where men's, women's, junior or other representative squads require separate articles, use consistent and sufficiently descriptive titles.
Players and other individuals
Articles about individuals should generally use their full, commonly documented names.
Examples:
- Firstname Surname
- Firstname Surname (paintball player)
Use "(paintball player)" or another appropriate description only where necessary to distinguish individuals with identical names.
Nicknames and alternative spellings may be created as redirects where the identity is unambiguous.
Do not automatically use a player's nickname as the article title unless it is demonstrably their primary established name in paintball.
Manufacturers and brands
Manufacturers, distributors and paintball brands should use their established company or brand names.
Examples:
Retain distinctive brand spelling and capitalisation where appropriate.
Where a manufacturer has traded under several names, use the most appropriate established name and document verified changes in the article.
Do not merge historically separate businesses merely because they share ownership, personnel, products or branding.
Paintball equipment
Equipment articles should generally use the manufacturer or brand name followed by the model name.
Examples:
Where the model name is distinctive and unambiguous, a shorter title may be appropriate.
Different generations or substantially different models may receive separate articles when there is sufficient verified information.
Alternative model names, abbreviations and common spellings should redirect to the appropriate article when unambiguous.
Tournaments and leagues
Tournament series
Recurring tournament series should use their established competition names.
Examples:
Where an event has changed names, distinguish documented continuity from the creation of a separate competition.
Individual tournament events
Articles covering a particular year's event should normally include the year.
The preferred format is:
- Tournament Name Year
For example:
- Paintball World Cup 2005
Where a competition has multiple events in the same year, include the established event number or location as necessary.
Use consistent naming throughout an event series.
Do not create annual event articles unless there is sufficient verified information to support them.
Paintball fields and venues
Paintball fields should use their established venue or business names.
Where two unrelated fields share a name, add a geographic qualifier.
Examples of the format:
- Field Name (Auckland)
- Field Name (London)
A field moving to a different location does not necessarily become a different business.
Likewise, separate businesses using the same location should not automatically be combined into one article.
Document verified changes of name, location and ownership where relevant.
Organisations and associations
Paintball associations, federations and governing bodies should generally use their official full names.
Common abbreviations should redirect to the full article where unambiguous.
Use geographic qualifiers where multiple organisations have identical or confusingly similar names.
Do not assume that a newer organisation is the legal or organisational successor to an older body without evidence.
Disambiguation pages
A disambiguation page helps readers distinguish between multiple subjects that share the same name.
Create a disambiguation page when two or more documented WikiPaintball subjects could reasonably be known by the same name.
The unqualified title should normally contain a short explanation and links to the relevant articles.
An illustrative example:
'''Chaos''' may refer to several paintball teams: * [[Chaos (New Zealand paintball team)]], a team from New Zealand. * [[Chaos (Australia paintball team)]], a team from Australia. [[Category:Disambiguation pages]]
Only include verified subjects in published disambiguation pages.
Disambiguation pages should not contain detailed team histories, tournament results or speculative connections.
When a disambiguation page exists, links from other articles should point directly to the intended subject.
For example:
[[Chaos (New Zealand paintball team)|Chaos]]
This displays the name "Chaos" while linking to the correct article.
Redirects
Redirects allow readers to find articles through alternative names.
Appropriate redirects include:
- Former team or business names, where continuity is established.
- Common abbreviations.
- Documented nicknames.
- Alternative spellings.
- Common variations in capitalisation or punctuation.
- Established alternative equipment names.
A redirect should point to a single identifiable subject.
Do not redirect an ambiguous name to one of several unrelated teams or organisations.
Where a name could refer to multiple subjects, create a disambiguation page instead.
For further guidance, see Help:Redirects.
Categories
Article categories should describe the actual subject rather than reproduce the article title.
For example, a team named "Chaos (New Zealand paintball team)" would still belong in:
[[Category:New Zealand paintball teams]]
Categories should use the established WikiPaintball category structure wherever possible.
Avoid creating duplicate categories with slightly different names.
Country and regional categories should reflect documented geographic associations.
Renaming existing articles
WikiPaintball's naming conventions apply to both new and existing articles.
However, existing articles do not need to be renamed immediately.
Existing titles should be corrected gradually as articles are reviewed, expanded or otherwise edited.
When an existing article has an incorrect or inconsistent title:
- Confirm the appropriate title using available evidence.
- Search for existing articles, redirects and similarly named subjects.
- Check whether the proposed title is already in use.
- Use MediaWiki's Move function where available to preserve the page's editing history.
- Retain an appropriate redirect from the former title.
- Update internal links where necessary.
- Check for double redirects and incorrect disambiguation links.
- Review the article's categories.
Avoid creating a new page by copying the contents of an existing article when the intention is simply to rename it.
Do not make unnecessary title changes solely for minor stylistic preferences.
Choosing a title for a new article
Before creating a new WikiPaintball article:
- Search WikiPaintball for the proposed name and common variations.
- Check whether the subject already has an article under another name.
- Identify the subject's established name using reliable sources.
- Check for other paintball subjects with the same or similar names.
- Use the shortest accurate and unambiguous title.
- Add a geographic or descriptive qualifier only when necessary.
- Create appropriate redirects where useful.
- Link to existing articles using their correct titles.
If reliable sources do not establish whether two similarly named subjects are the same organisation, do not merge them or invent a relationship.
Where the correct title remains uncertain, contributors should discuss the issue before making potentially confusing changes.
Exceptions and editorial judgement
These conventions are intended to ensure consistency, not force every subject into a rigid naming formula.
Exceptions may be appropriate where an established name is unusually structured or where strict application would produce an inaccurate or confusing title.
Any exception should be based on clear evidence and should remain consistent with WikiPaintball's broader editorial standards.
The guiding principle is to use the shortest accurate name that clearly identifies the documented subject.