WikiPaintball:Editorial standards

WikiPaintball's editorial standards establish the requirements for creating and editing articles on WikiPaintball. These guidelines are intended to ensure that articles remain accurate, consistent, neutral and useful as historical references.

All contributors are expected to follow these standards, whether writing articles manually or using artificial intelligence.

For guidance on AI-assisted research and writing, see WikiPaintball:Using AI to write articles.

Scope and relevance

WikiPaintball documents the history of paintball worldwide, including players, teams, tournaments, organisations, playing fields, manufacturers, equipment, businesses and paintball culture.

Every article must have a direct and meaningful connection to paintball and remain focused on its specific subject.

Articles should not include unrelated biographical information, personal experiences or promotional material. Contributors should not insert themselves into articles unless their involvement is directly relevant and supported by reliable evidence.

Accuracy and verifiability

Accuracy takes priority over article length or completeness.

• Include only information supported by credible, identifiable sources.
• Never invent dates, names, tournament results, team rosters, sponsorships, affiliations or historical events.
• Distinguish confirmed facts from personal recollections and unverified claims.
• Do not infer founding dates, business closures, team dissolutions or historical relationships from incomplete records.
• Avoid unsupported claims of historical significance, innovation or being the first to achieve something.
• When reliable information is unavailable, omit it rather than speculate.

A short, well-sourced article is preferable to a longer article containing unsupported claims.

Sources and references

Preferred sources include:

• Official tournament results and league records.
• Contemporary paintball magazines and publications.
• Official team, organisation and manufacturer websites.
• Archived websites preserved through the Internet Archive.
• Historical photographs, event programmes and advertisements.
• Credible interviews and documented firsthand accounts.

Social media, forums and community recollections can provide valuable historical information, but claims from these sources must be appropriately attributed and assessed.

Sources must support the specific statements for which they are cited.

Citation format

WikiPaintball uses manually numbered citations.

References should appear in the article as [1], [2], [3], etc., with matching entries under a References heading.

Example:

The team competed in the tournament during 2005.[1]

References

1. Source title. Publication name, 2005.

Reference numbers should be reused when the same source supports multiple statements.

Do not use MediaWiki citation templates, <ref> tags or automatically generated reference lists.

Never invent source URLs or cite material that has not been verified.

Writing style

Articles must use neutral, encyclopedic language and British English.

• Write in the third person.
• Use clear, factual and concise sentences.
• Avoid promotional language, personal opinions and unnecessary superlatives.
• Use day-month-year dates.
• Present historical developments chronologically where appropriate.
• Keep the article's length proportional to the available evidence.

Detailed histories of associated people, teams and organisations should normally appear in their own articles.

Article structure and formatting

Articles should begin with a short introduction identifying the subject and its connection to paintball.

Use standard MediaWiki formatting:

• Section headings using == Heading ==.
• Internal links using [[Article title]].
• Appropriate categories using [[Category:Name]].
• Tables where verified information benefits from structured presentation.

Sections such as History, Tournament results, Products, See also, References and External links should only be included when relevant.

Do not create empty sections or unnecessarily elaborate articles simply to follow a template.

Internal links and categories

Articles should link to relevant existing WikiPaintball pages using consistent titles.

Links to subjects that do not yet have articles are permitted where appropriate.

Use established category names and geographical classifications. Avoid unnecessary or duplicate categories.

Historical research

Paintball history is often documented through incomplete tournament archives, defunct websites, printed magazines and personal collections.

Contributors should distinguish the earliest documented appearance of a person, team or organisation from a confirmed founding date.

Missing records do not establish that an organisation ceased operating or that a team disbanded.

Previously published WikiPaintball articles and established naming conventions should be checked before creating new pages.

Corrections and updates

WikiPaintball is an evolving historical resource. Articles may be expanded or corrected when credible new evidence becomes available.

Corrections should prioritise documentary evidence and clearly distinguish verified information from uncertain accounts.

Contributors remain responsible for ensuring the accuracy of their submissions.

Artificial intelligence

AI-assisted research and writing are permitted, provided that all published material meets these editorial standards.

AI-generated text must be checked for factual accuracy, source validity and appropriate formatting before publication.

See WikiPaintball:Using AI to write articles for detailed guidance.

Core principle: Publish what can be verified, not what can be assumed.