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==How to contribute==

===Logging in===
In order to edit or create articles, you must be logged in. You must be a member of Zelda Legends in order to log in. (If you are not a member, [http://www.zeldalegends.net/index.php?n=signup sign up].) Log into the wiki by clicking the log in link at the top, and entering your Zelda Legends username and password.

===Editing an article===
To edit an existing article, simply click the Edit link at the top. If you want to suggest changes or dispute the information provided, click on the Discussion link. Don't forget to sign your comments on the discussion area with four tildes: <pre>~~~~</pre>

===Creating a new article===
If you want to create an article, first search for it. If the article does not exist, you will be given a link to create the article. Please make sure to use proper capitalization and the full name when you create an article, and make sure to put it in the appropriate categories. If you would like to request an article, please go to the [[Zelda Legends Wiki:Requested Articles]] page.

==Article writing guidelines==
Please look at existing articles to get an idea of what kind of format and detail is expected. All changes to the Wiki are expected to be accurate, informative, relevant, organized, and well-written.  

If you want to write an article, please write it and edit it on your own computer before submitting it to the wiki, so we don't have a million edits filling up the [[Special:Recentchanges|Recent Changes]] page. I know a lot of people don't speak English as a native language, but please at least use spell check, and maybe try to get a native English-speaking friend to edit your article before submitting it. Make sure your article is properly formatted by previewing it before you submit it. If you find it necessary to speculate, try to keep your arguments objective, use good evidence, and come to reasonable conclusions from the evidence.

Please do not change the information in an article unless you are absolutely sure you are right. If you're not sure, click on the Discussion link and add a comment. If you see grammar that needs to be fixed, feel free, but mark your change as minor. And always remember to give a summary of what you changed.

''Warning:'' It should go without saying that spamming the Wiki will result in at least a warning, and at most a ban. "Spamming" does not only refer to acts of vandalism, but also to edits that are irrelevant, biased, poorly-written, or very inaccurate. Please be careful what you write.

===Originality===
The Zelda Legends Wiki is an original work, written by Zelda Legends staff and visitors. Please do not copy and paste any information from any other Wiki, including [http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia] and the [http://wiki.zeldauniverse.net/ Zelda Universe Wiki]. Do not try to pass off someone else's work as your own. Everything you submit under your name should be your own original work.

If you've already written an article for another site or wiki, and you want to reproduce your work in this wiki, that is okay. Just make sure you won't offend the original web site by posting your work elsewhere, and provide a link to the original article, if appropriate. If the original article was written by more than one author, make sure you have the permission of every author.

===Wiki syntax===
Articles are formatted with Wiki markup language. If you are unfamiliar with Wiki markup, or have never written any html or code, it can look a little daunting at first. But it's not too difficult once you get the hang of it. Please visit the following link for detailed help on Wiki markup language.
*[http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing Media Wiki Editing Help]

===A note on sources===
This Wiki attempts to stick only with the most reliable sources. Thus, all information should come from the Zelda canon: the official Nintendo Zelda games and their manuals. The maps included with LoZ and ALttP are considered part of the games, and are thus also included in the canon. Guides and boxes, however, are, for the most part, not created by the original game designers, and are therefore not considered canon. Cartoons, comics, the CD-i games, and manga were not created by NCL under Miyamoto's direction, and are thus also not part of the canon. If one wishes to reference non-canon information, make sure to clearly mark it as such.

Note that sometimes guides contain official art and official enemy names that did not appear in the canon material. These are believed to have been created by the original game designers (since some official art and official enemy names appear in the manuals), so, for the most part, official art and enemy names are utilized.

With this said, we are not forbidding information ''about'' non-canon material from entering the Zelda Wiki. Rather, we wish to keep relevant and reliable information ''separate'' from untrustworthy or less relevant information. So, for example, we will eventually have information about the CD-i games in the Wiki, but the CD-i games will not be referenced as sources in articles such as [[Moblin]] or [[Princess Zelda]].

===Article format===
Article layout is not set in stone, but most of our existing articles conform to the following organization. There is usually a Description section, with a general description plus individual descriptions from each game. A short biography should be given for characters. Note that creatures have a template for a Quick Information box; see [[Tektite]] and [[Acheman]] for examples of this. The description section is usually followed by Relevant Quotes, Translation Notes,  Miscellaneous Notes, and a "See also" section for links to related articles. Feel free to experiment with sections and organization to suit the needs of your particular article. If you need an image for your article, upload them on the [[Special:Upload|Upload file]] page.

Wikipedia has good suggestions on style. The Zelda Legends Wiki strives to be consistent with Wikipedia's standards of style and excellence, so please take a look at this page if you are thinking of writing an article.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style Wikipedia Manual of Style]
Watch out for the following:
* Always try to write in the present tense, i.e. "Link defeats Ganon in LoZ," not "Link defeated Ganon in LoZ."
* Write from a third-person objective viewpoint, never from a personal viewpoint. I.e. "One can conclude that..." rather than "I conclude that..."

===Formatting standards===

====Quotes====
Quotes should be formatted as follows.
*If you are using an in-game quote, put it in a preformatted box, without quotes, in the same format as it was in the game. The original formatting of the text can be obtained from text dumps. For example:<br><br>Essence of the Triforce, ALttP:
  The Triforce will grant the
  wishes in the heart and mind of
  the person who touches it.
*For any other quote, use standard MLA format. For example:<br><br>"Ocarina of Time is the first story, then the original Legend of Zelda, then Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and finally A Link to the Past. It's not very clear where Link's Awakening fits in--it could be anytime after Ocarina of Time" (Shigeru Miyamoto, [http://zeldalegends.net/index.php?n=interviews&id=1998-11-13-np-miya&m=html  Nintendo Power interview], Nov. 13, 1998).<br><br>or<br><br>"After the gods had finished their work, they left the world, but not before creating a symbol of their strength, a golden triangle known as the Triforce" (ALttP SNES Manual, p.3).

====Layout====
Do not assume that you have unlimited horizontal space to work with. This may be true in the MonoBook skin, but is not true in the Zeldalegends skin. Images, when included in an article, should be 400 pixels wide or less. Tables should take up as little horizontal space as possible.

Also, do not assume you have a white background to work with. Instead of uploading a jpeg with a white background, upload a png with a transparent background. Upload a gif with a transparent background if you don't plan on resizing the image (i.e. with a sprite).

====Categories and links====
When linking to other articles or categories, make sure to use the full, complete name, and to capitalize properly. Otherwise your links will not work. For example: link to [[Tingle Tuner]], not to [[Tingle tuner]]; link to [[:Category:The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past]], not to [[:Category:A Link to the Past]] or [[:Category:ALttP]]. Also note that a script apostrophe (’) is different from a typewriter apostrophe ('), so [[Kafei’s Mask]] and [[Kafei's Mask]] are different links. Always try to use a typewriter apostrophe.

====Writing Japanese====
When giving the Japanese name for something, it is customary to give the original Japanese (written in Japanese characters) and the romanization (written in the Roman alphabet). You can usually copy and paste the original Japanese names from the text dumps, or if they're in hiragana or katakana you can use the provided Japanese syllabary on the Edit page. When romanizing the Japanese name, please use the [[wikipedia:Hepburn romanization|Hepburn system]].

====Translating Japanese====
When a Japanese term includes words from the Japanese language, please translate them if you can. An excellent online dictionary you can use is [http://www.popjisyo.com/ POPjisyo.com]. [http://www.coolest.com/jquicktrans/ JquickTrans] is a good Windows dictionary.

== Resources ==
The following resources should be helpful for writing articles, if you need exact quotes, translations, names, images, etc.

===Game text===
*[http://www.zeldalegends.net/index.php?n=text_dumps Text Dumps] - all the quotes from the games, in raw format
*[http://www.zeldalegends.net/index.php?n=quote_faqs Quote FAQs] - all the quotes from the games, arranged in order
*[http://www.zeldalegends.net/index.php?n=manuals Instruction Booklets] - scans and text versions of the manuals

===Translation tables===
*[http://www.zeldalegends.net/index.php?n=z1translation LoZ Japanese/English Translation Comparison]
*[http://www.zeldalegends.net/index.php?n=z2translation AoL Japanese/English Translation Comparison]
*[http://www.zeldalegends.net/index.php?n=z3translation ALttP Japanese/English Translation Comparison]
*[http://www.zeldalegends.net/files/emulation/dumps/zelda64/japan/Z64Japanese-EnglishComparisonTable.zip OoT Japanese/English Comparison Table]
*[http://www.zeldalegends.net/europe/Z64%20-%20European%20Language%20Comparison%20Table.zip OoT European Language Comparison Table]
*[http://www.zeldalegends.net/europe/Z6%20-%20European%20Language%20Comparison%20Table.zip MM European Language Comparison Table]
*[http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/gbcolor/game/472313.html Oracle Changes FAQ (GameFAQs)]
*[http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/game/469050.html TWW Hylian Text Translations (GameFAQs)]
*[[Template:Translations|Translation Tables]] Link to the translation pages for all Zelda Games

===Names===
*[http://bestiary.zeldalegends.net/ Bestiary] - list of official enemy names in Japanese and English from all games
*[http://www.zeldalegends.net/index.php?n=guides Official Guides] - these often have bestiaries, character names, dungeon names, etc.
*[http://www.zeldalegends.net/index.php?n=abbrev Game Names and Abbreviations] - these are the standard abbreviations used on Zelda Legends. Please use them.

===Images===
*[http://gallery.zeldalegends.net/ Image Gallery] - has official art, sprites, and some screenshots
*[http://www.zeldalegends.net/index.php?n=sprites Sprites] - download the sprites in zip files here

===Credits===
*[http://www.zeldalegends.net/index.php?n=creditsfaq Credits FAQ]

== FAQ ==

===The default Zelda Legends skin is too restrictive. Can I change it?===
Yes. After you log in, go to [[Special:Preferences|Preferences]] > Skins. A good alternative skin is MonoBook, which is Wikipedia's default skin.

===I can't log in with my Zelda Legends username and password.===
It's possible that your username cannot be transformed to work with Media Wiki. It's also possible that you've forgotten your password. Please e-mail an admin for help.

===How do I view Japanese text?===
Media Wiki uses Unicode (utf-8) to encode all text. So, for starters, make sure your computer and browser support Unicode. (Most modern browsers and operating systems should support it.) Additionally, make sure you have a font that supports Japanese, such as MS Gothic. If you're using Windows, you may have to install support for East Asian languages by visiting Control Panel > Regional and Language Options > Languages.