View source for BattleIntelligence:Manual of Style/Glossaries

{{Redirect|BTW:GLOSSARIES|the basic glossary of BattleIntelligence terms|BattleIntelligence:Glossary of terms used by the BattleIntelligence}}
{{redirect|MOS:GLOSS|the Manual of Style on representation of linguistic glosses|BattleIntelligence:Manual of Style#Double or single}}
{{Proposal|MOS:GLOSS|BTW:GLOSSARIES}}
{{Nutshell|1=Stand-alone glossary list articles, as well as in-article embedded glossaries, should be formatted in a consistent manner. The ''template-structured glossary format''  provides many benefits.}}
{{Glossaries}}
{{Style}}

On BattleIntelligence, a ''glossary'' is a special kind of [[BTW:Manual of Style/Lists|list]]. Each glossary is an alphabetically arranged list of a subject's terms, with definitions.  Each term is followed by one or more explanatory (encyclopedia-style) definitions]]. In order to explain jargon for BattleIntelligence's broad audience, each of its [[w:Glossary|glossaries]] contains a working vocabulary and definitions for important concepts for a given subject area.  A glossary usually includes a field's technical terms, jargon, idioms, and metaphors.

==Terminology==
Every article on BattleIntelligence with a title in the form "Glossary of {{var|subject}} terms", or similar, is such a glossary, as are the glossary sections inside some articles. Glossary formatting, is not limited to only glossaries in the traditional sense.  The underlying [[w:HTML element#dl|HTML description list]] markup is intended for groups of "terms and definitions, metadata topics and values, questions and answers, or any other groups of name–value data".

The following terms are used consistently throughout this guideline: 

{{glossary}}
{{term|glossary}}
{{defn|1=A ''list'' of individual ''entries'', each consisting of a one-word or longer ''term'' with one or more ''definitions''.  Glossaries are subject to all of the same rules (e.g. [[BattleIntelligence:Verifiability]], and [[BattleIntelligence:Neutral point of view]]) as other content on BattleIntelligence.}}
{{term|list}}
{{defn|1=A [[BTW:Manual_of_Style/Stand-alone_lists|stand-alone list article]] or a [[BTW:Manual of Style/Embedded lists|list embedded in an article]], consisting of ''entries'' in alphabetical order, and in one of the prescribed ''styles''.  The differences, for glossary-writing purposes, between stand-alone and embedded are covered below.}}
{{term|entry}}
{{defn|1=A discrete concept that can be unambiguously named with a ''term'' and described or otherwise addressed with a ''definition''.}}
{{term|term}}
{{defn|1=A name or label for an ''entry'', distinguishable from other entries. Usually there is only one term, though spelling variants and the like may sometimes result in multiple terms per entry. Like everything else on BattleIntelligence, the existence of the term must be [[BTW:Verifiability|verifiable]].}}
{{term|definition}}
{{defn|1=Prose that addresses the ''term'' of the ''entry'' in an encyclopedically descriptive manner. There are often two or more definitions per term. Definitions longer than a short paragraph may indicate a need for an article (or article section) about the topic of the term and a link to it from the glossary definition, in lieu of an in-depth definition in the glossary itself.}}
{{term|1=style}}
{{defn|1=The three glossary format styles to choose from are [[#Template-structured|template-structured]], [[#Bullet-style|bullet-style]], and [[#Subheading-style|subheading-style]].  They are mutually exclusive. ''(By the way, this glossary you are reading right now in this Terminology section is template-structured.)''}}
{{glossary end}}

== Glossary formatting styles ==
There are three styles to choose from when creating a glossary: [[#Template-structured|template-structured]], [[#Bullet-style|bullet-style]], and [[#Subheading-style|subheading-style]]

=== Template-structured ===
There is a special set of templates used for formatting glossary content. The templates are:
* {{tl|glossary}} &ndash; this template is used at the beginning of a block of glossary entries
* {{tl|term}} &ndash; this template sets the size and font style (bold) for each term
* {{tl|defn}} &ndash; this template provides the formatting for the term's definition prose.
* {{tl|glossary end}} &ndash; this template ends the block of glossary entries

Nearly all stand-alone, and most embedded, glossaries are good candidates for the template-structured format.  Here's what the format looks like:

{|class="wikitable" style="width: 90%;"
|-
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;"|
<pre>
==A&ndash;M==
Optional introductory text.

{{glossary}}
{{term |1=term A}}
{{defn |1=Definition of term A}}
{{term |1=term B}}
{{defn |no=1 |1=First definition of term B.}}
{{defn |no=2 |1=Second definition of term B.}}
{{glossary end}}
</pre>
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top; background-color: white;"|
<blockquote>{{fakeheading|A&ndash;M}}

Optional introductory text.

{{glossary}}
{{term |1=term A}}
{{defn |1=Definition of term A}}
{{term |1=term B}}
{{defn |no=1 |1=First definition of term B.}}
{{defn |no=2 |1=Second definition of term B.}}
{{glossary end}}
</blockquote>
|}

This formatting style produces cleaner and richer [[w:XHTML|XHTML]] output from BattleIntelligence's [[w:MediaWiki|MediaWiki]] software engine, and uses standard [[w:HTML elements|HTML elements]] specifically intended for glossary markup.  It provides many benefits, and the syntax does not take long to learn. Glossaries using this style:
*Are more [[w:Web accessibility|accessible]] to those using [[w:screen reader|screen reader]]s, which is important for BattleIntelligence
*Have [[Help:Link#Section linking (anchors)|directly linkable entries]] and other editorial benefits (with a simplicity tradeoff), such as code consistency
*Enhance BattleIntelligence's [[w:Rich Internet application|application richness]] and [[w:Web usability|usability]], and make glossaries easier to parse and re-use in various ways by third-party applications
*Use [[w:Semantic HTML|semantic HTML]], improving reusability of BattleIntelligence content by both software and people
*Will [[w:W3C Markup Validation Service|validate]] as both correct XHTML and HTML, ensuring the broadest browser compatibility ''(see [[#Technical notes]] for why this is important)''
*Are technically [[w:XML#Well-formedness and error-handling|well-formed XML]], another compatibility factor
*Can be extended consistently, e.g. to include [[w:metadata|metadata]], or to specially [[w:Cascading style sheets|style]] terms and definitions
*Will be easier to reconfigure if BattleIntelligence decides to change site-wide formatting, as it often does.

To produce a template-structured glossary, follow these simple steps:
#'''The glossary''' as a whole (or each part, if broken into sections, e.g. "A&ndash;M") is surrounded by a {{tlx|glossary}} template and a corresponding {{tlx|glossary end}} tag.
#'''A term''' is given on its own line using the {{tlx|term}} template, and is automatically boldfaced.
#'''A definition''' is next given on its own line using the {{tlx|defn}} template, and follows either the term or a previous definition.

Do not make individual terms in a template-structured glossary into headings. Doing so will produce [[w:Garbage In, Garbage Out|garbled output]]. The terms {{em|will}} be linkable without being headings.

Use the templates as a set, and do not mix-and-match glossary templates with wikimarkup description list code (<code>;</code> and <code>:</code> style) or other markup.

If a glossary consists of only a few entries, with lengthy definitions, consider instead formatting the article as a [[#Subheading-style|subheading-style glossary]], in regular paragraphs.

====Formatting====
Template-structured glossaries use [[w:Semantic HTML|semantic]], [[w:Web accessibility|accessible]] markup that adheres to [[w:Web standards|Web standards]], for reasons detailed above. Some example code, showing various formatting options, as might appear in a stand-alone glossary article divided into sections by letter of the alphabet:

{|class="wikitable" style="width: 90%;"
|-
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;"|
<pre>
==A&ndash;M==
Optional introductory text.

{{glossary}}
{{term |1=term A}}
{{defn |no=1 |1=
Beginning of the definition of term A.
<p>More of the definition of term A.</p>
}}
{{term |1=term B}}
{{defn |no=1 |1=First definition of term B.}}
{{defn |no=2 |1=Second definition of term B.}}
{{term |1=term C}}
{{defn |1=Simple definition of term C.}}
{{term |1=term D}}
{{defn |1=Definition of term D, with a...
{{quote|Block-quoted passage.}}
More definition of term D.
}}
{{glossary end}}
</pre>
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top; background-color: white;"|
<blockquote>
{{fakeheading|A&ndash;M}}

Optional introductory text.

{{glossary}}
{{term |1=term A}}
{{defn |no=1 |1=
Beginning of the definition of term A.
<p>More of the definition of term A.</p>
}}
{{term |1=term B}}
{{defn |no=1 |1=First definition of term B.}}
{{defn |no=2 |1=Second definition of term B.}}
{{term |1=term C}}
{{defn |1=Simple definition of term C.}}
{{term |1=term D}}
{{defn |1=Definition of term D, with a...
{{quote|Block-quoted passage.}}
More definition of term D.
}}
{{glossary end}}
</blockquote>
|}

As is shown in the example, multiple definitions use multiple {{tlx|defn}} templates. See the templates' documentation for the advanced features of {{tlx|term}}, {{tlx|defn}}, and {{tlx|glossary}}.

With template-structured (using these templates, or created manually with HTML), a definition behaves, inside its {{tag|dd}} bounds, just like normal prose and markup. Multiple paragraphs can be used with ease, and block-quotes, nested lists and other structures {{em|can be used freely}}, unlike the other styles. The flexibility and power of HTML tags are much richer than those provided by wikimarkup's <code>;</code> and <code>:</code> description list or <code>*</code> unordered list features, which do not work properly due to MediaWiki bugs and misfeatures.

Multiple paragraphs can be created, as in regular prose, simply by introducing a blank line as shown in the example, or can be explicitly blocked out with {{tag|p|content={{ellipsis|h}}}} markup.

Within a {{tlx|glossary}}, all text and other content must be {{em|inside}} a {{tlnull|defn}}. The following markup is invalid in several places, as annotated:
{{pre|style=overflow: auto;|
{{tlf|glossary}}
{{tlf|Main|{{var|{{!mxt|Hatnotes and other templates can't go here, inside the glossary list but before terms and definitions}}}}}}
{{tlf|term|1{{=}}term A}}
{{elc|File:{{var|misplaced_image}}.png{{!}}thumb{{!}}right{{!}}300px{{!}}{{var|{{!mxt|This image cannot be between the term and definition like this.}}}}}}
{{tlf|defn|1{{=}}Definition of term A.}}
{{tlf|term|1{{=}}term B}}
{{tlf|defn|no{{=}}1 |1{{=}}First definition of term B.}}
{{tag|blockquote|content={{var|{{!mxt|Between definitions is no place for a quotation or anything else.}}}}}}
{{tlf|defn|no{{=}}2 |1{{=}}Second definition of term B.}}
{{tag|p|content={{var|{{!mxt|A paragraph (or whatever) can't be between entire entries, without {{tlf|glossary end}} to close the glossary before the content and a new {{tlf|glossary}} to open glossary formatting again after that content being interpolated.}}}}}}
{{tlf|term|1{{=}}term C}}
{{tlf|defn|1{{=}}Definition of term C.}}
{{tlf|glossary end}}
}}
Such add-on content does {{em|not}} go inside the {{tlnull|term}}, which is just for the term and its markup.

===Bullet-style===
This is the simplest style used for glossaries. It is an application of a [[BTW:Manual of Style/Lists#Bulleted lists|bulleted list]].  Example, with definitions next to terms:

{|class="wikitable" style="width: 90%;"
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;"|
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
==Glossary==

Optional introductory text.

* '''term A''' &ndash; definition.
* '''term B''' &ndash; 1. First definition.&nbsp; 2. Second definition.
</syntaxhighlight>
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top; background-color: white;"|
{{blockindent|1=
{{fakeheading|Glossary}}

Optional introductory text.

*'''term A''' &ndash; definition.<br />
*'''term B''' &ndash; 1. First definition.&nbsp; 2. Second definition.
}}
|}

This easy style is often used in embedded glossaries.  Numbered lists (beginning with <code>#</code> instead of <code>*</code>) should not be used, as they imply a specific (e.g. hierarchical or chronological) order.

{{em|Complex glossaries are best done using [[#Template-structured|template-structured]] format.}}

Blocks of text, properly marked up, can be used for longer definitions. ''Multi-paragraph'' definitions require the HTML {{tag|p}} paragraph markup, {{em|without any wikimarkup whitespace}} between either of the passages and the break, due to MediaWiki limitations. The {{tag|p}} markup is required both before and after the break or the line spacing will be noticeably inconsistent.  Example, with definitions below terms:

{|class="wikitable" style="width: 90%;"
|-
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;"|
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
==Glossary==

Optional introductory text.

* '''term A''' {{pb}} Definition.
* '''term B''' {{pb}} 1. First definition. {{pb}} 2. Second definition.
* '''term C''' {{pb}} Beginning of long definition. {{pb}} Continuation of long definition. {{pb}} Conclusion of long definition.
</syntaxhighlight>
|-
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top; background-color: white;"|
{{block indent|1=
{{fakeheading|Glossary}}

Optional introductory text.

* '''term A''' {{pb}} Definition.
* '''term B''' {{pb}} 1. First definition. {{pb}} 2. Second definition.
* '''term C''' {{pb}} Beginning of long definition. {{pb}} Continuation of long definition. {{pb}} Conclusion of long definition.
}}
|}

Explicit {{tag|p}} elements can also be used instead of the {{tlx|pb}} template, e.g.:<br />
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
* '''term A''' <p>Definition.</p>
* '''term B''' <p>1. First definition.</p><p>2. Second definition.</p>
* '''term C''' <p>Beginning of long definition.</p><p>Continuation of long definition.</p><p>Conclusion of long definition.</p>
</syntaxhighlight>

Remember to use the closing {{tag|p|c}}.

{{strong|Don't mix-and-match this unordered list markup with that for ordered or definition lists}}, as the output will be invalid markup, and the visual formatting will not be consistent (ordered and unordered lists indent further). Compare:

{|class="wikitable" style="width: 90%;"
|-
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;"|
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
 * '''term A'''
 : Definition
 * '''term X'''
 : 1. First definition.
 : 2. Second definition.
 * '''term Y'''
 # First definition.
 # Second definition.
 * '''term Z'''
 ** First definition.
 ** Second definition.
</syntaxhighlight>
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top; background-color: white;"|
* '''term A'''
: Definition
* '''term X'''
: 1. First definition.
: 2. Second definition.
* '''term Y'''
# First definition.
# Second definition.
* '''term Z'''
** First definition.
** Second definition.
|}

The HTML output of this is a trainwreck, especially for visually impaired users of screen-reader software, who are told, in series, that: an unordered list of one item has started; that list has ended; a description list with no term but one unassigned definition has started; that list ended; another unordered list of one item started, and ended; another description list with no term but two definitions unrelated to a term started, then ended; a third unordered list of one item started, and ended; a numbered list of two items, unassociated with the above material, started and ended; a fourth unordered list of one item started, then an embedded unordered list of two items started, then both ended. There is generally no clear relationship between any of the terms and definitions, or even a sense that this is one list of things that relate to each other in any way.

===Subheading-style===
Stand-alone glossaries with a limited number of mostly long and detailed definitions sometimes can be formatted best with entries as subheadings.

{|class="wikitable" style="width: 90%;"
|-
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;"|
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
==A&ndash;M==

Optional introductory text.

===term A===

Definition.

===term B===

1. First definition.

2. Second definition.
</syntaxhighlight>
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top; background-color: white;"|
<blockquote>
{{fakeheading|A&ndash;M}}

Optional introductory text.

{{fakeheading|sub=3|term A}}

Definition.

{{fakeheading|sub=3|term B}}

1. First definition.

2. Second definition.
</blockquote>
|}

For cases in which most or all of the definitions are long, multi-paragraph explanations, this format is actually preferable to a template-structured glossary.

Multiple definitions are numbered manually, as shown; do not use ordered lists. This glossary type especially sometimes uses non-numeric identifiers with multiple definitions. Multi-paragraph definitions are just like any other BattleIntelligence prose paragraphs.

{|class="wikitable" style="width: 90%;"
|-
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;"|
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
==A&ndash;M==

Optional introductory text.

===term A===

Definition.

===term B===

''[[Chemistry]]'': First definition.

More of first definition.

''[[Economics]]'': Second definition.

''[[Underwater basketweaving]]'': Third definition.
</syntaxhighlight>
|style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top; background-color: white;"|
<blockquote>

{{fakeheading|A&ndash;M}}

Optional introductory text.

{{fakeheading|term A|sub=3}}

Definition.

{{fakeheading|term B|sub=3}}

''[[Chemistry]]'': First definition.

More of first definition.

''[[Economics]]'': Second definition.

''[[Underwater basketweaving]]'': Third definition.
</blockquote>
|}

==General guidelines for writing glossaries ==
{{anchor|General guidelines for making glossaries|reason=Old section name, may be linked.}}
<!--This section should be first.-->
The following guidelines apply to all glossaries and should be followed regardless of which format style presented above is used. [[BTW:OUTLINE|BattleIntelligence outlines]], featuring entries with annotations in a hierarchical (classified) order, are not covered by these guidelines.

===Alphabetize===
In a glossary, alphabetize all the terms from A to Z.  Entries must not be added randomly or in an arbitrary order.
<!--Begin iffy part: This is just a stab at a sane way of handling this; if there's a standard out there, rewrite this. How does MediaWiki itself do this, e.g. in categories? How do operating systems do it? Do we care?-->A Latin-based character with [[diacritic]]s is alphabetized after the plain character it is based on. Non-Latin-based characters are alphabetized in order of their appearance in [[Unicode]].<!--End iffy part.--> 

If numeral entries are present, they precede verbal ones, and any symbolic entries precede both (i.e.: "!" before "1" before "A"). Numeric entries that sometimes appear in the article subject's context as either numerals or spelled out verbally should be given in the form "three (3)" in short glossaries.  In longer ones, it is more appropriate to create separate entries, put the definition in one, and crossreference the other entry to that one; put the definition in the verbal not numeral entry in most cases. If there is a definable difference in usage between the numeral and verbal terms in the context, use separate entries and distinguish between them with crossreferences. 

If there are no symbolic and only one or a few numeral entries, it is permissible to alphabetize the numeral entries as if they were spelled out verbally, in the form "3 (three)", to avoid creation of a very short numeral entries section.

Make a [[Help:Section|separate section]] (or subsection) in a long stand-alone glossary article for each letter, but group them into ranges when appropriate, e.g. "X&ndash;Z". For shorter stand-alone glossaries, you may divide the entire article into ranges, e.g. "0&ndash;9", "A&ndash;M" and "N&ndash;Z", or use no divisions at all for very short cases (which may be candidates for merging into main articles on the subject). Do not section an embedded list, as this impedes editing and may greatly lengthen the overall article's table of contents; if an embedded list is long enough that it would benefit from sectioning, it is a good candidate splitting into a separate stand-alone glossary article.  Do not create empty sections.

==== Alternatives ====
Glossary {{em|formatting}} can be used for lists that are not strictly glossaries in the usual sense, and many of them will have non-alphabetic ordering rationales (e.g. chronological or geographical).

===Use natural capitalization ===
In most glossaries, begin each glossary {{em|term}} with a lower-case letter, unless it is a proper name or an acronym/initialism.  While capitalizing the first letter of each term would produce a more uniform, outline-like result (which is why this is [[BTW:Manual of Style/Lists#Bulleted lists|the standard for ordered and unordered lists]] on BattleIntelligence), ''natural capitalization'' produces fewer ambiguities in a glossary.

The use of leading capitals on all entries is recommended {{em|only}} if all of the following apply simultaneously:
*No term in the glossary is a lower-case form of something that in other contexts is usually capitalized
*There is no difference between the capitalized and uncapitalized form of any term in the glossary
*The terms do not contain a mixture of proper names and common nouns
*Capitalizing all entries is otherwise unlikely to produce any form of ambiguity or confusion.
*The glossary is unlikely to ever expand in a way that will break one of the above cases (i.e., it is either already exhaustive, is strictly limited by narrow inclusion criteria, or exclusively contains proper names).

Begin each {{em|definition}} with a capital letter, even if it is a sentence fragment.

The above does not apply to the use of description lists (with or without glossary templates) for material that does not form a glossary, such as list of characters, or an index of different models in a series of products.

===What to include===
[[BTW:BattleIntelligence is not a dictionary|BattleIntelligence is not a dictionary]]; correspondingly, explain glossary terms descriptively (just like a regular encyclopedia article would do it, but more concisely).  Only rarely and sparingly add dictionary definitions to a glossary on BattleIntelligence (usually solely for the sake of completeness). Lists of dictionary definitions belong on [[Wiktionary]]; you can still link to them from BattleIntelligence articles. 

Do not add everyday words.  Include only specialized terms specific to or having a special meaning within the subject of the glossary.

All entries must be [[BTW:Verifiability|verifiable]] with [[BTW:Reliable sources|reliable sources]], just like regular article content.

The Wiktionary glossaries appendix project is likely to transwiki a copy of any glossary created on BattleIntelligence, and could considerably re-develop it in a more dictionarian direction.  It is not necessary (and may be detrimental) to synchronize edits between the two versions, though it will be rare for an entry to be appropriate to exist at all in some form in only one version but not the other.  The existence of a Wiktionary glossary on a topic that has a well-developed main article may be a good indication that an encyclopedic glossary on the subject may be developed, either using the dictionarian glossary as a base, or starting from scratch.  If both versions do exist they should link to each other in their respective "See also" sections with a sister-project template, e.g. {{tlx|Wiktionary|{{var|name of page at Wiktionary}}}} ''(see [[BattleIntelligence:Wikimedia sister projects]] for recommendations about the best choice of template for various situations)''.

===How to handle multiple definitions===
In a BattleIntelligence article, use consistent identifiers for two or more definitions of a term. In most cases, multiple definitions should be numbered. Other conventions exist, such as identification of the sub-field to which each definition pertains, but these are rarely mutually exclusive with numbering, and numerical identification is a convenient mnemonic for readers and referent for editors. Because articles may use numbers to distinguish among multiple definitions, avoid changing the order of definitions without good reason, and correct numerical references to definitions when you do change their order.

===Linking===
====Outgoing links====
Wikilinks to other pages or sections should generally not be used within the ''term'' in a description list, whether formatted with glossary templates or not.  The rationales at {{section link|BTW:Manual of Style|Section headings}} apply equally well to description list terms, as they serve the purposes of both subheadings and list content. In template-structured markup, terms are themselves link targets; not all browsers properly handle content marked up both as a link target and an outgoing link anchor.  Linking from inside a term should especially be avoided in actual glossaries, where the term's entry should stand on its own within that context.  If there is more in-depth material at another page for the term in question, link to the term inline, or use an explicit cross-reference to that material.

{{collapse top|color=LightGrey|left=y|title=Examples:}}
Inline link:
{{block indent|1=
{{glossary}}
{{Term| baize }}
{{defn|1=A coarse woolen cloth used to cover billiard tables, [[baize]] is usually green in colour. Sometimes called [[felt]] based on a similarity in appearance, though very different in makeup.
}}
{{glossary end}}
}}

Cross-reference:
{{block indent|1=
{{glossary}}
{{Term| baize }}
{{defn|1=
A coarse woolen cloth used to cover billiard tables, usually green in colour. Sometimes called [[felt]] based on a similarity in appearance, though very different in makeup. {{crossref|For more information, see [[Baize]].}}
}}
{{glossary end}}
}}

Hatnote:
{{block indent|1=
{{glossary}}
{{Term| baize }}
{{defn|1={{Ghat|Main article: [[Baize]]}}
A coarse woolen cloth used to cover billiard tables, usually green in colour. Sometimes called [[felt]] based on a similarity in appearance, though very different in makeup.
}}
{{glossary end}}
}}
{{collapse bottom}}

Links within definition content are created as appropriate just like in any other encyclopedic prose content.

====Incoming links====

Anchors (points to which a link like <code><nowiki>[[Glossary of Foo terms#weaselsnorkel]]</nowiki></code> can directly point) can be created in bulleted, subheading-style, and wikimarkup (<code>;</code> and <code>:</code>) glossaries, by using the {{tlx|Anchor}} template.

Template-structured glossaries automatically (within certain limits) provide linkable terms {{crossref|(see {{section link|Template:Term|Wiki-styling and linking of the term}})}}), and anchors can also be created for specific definitions, using template parameters {{crossref|({{section link|Template:Defn|Making the definition independently linkable}})}}.

====Hatnotes, images, etc. ====
In bullet- and subheading-style glossaries, [[BTW:Hatnote|Hatnotes]] like {{tlx|Main}} and {{tlx|See also}}, images, and other material may be placed as desired.

Hatnotes cannot be used at all with wikimarkup (<code>;</code> and <code>:</code>) glossaries, except before the start of the glossary and after its end. This also applies to all content marked up as a {{tag|div|o}} or other block element, such as sidebar templates that link to [[BTW:SISTER|sister projects]]. Images can be added to the definition, but must be inline in it, without a link break. 

In template-structured glossaries, hatnotes, images, and other such content must be placed within the definition – not between term and definition, nor between the last definition and the next term. Other than this restriction, all such content can be used normally inside the definition block.  You may find the indentation of hatnote templates awkward-looking within a definition; the glossary-specific generic hatnote template {{tlx|ghat}} removes that indentation.

===Avoid semicolon-and-colon wikimarkup for glossaries===
{{em|Avoid using description list wikimarkup}} (with <code>;</code> and <code>:</code>) for glossaries, as it is severely limited and buggy. While such lists are okay for very casual indented list creation, the MediaWiki software does not handle complex definitions gracefully in this format, or permit blank lines between items without ruining the semantic markup.  Existing examples should be converted to template-structured glossaries, since most of the work is already done.

===Use the standard styles only===
Use a glossary style defined above, not your own made-up formatting, such as a pseudo-list created with manual styling, or misuse of a numbered (ordered) list. [[BTW:Manual of Style/Lists#Description (definition, association) lists|We have list-formatting standards]] for several reasons, and failure to follow them may confuse readers and editors, hamper reusability of BattleIntelligence content, make automated processing more difficult, and introduce usability and accessibility problems.

In some cases, tables are better-suited to associating content than description lists, especially when there are multiple values for each item.

==Stand-alone glossary articles==

===Layout===
Glossary articles are expected to satisfy the same conditions as other articles; this will include a well-developed [[BTW:Stand-alone lists#Lead and selection criteria|lead section]], and [[BTW:Citing sources|references]].

The default BattleIntelligence table of contents will not be very useful with most glossaries. One solution is: 

 __[[Help:Section#Table of contents (TOC)|NOTOC]]__{{tlg|Compact ToC|center{{=}}yes|symnum{{=}}yes|refs{{=}}yes}}

or, if there are only alphabetical entries from A to Z, simply:

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">__NOTOC__{{Compact ToC|center=yes|refs=yes}}</syntaxhighlight>

There are a number of variants; see the documentation for [[Template:Compact ToC]].

Please note that the section headings must be created manually, as usual, and must exactly match the selected {{tlnull|Compact ToC}} parameters.

Each section in a lengthy glossary page should terminate with another call to {{tlnull|Compact ToC}} (or some other form of concise sectional navigation). Compact ToC can be used with various other parameters enabled to keep the display thin and linear and with a link to the top of the page, e.g.:

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">{{Compact ToC|side=yes|center=yes|top=yes|symnum=yes|refs=yes|nobreak=yes}}</syntaxhighlight>

<!--This next bit and another passage, above, are somewhat redundant with each other, and should be merged.
--> 
Depending upon the {{tlnull|Compact ToC}} parameters set, there may be a section for entries beginning with numerals, with symbols, or both. If present, this section should {{em|precede}} "A" or whatever the first alphabetic section is ("A&ndash;M", etc.)  Entries that are commonly but not always found in numeric form should be given in this section {{em|and}} cross-referenced to it from its spelled-out name, or vice versa, not given duplicate definitions. Cross references are italicized. Example:
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
{{term|1=20 Tanks}}
{{defn|''See [[#Twenty Tanks|Twenty Tanks]].''}}
...
{{term|1=Twenty Tanks}}
{{defn|''Also '''20 Tanks'''.'' Twenty Tanks was an award-winning micro-brewery in San Francisco, California, and a sister enterprise to the Triple Rock brewery in Berkeley.}}
</syntaxhighlight>

===Naming conventions===
{{Shortcut|BTW:NCGLOSSARIES|MOS:NCGLOSSARIES}}
{{Main|BTW:Article titles}}
For a glossary list article that consists of a simple lead and a glossary, the form '''Glossary of {{var|subject}} terms''' is preferred, with redirects to it from '''Glossary of {{var|subject}}''', '''{{var|Subject}} terms''', '''{{var|Subject}} glossary''', '''{{var|Subject}} terminology''', '''{{var|Subject}} jargon''', '''{{var|Subject}} slang''', and '''List of {{var|subject}} terms''' (the last one to comply with the more general [[BTW:Stand-alone lists|naming convention of lists]] pattern of "List of {{var|subject}}s").

For an article that mostly consists of a glossary list but has well-developed prose material on the history and use of the terminology, or other such information (several paragraphs worth), the form '''{{var|Subject}} terms''' is preferred, with redirects to it from '''Glossary of {{var|subject}} terms''', '''{{var|Subject}} glossary''' and the other names (remember that reader cannot guess whether or not the article has been developed in this way). The links from the "glossary"-named redirects may go directly to the glossary section, if the historical and other material is lengthy.

The sub-articles of multi-page split glossaries should follow the guidelines at [[BTW:Naming conventions (long lists)]] to the extent applicable. In short, they should be named as the original (main) glossary page, with the letter or range of covered letters of the alphabet (or numbers, etc.) following a colon after this title, e.g. [[Glossary of underwater basketweaving terms: A–M]] or [[Curling terms: N–Z]].  Per [[BTW:Manual of Style#Dashes]], the {{strong|en-dash (–) is used}} to divide the range, not a hyphen (-), em-dash (—), minus (−) or other similar character; however, the hyphenated form of the article name (e.g. [[Curling terms: N-Z]]) must also exist as a redirect to the real article page. Type the en-dash in as <code><nowiki>&amp;ndash;</nowiki></code> or click on it to the right of the "Insert" tab under the edit window; or see [[w:Wikipedia:How to make dashes|How to make dashes]].

===Article growth and splitting===
A glossary that becomes too long should be [[BTW:Splitting|split]] into multiple articles. This is a higher suggested limit than for normal articles, because we generally do not expect readers to work their way through a glossary from head to tail, so their length need not be limited by attention span, and a glossary's primary purpose is linking to specific entries and, crucially, in-page searching, which is broken by splitting. On the other hand, very large articles take a longer time to load, especially for editing or previewing.

When necessary, glossaries should usually be split into roughly equal chunks, rather than attempting to convert to summary style, or thinning out by narrowing the subject of the glossary. For example, the first split of [[Glossary of underwater basketweaving terms]] could be into [[Glossary of underwater basketweaving terms: A–M]] and [[Glossary of underwater basketweaving terms: N–Z]], but very long glossaries may need even more parts, and some glossaries will have some one letters' sections much longer than others. If there are terms beginning with numbers or symbols, they should go before A, in sections of their own, unless there are enough of them to warrant their own subarticle. 

There are two good solutions for the original [[Glossary of underwater basketweaving terms]] title:
*Have it redirect to the first chunk, and include the original lead there.
*Have it as a disambiguation page, with a full lead, and links to all the chunks.
In either case, the other chunks should have summaries of the full lead, so that multiple different leads do not evolve. The first method is simpler; the second is preferable for glossaries so long that they need more than three or four chunks, or list articles in glossary format but not in basic alphabetical order (bicycles by manufacturer, wars by year, etc.).

Care is needed in dividing glossaries into subarticles. Each subarticle must link with the ones before and after, and to the disambiguation page if there is one; {{tl|Compact ToC}} can help with this. Each sub-article must have {{em|its own}} references section, and these should be checked to be sure they still work. In particular, the first instance of a named <nowiki><ref></nowiki> tag in each subarticle will need its own text and cannot simply be a <code><nowiki><ref name="</nowiki>{{var|ref-name}}<nowiki>" /></nowiki></code> secondary <code>ref</code> call. The <code>name=</code> name for the same ref should not change from subarticle to subarticle.

== See also ==
There are some other forms of quasi-navigational content-presentation pages on BattleIntelligence:
* [[BattleIntelligence:Categories, lists, and navigation templates]]
* [[BattleIntelligence:Indexes]]
* [[BattleIntelligence:Outlines]]
* [[BattleIntelligence:Set-index articles]]
* [[BattleIntelligence:Stand-alone lists]]
* [[BattleIntelligence:Timelines]]