Polytope Wiki:Style guide

This is a work in progress.

This page will tell you how to format pages, page titles, etc. Anything not following this style guide should be adapted to conform to it.

If you want to make a change to this style guide, please achieve a consensus with the community first, by bringing your point up on the Discord server or the [http://hi.gher.space/forum/index.php Hi.gher. Space forum].

Which polytopes get articles
To decide which polytopes get their own articles, and which are relegated to subsections of other polytopes, the following master rule is used:
 * Two polytopes have separate pages if and only if they're in different teepees.
 * A teepee is a set of polytopes that can be continuously morphed into one another, without losing symmetry or passing through degenerate cases.

If two polytopes with different symmetries belong in the same article, the one with the highest symmetry, or highest notability, earns the title, as well as the main section and the infobox. Notability is determined by the following list:

Regular > Uniform > Uniform dual > Scaliform > CRF > Semi-uniform > Noble > Isogonal > Isotopic

For example, get their own articles, as their symmetries are different, and their geometry is (in general) distinct. Likewise, get their own articles: even though they have the same symmetry and can be morphed into one another, they can't be morphed without losing that symmetry or degenerating into a point. also get their own articles, as they have different symmetry, even though they're geometrically identical. However, there's no need for two articles as they're in the same teepee.
 * Equilateral triangle, isosceles triangle ✅
 * Pentagon, pentagram ✅
 * Octahedron, tetratetrahedron ✅
 * Uniform triangular prism, semi-uniform triangular prism, ❌

Page titles
The title for the page of a polytope must be the Bowers long name of the polytope in question. In case this doesn't exist, the Johnson name is preferred. In the rare case neither exists, the community will decide on a name.

The first word in a page title must be capitalized, but every other word must not. For example, is acceptable, but are not. Redirects may be created from alternate names, though, if these are in somewhat common use.
 * Facetorectified pentachoron ✅
 * Facetorectified Pentachoron ❌
 * Firp ❌
 * Faceted rectipyrochoron ❌

Page formatting
A polytope's page must start by introducing the polytope by its long name. In the same sentence, common names for the polytope can be specified. The sentence must end by stating into which category the polytope falls. The next sentence must specify the facet count and vertex figure. For example, is a valid introduction, while is not.
 * The great rhombicuboctahedron or girco, also commonly known as the truncated cuboctahedron, is one of the 13 Archimedean solids. It consists of 12 squares, 8 hexagons, and 6 octagons, with one of each type of face meeting per scalene triangular vertex. ✅
 * Girco is often called the truncated cuboctahedron, but this is incorrect for various reasons. ❌

Further information for the highest symmetry version of the polytope may be given in the introductory paragraphs. Subsections can be dedicated to describing related polytopes, notable lower symmetry versions or specific properties of any version of the polytope, with the appropriate cross-links.

Infoboxes
Every polytope article should have one, and exactly one infobox. All fields of the infobox that are applicable and known should be attempted to be filled. Specific guidelines apply to some of those fields:

Type
When writing in the type of a polytope, use whichever is ranked higher in the list given in § Which polytopes get articles.

Bowers style acronyms
Bowers style acronyms must be from either Jonathan Bowers' website or Richard Klitzing's website.

Elements
Element names must be specified unless they are vertices or dyads. Element counts are grouped by symmetry; e.g. a small rhombicuboctahedron contains two groups of 6 and 12 squares in two different orbits of the symmetry group, so one may concisely state that it contains 6+12 squares.

Measures
If applicable, measures are to be given for edge length 1. If the expressions for the measures are too long to fit in the infobox in a readable manner, approximations may instead be given, with the exact expressions being given in a Measures section. Don't fill out any fields for any measure you don't have.

If all applicable fields have been added to a polytope's infobox, but the article remains categorized in Polytopes with missing measures, add the  or the   field and set it to "Yes". This will override this categorization. Do not override this categorization if there are any fields that can still be calculated and added.

OFF files
Articles on polytopes that are unique up to symmetry and scaling should have their own OFF files. OFF files represent the coordinates of the vertices of a polytope, along with its combinatorial structure. For more information on the file format, see the Stella 4D manual.

OFF files are most useful for use with the Stella software, or with the software (which as of June 2020, is still in pre-alpha). Keep in mind that, even though Stella allows exporting 3D OFF files, uploading OFF files from Stella to the wiki is prohibited by Stella's license agreement. Make sure that every OFF file you upload to the wiki is either your own work or has been released elsewhere under an appropriate license.

Images
The infobox should have an image of the polytope. If the polytope is 2 dimensional or less, an SVG image is preferred, though not enforced. For 3 and 4-dimensional polytopes, Stella images are required whenever applicable. For higher-dimensional polytopes, symmetrically projected wireframes or other simpler representations suffice. A transparent background is preferred to a white background, as the latter clashes with the infobox's background.

Stella renders should have all visible facets at their maximum size. Preferably, the visible facets should be a symmetric subset. Spheres and cylinders should be used. The background should be made transparent—though Stella does not support doing this inside the program, external tools like Lunapic can be used to edit the image appropriately.

Since Stella is a paid software, it's understandable that not all users will be able to contribute images. To request that a specific image be added to an article, you may ask on the Polytope Discord server. Keep in mind, however, that adding images can take quite some time!