Science Guide: Location Article Development Guide
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How to Use This Guide
1. Purpose of This Guide
This guide explains how members should create and develop location articles on the Bravo Fleet Wiki.
Location articles provide spatial, political, environmental, and cultural context for Bravo Fleet storytelling. They help members understand where a place is, who controls or inhabits it, why it matters, and how it may be used in stories.
Location articles may represent:
- Star systems and the celestial bodies within them
- Sectors, regions, or areas of space containing multiple systems or phenomena
- Individual planets, moons, settlements, or notable surface features
- Other story-relevant places where a separate article is useful
This guide exists to:
- Set clear expectations for members creating and developing location articles
- Establish consistent standards for article structure and content
- Explain which elements are required, recommended, or optional
- Help members keep the scale and significance of Member Canon locations proportionate to their established impact
- Provide a clear basis for Science Office review and support
- Provide practical guidance for developing location articles over time
This guide supplements, but does not replace, the general Submission & Involvement Guide. Members must also follow the required standards in that guide, including its broader requirements relating to canon, writing style, article perspective, links, images, generative artificial intelligence, and review.
Wiki and Map Articles Are Not the Same Thing
The existence of a location article on the Bravo Fleet Wiki does not guarantee that the location will be added to the Bravo Fleet Map. Members may suggest Map additions or changes to the Science Office.
Inclusion on the Bravo Fleet Map also does not, by itself, establish a location as Fleet Canon.
Required
Members are welcome to ask the Bravo Fleet Science Officer and their wonderful team for help at any point when creating or developing location articles.
2. Required Minimum Expectations for Location Articles
Required
- Have a clear subject and purpose
- Begin with a concise opening overview paragraph
- Use the appropriate infobox template where one exists
- Clearly establish where the location is situated, either galactically, politically, or both
- Identify relevant governments, powers, species, settlements, or other contextual information where applicable
- Remain compatible with established Star Trek canon, Bravo Fleet canon, and Intelligence Office guidance
- Not make unsupported claims about the location's wider importance, scale, reputation, or significance
- Use appropriate existing categories where applicable
- Follow the required standards in the Submission & Involvement Guide and comply with relevant Bravo Fleet policies
Location articles do not need to be long to be useful. A concise article that clearly explains what a place is, where it is, and the context members need to understand it is often more useful than a large article filled with scientific, cultural, political, or historical detail that is difficult to reuse.
3. Article Style and Scope
Location articles are intended to function as in-universe reference material, not exhaustive scientific catalogues, personal travel guides, mission logs, or unrestricted worldbuilding archives.
Recommended
- Establish clear spatial and political context
- Explain what it is like to visit, operate within, or encounter the location where relevant
- Add information that supports storytelling and future use
- Leave room for future development
- Remain compatible with established Star Trek canon, Bravo Fleet canon, and Intelligence Office guidance
- Keep the article useful to members beyond the stories in which the location originated
Locations should feel grounded and usable without being overly prescriptive. A Member Canon colony, system, planet, or region may be important to a member's stories without needing to become significant to the whole fleet or wider setting.
Member Canon locations should not be written as though every member must know about them, account for them, or treat them as setting-defining places. The distinction is one of scale and impact.
Required
Members must contact the Science Office before creating or substantially expanding a location that could affect established Fleet Canon, territorial boundaries, major governments, strategic routes, fleet-wide events, or other elements of the shared setting.
The Science Office will involve the Intelligence Office where required.
4. Core Requirements for All Location Articles
Every developed location article must meet the following requirements where applicable.
4.1 Opening Overview Paragraph
Required
Each location article must begin with a concise opening paragraph that identifies the location and immediately orients the reader.
The opening paragraph should normally establish:
- What the location is
- Where it is situated
- Whether it lies within, near, or beyond the territory of a recognised power where relevant
- Any important political, cultural, scientific, strategic, or historical context needed to understand the location
Members should place the name of the location in bold on its first appearance in the opening paragraph.
Example
'''Bajor''' is the homeworld of the Bajorans, located in the Bajoran system near the Bajoran wormhole.
The opening paragraph should remain concise. Detailed history, politics, physical characteristics, or other information should be developed in the appropriate sections of the article where needed.
4.2 Infobox Usage
Required Where Applicable
Location articles must use the appropriate infobox template where one exists.
Common infoboxes include:
- Region infobox for sectors, regions, star systems, or broader areas of space
- Planet infobox for individual planets, major moons, or comparable celestial bodies
Infobox information must be accurate and remain compatible with established canon and other information contained within the article.
Members must not remove required infobox fields, replace the appropriate infobox with an unrelated template, or use infobox fields to establish information that conflicts with established canon or approved information.
Where an infobox field refers to another Bravo Fleet Wiki article, members should link to that article where appropriate.
4.3 Categories and Links
Required Where Applicable
Location articles must be placed in appropriate existing categories where applicable.
These may include:
- Quadrant or region categories
- System, planet, or location categories
- Government or affiliation categories
- Species, colony, or settlement categories
- Appropriate Member Canon categories
Required
Members must contact the Science Office before creating a new category or subcategory.
Members should use internal links to connect location articles to relevant governments, species, nearby systems, installations, phenomena, historical events, or other related wiki pages.
Members may also use the {{For|article=...}} template at the start of a section where another article provides useful supporting information.
Examples
{{For|article=[[United Federation of Planets]]}}
{{For|article=[[Bajoran wormhole]]}}
{{For|article=[[Romulan Free State]]}}
The template should direct readers to information that would otherwise be unnecessarily repeated. It should not replace a concise explanation within the location article where readers need that context to understand the subject.
5. Recommended Headers by Location Type
Recommended
Not every header is required for every article. Members should include the sections that are relevant and supported by enough information to justify them.
Where one of these sections is included, it must meet the standards described below.
5.1 Star Systems
Star system articles describe a primary star and the planets, moons, installations, phenomena, or other significant features associated with it.
Overview
Recommended where enough information exists
Where included, the Overview section should expand on information from the opening paragraph without simply repeating it.
It may describe:
- The system's position within a region, sector, or political territory
- Its stellar characteristics where relevant to storytelling
- Whether the system is inhabited, contested, restricted, isolated, or strategically important
- Its general character or role within local space
The section should give readers useful context about the system without becoming an exhaustive astronomical description.
History
Recommended where enough information exists
Where included, the History section must provide a concise, in-universe account of significant developments affecting the system and its inhabitants.
This may include:
- Settlement or colonisation
- First contact or discovery
- Changes in political control
- Major conflicts or disasters
- Significant scientific discoveries
- Participation in relevant Bravo Fleet Canon events
History must be written in broad strokes and should record significant developments and outcomes rather than becoming a mission log or detailed story recap.
Celestial Bodies
Recommended where applicable
Where included, the Celestial Bodies section should summarise planets, moons, asteroid belts, debris fields, or other notable bodies that are relevant to understanding or using the system.
Subsections may be used for:
- Planets
- Moons
- Asteroid belts
- Debris fields
- Notable orbital installations
- Spatial phenomena
Members should focus on bodies that are relevant to storytelling, established continuity, or the character of the system. A complete catalogue of every minor celestial object is not required.
Where a celestial body has enough distinct information to justify its own article, members should provide a concise summary and link to the separate page rather than duplicate its content.
5.2 Regions and Sectors
Region and sector articles describe broader areas of space that may contain multiple systems, political powers, routes, installations, or phenomena.
Overview
Recommended where enough information exists
Where included, the Overview section should expand on the region's location, extent, and general character without repeating the opening paragraph.
This may include:
- The region's position within a quadrant or larger area of space
- Nearby powers, borders, or major routes
- Whether the region is explored, contested, isolated, hazardous, or strategically important
- Other characteristics that help members understand its role in the surrounding area
Descriptions of a region's scale, importance, or strategic value must remain proportionate to established canon and the location's actual impact.
Political and Strategic Context
Recommended where applicable
Where included, the Political and Strategic Context section should explain the governments, disputed territories, alliances, tensions, routes, or strategic considerations relevant to the region.
The section should focus on information needed to understand how the region fits into the wider setting.
Required
History
Recommended where enough information exists
Where included, the History section must provide a concise, in-universe account of significant historical developments that shaped the region.
This may include:
- Exploration or settlement
- Conflicts or territorial changes
- Diplomatic developments
- Scientific discoveries
- Participation in relevant Bravo Fleet Canon events
History should focus on significant developments and outcomes rather than individual missions or stories.
Star Systems and Phenomena
Recommended where applicable
Where included, the Star Systems and Phenomena section should summarise the major systems, spatial features, and phenomena that help define or understand the region.
Subsections may be used for:
- Individual star systems
- Nebulae
- Wormholes
- Black holes
- Spatial or temporal anomalies
- Other significant phenomena
Members should focus on relevance rather than completeness. They do not need to catalogue every object or feature within a region.
Where a system or phenomenon has enough information to justify its own article, members should provide a concise summary and link to the separate page rather than duplicate its content.
Key Installations
Recommended where applicable
Where included, the Key Installations section should summarise stations, outposts, shipyards, research facilities, colonies, or other installations that are relevant to understanding the region.
Each entry should normally identify:
- The installation's name
- Its operator or affiliation
- Its general purpose
- Its relevance to the region
Detailed information should remain on the installation's own article where one exists.
5.3 Planets and Moons
Planet and moon articles describe individual worlds and their physical, cultural, political, historical, or strategic characteristics.
Overview
Recommended where enough information exists
Where included, the Overview section should expand on the planet or moon's location, classification, environment, population, or wider context without simply repeating information already contained in the opening paragraph or infobox.
This may include:
- The world's role within its system or region
- Whether it is inhabited, colonised, protected, contested, isolated, or restricted
- Its general environmental character
- Relevant political, cultural, scientific, or strategic context
Physical Characteristics
Recommended where useful
Where included, the Physical Characteristics section should focus on physical or environmental information that supports storytelling or helps members understand the world.
This may include:
- Planetary class
- Climate or environmental conditions
- Major landmasses, continents, oceans, or bodies of water where relevant
- Natural satellites
- Orbital stations or major orbital infrastructure
- Unusual planetary features, such as rings, metaphasic properties, hazardous atmospheres, or unusual energy fields
Members should focus on significant characteristics rather than naming every continent, ocean, moon, mountain range, or geographical feature.
History
Recommended where enough information exists
Where included, the History section must provide a concise, in-universe account of significant historical developments affecting the planet or moon.
This may include:
- Settlement or colonisation
- First contact
- Political change
- Major conflicts or occupation
- Cultural transformation
- Environmental disasters or restoration
- Development of warp capability where relevant
- Participation in relevant Bravo Fleet Canon events
History should record significant developments and outcomes rather than becoming a mission log or exhaustive chronology.
Government and Society
Recommended where applicable
Where included, the Government and Society section should provide enough information for members to understand how the location is governed and the social or cultural context relevant to storytelling.
This may include:
- Type of government
- Head of state or government where relevant
- Relationship with other powers
- Major social, religious, cultural, or political institutions
- Important laws, customs, or practices visitors should understand
The section should remain broad and useful. Detailed lists of officials, ministries, local offices, political parties, or administrative structures are normally unnecessary unless they are relevant to stories or help other members use the location.
Where a government has enough distinct information to justify its own article, members should provide a concise summary and link to the separate page rather than duplicate its content.
Native or Resident Species
Recommended where applicable
Where included, the Native or Resident Species section should provide a concise overview of sentient species associated with the location.
This may include:
- General appearance or biology where relevant to storytelling
- Cultural or social characteristics
- Relationship to the planet, system, or government
- Whether the species is native, settled, displaced, or part of a wider interstellar society
The section should not become an exhaustive species article. Where enough distinct information exists to justify a separate species page, members should provide a concise summary and link to that article.
Notable Locations
Recommended where applicable
Where included, the Notable Locations section should summarise places on or around the planet or moon that are useful to storytelling or important to understanding the world.
Subsections may be used for:
- Cities or settlements
- Capitals
- Regions of strategic, cultural, religious, or scientific importance
- Major installations
- Landmarks or protected sites
Each subsection should remain concise and focused on information members need to understand or use the location.
Minor places that only require a few sentences should normally remain within this section rather than receiving separate articles.
6. In Play Sections
Optional Recommended for Shared Use
Location articles may include an In Play section to provide practical guidance on how the location may be used or portrayed in storytelling.
It is particularly recommended where other members may visit, reference, or interact with the location.
Where included, the section should focus on information that helps other members interact with the location consistently.
This may include:
- Political sensitivities or restrictions
- Environmental hazards or travel limitations
- Cultural norms or expectations
- Starfleet access, diplomatic restrictions, or local laws
- Narrative constraints writers should observe
- Common reasons a ship, crew, or character might visit
- Important limitations on how the location should be used or portrayed
Examples
- A planet's atmosphere may interfere with transporters.
- Visitors may need permission from a local council before landing.
- Starfleet ships may avoid entering a disputed system without diplomatic clearance.
- Settlements may follow an established naming convention.
- A region may be hazardous to civilian traffic but accessible to Starfleet patrols.
Required
It should help members use the location consistently without unnecessarily restricting future storytelling.
7. Status, Scale, and Significance
Members may describe a location as important, respected, strategically useful, or influential within their own stories, Command Unit, or local area where this is supported by established continuity.
Claims about a location's importance, reputation, strategic value, or wider influence must remain proportionate to its established role and impact.
Required
Members must not give a Member Canon location fleet-wide, quadrant-wide, civilisation-wide, government-wide, or setting-defining significance unless that status has been established through Bravo Fleet Canon or approved by the Intelligence Office.
Examples of claims or developments that must not be established without appropriate approval include:
- Stating that a Member Canon planet is the Federation's most important colony
- Creating a major stable wormhole, transwarp route, travel corridor, or similar feature that would substantially affect wider travel or strategy
- Stating that a Member Canon world is the capital, spiritual centre, strategic heart, or defining location of a major canon power
- Claiming that a local system or location was the sole or primary reason a major war, fleet-wide event, or galactic incident was resolved
- Creating or altering a region in a way that significantly changes established territorial boundaries
- Establishing a location, route, phenomenon, resource, or strategic position that would require other members to recognise or account for it in their own stories
- Giving a Member Canon location a unique political, scientific, cultural, military, or historical status that would substantially affect the wider shared setting
This does not prevent members from creating meaningful, distinctive, or story-rich locations.
A location may reasonably be important to a crew, Squadron, Division, Flotilla, Task Force, local government, or regional story without becoming a defining location for the wider Bravo Fleet setting.
Where a member is unsure whether a proposed location or development goes beyond the reasonable scale of Member Canon, they should contact the Science Office before creating or substantially expanding it.
8. Recommended Qualities of a Strong Location Article
A strong location article should help readers understand what the location is, where it is, who uses or controls it where relevant, what distinguishes it, and how it fits into the wider Bravo Fleet setting.
Recommended
- Establish clear spatial and political context
- Explain the location's role without excessive technical, scientific, political, or cultural detail
- Use recommended headers consistently where relevant
- Focus on information that supports storytelling and future use
- Avoid repeating the same information across multiple sections
- Link to related articles rather than duplicating substantial information already covered elsewhere
- Balance useful detail with room for future development
- Remain useful to members beyond the stories in which the location originated
- Avoid unnecessarily restricting future narrative possibilities
- Remain compatible with established canon and wider Bravo Fleet continuity
Well-developed sections should be informative, focused, and reusable. They should provide enough context for members to understand and use the location without attempting to document every possible detail about it.
9. Quick Reference
At a glance: This section summarises the main requirements and recommendations in this guide. Members should refer to the relevant section above for full guidance.
9.1 Required
Required
- Search the Bravo Fleet Wiki before creating or substantially expanding a location article
- Give the location article a clear subject and purpose
- Begin with a concise opening overview paragraph
- Use the appropriate infobox template where one exists
- Clearly establish where the location is situated, either galactically, politically, or both
- Identify relevant governments, powers, species, settlements, or other contextual information where applicable
- Use appropriate existing categories where applicable
- Remain compatible with established Star Trek canon, Bravo Fleet canon, and Intelligence Office guidance
- Not add Fleet Canon labels or categories to articles
- Contact the Science Office before creating a new category or subcategory
- Keep claims about the location's importance, scale, reputation, and significance proportionate to its established impact
- Contact the Science Office before creating or substantially expanding a location in a way that could affect established Fleet Canon, territorial boundaries, major governments, strategic routes, fleet-wide events, or other elements of the shared setting
- Follow the required standards in the Submission & Involvement Guide and comply with relevant Bravo Fleet policies
9.2 Recommended
Recommended
- Establish clear spatial and political context
- Explain what it is like to visit, operate within, or encounter the location where relevant
- Use the recommended headers that fit the location type
- Link to related governments, species, systems, phenomena, installations, events, or other useful articles
- Use the
{{For|article=...}}template where another article provides useful supporting context - Keep scientific, political, cultural, environmental, and historical details relevant to storytelling
- Summarise history in broad, in-universe terms rather than turning the article into a mission log
- Use concise summaries and links where related subjects already have their own articles
- Leave room for future development
- Update the article following significant developments affecting the location
- Ask the Bravo Fleet Science Officer and their wonderful team for help when needed
9.3 Optional
Optional
- An In Play section to help other members use or portray the location consistently
- Political and Strategic Context where regional politics, disputes, alliances, routes, or strategic considerations are relevant
- Physical Characteristics where environmental or planetary information supports storytelling
- Government and Society where local institutions, customs, culture, or political structures matter
- Native or Resident Species where species information is useful but does not require a separate article
- Notable Locations for important cities, settlements, landmarks, installations, or protected sites
- Tables, lists, or subsections where they make complex location information easier to understand
- Images, maps, diagrams, or other media, provided they follow the image, credit, source-link, and generative artificial intelligence requirements in the Submission & Involvement Guide
Optional content should make the article more useful, distinctive, or easier to understand. It should not be added simply to make the article longer or repeat information already covered elsewhere.
9.4 Do Not
Required
- Create a separate location article where a short summary within an existing article would be clearer and more useful
- Treat the article as a personal travel guide, mission log, exhaustive scientific catalogue, or unrestricted worldbuilding archive
- List every continent, city, moon, mountain range, official, settlement, or minor feature where only a summary is needed
- Duplicate substantial information already available on the Bravo Fleet Wiki, BFMS, Memory Alpha, Wikipedia, or another suitable reference
- Present speculative or future events as established history
- Add Fleet Canon labels or categories to articles
- Create new categories or subcategories without contacting the Science Office first
- Establish a major stable wormhole, transwarp route, travel corridor, or similar feature that would substantially affect the wider setting without appropriate approval
- Claim that a Member Canon location is the capital, spiritual centre, strategic heart, defining location, or most important example of a major canon government, species, civilisation, or interstellar power without appropriate approval
- Create or alter a region in a way that significantly changes established territorial boundaries without appropriate approval
- Make unsupported claims that give a Member Canon location fleet-wide, quadrant-wide, civilisation-wide, government-wide, or setting-defining importance
- Give a location a status, capability, resource, strategic value, or influence that would require other members to recognise or account for it in their own stories without appropriate approval
- Treat the existence of a wiki article or inclusion on the Bravo Fleet Map as establishing a location as Fleet Canon
10. Review and Ongoing Development
Location articles are living documents. Members are encouraged to update them following significant developments, particularly major changes to the location's government, status, environment, population, strategic context, or relationship with Starfleet or other relevant powers.
Updates should preserve the article's usefulness as an in-universe reference rather than recording every mission, story, or minor development associated with the location.
Science Office Review
During review, the Science Office will usually consider the following:
| Area Reviewed | Requirement Level | What This Means |
|---|---|---|
| Required structure | Required | The article includes a concise opening overview, the appropriate infobox where one exists, appropriate existing categories, and any other required structural elements. |
| Canon and continuity | Required | The article remains compatible with established Star Trek canon, Bravo Fleet canon, Intelligence Office guidance, territorial boundaries, and known political conditions. |
| Location focus | Required | The article functions as an in-universe reference rather than an exhaustive scientific catalogue, personal travel guide, mission log, or unrestricted worldbuilding archive. |
| Scale and significance | Required | Claims about the location's importance, strategic value, political position, reputation, or influence remain proportionate to its established role and do not create unsupported setting-wide consequences. |
| Formatting and presentation | Required Where Applicable | Infoboxes, links, categories, images, references, and other formatting elements follow the relevant standards in this guide and the Submission & Involvement Guide. |
| Story usefulness | Recommended | The article provides enough spatial, political, environmental, cultural, historical, or other relevant context to support storytelling and future use. |
Recommended
- Keeping scientific, political, cultural, environmental, and historical details relevant to storytelling
- Not presenting speculative or future developments as established history
- Checking existing canon, political conditions, and territorial boundaries before developing new location material
- Avoiding unsupported claims about strategic importance, unique phenomena, political status, or wider significance
- Linking to related articles rather than repeating substantial information already covered elsewhere
- Contacting the Science Office before developing material that may affect wider canon, territorial boundaries, major governments, strategic routes, fleet-wide events, or the Bravo Fleet Map
- Asking the Bravo Fleet Science Officer and their wonderful team for guidance where the appropriate scale or treatment of a location is unclear
Articles requiring further development may be identified in accordance with the Submission & Involvement Guide.
Build the Setting with Confidence
This guide is intended to make expectations clear and help members create and develop locations that strengthen the shared Bravo Fleet setting. If something is unclear, ask the Bravo Fleet Science Officer and their wonderful team.