Submission Guide

This article provides guidelines and requirement for contributing to the wiki by adding new articles or contributing to existing articles. Please refer to the Lore Office Policy for broad guidelines on Bravo Fleet canon and its creation.

Overview

Most important of all: if you're not sure, please reach out to the Lore Office for assistance, and we will be happy to provide guidance.

There are two main principles of this wiki. The first is that Bravo Fleet maintains a cohesive canon; the Lore Office decides on our version of 2399, and that is the standard to which all stories in the Fleet must adhere. This includes the timeline of recent events, the nature of modern governments, and Starfleet activities and engagement. Articles that dictate Bravo Fleet canon bear an icon in the top-right of the Bravo Fleet logo, a Task Force logo, or the flag of a government power.

The second is that the wiki is collaboratively developed by members as well as the Lore Office. Articles not explaining the status quo of the 'big picture' content, but providing background to a game's adventures or a story's events are welcome. These articles should not include the icon unless explicitly ratified by the Lore Office, and adherence to their content is 'opt-in' by other members. They should be smaller, more personal incidents. Think of the difference between a stand-alone episode of The Next Generation dealing with one lone planet in the galaxy, and an episode of Deep Space Nine that develops galaxy-shaping events such as the Dominion War.

Style Guide

Please check with other articles of the same type when creating or editing. While their outline is flexible, consider these useful starting points for what to include. Please use the correct template where applicable. If editing, please be mindful of our maintenance templates if any are in place.

It is essential to note that the wiki exists to establish a status quo of the galaxy so more storytelling can be done. This is worldbuilding for a purpose: to give writers essential information so they can write. We are not interested in vast articles giving minute detail on every nuance of a culture, useful or otherwise. Think of this as a sourcebook for a roleplaying game, rather than one of Tolkien's appendices. The Lore Office recognises this is a highly subjective distinction and is happy to provide guidance.

Many pages include an 'In Play' section, which explicitly lays out how the subject of this article should be portrayed. It should be brief, around a half-dozen points at most, and can outright say things like, 'These people will attack on sight; negotiation is impossible.' Think of this as providing the cardinal rules, the do's and don'ts.

Creating an Article

This wiki does not wish to replicate general Star Trek canon information which can be found elsewhere. If Memory Alpha can provide all relevant information, please simply link accordingly. This is why there are very few 'species' pages on the wiki, for example; there is rarely new information on a species' biology or psychology that the Lore Office deems worth adding. General Trek canon is useful only in giving context to current information (for example, the short history section of the Klingon Empire article) or condensing essential information that is useful for writing (for example, the Bravo Fleet Timeline, which focuses on galactic events, compared to the Memory Alpha timelines which include the events of every incidental Voyager episode alongside key incidents of the Dominion War and is less useful for canonical reference).

Please consider the following categories, and their caveats, for member-created articles:

• Locations: Planets, regions, starbases, systems, etc. Please specify where this location is situated, and add it to the category of the relevant Quadrant.
• People: These should be NPCs such as Starfleet staff, heads of government, notable civilian figures. These should not be player characters or a fiction's main characters - ie, characters that are already listed on BFMS. Please link to those BFMS articles instead using the following code example: [[bfms_char:13085|Teylas Ramar]]
• Governments: Political groups, such as the Klingon Empire. Distinct from species, though in cases of limited but key information, descriptions of a species can be contained in a sub-section of the government page. Non-government factions (such as the Fenris Rangers) can also be added.
• Species: Where relevant, information on a species' biology and psychology can often be included on the relevant government page. Please do not unnecessarily add articles when a link to Memory Alpha would suffice.
• Ships: Every ship which exists in the Bravo Fleet registry is entitled to an article (see below). Articles for other Starfleet ships require ratification by the Lore Office. Articles may be created for notable alien ships without necessarily requiring ratification by the Lore Office.

While there may be other kinds of pages, please think hard or consult the Lore Office before creating a page which does not fit within these guidelines.

Ship Articles

As above, every ship in the Bravo Fleet registry is entitled to an article. It is the intention of the Lore Office that these ships will have and develop a rich history as they pass between members. If you request a ship with an extant history, do not delete or overwrite the events recorded by previous captains (though you may edit or streamline them if your article is becoming too long!). You should not assume IC that your ship is newly-built, for example. Please bring the article up to date for the new commanding officer and crew, and enjoy the legacy you have inherited!

Mission records should be included as sub-sections of this article, rather than stand-alone articles. Minor characters among the crew can be listed in the same way.

Please make sure your ship is included in the right Task Force list of ships so it can be easily found.

Editing/Contributing to a Bravo Fleet Canon article

If an article contains an icon denoting it as BF Canon ratified by the Lore Office, do not edit it without consulting a member of the Lore Office first. Please only bring up specific suggestions that could enrich the extant article, and remember that we are not trying to replicate Memory Alpha. Ultimately, we encourage you to tell your own stories within the world we've set out, rather than get caught up in worldbuilding.

The events of these stories are of great interest to us, however. While you are encouraged to record your ship's adventures in its article, if your story includes, for example, an encounter between a Starfleet ship and that of another government that might have lasting implications, please bring this to the Lore Office's attention. We will be happy to add or create a 'Recent Encounters' section, for eg, as the writing of members spices up the ongoing narrative. This is ultimately the best way to have an impact on canon.