The Manual of Style is for pages in the main namespace of the Bob's Burgers Wiki that editors must follow, making a consistent manner across it. Rules of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and other similar issues relate here.
As a notice, American English is the accepted form of English here. Sections of the Manual of Style will reflect this.
Grammar, spelling, and punctuation
Capitalization
While the wiki follows the regular capitalization rules, some terms in the wiki are also treated like proper nouns.
Broadcast seasons
The wiki capitalizes individual broadcast seasons that use nominal numbers and season refers to a specific season. (Season 14 & Season 15). However, seasons that use ordinal numbers do not need capitalization (the fourteenth season & the fifteenth season). Additionally, particular seasons should not receive capitalization if they're just refer to as "season" (the season, this season).
Running gags
All running gags are in title case, including Burger of the Day.
Headers
Generally, headings are in sentence case. Aside from the ones mentioned in this section, other common examples include Behind the Scenes and FOX Promotional images.
- While Behind the Scenes is in title case as a header, it gets treated as a normal word everywhere else (and if it acts as a verb, it should get hyphenated as "behind-the-scenes").
Proper nouns beginning with the
When a proper noun that uses no special formats, being either quoted or italicized, and begins with the, the t follows the standard rules of capitalization, usually only needing capitalization at the beginning of a sentence or a title. Common examples of these kinds of proper nouns would be music acts, like the Cutie Patooties, and places, like the Junk Yard.
- Gene forms the Cutie Patooties in "The Kids Run the Restaurant."
Italicization
Italicize words as words or phrases as phrases.
- The title of "Hope N' Mic Night" is a play on open mic night.
Foreign words should also be in italics. Some words should not be in italics if they are common in English or have become part of the language, like déjà vu.
The wiki allows some use of italics for emphasis.
To see what works to put in italics, see the formatting works section.
Formatting works
Generally, shorter works should be in quotes while longer works should be in italics.
| Quotes | Example | Italics | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Episodes | "Human Flesh" | Movies | The Bob's Burgers Movie |
| Songs | "Sunny Side Up Summer" | Albums | The Bob's Burgers Music Album |
| Short works of writing | "A Burger (And a Hot Dog) With A Side of Emotions, Then He's Back In The Ocean" | Long works of writing | Jokes for Blokes |
| Videos | "Woman Inflates a Balloon and Sits on it and Pops it" | Games (including analog games) | Burgerboss |
| Chapters | "TGI Lie-Days: Why you shouldn't date any of the bartenders at TGI Fridays especially Dave" | Case names | Bob v. Jairo |
Shorts
Whether a short should be in quotes or italics depends on if it's a standalone one. "Louise and the Chalkboard" would be in quotation marks as it is an extra from the Season 1 DVD. However, shorts like My Butt Has a Fever and Bored would be in italics as they released on their own.
Franchises
Due to the abundant franchises referenced, it's appropriate to note that franchises should be in italics if the franchise's name is directly from a longer work already italicized, such as the Alien franchise, named after the 1979 science fiction film with the same name. Otherwise, they should be in regular font.
Perspective
Information on the wiki should always be in the third person and not address readers or tell them to do something. The only exception would be to direct readers to a different page.
- In the first closeup shot showing Tim and Jerry trapeze, Bob's suit is blue. The same suit also appears in one of Fox's promotional images. (see Gallery)
Tenses
Generally, in-universe information on the wiki is in the present tense.
- For example, Bob participates in his children's mockumentary in "Fraud of the Dead: Zombie-docu-pocalypse" and lets them use the restaurant for their film.
Exceptions would be if it's about something that doesn't occur in present events, a character who passed away, or a location that closed down. Other information would be from real life and are usually in past or future tense.
Voice
The wiki encourages writing information in an active voice instead of a passive one, though the rule is less strict on trivia pages. An exception would be if the information is also about a real-life subject.
- He is voiced by H. Jon Benjamin.
Ampersands
The wiki usually does not use ampersands (&) to replace and, but the primary places where they are acceptable are in parentheses as parenthetical in-text citations and within infoboxes.
Commas
The wiki uses Oxford or serial commas, meaning that the second-last thing in a list ends with a comma.
- Tina, Gene, and Louise
In lists, Andy and Ollie count as one person on their own and together, so there shouldn't be a comma that separates their names.
- Louise is also upset about the stage because she sold tickets to kids in her class in exchange for candy so they could watch the event from their apartment: Regular Sized Rudy, Andy and Ollie Pesto, and Arnold Evans.
Unless the quoted material is a title or a proper noun, there should not be a comma at the end of the quoted text if it ends with an exclamation or question mark.
- While Alex and Gene confirm they are best friends in "Roller? I Hardly Know Her!," the first friendly thing they seem to do outside of P.E. is having a sleepover at Alex's house.
Dashes
The most common use of dashes is as hyphens (-). However, there are also em dashes (—), which act similarly to semicolons in which they add another clause without needing a coordinating conjunction. The wiki encourages the use of em dashes over semicolons.
- There should be no spaces before and after an em dash.
- The wiki does not substitute em dashes with hyphens.
En dashes (–) do not get used on the wiki as they are more common than what em dashes are for, which are for dates. Where an en dash could fit is where a hyphen should be.
Double and single quotation marks
The wiki uses dumb (or straight) quotes (' ' & " ") instead of smart (or curly) quotes (‘ ’ & “ ”).
Unless the quoted material ends with an exclamation or question mark, the closing quotation mark should go after punctuation, not before. The only exceptions are em dashes, which go after the closing quotation mark. The rule applies to exclamation marks and question marks if the quoted material ends with either. For example, the quotation mark should go after "Sheesh! Cab, Bob?" as the question mark is part of the episode title.
The wiki uses single quotation marks for material in material that's already enclosed with double quotation marks.
- In "Amelia," Gene Belcher says, "That phrase is usually said with more conviction. Like, 'Mrs. Doubtfire is my hero!'"
To see what works to put in quotes, see the formatting works section.
Numbers
Numbers ranging from zero to ten should be ordinal, while numbers below zero or after ten should be nominal. This rule excludes episode and season numbers and line numbers for songs. Episode and season numbers are generally ordinal in their respective introductions, though seasons should always be nominal outside of this. Line numbers are always nominal.
The wiki rounds decimals to their thousandths-place value.
Parentheses
It is acceptable to use parentheses in writing, whether it's to explain something or to specify. However, it isn't acceptable to use them to add personal interjections.
Aside from standard writing, the wiki also uses parentheses to cite episodes.
- He has a great deal of body hair, which he seems to have inherited from his father and passed down to his eldest daughter ("Mother Daughter Laser Razor").
Additionally, parentheses are acceptable in quotes to indicate action. When doing so, italicize the parenthesis and the enclosed text, and if the action affects the dialogue, italicize the affected dialogue.
- "(singing) Goblins, ghouls and ghosts and bears, why’d I say bears? I don’t know, they’re scary, it’s Halloween—Aah!" – Linda Belcher
Italicizing text isn't necessary for quotes in the Quote template, as the template already italicizes the text.
Periods
Captions for images must have a period. The rules mentioned in the double and single quotation marks section still apply, and the source of the image will follow after the period if it's in parentheses.
Semicolons
Semicolons are primarily for adding another clause to a sentence without adding a coordinating conjunction. While the wiki does not prohibit semicolons, it encourages rewording sentences to no longer need one or using em dashes instead. The rule is less strict on trivia pages.
Semicolons are acceptable when there are commas within items in lists, and they may substitute commas that separate the items as super commas to avoid confusion.
Spelling
The wiki uses the American English spelling of words.
Due to the content on the wiki, it's fitting to note that there is no n in restaurateur.
Information
Episode descriptions on season pages
Episode descriptions on season pages are as long as or shorter than the episode plots from press releases, not revealing any additional information.
Some episode plots from press releases may not resemble the episode when released, such as the ones for "Bed & Breakfast" and "Art Crawl." The information from them generally should not substantially change, only making minor changes such as updating Vincent Bartos's name for the press release of "To Catch a Beef."
Citations
Information with only a few sources such as episodes must have a citation of their sources.
In-text citations
In-text citations usually happen within a clause...
- In "Nice-Capades," Linda helps Tina, Gene, and Louise with a scheme since it lets her make costumes for them and see them sing.
...or in parentheses at the end of a clause.
- Making unique burgers with special ingredients is why Bob wanted to own a restaurant in the first place ("Father of the Bob"), and he loves it when people try out his innovative stuff.
An example of information that needs a source would be that Bob couldn't tie a tie for five years. Two possible ways to write this are:
- In "The Fresh Princ-ipal," Linda reveals that Bob couldn't tie a tie for five years.
- Bob couldn't tie a tie for five years ("The Fresh Princ-ipal").
An example of information that needs multiple sources would be that Bob loves camping equipment but doesn't camp often. Two possible ways to write this are:
- Bob loves camping equipment but doesn't camp often, which is apparent in "A River Runs Through Bob" and "Into the Mild."
- Bob loves camping equipment but doesn't camp often ("A River Runs Through Bob" & "Into the Mild").
An example of information that doesn't need a source is that Tina wears a yellow barrette since it is apparent in almost all of her appearances.
Information with multiple sources should always have sources in release order. For information that might not be as apparent but has multiple sources, the first three sources receive a citation, followed by etc. For trivia subpages and image captions, parenthetical in-text citations go after the ending period or exclamation or question mark.
- Bob has a skin tag. ("The Hawkening: Look Who's Hawking Now!")
If a sentence outside a trivia subpage initially ends with a period and then a quotation mark, the quotation mark moves before the parenthetical in-text citation.
- Louise and the rest of the family don't disturb Bob when he's cooking Thanksgiving dinner because he can be a "Thankszilla" ("Stuck in the Kitchen with You").
Generally, the wiki only mentions the episode when citing them, never its season or episode number. The only time the wiki mentions an episode's season is to emphasize the time between them.
- First episode to be directed by Simon Chong since "Some Like It Bot Part 1: Eighth Grade Runner" in Season 12.
References and footnotes
References and footnotes are usually for sources that don't come from any episodes or related media. They're also present in infoboxes, namely for the confirmation of the age or occupation of a character. They replace parenthetical in-text citations in character introductions.
The wiki formats references from episodes as s(season #)e(episode #) "(title)" (information).
- s5e6 "Father of the Bob" Linda forces Bob to help his father at his diner.
References from other media start at the title.
Notes are for elaboration.
- In "Burger War," Mort reveals that Jimmy Pesto's real last name is "Poplopovich." It's unknown if he changed Jimmy Jr. or his other children's last names to "Pesto," or if they were born as a "Pesto."
Images
Images should have a name that is appropriate to the image. Consequently, screenshots and similar should not have the automatic name that it receives when taking them.
There is no set way to name images, but in-universe images or images often have the names of present characters in the image name. If there is already an image with a similar name, adding a succeeding number to make it unique is acceptable, or the image name may have more details, such as what characters are doing or the specific media it comes from. Correct examples include:
- File:1416 To Catch a Beef Bob.png (The file is an image of Bob Belcher in "To Catch a Beef." The beginning numbers represent the season and episode number of the episode (14 and 16).)
- File:20709 Vulture Bob Linda Speedo Guy.webp (The file is a promotional poster that includes Bob and Linda Belcher and Speedo Guy and comes from a Vulture article. July 9, 2012, is the date of the article's creation, which the beginning numbers of the name represent (2 = 2012, 07 = July, 09 = the ninth day).)
- File:D01 Credits.png (The file is an image of the End Credits Sequence in "The Amazing Rudy." The "D01" represents the production code of the episode: DASA01. While the file name does not include the names of characters in the image, it is sufficient for its primary use on the End Credits Sequence page and the episode's gags subpage.)
- File:Esmeralda.png (The file is an image of Esmeralda in "The Amazing Rudy." It is sufficient as the file includes the only prominent character in the image.)
The wiki encourages adding the names of all characters in a full screenshot. However, for cropped screenshots that intentionally put focus on one or a group of characters, it is acceptable only to include the names of those in focus.
The wiki generally does not change the name of images from FOXFLASH, especially episode stills.
Profile images
Profile images are the images in an article's infobox or the first image at the top of articles. Changing an established profile image of an article requires submitting a proposal on the article's talk page, where discussions occur between editors.
The editor making the suggestion must include the image they're proposing to change the current image and an explanation for why they want it to change. Then, they must put the {{PIC}} template atop the article. It requires either at least three votes from users, where the majority of the commenters agree on the change, or an administrator's approval. An administrator may indisputably reject the change if they believe it does not fit the standards of the Bob's Burgers Wiki. Once there is approval, it is the proposer's responsibility to change the profile image and remove the {{PIC}} template.
For the standards of a profile image on a character page, see the profile images section on Bob's Burgers Wiki:Characters.
Quotes
Profile quotes
Profile quotes are the quotes at the top of articles. Changing the profile quote of an article requires submitting a proposal on this page, where discussions occur between editors.
The editor making the suggestion must include the quote they're proposing to change the current quote and an explanation for why they want it to change. Then, they must put the {{PQC}} template atop the article. It requires either at least three votes from users, where the majority of the commenters agree on the change, or an administrator's approval. An administrator may indisputably reject the change if they believe it does not fit the standards of the Bob's Burgers Wiki. Once there is approval, it is the proposer's responsibility to change the profile quote and remove the {{PQC}} template.
Page layouts
This section explains the layout of sections and what goes into them on specific pages. The Manual of Style also describes less self-explanatory sections. Most pages will not have all of the listed sections.
Episode pages
- Introduction (no heading)
- Plot
- Full story
- Videos
- Notes
- References
- External links
Introduction
The introduction of episodes generally contains the episode's name, the episode number in its season, its season, and its overall episode number.
- "Sacred Cow" is the third episode in Season 1, being the third episode overall.
For holiday-themed episodes, they may also indicate that they are one, with the holiday in question and the number they are.
- "Fort Night" is the second episode in Season 4, being the forty-seventh episode overall. It is the second Halloween-themed episode after "Full Bars."
Plot
The episode plot of episodes that press releases reveal. They usually should not get edited, only receiving minor edits if they contradict the actual episode, such as Vincent Bartos being "Vincent Balicki" in the press release for "To Catch a Beef."
Full story
Paraphrased summaries of the episode. The wiki edits most of them as if they were occurring in the episode, so it should not contain citations, even when there are callbacks to other episodes.
Videos
Clips of episodes the official Bob's Burgers and Animation Domination channels on YouTube uploads.
External links
IMDb, The Futon Critic, transcript, The A.V. Club, and US Copyright Database, from top to bottom. Those not available, particularly episodes reviews by The A.V. Club and episodes on the US Copyright Database, are excluded.
Episode subpages
Trivia
- Trivia
- Goofs
- Behind the Scenes
- Notes
- References
Interesting information about an episode, including any references from real-life media. Typically, information about the episode before it premiered and production information about the trivia belongs near the top of the trivia section. Near the end is where information after it premiered belongs, such as nominations for the episode and awards. The trivia subpage has three main sections, with the trivia section being the first and where most of its information goes.
Goofs follow, which contain all errors from the episodes. Goofs are typically visual errors, not errors about information that conflict with other media or sources.
The Behind the Scenes section contains production information about the episode. Most recently, it links to posts from cast members who provide some of the work they did for an episode. For behind-the-scenes content from artists, animators, and similar cast members, the wiki displays the link as "(content) by (creators)." For behind-the-scenes content showing voice actors recording the episode, the wiki displays the link as "(present voice actors) during voice recordings (date)."
Gallery
- FOX Promotional images
- Screenshots
- Miscellaneous
Most gallery subpages for episodes have only the FOX Promotional images section and the miscellaneous section, which includes the episode's script cover and other related drawings that a cast member who worked on the episode did for it. Earlier episodes tend to have posters, which also belong in the miscellaneous section. Some gallery subpages have screenshots sections, which are screenshots that editors take and add to the gallery of the original episode.
Gags
- Store Next Door
- Pest Control Truck
- Burger of the Day
- End Credits Sequence
Information about the running gags of an episode, with relevant screenshots for all but the Burger of the Day.
Wikitext
Headers
The wiki creates headings with equal signs (=) in source editor, but there are options to select certain headings in visual editor. The foundational headings are the ones with two equal signs. An example of this is the Manual of Style heading.
Links
The wiki links all the works on a page, even if there's already an existing link on the page. The main example of this is linking episodes.
Similarly, individual broadcast seasons in nominal number form should always link to their respective seasons.
For links to other Fandom wikis or Wikipedia, use interwiki links instead of adding the entire URL of the target page. To link to pages on Fandom wikis, use [[w:c:wikiname:Pagename]]. For Wikipedia, use [[wikipedia:Pagename]]. See Help:Interwiki links from Community Central for more information.
References and footnotes
The wiki creates basic references with <ref>reference</ref>, which automatically creates a reference list at the bottom of the page.
- Creating a reference capable of multiple uses changes the basic reference to <ref name="indentifier">reference</ref>. For other users, only adding <ref name="indentifier"/> is necessary.
- Creating a reference in a different group changes the basic reference to <ref group="identifier">reference</ref>. The wiki mainly uses this to create references beginning with Note.