HymnWiki:Editing Conventions

These editing conventions are not absolute, for the most part. Please follow them unless you have a good reason not to do so.

Hymnists

• Do not make composer/poet pages and categories - these all go under one category: Hymnists.
• In hymnist articles, make sure to list both poetic works and musical compositions, as well as arrangements and adaptations.
• If known, put the birth and death years in parenthesis after a hymnist's name (for the article title): i.e. Robert Robinson (1735 - 1790) instead of Robert Robinson, as there may be several hymnists named Robert Robinson. If the years are unknown, try some other identifier in parentheses.

Music and Lyric Dating

• When saying who wrote the tune/lyrics, in an article, put the hymnist's birth and death years, if known, in parenthesis; put the date the song was written or first published afterward, as in the following example: Robert Robinson (1735 - 1790), 1758

Compilations

• Please do not make categories for individual compilations. The reason for this is simple: some songs are included in thousands of hymnals. Please just make articles for the compilations and list the songs in it. Link the article for a compilation to the proper compilation categories.

Misc.

• List the meter for hymns (note if they differ from tune to tune, as the lyrics are sometimes repeated, depending on the tune); meters should be listed in the categories for the hymn.
• List tune names if known, and what other songs they are used with (perhaps even in their own article).
• To avoid obscurity, call writers of the hymn-lyrics poets, except when categorizing them (then call them hymnists).