This Manual of Style has the simple purpose of making things look alike — it is a style guide. The following rules do not claim to be the last word. One way is often as good as another, but if everyone does it the same way, the Wikipedia will be easier to read and easier to use, not to mention easier to write and easier to edit.
New contributors are reminded that clear, informative and unbiased writing is always more important than presentation and formatting. Writers are not expected or required to follow all or any of these rules: the joy of wiki editing is that perfection is not required. Copy-editing Wikipedians will be referring to these pages and pages will be gradually made to conform with this guide.
In an international encyclopedia, date and number styles in particular have the ability to confuse. For example, someone used to dealing in miles, gallons and pounds may be completely unfamiliar with kilometres, litres and kilograms, and vice versa. Many people are likely to be unfamiliar with technical or academic jargon. The general philosophy behind these rules is that date and number styles should be chosen so as to be readily understandable to as many people as possible. Remember, you are writing for the reader, not for yourself! So use styles that as many people as possible are likely to use and understand themselves. Where this guide is silent on an issue, bear the general philosophy in mind and you are unlikely to go wrong.