Wiktionary:Initialisms

Wiktionary includes initialisms. Best practices are as follows. These principles also apply to acronyms unless otherwise specified.

• The initialism should usually be named without punctuation (for example, HIV rather than H.I.V.).
  • Special cases for exceptions are OK with good reasons.
  • Alternative forms can sometimes be entered, pointing to the main entry. In most cases, the alternative form is superfluous (it doesn't truly need an entry, just to point to the main entry; if we did that, then almost every single initialism that exists might have both forms, but this is superfluous for most of them).

• Ideally, the definition should point to a Wiktionary entry, thus:
  • {{init of|en|foo bar bar}}
• The next best option is a Wikipedia link, marked up like:
  • {{init of|en|w:foo bar bar}}
    • (for example, LIDO)
• If neither of the above options is available, then link to the individual constituent words; thus:
  • {{init of|en|] ] ]}}

• Because some collocations (that is, multiword strings, such as open compounds) cannot pass WT:CFI, or it is debatable whether a particular one will pass WT:CFI, there won't always be an opportunity for linking to a Wiktionary entry for the expanded term.
• When Wiktionary doesn't have an entry for a term, but Wikipedia does, it is more useful and helpful for the user of Wiktionary to be sent to that Wikipedia entry rather than being sent to individual constituent words.
• When there is no other option available, linking to the individual constituent words is better than no linking at all.