Editing Guide to contributing to the wiki (section)

== Guide to Writing and Revising a Guide ==
Always keep in mind what these guides are for; they're so newbies can quickly skim across them so they can have half an idea what they've just been selected for.

'''A good guide needs, by order:'''
* A brief one-two paragraph description of what the mode is.
* A bullet point list of short to the point key points of key mechanics, these should be no longer than two sentences each. And remember: key points means the important shit you need to know to atleast bumble fuck your way around at round start, you should be able to read and understand it within 5 minutes.
* A more meaty section detailing the game mechanics in depth (this is where you explain what all runes and talismans do, including the ones that are barely used), it should still be clear and concise.
* A summary of the key points, yes - one at the start and one at the end. Reiteration helps to hammer things home. This one will more or less be simple list to remind the reader of things, it wont explain them.
* Further reading - this is where you link to the pages that detail advanced strategies for fighting for and against the cult. No you don't put them on the main page because that will clutter it.
* Links! Remember to add links to [[Game modes|game modes]], [[Guides#Antagonist Guides|antagonist roles]], [[jobs]], items and [[guides]] you mention! Simply do it when you re-read your content before submitting. 


A bad guide is one that's a giant wall of text that's overly fluffed up and full of opinionated bullshit.<br>
A newbie is going to take one glance at it and shit their pants out of fright, and advanced player is just going to go "Yeah.... I'm not reading someone's sperg page".

[At the moment]{{citation needed}} [[Guides#Security guides|Security's guides]] are good. [[Space Law]] is unfluffed and tells plainly the basics of what a [[security officer]] needs to know to start patrolling and robusting greyshirts. The [[Guide to security]] is more fleshed out and explains things more in depth and lists strategies to counter antags.<br>
[[Cult]], [[Malf]], and [[Traitor]] are bad because they're giant imposing walls of text that reads like a newspaper: squished up text that obscures the facts with needless opinions and blurbs that you don't need to know off the bat.

'''So remember:'''
* Facts good, opinions bad.
* Keep your facts clear of irrelevant fluff and other bullshit.
* Keep the basic guide basic, keep the advanced stuff on a separate page.
* Important stuff first, depth and explanation and unimportant things second.
* White space, tables, sections, and formatting are essential for ease of reading. We're not print media, space isn't at a premium so use it freely.
* Links!
* I just used the above template to write this guide.