This site makes extensive use of JavaScript.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser.
Live
PTR
10.2.7
PTR
10.2.6
Beta
The Guide Spotlight == April Issue ==
Post Reply
Return to board index
Post by
SquireKel
@Hatman, the guide on how to write a guide (I think you called it "Using the Guide System") has just been submitted for approval.
It is currently missing content in one section (images) because I've been awake for 30+ hours and working on the guide for the past 15-ish without a break so I'm going to take a "nap" and then come back to finish it. But I wanted to submit, because it's one small part of the whole and getting it out there sooner means I start to get feedback (*cough*cough*) sooner to make it better!
Post by
darkdoug19
Great idea for a post. A post like this might inspire me to write another guide.
Since I'll continue to be a pretty casual player, maybe I'll continue to write LFR guides for the new MoP dungeons.
Post by
asakawa
@SquireKel
Wow, you put a lot of work into that!
I've approved it right away because there's definitely enough content already that there's no need to wait for the addition of the images section before approving.
My only feedback is that there's some fairly major overlap with the BBCode thread in the Feedback forum which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'd initially envisioned a guide that pulled out those smaller tips and tricks (like icons next to \s which comes up quite often for example) from the thread section of that BBCode guide and gave them a place where they could be easily searched and found. As I say I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing and I think you've presented some of the info in a much nicer way than I did but I wonder if such a large guide means that we're still missing a place for those tips and tricks (the things that require a combination of BBCodes in orchestra to achieve) where they can be quickly and easily discovered by new guide-writers.
The BBCode thread section naturally tends to drop into a Q&A format ("how do I achieve
x
?"; "you do that by
y
") and I wonder if an FAQ format would work well for this stuff? Each time a new Q gets A'd in the thread a new entry could get added to the on-going guide no matter how trivial the question might seem - if someone hadn't understood it then others may be in the same situation.
I wonder if that sort of thing would fit at all with what you've produced here? Perhaps this is something I ought to be doing myself really...(##RESPBREAK##)8##DELIM##asakawa##DELIM##
Post by
lankybrit
Hi there wowheaders,
Just in case you haven't seen my guide. Take a look at it (it's in my signature).
If you've recently leveled to 85, or have an alt at 85 you haven't geared yet, this guide is specifically designed to help you to gear up.
And don't worry, I have the 'Gearing up when you hit 90' guide already in draft form, and hope to have that up and running asap after MoP ships.
Cheers.
Post by
Gzer0
Very Nice Hat . Nice guide and nice interview.
I agree , Wowhead staff and all wowhead users are very lucky to have asakawa here with us.
Now i have a idea , Let's make a new thread instead of this for interviews.You can make a thread that you have interviews with users or staffs .I always wanted wowhead had interview with blues.So i suggest to make a new thread just for interviewing.
Good Luck.
Post by
asakawa
I agree , Wowhead staff and all wowhead users are very lucky to have asakawa here with us.
Aww, shucks
Post by
Capnboomkin
@SquireKel: Great guide, I'll be sure to reference it when working on my next guide! (A guide for guides...isn't that guideception or something?)
WTS asakawa a title: BBCode King. 0g, 0s, 0c.
Post by
OverZealous
I really like this thread. I'll give you 10 Hats for the idea!
Post by
SquireKel
@Asakawa
Thanks for the feedback - I'm already working on getting some more advanced techniques into the guide, like icons with headings and annotated tooltips.
I didn't want the guide to only be tips & tricks, because a lot of guide writers seem to...ignore you the BBCode thread for some reason. Perhaps they skip past the text at the top of the guide-writing page, or are confused by the thread - I don't know. But I do know that I've made many comments on people's guides suggesting formatting that's very clearly laid out on the thread (I think so, at least) and they respond with "Sorry, I didn't know how to do that." This makes it sound like they're not trying to use any of the BBCode that's not on the guide-writing page in the first place, and some don't even understand what the code there does!
So my thought in making the guide was to start with reworking the BBCode options, and trying to display it in a more clear way. But at the same time, I didn't want to just redo everything from the thread and be done. Guide-writing isn't just about code - format in general is useful, and things like an introduction, summary, and acknowledgments don't have code associated with them. My hopes is that the guide will start where it is now, mostly as code but also having other factors spread throughout, and then it will grow to be what you're talking about. I don't know what tips & tricks people are looking for specifically, so I can't write those pieces yet. And while you refer to the BBCode thread as a place to find those questions, many of them can be answered if people read the first post instead of asking & assuming it's not there. (I read through the entire thread last night, and saw many asking "How do you make something link to a spot on a page?" (answer: anchors) or "How do you link money?" (answer: /) - both of which are clearly given in the first post.
Now, it's entirely possible that those same people who aren't reading the BBCode thread won't read the guide. But I'm hoping to at least pick up
some
of those people, so that the number of poorly formatted guides decreases. And as other people read through it and provide their own questions or tips (via comments, twitter (
@WoWGuideWriter
) or email (
WoW.Guide.Writer@gmail.com
), the guide will grow and become more comprehensive.
Lastly, I have a question about some code you posted on the thread that I can't seem to get work. Heads up on the email you'll be getting from me about it.
Post by
asakawa
Some of those questions you see will likely have been asked before the content was in the first page to be honest - it's grown an
awful
lot from its very humble beginnings (long before I was a mod, it wasn't even stickied for months and months). I think a lot of questions people have come from combining and nesting code which is exacerbated by the fact that a plain textbox is always going to make writing nested code difficult. I think that, although the answer might be quite clear to one used to using markup languages like this, it can be quite daunting for others.
Well, I support your endeavour sir! Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.
Post by
SquireKel
While I agree that the first time a question was asked, it's entirely possible that the code wasn't in the thread at the time, some of these questions show up repeatedly throughout the thread.
...and it's miss, or ma'am, if you don't mind. :)
Post by
asakawa
My apologies ma'am *low bow*
I'm usually careful not to assume until I know but the "squire" thing made me jump to conclusions. A terrible oversight on my part.
Post by
baradiel
Hey asakawa, i'm just asking why my guide got rejected? you usually leave a comment on the guide on why it got rejected, what happened?
Post by
asakawa
When we reject a comment we leave a comment in a little textbox to explain why, can you not see that?
edit: I'll send a message to your registered email address instead.
How sleepy I am
Quite sleepy, yes
95%
(##RESPBREAK##)8##DELIM##asakawa##DELIM##
Post by
SquireKel
All good - SquireKel is an homage to one of my favorite literary characters, Kelandry of Mindelan (also female) from young adult author Tamora Pierce.
Post by
baradiel
When we reject a comment we leave a comment in a little textbox to explain why, can you not see that?
I can't see anything explaining why.
Post by
Adamsm
All good - SquireKel is an homage to one of my favorite literary characters, Kelandry of Mindelan (also female) from young adult author Tamora Pierce.
Protector of all things Small?(or something like that lol)
Post by
SquireKel
All good - SquireKel is an homage to one of my favorite literary characters, Kelandry of Mindelan (also female) from young adult author Tamora Pierce.
Protector of all things Small?(or something like that lol)
Close - Protector of the Small
but to get back on topic with a plug to check out a guide,
Guide Writing for Dummies
is live!
Post by
SquireKel
Dear Hatman555,
While I commend the idea of the thread, & think it has great potential, it seems you've abandoned it already. It's been ~48 hours since it was implemented, and although the site logs your presence several times during that period, the "Requested Guides" section was never updated. I posted shortly after seeing the thread that I would "claim" the "Using the Guide System" suggestion by Asakawa, and have posted since then that the guide was submitted for approval and even another post that it was approved and is now live for viewing. Yet, to look at the first post in the thread, one would think the request is still valid and that no one has claimed it yet.
I understand that you're not constantly watching the thread, but regular users such as myself can't go in and make changes to clearly make a claim on your post. And given that you not only created it as a place for folks to talk about guides but also included areas such as that one that require you to check in on the thread in order to keep it up-to-date...well, it's frustrating to see a lack of presence.
I'm not trying to pick a fight here or say you're not doing your job. I'm saying that if that portion of the thread is to work, then it needs to be updated frequently. And I really hope it does because it saves everyone else from having to read through all the posts to make sure no one else claimed a guide yet, or to see what suggested guides have been proposed.
Also, on a somewhat unrelated topic - will interviews become archived, once a new one comes out? Perhaps with togglers or something, so that folks can read through old guide writer interviews. The same thing too with the "tip of the post" - this especially might be useful to archive.
Post by
asakawa
This is why Hatman555 is too busy right now
.
I'll update the requested guides bit but be more patient with people. Real life is always going on around us.
I think he'd planned to use the second post in the thread for archiving things yes but he'll be able to give you a proper answer when he becomes a record breaking kickball champion ^_^
Post Reply
You are not logged in. Please
log in
to post a reply or
register
if you don't already have an account.