Help:Writing

1 Wiki writing overview
2 Who can participate
3 Language to write in
4 Topics to write about
5 Creating new pages
6 Page titles
7 Writing style
- 7.1 Content
- 7.2 Content organization
8 Links
9 See also

Wiki writing overview

Wiki writing is collaborative writing. Collaborative writing offers these benefits:

Because we're sharing knowledge, each page can have better content than if just one person had contributed to it.
Content can be updated whenever information changes.

If having other people change what you wrote bothers you, wiki writing may not be for you. See Editing for other ways to participate in this wiki.

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Who can participate

All WebHostingTalk members in good standing can participate in WHTwiki. You must be logged in to your WHT account to take part.

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Language to write in

All WHTwiki content must be in English only.

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Topics to write about

WHTwiki is for and about the web hosting industry, so all topics should be relevant to people in this field. See Topics for WHTwiki for guidelines on writing topics.

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Creating new pages

Before starting a new page, search WHTwiki for the topic you want to write about. If WHTwiki already has a page on the topic, consider adding to the page. If it doesn't, see Starting a new page for instructions on how to start one.

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Page titles

Aim for the following with each title:

Convey information specific to the page. For example, "Web Hosting" could cover a wide range of topics, but "Tips on Choosing a Web Host for Your Business Website" is more specific and tells readers what the page is about.
Provide enough information to show how the page is different from other pages. "Tips on Choosing a Web Host" and "Factors to Consider when Choosing a Web Host" could be titles for the same page. What type of web host are you going to write about? What target audience? Include this kind of information in the title.
Be specific enough that only one page is needed for the topic. "Everything You Need to Know about Web Design" could be a book. But "How to Choose a Color Scheme for Your Website" is a specific aspect of web design. We can split pages later if sub-topics develop, but try to keep the topic somewhat specific to start with.
Don't use titles with numbers about the amount of content. For example, "Seven Tips on Starting a Web Hosting Business" limits the page to seven tips. You might have seven tips, but other people contributing to the page may have more tips. Leave out the number, and the page can grow.

See Style guide concerning capitalization and punctuation in titles.

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Writing style

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Content

Write only facts. Avoid speculation, personal preferences or opinions, and hearsay.
Use plain language. Use idioms sparingly, and avoid clichés.
Avoid bias; use a neutral point of view.
Eliminate unnecessary words.
Keep your writing style clean. Don't use emoticons or other online abbreviations, and use correct capitalization, spelling, and punctuation to the best of your ability. If you aren't sure what is correct, just do your best, and another member will edit your content if necessary.
Make your content family-friendly: no coarse language or other content that wouldn't be suitable for younger audiences.

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