Help:Guidelines
From ctowiki
In order to maintain a consistent look within Cougar Technology Orientation, we have developed a list of guidelines for pages. We ask that groups that edit pages within CTO follow these guidelines. If you have any problems/suggestions, please contact the SCS Helpdesk.
Contents |
Guidlines Within CTO
Page Titles
Page titles should be brief, yet descriptive of the subject. Avoid titles with more than ten words. If your page is a tutorial, or providing "how-to" instructions, please start the title with a verb (i.e. Finding a physical address on an Xbox). If your page is a glossary entry, or provides information on a service, please have a noun for the title (i.e. Cisco Clean Access). Finally, if your page is a Frequently Asked Questions page, please append (FAQ) to the end of the title (i.e. Cisco Clean Access (FAQ)).
Other guidelines for titles and terminology include:
"Manage", "Configure", "Create and Use", "Customize"
- Use "manage" only for activities where the consideration of consequences is primary (e.g., "manage permissions")
- use "create and use" to describe activities where consequences may be less serious.
- Use "configure" for setting parameters whose values are not optional (e.g., "configure your Exchange account")
- use "customize" for settings whose values are optional (e.g., "customize preferences").
MySite, MyClass, TeamSite
Use each of these terms in the page title only if the article is specific to that type of site (e.g; "Using your Public and Private mySite pages", because Public and Private pages are a feature of mySite, but "Creating and Using Workspace Sites" because they are a feature of all SharePoint sites.
Text Formatting
For CSS reasons, please use the default text formatting. Do not use HTML tags, especially font and heading tags. Instead, you can use the Wiki formatting shortcuts (see Mediawiki's Formatting page). Please save bold text for very important instructions or notes. Italic text is used to signify text that a user would input in a field.
Term Linking
The first time a term that needs explanation is mentioned on a page, please make the term a link with brackets (for example, [[Windows]]). If the term does not have a page, the link will appear red to the reader. Please follow links for terms you have created and define them accordingly. Keep all terms as singular, unless it is absolutely necessary. If you would like the plural version of a term to appear on a page, place the 's' outside the [[ ]] and it will be appended to the link name when the text is formatted.
Example: [[example]]s == examples
It is not necessary to make the term a link each time it is used, just the first time.
Images
Screenshots and relevant images are encouraged on CTO. You can visit Special:Upload to upload an image to the server. Please use only PNG, GIF, or JPEG images. Make sure to post a relevant description, including version of the software in the picture or a date of the screenshot. If the image takes up too much of the screen space, you can post the image as a thumbnail.
Abbreviations
Please write out the whole word the first time you use it on a page, such as Cisco Clean Access. After such, you are welcome to use an abbreviation (CCA) as needed in the page.
Page Layout
If relevant, a page should contain level 2 (==) headings for Related Tutorials and External Links at the bottom of the page. Pages should use other level 2 (==) headings rarely, and should rely on level 3 (===) and lower headings for sectioning a document.
Categories
All pages must be a part of at least one category, either Tutorials, Glossary, or FAQ. It is also suggested that you tag a page with other relevant categories. To see a whole list, you can view the Special:Categories page.
Special Category Notes
SharePoint
Note capitalization! This term is a "supercategory"; the goal is to have the definition, subcategories, and subpages fit on one screen (no scrolling). Single pages should be added to category "SharePoint" only if they cannot be comfortably contained in a subcategory.
MySite
Note capitalization! For all things WSU mySite, even if they also apply to other sub categories
MyClass
Note capitalization! For all things WSU myClass, even if they also apply to other sub categories
Workspace Sites (SharePoint)
Note plural and capitalization! For all things related to Workspace sites, even if they also apply to other sub categories. See Category:Workspace Site (SharePoint).
Incomplete Pages
If a page is lacking major information about the subject, it is considered "stubbed out". Please mark these pages by placing the code {{stub}} at the top of the page. This will place a box informing the user that the information is incomplete. If a user wants more information about a page they can click the request link, which will email SCS about the request. SCS will then forward that request on to the page creator or primary editor. Stub Template example:
| This page is a stub, awaiting extra content.
If you would like to see Student Computing Services add content, you can request additions to this page. |
Services "In Progress"
If a WSU service is being developed, we still invite groups to document in CTO. For these pages, we have created the {{beta}} template. This template will alert the user that the documentation is in progress and incomplete. Please mark pages about "in progress" services with this template. If you would like a custom message, feel free to copy the content into a new template and personalize it. We just ask that you keep the look of the original beta template. Beta Template example:
| This page regards WSU Services that are in development. Documentation regarding this service might incomplete or incorrect.
For more information on this service, please contact nss@scs.wsu.edu |
Locked Pages
Major or sensitive pages, such as the Main Page and the CTO Guidelines have been locked. Only administrators of CTO can make changes to these pages. If you have any suggestions, please contact the SCS Helpdesk.
Guidelines Outside of CTO
Name
When referring to Cougar Technology Orientation in print or other websites, please make sure to first refer to it by the full name. After the initial mention, you are welcome to say CTO.
URLs
When posting the URL, please use the shorthand "http://www.wsu.edu/cto/". If you are pointing to a specific page, you can append that at the end of the short URL (this page can be found at http://www.wsu.edu/cto/CTO_Guidelines). In print, it is acceptable to shorten the URL to wsu.edu/cto
Artwork
Artwork for Cougar Technology Orientation is currently being developed by Student Computing Services. Once complete, these posters, signs, and digital banner ads will be posted in this area.