| 4. All About h2g2 / h2g2 Information / Contributing to the Guide and the Editorial Process 4. All About h2g2 / h2g2 Information / GuideML, the Markup Language of the Guide 4. All About h2g2 / h2g2 Information / Volunteer Schemes / Scouts 4. All About h2g2 / h2g2 Information / Volunteer Schemes / Sub-Editors Using Approved GuideML in the Edited Guide Welcome to our comprehensive guide to the GuideML we use in Edited Entries (known as 'Approved GuideML'). This document details which GuideML tags we allow into the edited section of the Guide, and as such it doesn't mention all the tags supported in GuideML, but does cover the full range of tags we have approved for use in the Edited Guide. This entry is mainly aimed at Sub-editors, who do the final editing on entries before they join the Edited Guide... but if you want your entry to be recommended for the Edited Guide in the Peer Review system, you can improve your chances of success if you stick to the tags listed here, and use them in the ways shown. Approved GuideML The following tags (and their closing equivalents) are allowed in Edited Guide Entries, and no others. All tags should be in UPPERCASE. Here they are, split into logical groups; the tags themselves are described in alphabetical order in the body of this document. You can find the syntax details for each tag from the GuideML Clinic. This document describes how to use them stylistically, rather than syntactically. Basic Structure Text Markup Headings and Rules Links Lists Tables In-house Tags You may also see the following tags included in Approved Entries, but they have to be put in by the in-house team, due to technical restrictions. As soon as it's possible, you'll be able to play with them too.
Why Have Approved GuideML? Why have we picked a specific subset of GuideML for the Edited Guide? Well, it's fine for Researchers to use all sorts of flashy and groovy markup tags on their pages, but we have picked a subset that allows us to maintain a grip on the quality in the Edited Guide. Flashing text might be great for fans of psychedelia, but not in the edited section of the Guide. Furthermore, some GuideML tags, like So this document details how to use the tags that we will allow through our editing process. If you're a Sub-editor then this document shows which tags you can use in Edited Entries; and if you're looking to write entries for consideration in the Peer Review system, then stick to these tags and these tags only to improve your chances of having something accepted into the Edited Guide. Some Style Tips On a stylistic note, it's much easier if you spread your markup out - just as it is easier to read things that are broken up into paragraphs and not just bunched together in a lump. So spread your entries out and use lots of blank lines between sections - it won't affect how your page looks on site, but it will make it easier if you ever want to change it. If you want to use a text editor on your computer to prepare your code, then use something that is text-only like Notepad or similar. Word processor programs such as Word can do unpleasant things to some of the codes. One more thing: when you are putting in GuideML tags, it's tempting to think in terms of gorgeous graphical layouts, but there's no need to. The text might end up appearing in an unsophisticated browser or on the screen of a mobile phone, so don't get carried away with how things look. That doesn't mean that there aren't a few rules to follow... but thinking in terms of markup rather than layout is the best approach. And so begins our thrilling peek into the world of Approved GuideML. <B> Tag In the same way that
Note that the mini-heading is followed by a hyphen. Use As a rule, <BLOCKQUOTE> Tag Blockquotes are used to indent text and are particularly useful for quoting chunks of text, poems, and song lyrics. Make sure the quote is italicised, to distinguish the passage from the surrounding text, and delete any extraneous inverted commas. We wouldn't want to overdo it, would we? Close the italic tags, then follow the quote with a line break Thus: Note that the <BR/> Tag Almost as if to deny everything that's already been said about opening and closing GuideML tags, there is one exception -
Or after a blockquote when crediting a quote, like this: There's more about <CODE> Tag The That's its only use, but it's an important one if you're writing a technical entry. <FOOTNOTE> Tag Here's when to use footnotes:
Footnotes go between Unless you've been dipped in lemon or lime juice1, you shouldn't use the word this way. which is implemented with: The following, however, is wrong: Unless you've been dipped in lemon or lime juice,2 you shouldn't use the word this way. which would be (erroneously) implemented with: It's pretty easy to spot once you get used to looking at the punctuation in relation to the superscripted number. For more information see the Sub-editor's Style Guide and the Edited Guide Entry on the subject of footnotes. <HEADER> and <SUBHEADER> Tag By using
and it was created with the GuideML:
created with: Don't start an Edited Entry with a header: having a preamble introduction is a nicer way to ease the reader into the topic. Then you can begin to use headers with gusto! If the entry is a particularly long one, and the information under the header needs to be divided again, you can use subheaders within headed sections; for a good example of how headers and subheaders are used together see The A Team. <HR/> Tag The
This is as opposed to simply using <I> Tag
To make a portion of text italic, simply enclose it with <LINK> Tag A particularly nifty device, which we're rather fond of, is the ability to link text to either another h2g2 entry, or an external website. The For example, by surrounding the words 'Hole Punches' with the following GuideML tags: the words 'Hole Punches' are automatically highlighted and underlined. When researchers click on words formatted like this, they'll be transferred to a whole new entry. Which is nice. Linking to h2g2 Entries When linking from an entry you are approving to other h2g2 entries, there are a couple of points to bear in mind:
Linking to External Websites Applying GuideML like this: will enable you to link to external websites. There are also a few considerations to take into account when linking from the entries you are working on to external websites:
<OL> and <LI> Tags Not used as often as <P> Tag The You can also use the ALIGN attribute to align paragraphs to the right and in the centre, but this is unlikely to be useful except in specific circumstances. For example, you might want to centre the text on a gravestone, like this: A.N.Other
<PRE> Tag Like Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. - TS Eliot, 'The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock' As with <REFERENCES> Tag If, during the course of your research, you come across a really good, relevant external site or Edited Entry to include in the one you are working on, but can't find a suitable word to link it from, you can put the entry number or URL with link tags, between And, hey presto! The link appears under 'Related Entries' in the margin. This can also be applied to external websites and is preferable to just having 'Links' sections at the bottom of the entry. <SUP> and <SUB> Tags By using the superscript tags Subscripts are also possible using Tables Tables should be used when, er, you need to lay out content in a table format. Good examples are Handy Latin Phrases and Cockney Rhyming Slang, where the table makes it easier to see what's going on. You can find out the syntax for the
When used correctly, tables are excellent, but when they're not necessary, they really get in the way. If in doubt, ask. <UL> and <LI> Tags Using
Using The first type should have whole sentences or paragraphs as its items, with full stops at the end of each item in the list. The instructions in the entry Getting Lost on Your Way to Somewhere New, is laid out in this fashion. The way to insert line spaces is by using: Doing this will indent, separate with a line space and put a blob in front of each list item, like this:
The second way to lay out lists is for short list items of just a few words. These should have a capital at the start of the list item, but no punctuation at all at the end. No gaps between lines are required, so use: which gives a list that looks like this:
Recipes When writing recipes we put the word 'Ingredients' in We also put the word 'Method' in Tags We Don't Use In theory, the fewer rules there are about using GuideML, the simpler it will be to format text in the subbing process. So, to make life simpler and to give the Guide a consistent style, there are a number of tags we don't use in Edited Entries (though, as noted, it's fine for Researchers to use them on their own pages). More details can be found in the GuideML Clinic. Additionally, remove all HTML tags that aren't mentioned above. That includes favourites like Also, use However, do use HTML entities for unusual characters, such as é, other accents and things like the degree symbols. Thanks to beeline for his list of Special Character Codes. If you ever come across any Java objects, JavaScript, or an HTML form, please remove them. We used to support Java and JavaScript, but we no longer do. And bear in mind that these guidelines have taken some time to compile, so some early entries will break the rules. Eventually we'll get round to fixing them, but if you do spot anything that breaks these rules, just shout. (We will be leaving some entries in sections until a better solution is implemented, but anything else is fair game for finger-pointing.) That's all folks! People have been talking about this Guide Entry. Here are the most recent Conversations: |
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