What to Consider When Making a Guide

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Koa
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What to Consider When Making a Guide

Post by Koa » Wed Oct 31, 2012 7:13 pm

Hi everyone,
You're probably all snickering, choking on water/your beverage of choice, saying how much you despise/hate/whatever Koa etc. But please, do consider the amount of guides around that consist of stray posts here and there, nothing more than a mere post, and sadly they will never be more than such, for they are locked and doomed forever to remain in the seemingly unfinished state they are in. We can all agree to this. So please, when making a guide in both of these forums, though especially for game-related guides, consider the following;
CREATING BASIC CONTENT
What your guide is about is probably the easiest part of making a guide, but as for actually writing its contents, it can be a different story. Please make sure your point is concise and clear and stated in the introduction/title so your reader knows what your guide as about, as well as your directions and tips afterwards. Guides that are too similar to another will be merged with the existing "parent" thread, so it is advised that if you only have a few tips that are different as opposed to the majority of your content being different, that you refrain from posting a guide dedicated to those few, similar tips altogether. It really helps keep the forum clean and organized, and a lot easier for the moderators, who don't always have a lot of time to do things nowadays, and users, too, who are browsing guides and trying to find a guide or solution that works for them.

STATING THE STEPS OR METHODS OF YOUR GUIDE
Users often need specific steps to follow in order to solve a problem or help them improve on something they are struggling with. Listing steps in order and as detailed and elaborate as you can make them will help greatly and increase the quality and ease of understanding for your guide. If you just write something you could probably include in a single reply [or set of individual replies] in Tips, Hints, and Help, it probably needs a bit more work or some detail thrown into it.
DETAILS
As mentioned before, be clear with your guides. If you are too vague, there's a chance the user trying to follow your guide will make a mistake somewhere because they did not understand your directions. If you are too overwhelming in your description/details on what to do, the user may have trouble understanding as well. Make your directions simple but with enough detail so that a user understands what to do. If your steps are very detailed, complex, and lengthy, try separating them with a space or even two spaces in between each individual step so it is not a wall of text and is easier to read and perhaps slightly easier to understand.
SELF-CHECK
Here are a few basic questions you can go over before submitting your guide;

PURPOSE/TITLE
  • What is the purpose of my guide?
  • Does my title state the purpose of my guide clearly and efficiently?
  • Does the title seem similar to any current guide?
CONTENT
  • Is the purpose of my guide clearly reflected in the content of the guide?
  • Is the content well-organized and concise?
  • Is the content similar to any current guide?
  • Am I too vague with some parts of the content, or too detailed in certain areas?
  • Is the content of my guide easy to understand?
METHODS/STEPS
  • Are the steps I provided consistent with the intended purpose and content of the guide?
  • Are the steps easy to follow/understand?
Comments, concerns, or suggestions? Please private message me. (-:

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