From PESWiki

News Format Standard

In order to have consistency in the appearance of the PESWiki News items, we use the following format standard.

Here we present a sample news bullet, following by what it looks like in the wiki code in edit mode, followed by a point-by-point notation of the key elements.

Also, a reminder that news bullet items should also be posted in the relevant directory pages.

Memo 

Presently, only those with Sysop access are able to post news items to the main News page. If you are not a Sysop and would like to post a news bullet, you can post it to the News:Inbox page. After you prove yourself in terms of relevance and proper formatting, we are likely to grant you Sysop access so you can post directly to the News page.

News Format Standard

Sample News Bullet

Here is a sample news bullet:

• Propulsion / Ocean Wave > Suntory Mermaid II: Wave Powered Boat (http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/a-69-year-old-ken-ichi-horie-attempts-to-wave-power-his-way-in-to-history/) - Allegedly the most advanced wave-powered boat, this Japanese vessel turns wave energy into thrust using two fins mounted beneath the bow. They move up and down with the waves to generate ‘kicks’ that propel the boat forward. (EcoFriend; Feb. 23, 2008) (Thanks JQP)
  

Wiki Code

Here is the wiki code of that same sample story:

[[Image:Wave_Powered_Boat_95x95.jpg|right]]
*'''[[Directory:Propulsion|Propulsion]] / [[Directory:Ocean Wave Energy|Ocean Wave]] > [http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/a-69-year-old-ken-ichi-horie-attempts-to-wave-power-his-way-in-to-history/ Suntory Mermaid II: Wave Powered Boat]''' - Allegedly the most advanced wave-powered boat, this Japanese vessel turns wave energy into thrust using two fins mounted beneath the bow. They move up and down with the waves to generate ‘kicks’ that propel the boat forward. (''EcoFriend''; Feb. 23, 2008) (Thanks [[User:John Q. Public|JQP]]) <br style="clear:right;">

Elaboration of Bullet Elements

Point-by-point enumeration of key format elements

{1}[[Image:Wave_Powered_Boat_95x95.jpg|right]]
{2}*{3}'''[[Directory:Propulsion|Propulsion]] {4}/ {5}[[Directory:Ocean Wave Energy|Ocean Wave]] {6}> {7}[http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/a-69-year-old-ken-ichi-horie-attempts-to-wave-power-his-way-in-to-history/ Suntory Mermaid II: Wave Powered Boat]''' {8}- {9}Allegedly the most advanced wave-powered boat, this Japanese vessel turns wave energy into thrust using two fins mounted beneath the bow. They move up and down with the waves to generate ‘kicks’ that propel the boat forward. {10}({11}''EcoFriend''{12}; {13}Feb. 23, 2008) {14}(Thanks {15}[[User:John Q. Public|JQP]]) {16}<br style="clear:right;">

1. Image - right-justified image of size 95x95, preferably compressed.
2. Bullet
3. Directory topic - The PESWiki directory topics of greatest relevance should be listed prior to the news item, in bold.
   • The names of the directories listed should be linked to the relevant directory page.
   • The sequence of directory names should be from parent to child, going from left to right.
4. "/" - When the preface directory listings are not of a "parent > child" relationship, then they should be listed as "topic 1 / topic 2" with the forward slash between them.
5. Directory naming - The directory names are modified to be concise and adequately descriptive. For example, a link to "Directory:Concentrated Solar Power" should be listed as "Concentrated Solar"; and because it contains the word "Solar", the parent listing of "Solar" before it is unnecessary.
6. ">" - with space on both sides -- to show subset
7. Title - with hyperlink to destination.
   • The title should be catchy, while capturing the essence of the story
   • The title should be no more than ten words, except in rare cases, and should be no shorter than four words, except in rare cases.
   • Use initial caps except on short utility words such as and, the, of, by, etc.
8. "-" dash - with space on both sides -- to separate title from description
9. Description - The Description should be around 35 words long (1 to 3 sentences), not much more, and not much less. If there are not at least around 30 words to describe it, it shouldn't be in the news.
   • The description should capture the essence of the story, concisely listing the most essential points. In most news stories, these are contained in the first two or three paragraphs, and sometimes are even given in a description at the beginning of the story, similar to how we do it at http://PESN.com.
   • The description should tie in to the relevance to renewable energy and the mission of PESWiki.
   • Use sentence format. Sentences can be fragments.
   • Begin description with capitalization after dash unless the description continues a thought in the title.
   • Use proper punctuation.
10. "(...)" parenthesis - around source and date.
11. Source - The name of the source should be in italics, preferably.
12. ";" semi-colon - after source, followed by space, before date.
13. Date - Month abbreviated, followed by period, day and year in numbers; comma after day.
14. (Thanks initials) - At the end of the news item, list your initials in parenthesis.
15. Userlink - Hyperlinke the initials to your PESWiki user page.
16. <br> break code - The <br style="clear:right;"> code is used when there is an image with the bullet, to force any content that follows to do so below the bottom of the image.

Post Bullet in Directory Pages Too

The news bullet should be added to each directory page to which it is relevant, including directory pages that might not be listed in the preface links mentioned in #3 above. An exception to this would be that the bullet should not be posted both on a parent and daughter topic; but only on the daughter topic page.

Also, when the bullet is placed in the directory pages, the preface directory links can be removed, unless there is one or two that would be good to note.

Other News Tips

Pace Yourself

On March 29, 2008, Sterling D. Allan wrote:

I recommend that you create a hopper page for yourself, e.g. News:Hopper:RLP

That way you can pace yourself in your posting of news to the News page. For example a reasonable "pace" would be two good items/day. So on a day that you pull in 6, you can just post two, and leave the other four for subsequent days. Some items can be sat on for a little.

Then, if you find that your hopper is backing up with finished bullets, you can up the number of bullets you post per day.

That way each day has a more consistent number of bullets per day, and it's not so hit and miss.

I routinely do this.

Also, you can sit on stories to release them on a particular day of the week. Some news stories have a Saturday feel (e.g. cool car stories; solar powered lawn mower). Other stories have a Sunday feel (global warming, conservation tips).

This measured release is helpful to me as well, so that I can rely on you having x number of posts each day.

See also

• Return to the News page

- Help Main Index
- Return to PESWiki Main Page