Style guide

0. Be friendly

Please write your articles in a friendly tone reflective of our welcoming community.

1. Use simple words

No need to use big words when simples ones will do.

2. Define necessary jargon

In some cases, you will need to use jargon (technical terms). If you are introducing jargon, please make sure to define it.

3. Annotate images

Step on the foot pedal (highlighted above) to open the lid

While images are worth a thousand words, they can be made much more accessible with some light editing. Make judicious use of arrows, boxes, text, or highlights to make your instructions crystal clear.

4. Link to manuals

Rather than including full instructions in this wiki, link out to manuals so that interested users may refer to them. Most readers will only be interest in basic instructions.

5. No walls of text (structure your content)

Walls of text are super intimidating. Structure your content by splitting text into shorter paragraphs and make use of headings or other formatting (e.g. lists) to organize articles.

6. Active voice over passive

The active voice is simpler, more concise, and easier for the reader.

If you'd like to learn more, here's a video overview and a more comprehensive article.

7. Write for your audience

Consider your primary audience when writing any content. Who will be reading this article? What knowledge will they already have, and what are concepts you will need to briefly explain?

Here's more on writing for your audience and why this matters.

8. Be concise. When writing about tasks, write about the best way to do something, not every possible way to do something. Keep explanations simple, straightforward, and clear.