Policies:Editorial Guidelines

The editorial guidelines on this page are designed to be followed by all Heron Academy Wiki editors whenever creating or editing a public content page.

The guidelines are divided into two sections. The first section lists the "5 Golden Rules" all editors should be aware of when editing the wiki. The second section lists technical editing rules regarding things such as correct wiki code and syntax to be used on all pages. If you have any questions or would like to dispute any part of the editorial guidelines, please use the discussion page to do so.

The 5 Golden Rules

1. The Heron Academy Wiki Is An Informational Wiki, Not An Enyclopedia Or Training Course

Whilst the layout of the Wiki is based on the same format as Wikipedia, our goals are a little different. Our main focus with the Wiki isn't to create peer-reviewed, imperfectly factual encyclopedic articles to be published in journals, but rather to create practical, easy to understand, real value information that visitors can use to immediately increase their practical understanding of specific marketing fields, and then implement that information into their own business strategies.

This doesn't mean that the wiki is a training course either. We publish training courses to the Heron Academy Lab which serves a different purpose to this Wiki. The Wiki should not be written in a manner that guides the user on what to do, nor should it be written strictly as an encyclopedia. It should be written from an informational point of view designed to help the user better understand the subject matter at hand. Avoid things such as direct quotes from external sources unless absolutely necessary for the purposes of context. Word everything in your own words, referencing where necessary.

2. Use Correct Language And Formatting

It is already a given that all articles should consist of correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. The following points should be followed when editing in order to maintain consistency throughout the Wiki -

• British & American English preference

Preference is to be given to British English spelling for common words (such as colour) and to American English for common phrases (such as organization). American English is to be given preference if the British spelling would seem archaic to most International English speakers. Non-Archiac examples: "Colour" should be used instead of "color". "Honour" should be used instead of "honor". Seemingly Archaic examples: "Program" should be used instead of "programme". "Computer" should be used instead of "computor".

• All headings and page titles should be capitalized in full

An example of a correct heading or page title would be - "Internet Marketing Theories And Strategies". An example of an incorrect title would be "Internet marketing theories and strategies" or "Internet Marketing Theory and Strategies". Notice in the latter case the use of the uncapitalized "and", which is incorrect. The reason we follow this formatting is due to proven attention span of readers when using capitalized letters in titles (this is widely recognized within the field of copywriting).

• Besides headings, don't capitalize words that shouldn't be capitalized, and don't forget to capitalize words that should be

An example of this would be the phrase "Internet marketing". Many people would write this phrase as "Internet Marketing". The "Internet" deserves a capital letter as it is the name of something. "Marketing" is not the name of something, and therefore should not be capitalized. Even if linking to an article on Internet marketing, the hyperlink itself should still contain the correct syntax with no exceptions. For example, "affiliate marketing" should not contain any capital letters (unless of course Affiliate is the start of a new sentence). This holds true even if the phrase "affiliate marketing" acts as a hyperlink to the affiliate marketing article. Don't confuse this with the headings rule, where all words are to be capitalized if they appear in a heading.

• Don't use abbreviations

Spell everything out in full. Don't use "SEO", use "search engine optimization". Even if you need to repeat "search engine optimization" twenty times, do that instead of abbreviating. Abbreviation looks unprofessional for a Wiki. You can mention the different abbreviations of a word in an article's opening sentence (for example: "Search Engine Optimization (SEO, Search Engine Optimizing), is the..."), just don't repeat the abbreviation of SEO again unless its directly relevant to the context, use "search engine optimization" instead. This rule of course applies to all abbreviations and words, not just search engine optimization.

• Writing is to always be in third person

Remember the first Golden Rule. This is an informational Wiki, not a training course or "how to" guide. Keep all content professional and in the third person.

3. Use Authoritative References

As stated in the first Golden Rule, this isn't an encyclopedia, therefore you won't need to reference anywhere near as much as you would on a site such as Wikipedia. Nevertheless, sometimes referencing is necessary (as will be explained below). When you do decide to reference, strict guidelines are to be followed.

When choosing an online based reference, it should meet all three of the following criteria. Exceptions to one or more of these criteria may be made only after agreement with an Administrator on the topics talk page.

1) If the website is not widely respected and trusted, ensure the root domain has a valid Google PageRank of at least 6. This will weed out less authoritative websites. The site doesn't have to be PageRank 6, it could even be PageRank 0, it just needs to be widely respected and trusted. If however you're unsure whether the site is widely respected and trusted, then you can presume it is if its PageRank is 6 or higher. Signs of indicating whether a site is trusted include the tld (.gov and .edu domains are more likely to be reputable). Genuine non spammy links from authoritative sites pointing to the site in question may be another indicator of trust.

2) Ensure the content you are referencing is approved by the website itself, or by one of its employees. Content from volunteer "contributors" is not considered authoritative unless it is in some way referenced or endorsed by the website or one of its employees. An example of valid content would be where a paid faculty member of a university has their own personal site setup on the university website. On their personal site they submit a document which they recommend. Since the document is being recommended by an employee of the website (a staff member), the document can be considered to be endorsed by the website, even if the document itself contains disclaimers that it is not. An example of invalid content not endorsed by a website would be a student page containing a document. The student is not an employee of the university and therefore there is no way of verifying that the student's material is valid.

3) The referenced material itself should be in some way notable. Ensure that the material has its own references, or in the case of original research, a detailed empirical explanation of any findings by the author(s).

When you do reference, do it correctly.

Referencing is important, but don't go overboard with it thinking that you need to back up every statement you make.

As an author, it is expected that you write material within marketing subjects you already know a lot about from personal experience. Our goal is for you to relay your expertise to other users so that they can use your knowledge to increase their own understanding of the subject they're researching. If you believe that a certain piece of information you're planning to write will benefit readers, and you're confident of your expertise in presenting the information in the manner you intend, then you may go ahead and write it without need for any referencing.

This means that not every factual statement needs to be backed up with a reference if the author has enough personal experience and success in the subject they are writing about to know that the statement made will benefit the reader.

Exceptions to this rule are when you make statistical statements or a strongly asserted factual statement. These forms of statements will always require a reputable reference, and should not be made without one.

Example of a statistical statement requiring a reference: "57% of businesses fail within the first year" - a reference would be absolutely essential here.

Example of a strongly asserted fact requiring a reference: "Companies that fail to employ search engine optimization strategies will eventually go bankrupt." - a definitive statement such as this would require a reference.

Referencing Format

The referencing format to be followed should be the one required on the website, paper, book or other material you obtain the reference from. In the event that the website does not mention the required referencing format, you are to mention the author, publisher, published date, pages of the referenced content, and the date you accessed the content in the event of an online paper (date to be in the format of "January 1st, 1990").

For all referenced web pages, include a link pointing back to the web page using a hyperlink (anchor) text that contains the title of the work. For example, if there is an online researh paper located at http://herononline.com/research.pdf and the research paper is titled "How To Research", then you would make use of the following reference syntax in addition to the actual citation - [http://herononline.com/research.pdf How To Research]. This would appear live as - How To Research (note that research.pdf doesn't really exist and that link won't take you anywhere, this is just an example only).

Take a look at the referencing style at the bottom of the Internet marketing article to see a live example of how to correctly reference.

4. Don't Confuse Readers

Articles may list the positives and negatives of certain marketing strategies. This is fine in and of itself, as there's nothing wrong with informing users of the positives and negatives of certain marketing strategies, however sometimes advice may seem conflicting and readers will be left pondering what to do. This often occurs if two editors have conflicting views and both wish to include their opposing views in the article, or if an editor wants to turn an article into an encyclopedic entry. This isn't what we want to happen here. All articles are to be read as if they come from a single author whom knows what they're talking about. Contradictions, ambiguities and a lack of confidence in writing style are all things that will prevent readers from trusting the content presented. If positives and negatives are to be worded in an article, then they should be done so in such a way that the general flow of the writing is not in any way compromised. Keep the article professional yet interesting and easy to follow.

5. Discuss Major Changes On An Articles Talk Page Before Making Them

Each article has its own Talk page (located under discussion). If you intend to add, remove, or edit any content, make sure to first create a new heading on the Talk page (using ==Heading==) detailing the changes you intend to make, along with a copy of the text and formating you intend to add (if applicable). If an administrator agrees with your changes, you can go ahead and make the changes to the article manually. The exception to this rule is if you're only making a minor edit. Minor edits consist of fixing spelling, punctuation or grammar mistakes, or amending sentences to make better sense. If making a minor edit, feel free to go ahead and make the edit without needing to discuss the matter on the Talk page. If you have any questions at all, bring it up on the article's Talk page.

Editing Syntax

General Editing Syntax

Listed below is the most common syntax you will need to be familiar with when editing an article.

Headings

The syntax of a heading is: ==Example Heading==
The syntax for a sub-heading is: ===Example Sub-heading===
The syntax for a sub-sub-heading is: ====Example Sub-sub-Heading====

Remember that all headings should be capitalized in full.

Interlinking

If you need to link to another article on the Heron Academy Wiki, you will need to use the following syntax -

[[Article Name|Displayed name]]

Replace Article Name with the correct title of the article. Remember that all words in an article's title will usually be in capital letters.

Replace Displayed Name with the actual text of the link as you want it to appear in the article. This will almost always be the same as the Article Name, however the capitalization used will most likely be different. For example, if you're linking to the affiliate marketing article and you want the link to appear in lowercase, you may use [[Affiliate Marketing|affiliate marketing]]. Notice how the first part of the syntax contains the exact name of the article we're linking to (which is necessary), and the second part contains how we want the link to appear in our article as text (all in lower case). Remember Golden Rule 2, to always use correct capitalization and formatting with links.

An example paragraph using correct interlinking syntax pointing to two separate articles would be as follows -

"It has been shown for some time that [[Affiliate Marketing|affiliate marketing]] is a great way for new entrepreneurs to get started in [[Internet Marketing|Internet marketing]].

The example would appear live as -

"It has been shown for some time that affiliate marketing is a great way for new entrepreneurs to get started in Internet marketing.

Notice how the links appear with correct case sensitivity. This is what your goal should be when conducting any form of interlinking.

External Linking

An external link (a link pointing to web page outside of the Heron Academy Wiki) is done using the following syntax -

[http://url.com/ Displayed Name]

Replace http://url.com/ with the URL of the external web page.

Replace Displayed Name with the actual text of the link as you want it to appear in the article. Let's say we want to link to the external website http://herononline.com/ and we want the link to appear in the article under the text "Heron Online Marketing Solutions" (we would use all capitals in this example since we're referring to an organization's name). The correct syntax to use would be as follows -

[http://herononline.com/ Heron Online Marketing Solutions]

This would render an external link as follows: Heron Online Marketing Solutions

Referencing

Citations are the most complex type of syntax, however mastering their usage is easy with a little practice. You place a citation next to the content that the citation is referring to, in the body of the article (not in the referencing section at the bottom of the article! This is done automatically).

Creating a citation simply involves inserting the reference in between the <ref> and </ref> tags.

For example -

According to scientists, the Sun is pretty big.<ref>E. Miller, The Sun, (New York: Academic Press, 2005), 23-5.</ref>

The text in between <ref> and </ref> is simply the citation. That's all there is to it!

If the citation consists of a link to an external website, you may use linking syntax in the reference.

For example -

<ref>Retrieved from: [http://herononline.com/ Heron Online Marketing Solutions] on August 15th, 1989.</ref>

Important note: The reference will actually appear at the very bottom of the article under the "References" section, even though the reference is inserted in the body of the article's content. This is an intentional function of the Wiki.

Further Syntax And Formatting Usage

For further syntax and formatting usage, please consult the external resource of MediaWiki Help:Contents.

Creating New Pages

Before considering the creation of a new page, consider whether the content you intend to create can be added to an already existing page.

All pages on the Wiki need to follow a specific layout. For an example of an article using correct layout, see the source code for the Internet marketing article (you can do this by clicking edit on the article and not making any changes).

Articles should be composed of four main elements - 1) The title. 2) The body of content. 3) Related resources. 4) References.

Below is an explanation of how to correctly format each of these sections. If you need to see a live example of how this is done, view the source of the Internet marketing article mentioned above.

• 1) The title

In order to create a new page, simply enter the intended title into the search box on the left. If the page does not exist, you will be given the option to create it. It's recommended that you only create a new page after discussion with an administrator through the editor forums. When creating the page title, make sure to use capital letters for all words. For example, if you want to create a page about social media optimization, the correct page title would be "Social Media Optimization". Notice the use of capital letters for each word. Once the page is created, you can proceed on to the body of content. If you have any doubts about creating a new page, simply ask an administrator to do this step for you.

• 2) The body of content

The first section of the article should introduce the reader to the topic. After this, you may use headings to discuss different aspects of the topic. A table of contents will automatically be created from the headings. Like with page titles, make sure to use capital letters for every word in a heading.

• 3) Related resources

The end of every article may contain a related resources section. This is a place to list both internal and external documents or websites that may be of use to the reader. Only create this section if you actually do have some related resources to direct visitors to, otherwise the creation of this section is not necessary. The section can be created through a simple heading using the ==Related Resources== tag. If you wish to list an external web page, or web pages, create a sub-heading using the ===External=== tag. Underneath the External headings tag, list each external web page. The start of each web page should begin with an * symbol. You should then use the correct external links syntax to create a hyperlink to the external web page, along with a brief description of it.

Located below is all of the code required to do this, as taken from the Internet marketing article as an example -

BEGIN EXAMPLE

==Related Resources==
===External===
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_marketing Internet marketing - Wikipedia] - Encyclopedic Internet marketing article

END EXAMPLE

Notice the correct use of headings, along with the web page URL, title, and description. You can list multiple external links in this manner.

Instead of listing external web pages, you may instead want to create a "See Also" section to guide users to other related topics on the Heron Academy Wiki if they're available. To do this, simply create a new sub-heading for "See Also" underneath the ==Related Resources== tag by using the ===See Also=== tag. Underneath this, you may link to any other topic on the Wiki by following correct linking syntax. A full example on how to do this is shown below, which has also been taken from the Internet marketing article -

BEGIN EXAMPLE

==Related Resources==
===See Also===
*[[Affiliate Marketing|Affiliate marketing]]

END EXAMPLE

Now, let's pretend you want to create a Related Resources section that lists both external links and related internal links. Below is a full example of a Related Resources section containing both the ===External=== and ===See Also=== tag -

BEGIN EXAMPLE

==Related Resources==

===External===
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_marketing Internet marketing - Wikipedia] - Encyclopedic Internet marketing article

===See Also===
*[[Affiliate Marketing|Affiliate marketing]]

END EXAMPLE

That's all there is to it!

• 4) References

If your article contains references (it should contain some) then you'll need to create a references section. To start with, use the ==References== tag to create the heading. After that, simply type <references/> on a new line, and the references section will be automatically populated from the article content.

BEGIN EXAMPLE

==References==
<references/>

END EXAMPLE

That's all you need to do! Provided you followed correct citation formatting in the body of your article, the references will be displayed correctly. If you need to edit any part of the references section, do it by editing the citations in the body of the article directly.

That's all there is to creating your own articles.