[Sonicslasher]

luke_c, on 20 August 2010 - 10:56 PM, said:

The thumbnail bbcode is very buggy still so it's better if you just resize the image yourself.

Here's how I tend to lay out my news:

CODE

[p]Description, quotations, etc. main block of text here.[/p]
 
[quote= Whatever it is, changelog, release notes blah blah]
Only really used when posting homebrew, changelog goes here.
[/quote]
 
[img]http://gbatemp.net/style_images/1/folder_post_icons/icon11.gif[/img] [url="example.com"]Source[/url]
 
Your own input here

I wouldn't advise adding a Via link with the icon as I think it makes it look unproffessional and messy with two or more in a row, I hate doing them myself when linking to other external sites e.g. wiki compatibility charts, dev blog, etc. But there's nothing else to use so I don't really have a choice. I wouldn't really suggest having a via link at all to be honest, only thing you really need is YOUR source. Not the sources source if you get what I mean.

Any hyperlinks included in the quoted text in the P tags I tend to add in aswell.

There's also a download icon: for if you ever need to direct someone to a download link (filetrip mirrors are preffered) but I can't really see a situation in any user needing this for other than homebrew posting.

Just my opinion, as far as I am aware there is no set guidelines for posting user submitted news but posting it as the above would make it a lot easier if the post ever needs to get validated and front paged.

EDIT: Forgot to say there's also a user news posting script that any member can access and submit news with.

What I said 

This is a topic for all the people who submit news via the User Submitted News. I want to take a moment before I go on my small rant, to thank you for you contributions.

This is the format I love: Good
Notice how it's presented. At the top of the page is the thumbnail, which sums up the story in a small picture using

CODE

[thumb][/thumb]

Then the

CODE

[p=][/p]

tags make it so much easier to read.

And the last thing he does, is use these images:

Showing where he found this news
And showing where the source of the news is

I really dislike the use of quotation tags on these things.

We love it when the GBATemp community submits news for possible inclusion to the front page. We want nothing more than the community to get involved and help to better the site for all. We only ask that when you submit news that you DO NOT simply quote a source using the "quote" BBCode tags. Please write something in your own words which summorize what the news is about. It is OK to quote something from the source page if it is relevant to the news you are posting. Do not quote an etire article from another site as you are posting news for GBATemp and not simply mirroring news from another site using their words.

-Another World


Description:
Here are two examples....

DSDoom, the IWAD enabled port of PRBoom, has received an update. This update features full sound support and Player made WAD on-the-fly loading. Please see the change log for more information.

EvilTroopa Olyfno, a multiplayer Wii homebrew, challenges the player to destroy an alien plot to wipe out the human race using "nanomech" developed diseases. Please see the change log for more information.

The descriptions are tightly written, get the point across, use proper grammar, are spell checked, use proper punctuation, and are well written. These are the aspects we are looking for in all descriptions. Descriptions WILL NEVER be copy and pasted from a news source, a readme file, etc. Use as few words as possible to get your point across. Make use of commas which will allow the description to hold information between thoughts, this can help by cutting down the length of the description by 1 complete sentence. Try to limit your description to 2-3 sentences. If a change log in the form of a spoiler or quote tag is used, tell the user to read that area for more information. If an included "readme" file is packed with the file, instruct users to read that file for more information, help, set-up instructions, etc. Instructing the user to find more information should be an ending sentence not counted towards your 2-3 sentence description.

Double check your tag formatting, spell check, and check for grammatical errors before posting. Make use of a dedicated word processing application when making posts. We expect a high level of professionalism for any text posted to the front page.

Reason for edit: [Added info on user written descriptions 1-7-11 //AW] [Fixed outdated bbcode 5/8/12. ~Den]

[soulx]

CODE

[p]text[/p]

All the front page posts use this tag.
The thumb tag make the news item much easier to read instead of the 'quote' tags.

---
Ideal format for User Submitted News

CODE

[center][thumb]image[/thumb][/center]
 
[p]text[/p]
[center]text[/center]
[img]http://gbatemp.net/style_images/1/folder_post_icons/icon11.gif[/img] [url="example.com"]Via[/url]
[img]http://gbatemp.net/style_images/1/folder_post_icons/icon11.gif[/img] [url="example.com"]Source[/url]

[WildWon]

@Josh: so you mind if i move, rename and pin this to the USN area? I think it's a wonderful (simple) tool to put in there.

[Sonicslasher]

@Josh: so you mind if i move, rename and pin this to the USN area? I think it's a wonderful (simple) tool to put in there.

Move to where ever you feel the need to.

[WildWon]

moved & pinned. It'll just help make the USN submissions a bit cleaner

[Vidboy10]

I was actually the one who started doing that in USN, I mean, Ive seen it in the Front page news articals, but I started to do it in the USN then SoulSnatcher started copying me.

But yeah, I always loved that USN layout.

Edited by Vidboy10, 20 August 2010 - 08:27 PM.

[Goli]

I was actually the one who started doing that in USN, I mean, Ive seen it in the Front page news articals, but I started to do it in the USN then SoulSnatcher started copying me.

But yeah, I always loved that USN layout.

Articles!
And I love that format too, though when submitting news I was usually posting a rather large picture, from now on I shan't.

[soulx]

I was actually the one who started doing that in USN, I mean, Ive seen it in the Front page news articals, but I started to do it in the USN then SoulSnatcher started copying me.

But yeah, I always loved that USN layout.

Well, I actually didn't see you doing that so technically I didn't copy you.
I actually started doing it after I saw luke_c do it in one of the front page articles.

---
You may have used the P code first but I used the whole format.

CODE

[P= ][/P]

Your first topic with it...
My first topic with it

I had the Via (Source) and Source (Original Source) in my post.
Plus I haven't seen you using the 'thumb' BBCode in your topics.

Edited by SoulSnatcher, 20 August 2010 - 09:18 PM.

[Vidboy10]

I was actually the one who started doing that in USN, I mean, Ive seen it in the Front page news articals, but I started to do it in the USN then SoulSnatcher started copying me.

But yeah, I always loved that USN layout.

You may have used the P code first but I used the whole format.

CODE

[P= ][/P]

Your first topic with it...
My first topic with it

I had the Via (Source) and Source (Original Source) in my post.
Plus I haven't seen you using the 'thumb' BBCode in your topics.

Actually, THIS was my first topic to use the format.
And I don't know what you mean, I've been using that whole format since I've used the P code
One source is enough, I don't see the point of having multiple sources.
Image code > Thumb code

Edited by Vidboy10, 20 August 2010 - 10:34 PM.

[luke_c]

The thumbnail bbcode is very buggy still so it's better if you just resize the image yourself.

Here's how I tend to lay out my news:

CODE

[center][img]Image here (Preferably uploaded to pix.gbatemp.net, hotlinking is not advised but allowed.)[/img][/center]

[P= ]Description, quotations, etc. main block of text here.[/P]

[quote= Whatever it is, changelog, release notes blah blah]
Only really used when posting homebrew, changelog goes here.
[/quote]

[img]http://gbatemp.net/style_images/1/folder_post_icons/icon11.gif[/img] [url="yoursource"]Source[/url]

Your own input here

I wouldn't advise adding a Via link with the icon as I think it makes it look unproffessional and messy with two or more in a row, I hate doing them myself when linking to other external sites e.g. wiki compatibility charts, dev blog, etc. But there's nothing else to use so I don't really have a choice. I wouldn't really suggest having a via link at all to be honest, only thing you really need is YOUR source. Not the sources source if you get what I mean.

Any hyperlinks included in the quoted text in the P tags I tend to add in aswell.

There's also a download icon: for if you ever need to direct someone to a download link (filetrip mirrors are preffered) but I can't really see a situation in any user needing this for other than homebrew posting.

Just my opinion, as far as I am aware there is no set guidelines for posting user submitted news but posting it as the above would make it a lot easier if the post ever needs to get validated and front paged.

EDIT: Forgot to say there's also a user news posting script that any member can access and submit news with.

[WildWon]

It really doesn't matter who started using it. I'm very proud of all of you. I'll put it on my fridge.
It's slick and clean and is just a good (read: easy) recommended template for people.

Also for the link that luke posted, that's good too. I just figured a really simple template stickied would work well, too (just covering all bases )

[Sonicslasher]

There. I've updated my post to show luke_c's better format. It's probably a bit cleaner than what I originally said.

[tj_cool]

CODE

[P= ] [/P]

All the front page posts use this tag.
The thumb tag make the news item much easier to read instead of the 'quote' tags.

I don't know if you noticed, but on front page news, we may not put quotes in the <p> tags, everything must be self written inside those tags. Quotes always go in the Quote tags.
At least, that's how AW wants to have it

[soulx]

CODE

[P= ] [/P]

All the front page posts use this tag.
The thumb tag make the news item much easier to read instead of the 'quote' tags.

I don't know if you noticed, but on front page news, we may not put quotes in the <p> tags, everything must be self written inside those tags. Quotes always go in the Quote tags.
At least, that's how AW wants to have it

I've noticed. At least, early on.
Later on, the trend started to change and people started using the <p> tags instead so I just followed. In my early topics using the <p> tags I tried to have self written content. I stopped after awhile due to laziness.

Edited by SoulSnatcher, 17 April 2011 - 02:17 PM.

[Another World]

i've edited the first post to include something about descriptions. most of the news flagged for the front page is simply a quote of the source site. i expect users to take a few minutes to write something in their own words. most of the internet is news which has been mirrored from other sources. let us try to act more professional than the next site by writing our own descriptions, and then link back to source posts for "more information."

anything which does not follow the formatting in the 1st post will not be allowed on the front page.
anything which is simply a quote of another site will not be allowed on the front page.
anything poorly written (grammar, spell checking, etc) will not be allowed on the front page.

please try to include an image when possible, even if it is a generic image of a game system, game character, etc.

the staff has the ability to edit all posts for inclusion to the front page, and at times we will do that. however, please do not rely on us to clean up your posts. go the extra mile on your own and be proud of what you submit.

-another world