Guidelines for Editors

The editor role gives a member access to the unpublished content queue, allowing him/her to see articles and pages waiting to be published. An editor's job is to work with authors in order to eliminate spelling, grammar, and mechanics errors as well as offer suggestions on article content.

The goal of this process is to produce high quality, well-written articles that ZPI can proudly display. Articles are the best of the best, and editors exist to ensure a high standard of quality is met with each and every article published. This page exists to outline and explain the editorial process for publishing articles. Prospective authors reading this page will find what to expect when they submit an article. This page, along with the Guidelines for Authoring Articles, should give authors a very clear picture of how ZPI's articles should be written, and how they will be evaluated.

Editing Tools and Criterion:

1. Spelling, grammar, and other errata are marked in red. Red may also be used to mark general errors.
2. Content in violation of Site Rules, Moderation Policies and Publication Terms are marked in purple.
3. Editor's remarks, suggestions and disclaimers are marked in blue. This includes content suggestions, formatting suggestions, miscellaneous remarks, etc.
4. Commendation on concepts or items in the work that give the author encouragement are marked in green. Miscellaneous editor comments should also be colored green.

An Editor will monitor the content they are managing for the following criterion:

1. Copyright violations- Enter the article into a plagiarism checker first to check for plagiarism. Remember that plagiarism is a serious issue; all cited sources must be verified to be legitimate. If any source does not check out, inform the author that it must be fixed before the article will be published.
2. Site Rules Violations- Obviously, make sure there aren't any. Any information which may be dangerous or present legal issues should come with a disclaimer. If you aren't sure about an issue, ask an administrator.
3. Research and Citing of sources- All content an author obtains from an outside source must be properly cited. Refer to the Guidelines for Authoring Articles for further information.
4. Formatting, including images- Articles should use proper formatting to ensure the article is clear and aesthetically pleasing. You can see a list of Formatting Options here. Lists should be formatted into lists, headings should use header tags, etc. All in all, make it look pretty. The use of color is generally discouraged within articles as color tends to look flashy if overused. Color is not forbidden entirely, but should be used sparingly and only for marking important items. Since editorial notes are done in color, having main body text in color can also be confusing for the editor and author during the editorial process.
5. Style and Content- Content and style of presentation must be articulated well in accordance with the type of content.
   • How-To articles are written in the second person("you"). They frequently feature numbered lists of steps and pictures of the product as it is constructed for a visual assistant for readers.
   • Informational articles are written in the third person. Pictures are less important here, but still helpful for certain criteria.
6. Spelling/Grammar- It hardly needs to be said, but flawless spelling and grammar is the goal with articles. As an editor, you should not be solely correcting spelling mistakes, you should be assisting with content as well. That said, if an article is a substandard piece of work, inform the author that it will not be worked on until quality is sufficiently improved.
7. Objectivity- Authors should remain unbiased when writing articles as much as possible. Articles present facts and information, not the author's opinion of the subject matter. However, a well-informed opinion is certainly allowed and encouraged. Ensure that opinions are backed up by cited sources, and if possible suggest that the author include others' opinions for comparison to theirs.

Editors will post comments underneath the article body content, or may use the annotation function. For a thorough example of a revised work, reference this page.

All articles must comply with the publication terms and other site-related regulations.

Editor Expectations

• Manage your time wisely. Delegated tasks fall first to articles; while editors may be utilized in other areas of the site, publishing articles always remains priority number one. Know what you can do and how long it will take you when working with others. It is likely that each editor can handle multiple articles at once, but also watch your real life schedule.
• Keep in communication. Use proper article claim procedure(detailed below) and the mass message function to ensure everyone knows what's going on. Keep the authors you are working with informed as well; if you become busy and cannot continue working on the article, ensure that another editor picks up where you left off, and try to give both the editor staff and your authors 1 week advanced notice if you are going to be away for awhile.
• Respect the author and fellow staff members. Don't devalue author's work and don't be insulting to their person. If you cannot work with an author for whatever reason, respectfully pass the article along to another editor. When dealing with staff, remember that being professional and showing tact will get you further than being rude or demanding. When dealing with the rest of the editorial team, take your fair share of work and help out editors when they need it.
• Do not abuse your powers. You, as a staff member, are to set an example for the rest of the forum by upholding site rules and policies, both behind the scenes and in the forums. But, remember that your priorities lie outside of the forums. This is not to say that you shouldn't use the tools at your disposal to clean up bots and stop disputes if they arise*, but this is only when no other staff is present to do so. The most important guideline among this point is Do not alter any content unless given permission to do so by the author. For one thing, it isn't your duty to write their article for them, and it isn't your business to be deciding how the article is written either. This rule applies to all content.
  *Bot posts can be deleted and the user account reported on the bot thread. When dealing with user disputes, send both users PM's instructing them to take up the issue privately. If posts need to be removed, unpublish them; don't delete them otherwise moderators won't know what happened.
• Ask questions when in doubt. Never be afraid to ask for help if necessary; if you aren't sure of something, ask the rest of the staff. Never assume one thing or the other, and never take your own liberties with content. Stepping on other staff members toes is always looked down upon.

Delegation Policy

Upon finding an article you wish to edit in the content queue, claim it by editing the title with a (WIP: Your username) tag in front of the title; this makes you the Lead Editor* for the article. Inform the author that the editing process is ready to begin on an article.*** If the editor feels inclined to do so, they may choose an Assistant Editor** as well, but this is not mandatory. Editors, regardless of current assignment, should feel free to look through the all of the articles in the content queue as they are being edited to see if there is anything new or valuable to suggest. Remember, an editor laying claim to an article does not give them exclusivity to the article's contents. The more content suggestions given, the better the article will be. If you are not the lead editor, for clarity's sake, it would probably be best to put editorial notes at the bottom of the article, separate from the lead editor's notes.
*As Lead Editor, it is ultimately your responsibility to see the article through the editing process. You are in charge of the process; you call the shots. Your decisions can only be overridden by an administrator or the author(on content that does not violate the rules or Guidelines for Authoring Articles). Unless there is an issue during the editing process which leaves you unable to complete the article, you will also be the contacted editor whenever any issues pertaining to the completed article arise.
**Assistant Editors are meant to aid the lead editor and author as much as possible. However, this does not mean you will be doing all the work. If you feel as though the lead editor is "abusing" your assistance, report it to an administrator.
***Make sure the author responds before doing any editorial work on an article. If they do not respond within two weeks, delete the article from the content queue; inform them that this will happen in the private message you send them informing them that their article has been claimed. An example of said private message usually looks something like this:

Note: Articles that remain in the content queue for a week will be assigned to an editor who does not have an assignment. However, editors may decline an assignment given to them.

The Editor's Priority Checklist

1. Run the article through a plagiarism checker; you may use the one linked above or another one if you prefer. If the article fails the plagiarism test, let the author know that their article contains plagiarized material which will not be published until properly cited and sourced. If the article is a direct copy of a published article, inform the author that ZPI only publishes original material, then delete the article.
2. Check the sources given. Make sure the cited information links up to legitimate sources and is all cited properly. Refer to the Guidelines for Authoring Articles for legitimate sources. For example, if half of the works cited list is unreliable sources like wikis and forums, inform the author to find reliable ones or their article will not be able to be published.
3. Go through the article and mark the colored criteria above. Make sure both the lead editor and the assistant editor check the article a few times over to ensure no errors go unmarked.
4. If applicable, make suggestions for the author which will make the article better. This includes content, style, etc. Remember- just about anything can be improved. Other editors not involved in the editing process are also free to comment on the thread in which the article is claimed. They may add suggestions of content or style, or point out errors that may have been missed in the initial editing process.
5. When the author and lead editor feel as though the article is ready for publication, the editor may publish the article. Make sure all editorial notes and marks have been removed and the article is in the proper category.

Summary

So, here is a summarized list of how the editorial process works:

1. An editor will claim an article; editing the title with the WIP tag described above effectively lets everyone know that someone has begun working on the article. Inform the author that editorial work is beginning.
2. Run the article through a plagiarism checker and check for properly cited sources. If there is an issue with content or cited sources, it would be best to inform the author in the initial private message so that he/she can begin fixing the issue immediately.
3. If the content checks out, begin combing it for spelling and grammar errors. Minor issues like spelling mistakes, grammar mishaps, or improper punctuation can be fixed when an editor finds the issue. If an editor isn't sure of wording or spelling, a note of it should be made in red for the author to fix. Only minor errors should be fixed by the editor; larger issues should be fixed by the author. Remember, an editor should never drastically alter content unless given explicit permission from the author to do so.
4. If the editor has any, make content suggestions, which should be colored in blue. Editors may either make notes within the body of the content or use superlative numbers and elaborate at the bottom of the article. Keep in mind that suggestions are only suggestions; authors are not required to use them. If there is a content issue which needs to be fixed, make a note of it in purple. Try to be creative with content suggestions and get the author to think outside the box as well as informing them of any gaps in information they should be including.
5. After initial edits are complete, let the author know that he/she may begin fixing the article. Work with the author as much as necessary until the article is polished and error free. Then, once all editorial marks are removed and the author and editor are happy with the article, it may be published.

Miscellaneous

Editors may be enlisted to assist with other, non-article site content if requested. Editors may choose to assist others at their own discretion, but articles must remain an editor's first priority. In addition, editors may be asked to assist site staff with writing site pages and documents.

Interested?

If you are not already an editor and believe the editing role is something you would enjoy, PM captainrads, granted you meet the requirements:

• Must be a member of 3 months or longer
• Must have at least one article published, or submitted at time of applying
• Must be able to read and write write properly; at a 10th grade writing level, at the very least. This cannot be stressed enough. Because editors will be working with language syntax, a good grip of the English language is necessary for the purposes of fixing spelling and grammar mistakes while reading over articles.
• Knowledge of HTML and BBCode tags is useful, but not necessary. You must be willing to learn if you are not experienced already.

These requirements are non-negotiable. The site staff asks that only members who plan to stay dedicated to the role apply; keep in mind that editors can be fired if they are found to not be fulfilling their duties.