Style Guide for CBM Fansites
In order to present a professional image to the public, and to keep CBM editors from having to spend all their time editing, we require that fansite owners follow some basic guidelines in order to participate as a contributor to CBM.
NOTE: User contributions that do NOT follow the below guidelines may be deleted.
- We cannot abide PLAGIARISM!
- When aggregating news from other websites, avoid taking too much.
- ALWAYS credit your source. Use the "source" fields in your newstool.
- Rewrite and provide unique content whenever possible.
- NO Messageboard "Threads" Allowed:
- Provide CONTENT not a two sentence paragraph meant only to get comments. We have a forum for that.
- We are a breaking news site first and foremost. Write with that in mind--to a general audience.
- If your contribution relies solely upon user comments, it will most likely be deleted.
- If your contributions are interesting only to yourself, they will be deleted.
- If your editorials are not self contained, or in other words, if you are posting open-ended "thoughts" without providing analysis or argumentation, they will be deleted.
- Correct Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation:
- No "mobile phone" language allowed. Any articles that look like a teen's text message will immediately be deleted.
- Use a "spell checker" or dictionary if you are unsure of a spelling.
- Capitalize "i". Lack of capitalization in general seems to be an ongoing problem among the texting generation. If you do that, prepare to be deleted.
- DO NOT USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS IN HEADLINES OR CONTENT. IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD AND IT'S JUST DAMNED ANNOYING.
- Fill out All Fields in the Articles Management Tool:
- Headlines need to be descriptive of the content. "My next editorial" isn't a good headline.
- Don't leave the teaser section blank. It is meant to advertise your article on the main.
- Use the source fields to credit your source if applicable.
- Click on the question marks (?) to understand what each field is for.
- Layout and Spacing:
If you are cutting and pasting, or using a word processor to write your articles before posting, be sure you check (in the preview) that there are no layout problems.
- Do NOT use huge blocks of type that run together.
- Trim TOO MUCH spacing that leaves gaps in the article.
- Learn to wrap your text around images (see next bullet-point for help).
- Use of Images:
You have the capability to upload images to your articles. Choose images that fit nicely within your article, or learn to resize images to fit. If you do not have a photo editor like photoshop, or paintshop pro, a free and easy editor called GIMP is available for download HERE. You should also learn to wrap your text around the image -- which you can do by inserting a little bit of HTML code (align="left") into the code the system gives you when you upload an image.