How should flags, names and clans be handled?

The first time a name important to the post appears (clan or player), make it bold and with the flag before the name: [flag=se] LakermaN. The second time just write out the name without any tags. If all or most entries in the post are from the same country no flag is necessary, it is better to write out their nationality. For example:
In an all Swedish fight, Paladia and raccoon are facing the defending champions, Fox and Zamuz
It is important to note that you should absolutely not display the flags if you have written out the nation or nationality. If the number of flags in a post is above five or so, depending a bit on the lenght of the post (not including those in hide tags) you may want to reconsider your design by either removing the flags or adding hide tags.


How should I write out the source?

Display it using the bold tag at the bottom of the post:

Source: ESReality.com


How should images be handled?

Upload a small image related to the post as an inline image. This will make it appear on the upper right corner of the post and often make your post look a bit more attractive. The size limitation for the inline image of a majored post is 180x120px.


When should I use the hide tag?

The hide tag should be used if your post is long (more than half a page), contains spoilers some people may not want to know about or contains a list (of for example results). Excessive number of hide tags will clutter the post, making it hard to read. So while one hide tag can often improve the layout of your post, it is best to use as few as possible above one.


Most of my post contains material or quotes from another site, how should I handle it?

Use a small snippet and then link back to the original post with due credit. These and all other quotes should be done using the blockquote tag:
This is a quote.

What categories should I pick for my post?

The most important rule is to pick as few categories as possible, in almost all cases just one category will do. In the other cases it will most likely work to just pick the "Gaming" category, only in exceptional cases should you pick more than one category.


Can you give me an example of a good layout and tell me why it is good?

This post is an example of good layout. This is due to the names that are most important have a flag the first time they are mentioned, those semi important to the post are in bold the first time and without tags the second time. This keeps the post free from clutter. On top of that it has a unique inline picture which makes it look a bit more attractive, there are two hide tags which work fine since they both cover totally different lists and all the sources are mentioned. Smaller things to note are that the focus word $200,000 is in bold and only one category is picked. The post is a bit long but that works fine since all the visible content is written by the author and has little interrupting the flow.


How should I use links?

Do not link by just writing the url, the url tags are there for a reason, use them or your post will look very poor (this includes IRC links). Try to find a word in the post that you can turn into a link to keep the flow going. This instead of making up a word just for the link, for example:
You can download the patch required to upgrade.
Is better than:
You can download the patch required to upgrade: here


Should I make it major or minor news?

As a general rule, if the news you have written about is of interest to a majority of the readers in the category you have chosen, then it should be major. One exception to this rule is the off topic category, OT news should not be major regardless.


I don't speak English very well, how should I go about?

Do your best and post it as minor news. If you think it should be major news then post the "Tidy up & make major" admin request because the front page must have proper English. Sometimes the admins are busy or away so if possible try to convince a friend who is skilled in English to proof read it for you.


I have a personal opinion regarding the news, should I write it out in the news post?

As a general rule, while insight is certainly good, your opinion is not more valuable than anyone elses and hence should be left for the comments. You should not use "I" or "me" in a news item. If your opinion is part of a larger opinion however, it is often a good idea to share it in order to bring more depth into your post. For example:
The recent patch to World of Warcraft has brought quite a bit of controversy, as parts of the hardcore PvE community thinks Blizzard are catering too much to the casual players at the expense of end game content.


What are all these tags you are talking about, how do I use them?

Due to the nature of the ESReality board, replace the { with a [

[i]Italics[/i]

[b]Bold[/b]

{flag=se} [flag=se]

[url=http://www.esreality.com]linkname[/url]
[url=irc://irc.eu.quakenet.org/esreality]linkname[/url]

[u]Underline[/u]

[time=15:30 GMT 16 May 2004][time=15:30 GMT 16 May 2004]

[shorttime=15:30 GMT][shorttime=15:30 GMT]

{hide=Topic}This text is hidden{/hide} [hide=Topic]This text is hidden[/hide]

[small]Small[/small]
[q]Blockquote[/q]


-

Hints for major news by Badb0y


- Take a look at the other majored news on the front page to get a feeling of the design and structure. It only takes seconds and it really helps to design a proper news. To only copy & paste a news from another website will not work.

- Inline image / logo in the right corner must be 180x120 pixels maximum. Please respect this limit. There are exceptions for hard cases if it doesn't fit.

You can resize the image with the resize function when you edit the post (at the very end of the form) or use the free tool Irfanview. If someone uses an incorrect size, there will be a wave of followers and the admins will have more work with resizing.

- There shouldn't be a big image in the body of the news, ESReality is primarily text based. If you want bigger images in the news, you can hide it with the hide tags.

- Same goes for embed videos. If you want YouTube in the news, use the hide tags.

- Don't overuse underlined or bold text. It looks awful and serve no purpose.

- For dates and times, you should use our time tags.

- Using "here" or "click here" links must be avoided. Use your imagination to use more specific information (topic of the link, name of the website/thread...)

If we can manage to keep a good looking front page, your post will get more visibility and therefor more promotion. It's a win/win situation.