The 'Shroom:Manual of Style

We here at The 'Shroom aim to balance the quality of content presented in the newsletter and helping our writers improve their writing skills. To do so, we must have a base standard for the content allowed in this newsletter.

If you are unsure about anything concerning the newsletter or its guidelines, feel free to contact the 'Shroom Core Staff. We're more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

Basic Formatting:
The 'Shroom strives to release the best issues each month, which means having well-formatted articles. While the core staff members do edit sections with formatting errors, all writers are expected to do their best to maintain their own section quality before sending them in. To properly format your section to match the 'Shroom's standards, we advise you to:
 * Use appropriate grammar and spelling. If English is your first language, there should be no excuse for a cluttered mess of an article. Sections should be easy to follow and understand, so you should do your best to punctuate sentences, space out paragraphs, and spell words correctly and to double check to ensure proper flow.
 * If English is not your first language, feel free to ask a 'Shroom staff member to be an editor for you. Provided your sections aren't too incomprehensible, they are obliged to assist you.
 * Wiki code. Most 'Shroom articles only use the most basic of Wiki coding, so we want writers to code their sections appropriately. This means sections should not be formatted using forum formatting. This page provides a simple explanation of basic wiki formatting.
 * For any images you may use in your section, please upload them externally and send the link to the Team Director you write for. The Team Director will upload to the wiki the images when the issue is released. Do not upload images to the wiki before the issue is released.

Numbers:
While we encourage our readers to follow our guidelines on number formatting, we consider them just that; suggestions that don't necessarily need to be followed 100%.
 * Single-digit numbers (one through nine) should be spelled out as words rather than as numerals. So instead of typing 4 or 8, you would type four or eight.
 * Any numbers that are mutually associated with a specific topic within the article should be written out consistently, e.g. “She had ten Super Mushrooms, then used one and was left with nine,” as opposed to “She had 10 Super Mushrooms, then used one and was left with 9.”
 * If two numbers are written next to each, one should be written as a word and the other as a numeral, e.g. “ten 10-year old dogs,” as opposed to “10 10-year old dogs.”
 * If a sentence begins with a number, that number should be written out as a word rather than as a numeral.

Section Size:
The 'Shroom has a few mandatory content rules to ensure our sections are well-written and bulky enough to be worthy reads. We will offer leniency to our writers concerning minimum content standards, but don’t consider that an invitation.
 * Main Team, Fake News, and Critic Corner sections must have at least 1,500 characters to be accepted (not counting coding).
 * Written Palette Swap sections must have at least 700 characters to be accepted (not counting coding).
 * If the section is just an image (e.g. Fun Stuff, most Palette Swap sections, Fake Ads), or is built primarily around coding (e.g. most of Pipe Plaza), they are exempted from this rule.
 * Initial applications should not be any less than the standards illustrated above. It reflects poorly on you if your first demonstration to us is skimming content.

Coverage:
Due to the 'Shroom's status as the MarioWiki's official newsletter, our main coverage is of course the Mario series, the MarioWiki itself, and its community. But in the interests of appealing to the broadest possible audience, we are open to coverage of video games, art, books, movies, music, television, comic books, and fan material of any of the previously mentioned media.
 * While there are no permanent sections about subjects unrelated to entertainment, you can submit them as once-off special sections that are evaluated on an individual basis based on how well-written, informative, and inoffensive the article is. For instance, a section about amazing locations to visit in the world could potentially be acceptable as a special section, whereas a section about serial killings or religious arguments would not be allowed.
 * The 'Shroom remains neutral on all political ideologies, but we urge all writers to try to keep any discussion of politics relevant to the newsletter and its coverage listed above. Any political lectures unrelated to these mediums are deemed irrelevant and potentially offensive, and will be rejected immediately. These will be evaluated on an individual basis, and you may face consequences if the content in your section is deemed questionable.

Strong Content:
Strong Content is defined as any material seen as potentially offensive to any person or group of persons, such as swearing, crude humour, spoilers, sexual references, and other such terms. The 'Shroom is not against the use of strong content to a degree in the newsletter, but we have guidelines to ensure our writers don't go overboard.
 * We allow the usage of all swear words, but we insist all of our writers to employ them in moderation. Due to the relativity of what counts as "too much swearing", each section will be evaluated on an individual basis; but if your section sounds a little too much to you when you read it out, then you've probably overdone it.
 * Quotes, song lyrics, poetry and the like are exceptions to this rule.
 * Sexual references are acceptable within the same boundaries as swear words as illustrated above. Do not get overly graphic, as that will be deemed as borderline pornography.
 * Slurs of any kind will NOT be accepted in any way or form in this newsletter, and any submitted sections found to use any discriminatory labels or jokes will be rejected immediately. If you are unclear on what constitutes a slur, inquire with a staff member prior to submitting your section.
 * When including strong content in your sections, please be sure to add, indicating the type of content your section includes.