# Writing for SideQuest

Every word a person reads on the site, in the bot, or in these docs follows the same rules. Use
this checklist before you publish anything.

## Checklist

- **Use short, common words.** No jargon or stock phrases.
  - Bad: "Leverage the ledger to monitor your SQL standing."
  - Good: "Check your points on the ledger."
- **Cut every word you can.**
  - Bad: "In order to sign in, you will need to click on the button."
  - Good: "Select Sign in."
- **Use the active voice.**
  - Bad: "An event can be cancelled by an officer."
  - Good: "An officer can cancel an event."
- **One instruction per sentence, in the imperative.**
  - Bad: "You should go to the account page and then you can link Battle.net."
  - Good: "Go to your account page. Select Link Battle.net."
- **Keep procedural sentences to 20 words or fewer, descriptive sentences to 25.**
- **Keep paragraphs to 6 sentences or fewer.**
- **Pick one word for one meaning, and keep it.** Use "select," not "click" or "tap," for every
  button. Use "sign up" for events and "sign in" for accounts, never swapped.
- **Put the condition first in a warning.**
  - Bad: "Your sign-up is removed if you select Withdraw."
  - Good: "If you select Withdraw, your sign-up is removed."
- **Start a warning with the command, not a description.**
  - Bad: "This action cannot be undone, so be careful when deleting your account."
  - Good: "Deleting your account can't be undone."
- **No em dashes or en dashes used as dashes.** Use a comma, a period, or two sentences instead.
- **No AI writing habits.** Never write "delve," "seamless," "robust," "leverage," "elevate,"
  "unlock," "empower," "journey" (outside the guild's own motto), "comprehensive," "it's worth
  noting," or "in today's." No rule-of-three padding, no closing summaries, no marketing
  language, no emoji.
- **Never invent facts.** Base every claim on the code, a README, or a site page. Link to a page
  that shows current numbers (`/raids/`, `/ledger/`) instead of copying a number that changes.
- **Never name the guild's leaders.** Refer to ranks (Quest Master, Quest Guide), not people.

## Before you publish

Read every sentence against this checklist. Fix any sentence over the length limit, any passive
voice in a step, and any banned word. Count your em dashes: there should be zero.