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.