The Idiot's Guide to Posting an Article on Bulbanews

[Argy]

To create an article, type in your address bar "http://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Insert title here" and hit Enter. Then click the link that says "Start the Insert title here article." Of course, "Insert title here" is replaced with the title of the article you are about to write.

Once you are on the editing page, copy this template into the blank text box:
{{Article|
type= |
picture= |
weekday= |
day= |
month= |
year= |
discusstype= |
discusslink= |
sourcetype= |
sourcename= |
sourcelink= |
tagline= |
blurb=
}}
{{CategorizeIn|Category|Month|Year}}

Explanation of each template aspect
type= : breaking, lead, news, local, or feature (Those in order of importance. Each of these will be explained further on in this post.)
picture= : Filename of image, if available, as uploaded to Bulbagarden Archives. Don't forget the .jpg, .png, or .gif depending on the type of image. If none, write none.
weekday= : What day of the week on which the story is to appear
day= : Numerical day of the month on which the story is to appear. Single digits do not have 0 in front of them.
month= : Numerical month in which the story is to appear. Single digits do not have 0 in front of them.
year= : Numerical year, four digits (2005, not 05)
discusstype= : Write either none or [/i]bmgf[/i] if there is a topic on the forums regarding the story
discusslink= : Leave blank if discusstype= was none. If from bmgf, take four-digit topic number and paste here
sourcetype= : othersite, pressrelease, or bulbanews (See further on in the post for explanations.)
sourcename= : Name of other site, press release author, or bulbanews editor (In most cases, this last one will be your own name.)
sourcelink= : Link to othersite's article. TinyURL or full URL is acceptable. If bulbanews, write User:Yourname, replacing "Yourname" with, surprise, your own name.
tagline= : Short sub-headline
blurb= : Usually the first few sentences of your article. They give the most important information for those who are only scanning headlines.
For CategorizeIn, replace "Category" with the actual category (Anime, Games, Manga, TCG, Merchandise, or Meta. Japan Weekly is a special case that most users won't have to worry about.), and dates with appropriate numbers (no unnecessary zeroes, as stated earlier).

Here is the Pokémon XD boxart article's template completely filled in:

{{Article|
type=lead |
picture=Pokemon_XD_cover.jpg |
weekday=Wednesday |
day=15 |
month=6 |
year=2005 |
discusstype=none |
discusslink= |
sourcetype=othersite |
sourcename=Pokémon Center Online |
sourcelink=http://www.pokemoncenter-online.com/ |
tagline=Pre-orders start Saturday for the newest Pokémon game for Nintendo GameCube |
blurb=The boxart and several promotions associated with the Japanese release of [[bpokémon XD: Gale of Darkness|Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness]], the new Pokémon game for Nintendo GameCube, were revealed this week on [http://www.pokemoncenter-online.com/ Pokémon Center Online], the official Japanese retail website of the franchise.
}}
{{CategorizeIn|Games|6|05}}

After this, skip a line and begin writing your story. If you have an image, fill this out right above your story (no double line breaks):

[[Image:Filename|thumb|right or left|###px|Caption text]]

Here is the image data for the Pokémon XD article filled out completely:

[[Imageokemon_XD_cover.jpg|thumb|right|223px|Japanese boxart of Pokémon XD]]

Replace the XD stuff with what is relevant to your picture. The pixel area is to specify the image's width. Right or left can be chosen to orient the picture at a certain spot on the page.

If you need more examples, look at Article submission or the edit page of any article.

Now, about each of the different types of stories:

Breaking
This is reserved for HUGE news. In other words, something so big that it needs IMMEDIATE attention and applies to Pokémon fans EVERYWHERE. This is very rare, and has yet to be used. For example, a breaking story might be about something like the death of someone closely involved with the franchise, like a voice actor or game producer.

Lead
Big news, but not breaking. An announcement of a new game, for example, would go here. This can also be used to designate the importance of one "news" story over another. Whichever is designated as "Lead" gets front page prominence.

News
The bulk of news falls into this category. When in doubt, use this designation.

Local
Somewhat minor news that concerns only one country or area. A new episode airing in Japan is News (or Lead, depending on the other news at the time), as people outside the country download it. Nintendo of America holding a nation-wide tour is Local news, as it affects no one but Americans.

Feature
We have yet to come to a consensus on the role of Features. Until further notice, do not use this designation. If you have an idea for an article that may be considered a Feature, contact me before posting.

Now, for discussion on sources:

othersite
Another website, obviously. A common source for Bulbanews is Pokeani, so one would write that (Pokeani) after sourcename=.

pressrelease
This is for press releases from companies directly involved with the franchise (Nintendo, Media Factory, etc.). This designation is rarely used. Othersite is still acceptable, but this is more specific.

bulbanews
This is for if you did not use a source when writing your article. For example, the announcements about a particular week's episode are not credited to any external source, as in most cases, the person writing that article is gaining information directly from the episode. If this is the case, credit the sourcename= as your username and the sourcelink= as a link to your Bulbanews user page.

For further clarification, please see Crediting sources.

Rough Style Guide
*Keep your articles objective. This means that you must omit any of your own opinion from your writing, and you must write in third-person (no "I," "me," or "you").
*Include as much relevant information as possible. We want to be thorough. Tell readers the whos, whats, wheres, whens, and whys, if applicable.
*Use your best grammar and spelling. Ask another editor to proofread if you aren't sure on your usage. I will be glad to assist you.
*Before you post, make sure that there is not another article that contains the same information.
*When in doubt, use other articles as your examples, and don't hesitate to ask questions!