English improvements for content guidelines

This commit simplfies many sentences and rewords many sentences to make
them sound more natural. In some places, this commit rewords sentences
to make their structure more parallel. The goal of all of these changes
is to make the content guidelines easier to understand.

Before this commit, the paragraph at the bottom of “Guidelines and
principles” said pretty much the same thing that the paragraph at the
bottom of “Limiting cognitive load” said. This commit combines those two
paragraphs to  reduce redundancy.
This commit is contained in:
Jason Yundt
2022-09-21 16:11:26 -04:00
parent d43d2b2ec7
commit 3f9abd9001
+28 -31
View File
@@ -3,23 +3,23 @@
Content guidelines
==================
This document is here to help us assess what we should include in the official
documentation. Below, you will find a couple of principles and recommendations
to write accessible content.
This document outlines what should be included in the official documentation.
Below, you will find a couple of principles and recommendations for writing
accessible content.
We want to achieve two goals:
1. **Empathize with our users.** We should write in a way that makes it easy for
them to learn from the docs.
2. **Write a complete reference manual**. Our goal here is not to teach
programming foundations. Instead, we should provide a reference for how
programming fundamentals. Instead, our goal is to provide a reference for how
Godot's features work.
Guidelines and principles
-------------------------
Below are the guidelines we should strive to follow. They are not hard rules,
though: exceptionally, a topic will require breaking one or more of these.
though: sometimes, a topic will require breaking one or more of them.
Still, we should strive to achieve the two goals listed above.
Writing complete and accessible documentation
@@ -36,15 +36,15 @@ should ensure that we cover everything Godot does.
when their work gets merged and requires documentation.
Do your best to keep documents **under 1000 words in length**. If a page goes
past that threshold, consider splitting it into two parts if possible. Limiting
page size forces us to write concisely and to break large documents so they each
focus on a particular problem.
past that threshold, consider splitting it into two parts. Limiting page size
forces us to write concisely and to break up large documents so that each page
focuses on a particular problem.
Make it clear what **problem** each page or section of a page tackles and what
the user will learn from it. Users need to know if they're reading the correct
guide to solving problems they encounter. For example, instead of writing the
heading "Signals", consider writing "Reacting to changes with signals". The
second title makes it clear what the purpose of signals is.
Each page or section of a page should clearly state what **problem** it tackles
and what it will teach the user. Users need to know if they're reading the
correct guide for solving the problems they're encountering. For example,
instead of writing the heading "Signals", consider writing "Reacting to changes
with signals". The second title makes it clear what the purpose of signals is.
.. note::
@@ -52,9 +52,12 @@ second title makes it clear what the purpose of signals is.
navigation cumbersome. Try to keep headings five words long or less.
If the page assumes specific knowledge of other Godot features, mention it and
link it to the corresponding documentation. For instance, a page about physics
may use signals, in which case we could note that the page that introduces
signals is a pre-requisite.
link to the corresponding documentation. For instance, a page about physics
may use signals, in which case you could note that the signals tutorial is a
prerequisite. You may also link to other websites for prerequisites beyond the
documentation's scope. For example, you could link to an introduction to
programming in the getting started guide, or a website that teaches math theory
in the math section.
Limiting cognitive load
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@@ -66,17 +69,17 @@ learn. You can do so by:
1. Introducing only one new concept at a time whenever possible.
2. Using simple English, as we recommend in our writing guidelines.
3. Including one or more **concrete usage examples**. Prefer a real-world example
to abstract code like ``foobar``.
to one that uses names like ``foo``, ``bar``, or ``baz``.
While many people may understand more complex language and abstract examples,
you will lose others. Also, understandable writing and practical examples
benefit everyone.
you will lose others. Understandable writing and practical examples benefit
everyone.
Always make an effort to **put yourself in the user's shoes**. When we
understand something thoroughly, it becomes evident to us. We may fail to think
understand something thoroughly, it becomes obvious to us. We may fail to think
about details relevant to a newcomer, but **good documentation meets users where
they are**. We should strive to explain each feature's capabilities or intended
uses with the most straightforward language possible.
they are**. We should explain each feature's capabilities or intended uses with
the most straightforward language possible.
Try to remember what you first needed to know when learning about the feature or
concept. What new terms did you need to learn? What confused you? What was the
@@ -85,13 +88,7 @@ practice explaining the feature before writing about it.
.. note::
Having programming foundations is a pre-requisite to use a complex engine
like Godot. Talking about variables, functions, or classes is acceptable.
But we should favor plain language over specific terminology like
Programming fundamentals are a prerequisite for using a complex engine like
Godot. Talking about variables, functions, or classes is acceptable. But we
should favor plain language over specific terminology like
"metaprogramming". If you need to use precise terms, be sure to define them.
When a page assumes knowledge of another engine feature, declare it at the
beginning and link to resources that cover what users need. You may also link to
other websites for pre-requisites beyond the documentation's scope. For example,
you could link to an introduction to programming in the getting started guide, or a
website that teaches math theory in the math section.