User:Amgine/SG Details

	Never use a Metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. Never use a long word where a short one will do (see Short words). If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out (see Unnecessary words). Never use the passive where you can use the active. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
—George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language", 1946

A style guide can, and should, cover the tiny details of a text publication, in an attempt to maintain a uniform set of methods and as a way to avoid disputes. But a style guide is always a guide - not a straitjacket.

A style guide includes rules, and special exceptions to rules, and niggling details as they are to be done in a specific context. For example, on Wikinews it is preferred to use the hyphen, -, rather than the n-dash (–) or the m-dash (—). The others aren't wrong, nor are they right, it's just that here it is preferable to use the normal hyphen. Solecisms, textual faux pas, common mis-spellings, misuses, and misconceptions might all be highlighted with the preferred method of handling, spelling, or avoiding problems in writing.

This particular collection is Amgine's Personal Style Guide Details - in no way is it complete, nor is it in any way related to policy on Wikinews. It may be useful for some editors, even hoped to be, but it is not presented with any claims for either usefulness or accuracy, and any browsing of it may be harmful to your physical, mental, or economic health (nor are the possible harms limited to those.)

So, use or not at your own risk.

Additional resources

• BBC Radio News Style Guide | BBC Academy: Style Guide
• Economist Style Guide
• Guardian style guide
• Karla's Guide to Citation Style Guides | U of Iowa: Journalism and Mass Communication Resources
• Guide to punctuation
• The Slot: A spot for copy editors