Guidelines

Here are guidelines to improve the quality of the guides and to make their structure more or less similar. The forum is the place to discuss suggestions to for further improvement of these guidelines

• Do not put any material on this site if the copyright notice for that material does not explicitly allow you to do so. We know it is annoying to start with this, but we have to stress this. Please also have a look at our General Policy as mentioned in the Terms of use.

• Content from a website or other source that you own If you choose to add content of your own, which is claimed to be protected by traditional copyright at the original source, for example your own website or blog, please clearly state in a comment under "in short the changes you made" that you grant the right to publish it under Creative Commons Share Alike – By "your name". You will find the option to comment "in short the changes you made" at the bottom of the edit-page of each item. The edit page is reached by clicking the edit-button at the bottom of any item-page..

• Users: Anyone can write, create and add pictures You can decide to do this anonymously, but that means that you will not be credited. If you decide to register as a user your name will be in printed copies of the guidebooks as well as on the website with every contribution you make to the guides.

• Imported information When a new destination is created in any of the guides some information from other Creative Commons or Public Use sites is imported automatically. You will find out what we mean by doing so. The information imported this way, is only meant as a "filler", since it is always easier to edit and add information then having to start from scratch. The idea is that the imported information will be replaced with newer information, as soon as possible. If you create a new destination (a town or a region) or decide to import/copy information manually from other Creative Commons or Public Use sites, please do not forget to mention the source (best is to mention the link), add the date and time of import and check if the information is imported correctly.

• British English is the language we prefer to use for the WritingTravellers project. This does not mean of course, that non-native speakers cannot contribute. Hopefully mistakes are corrected by native-speakers.

• The tone we would like to use on the WritingTravellers Project is informal, correct and positive. As you are enthusiast about travelling this should not be problem. Also very important: please try to be as objective as possible. This is not the place to mention bad experiences in hotels or restaurants. If the place is terrible, than don't mention it.

• Everyone can contribute, even if you have never travelled further than the place you live in! Locals know best!

• The WritingTravellers Project is a place for travellers to write, read and share travelling tips and experiences. The goal is to make worldwide, complete and up-to-date travel guide(s). Please keep in mind that this is not a travel diary, it’s purpose is to share practical travel information. Therefore, please avoid "I" and "we".

• The guides are not to become yellow pages and filled with all the spots. The aim is not to be complete in that sense: the idea is to get just the best and most special spots.

• What is a "good" item is not easy to explain but we will give it a try: When travelling, try to keep this in mind: Don’t be a tourists, be a writing traveller! We want to write about authentic places. Places where you can experience a country and its people best. Quality, humour, uniqueness, enjoying, local habits and sharing are important keywords. The guides preferably contain a mix of: budget with luxury, culture with nature, adventures with relaxation etc. In short: Reading your information will make other travellers want to go places, possibly tomorrow. Oh, and don’t forget to write about places off the beaten track.

• Use the English names for countries, regions, cities, etc.. So not Firenze but Florence.

• Notations We like you to use the following style of notations for time, money and telephone-numbers. Price: 3,50 Euro or 3,50 Dollar phone: +31 (0)20 1234567 and opening hours: 10:00 - 17:00. So use the 24 hours time format and not a.m. or p.m. When you mention days or months, please use the whole word: Tuesday instead of tue.

• For regions it is not so easy to say what is best. Our idea is that we should not invent new areas but that we should link to regions that are relevant to travellers. Please keep in mind that the purpose of everything you do is to help other travellers to find information. Also keep in mind that the regions you choose should be understandable by locals, since they will be asked for directions by our readers.

• Look at examples We aim to have the structure of the content of all the countries, region’s, towns and areas to sort of "look" the same, as this helps in finding information faster. To get an idea have a look at examples like the Netherlands and Amsterdam. There you can see what information you can find on what level. Sleeping and eating can only be found on a city level. Also, when you are wondering how to classify certain things, use the search tool and see how similar items are placed in other cities.

• Due to the structure of the guides it is important for you to know that titles of elements in the guides can ONLY be used once. They have to be unique. Therefore, for example, you will find Taj Mahal (Reason to go there) and Symbol of Love and Passion - Taj Mahal(detailed description of the sight).

• Pictures Try to refrain from uploading holiday pictures with clearly recognizable people on them. This could cause difficulties with portrait rights and it is not in line with the kind of information we want to provide. Pictures are a very important element in the guides, since a picture tells more than a thousand words. Bright colours and details make a better impression than greyish far distance pictures. Be aware that you cannot just copy pictures from anywhere on the web, as they are often copyright protected. If you think you have a better picture than the one you see in an existing article, add a comment with a link to your picture. So the original writer and others can decide together which picture is the best choice.

Thanks!

Marjolein Vegers, chief editor WritingTravellers.com