Introduction
Players are welcome to contribute their own in-depth articles to Mizahar's lore. These can be skill write-ups, new creatures, worlds for Summoners to access, and far more besides. Development can be incredibly fun and rewarding, teach you a great deal in the process of researching your subject, and earn you a Lore Author Medal as well!
If you wish to contribute to Mizahar's lore, please ensure your idea fits these criteria:
• It MUST be a fully original article. DO NOT post concepts ripped off from other fantasy worlds, books, movies, videogames, etc. -- they will be summarily denied. For more technical articles, such as skills, do not plagiarize material from other sites or books.
• It MUST fit Mizahar's established mythology and history.
• It should NOT be a new race, city, magic, god, gnosis, or religious faction article. These are chiefly developed by the Founders. You may ask the Founders for permission to develop one of these, but don't be surprised if you don't get it; there's a great deal in the game already.
• Any development of locations should first receive domain or regional storyteller approval.
• Contributors must limit themselves to developing ONE article at a time. Once it is finished, you may seek permission to write another.
These articles cover article originality and development in more detail. Please read them prior to submitting any proposals.
Article Submission Process
In order to get your article into Mizahar's lore, you must follow this process:
Abandoned Article Policy
When an article proposal is accepted, development of that article is reserved to the player(s) who proposed it. Some articles can be written quickly; others take time to research and compose. Thus, there is no absolute time limit for completing the article. However, authors are expected to be working on the article for the duration, and activity will be monitored.
Critiques
When posting a potential article to the World Development Forum, you are soliciting PUBLIC feedback, critique, and inviting discussion. Founders, staff, and players will post to your articles and will point out flaws, weaknesses, or areas that lack attention to detail. This is a critique. Remember, the definition of a critique in this context is a critical review of a written piece of work. We are not critiquing people because we enjoy pointing out their mistakes. We are instead critiquing them because we hold our Wiki entries to a high standard and expect when people develop material for Mizahar that they comply to these standards as well.
Anyone can help review an article. However, just saying something is 'great' is not really helpful when the piece needs work. Helpful feedback consists of opinions on material, suggestions for improvements of grammar, spelling, punctuation. Polite disagreements of outlined material are also helpful but please provide evidence as to why you disagree.
Collaboration on articles is also appreciated and encouraged. Team effort can often generate more elaborate and effective material. Discussion threads posted in the World Development Forum prior to starting development can also be incredibly helpful and are encouraged. Participation in the World Development Forum can be challenging and incredibly rewarding to anyone remotely interested in contributing and volunteering to see the game grow and expand.
And most importantly, have fun!
The Founders, Storytellers, and Scribes
Players are welcome to contribute their own in-depth articles to Mizahar's lore. These can be skill write-ups, new creatures, worlds for Summoners to access, and far more besides. Development can be incredibly fun and rewarding, teach you a great deal in the process of researching your subject, and earn you a Lore Author Medal as well!
If you wish to contribute to Mizahar's lore, please ensure your idea fits these criteria:
• It MUST be a fully original article. DO NOT post concepts ripped off from other fantasy worlds, books, movies, videogames, etc. -- they will be summarily denied. For more technical articles, such as skills, do not plagiarize material from other sites or books.
• It MUST fit Mizahar's established mythology and history.
• It should NOT be a new race, city, magic, god, gnosis, or religious faction article. These are chiefly developed by the Founders. You may ask the Founders for permission to develop one of these, but don't be surprised if you don't get it; there's a great deal in the game already.
• Any development of locations should first receive domain or regional storyteller approval.
• Contributors must limit themselves to developing ONE article at a time. Once it is finished, you may seek permission to write another.
These articles cover article originality and development in more detail. Please read them prior to submitting any proposals.
Article Submission Process
In order to get your article into Mizahar's lore, you must follow this process:
- Pre-Approval Phase: Submit an application to develop your article using the the Article Proposal Form. This must include a summary paragraph and detailed outline of your proposed article. You may continue developing only after Staff have approved the proposal. The proposal needs to be posted in the Lore Workshop and it is there that you will get approval. After the proposal is approved you should continue to use that thread in the next phase.
- First Draft Phase: Develop the first draft of your article. Notes, references, and drafts may be kept in the Lore Workshop. Again, use the same thread that you used to get your proposal.
- Peer Review Phase: When you have a COMPLETE first draft prepared, repost the article in the Peer Review forum with [Peer Review] in the thread title. If the article is not complete, then it is not ready for peer review. You must link back to the original article proposal at the top of this thread. The article will remain in Peer Review until at least five substantial reviews have been given to the article. Reviewers should describe their likes and dislikes, anything which needs elaboration, and/or why they feel it is strong as it stands. "Looks good!" and similar comments are not substantive reviews. There must be at least one review for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. More than five reviews may be warranted if the reviewers find numerous and/or substantial flaws with the article. The author must give due consideration to their critiques and edit the article as appropriate in response to reviews.
- Founder Review Phase: After all necessary Peer Reviews have been obtained and appropriate edits made to the article, repost the revised version in the Founder Review forum with [Founder Review] in the thread title. You must link back to your original proposal at the top of the thread. At least one Founder needs to critique the article. If Founders request changes to the article, you must post a revised version in the same thread and get further feedback from them.
- Wiki Addition Phase: Once an "Article Approved" Stamp (shown below) has been posted in the Founder Review thread, you or another player with wiki permissions (e.g. any Scribe) can add your article to the wiki. It is now part of Mizahar's lore. Congratulations!
Abandoned Article Policy
When an article proposal is accepted, development of that article is reserved to the player(s) who proposed it. Some articles can be written quickly; others take time to research and compose. Thus, there is no absolute time limit for completing the article. However, authors are expected to be working on the article for the duration, and activity will be monitored.
- Activity Check: If an article goes two months without evident development, the author will receive a PM asking if they're still working on the article. Posts and edits in the Lore Workshop, Peer Review, and Founder Review forums all count as activity. If all edits have been completed and the article is only waiting for reviews, a grace period may be given. However, particularly for the Peer Review stage, the author should be making an effort to recruit reviewers.
- Response Period: If the author does not reply to an activity check PM within two weeks, the article will be considered abandoned.
- Repeated Inactivity: If the author goes idle a second time (two more months without edits), the article will be considered abandoned.
- Account Retirement: If the author's account is retired, the article will be considered abandoned. In the case of a voluntary character retirement, the author should arrange in advance to transfer the article to an alt, if they want to continue working on it.
- Abandoned Articles: Any abandoned article may be picked up by another author through the same proposal process as for new articles.
Critiques
When posting a potential article to the World Development Forum, you are soliciting PUBLIC feedback, critique, and inviting discussion. Founders, staff, and players will post to your articles and will point out flaws, weaknesses, or areas that lack attention to detail. This is a critique. Remember, the definition of a critique in this context is a critical review of a written piece of work. We are not critiquing people because we enjoy pointing out their mistakes. We are instead critiquing them because we hold our Wiki entries to a high standard and expect when people develop material for Mizahar that they comply to these standards as well.
Anyone can help review an article. However, just saying something is 'great' is not really helpful when the piece needs work. Helpful feedback consists of opinions on material, suggestions for improvements of grammar, spelling, punctuation. Polite disagreements of outlined material are also helpful but please provide evidence as to why you disagree.
Collaboration on articles is also appreciated and encouraged. Team effort can often generate more elaborate and effective material. Discussion threads posted in the World Development Forum prior to starting development can also be incredibly helpful and are encouraged. Participation in the World Development Forum can be challenging and incredibly rewarding to anyone remotely interested in contributing and volunteering to see the game grow and expand.
And most importantly, have fun!
The Founders, Storytellers, and Scribes
These instructions adapted from the process originally posted by Gossamer.
