Format Guide for Atlantic.Net What-Is Articles

Introduction

If you think you’d like to write for Atlantic.Net, you should start by completing our signup form if you haven’t already.

What Is articles for Atlantic.Net should conform to the standards indicated in the sections below:

Sections (including Introduction, Target Audience, and the Tutorial itself)
Format (Markdown or simple HTML)
Images/Screenshots
Original Work

Please also review our style guide for additional guidance.

 

Sections

Each What-Is article should begin with the Target Audience section, indicated with H5 headers. Target Audience should specify what level of experience or knowledge you assume the reader should possess to understand the topic you will be writing about. The minimum experience level for the Target Audience of a What-Is article should be entry-level IT professionals. Any topics that assume a reader is familiar with the material covered in another Atlantic.Net article can be linked here.

Example:

Target Audience

This article assumes you are familiar with the basic concepts behind the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). For a refesher, check out this primer on the basics of public key cryptography.

 

After the Target Audience should be the Introduction section, which briefly describes the scope of the article. The word “Introduction” should be contained within H3 headers.

The bulk of the article follows the Introduction.

 

Format

What-Is articles for Atlantic.Net can be submitted in Markdown or simple HTML.

Supported text formatting: header text, code blocks, inline code (for commands and keystrokes), italics (for variables), and bold (for emphasis).

 

Headers

H1 should be used for the title of the article. The title should always be the first part of any article.

H2 should be used for significant sections of the article.

H3 should be used for “Introduction,” “Target Audience,” and subsections.

 

Code Blocks

What-Is articles should avoid using code or code blocks (this usage is more prevalent in a How-To article). However, if you highlight what code related to your topic looks like, it should be enclosed in a code block.

 

If referencing code inline, you may use the code tag. This use should be confined to referring to a portion of code whose form or function is relevant to the topic. Bear in mind that the goal of most What-Is articles is not to teach someone how to accomplish a task but to explain in a more general sense a concept related to technology.

Example:

The common heritage of UNIX that many subsequent operating systems share is evident in some of the commands that they all share, such as cp for copy.

 

Variable/custom information format

Variables or host-specific information should be rare in a What-Is article. However, variables or custom configuration entries (such as hostnames) should be italicized if the need arises. Our parser will also tint all italicized entries green.

 

Emphasis

If you’d like to indicate emphasis, use bold.

 

Keystrokes

When it comes to referencing keystrokes inline with the text, enclose them in a code span. Again, this sort of inclusion should be infrequent in a What-Is article.

Example:

The Enter key may still be called the Return key on some keyboards, harkening back to its usage on typewriters to indicate a carriage return.

For keystrokes requiring multiple keys to be pressed simultaneously, use a plus sign (+) between keys.

Example:

The keystroke combination of Ctrl+Alt+Del gained, in some circles, the moniker of “the three-finger salute”.

 

Images

We encourage using images and screenshots to help illuminate many of the points that may be brought up in a What-Is topic. Images should have a maximum width of 730 pixels. You may create the image yourself or use an image that is licensed for reuse under a license such as Creative Commons, for instance.

Please include a link to the image using the URL where it is currently hosted. Articles accepted for publication will have all associated images downloaded and hosted on our servers. Along with images, we require the following:

Image Name: format anet-articlename-## (where the ## is replaced by a number, e.g., anet-what_is_a_vpn-01).
Alt-Text: a brief description of the image if it does not load.
Caption: a brief description appearing beneath the image.
Attribution: if using an image licensed for reuse, including the appropriate attribution information (title, author, source, license, etc.)

Any uniquely identifiable information should be obscured, preferably through the use of prominent placeholder names (such as “example.com” or “192.168.0.2”).

 

Original Work

All articles written for Atlantic.Net must be original works. Atlantic.Net will not tolerate plagiarism or the reuse of previously existing work.

Similarly, all images and screenshots should also be unique, excepting those images whose use properly abides by an appropriately attributed license.

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