User:Gatoclass/SB/Preparing updates

All users are encouraged to help out at DYK by preparing updates in the DYK preparation areas. Since the preparation of suitably balanced updates can at times be daunting for even the most experienced updaters, this page is provided as a guide to creating the best possible updates with the least possible fuss.

Overview

Updates are created by the promotion of individual hooks from T:TDYK to one of the prep areas, T:DYK/P1 or T:DYK/P2. These pages can also be accessed from the Queue master page, T:DYK/Q. An additional prep area, T:DYK/PE, is also available if both the usual prep areas are already full.

The currently accepted number of hooks per update is eight, although the total number of hooks can be increased if all the hooks are short, or reduced if one or two of the hooks are exceptionally long. The basic goal is to have the bottom of the DYK update align with the bottom of the "On This Day" section on the righthand side of the mainpage; however, since updates can take 48 hours or more to make it to the main page from prep, updaters should usually just prepare a standard eight-hook update and leave later adjustments, if necessary, to someone else.

Principles of a balanced update

A good update consists of a selection of hooks that represent the widest possible variety both of subject areas and geographic regions. It should also contain an appropriate balance between biography hooks and non-biography hooks. However, since certain topic areas are written about with greater frequency than others, updates must also represent topic areas in proportion to their representation in the pool of available hooks.

If you find the following principles hard to remember, don't worry - a simple formula for preparing updates according to these principles is included in the next section.

As about half the available hooks at any one time are biography hooks, it is usually appropriate to have about half the hooks in every update be biography hooks. This will mean four biography hooks in a standard eight-hook update. An update can have less than four biography hooks, but it should never have more than four, except when there are so many biography hooks at T:TDYK that it is plain some updates with more than four bio hooks will be necessary.

Similarly, about half the available hooks are usually related to the United States, so again it's generally a good rule of thumb to have about half the hooks in your update be U.S. related. As with biography hooks, it is acceptable to have less than half the hooks on U.S.-related topics but there should never be more than half U.S.-related hooks unless absolutely unavoidable.

Since British-related hooks are also quite common, it is also acceptable to have more than one British-related hook in an update. There should probably not be more than two British-related hooks in any given update. ALL other countries should not have more than one hook per update, with the possible exception of Canada.

Certain topic areas occur frequently. An update should try and include one hook from each of these frequent topic areas. Also, in a standard eight-hook update, you should never have more than two hooks from any one of these topic areas. The topic areas are:

Sports related. If selecting more than one sports hook, make sure they are not hooks about the same sport;
War or military related;
Non-military history;
Arts-related. This can be fine arts or popular arts/entertainment. If you select two arts-related hooks, try to select one of each;
Building, structure or locality. If selecting more than one such hook, try to make sure that only one is a building hook and the other is either a structure or locality hook;
Biology, ie hook about a species, species family and so on. If selecting more than one species hook, make sure they are not for similar species, ie, don't select two hooks about trees, or mushrooms, or birds.
Hard science or technology hook, if available.

The first hook is always a "picture" hook, that is, a hook which includes a picture. Updaters should give priority to hooks with the best pictures for this slot. If there are no particularly good pictures, select a hook which (bold)links to a good article, or alternatively just select a good hook. Ideally, the lead hook should have all three attributes, ie be a good hook and have a good picture and associated article, but it's rarely possible to have all three, so it is usually necessary to make a selection based on the given priority.

The last hook should always be a quirky or funny hook if there is one available. If not, pick one that is just upbeat. "Quirky" in this context also means quirky-upbeat, not quirky-downbeat. Just as professional media outlets end a news bulletin with an upbeat story, ending an update with a quirky, funny or upbeat hook rounds an update off nicely, while a good hook in this slot can also go a long way toward disguising an otherwise humdrum update.

Formula for preparing updates

Trying to juggle all these different concerns can be daunting even to an experienced updater, let alone a novice. Fortunately, experience shows that a balanced update can usually be created by following some relatively simple formula. What follows is one such formula. As you gain more experience, you will probably eventually develop a formula of your own, but in the meantime this one should prove helpful.

Firstly, have a piece of paper handy with the following list on it:

Building/structure/locality hook
Species hook
War or military related
Non-military history
Arts hook
Sports hook

Biography hook #1
Biography hook #2
Biography hook #3
Biography hook #4

U.S.-related hook #1
U.S.-related hook #2
U.S.-related hook #3
U.S.-related hook #4

As you follow the following sequence, cross one or more items off the list for each hook you promote. This will help you figure out what kinds of hooks you haven't included in the update yet. As you promote hooks, you can also add the related nationality of each hook you promote, if not U.S.-related, to the list. Remember that you want no more than two British or Canadian hooks in each update, and no more than one hook related to any other nationality, so as you reach the respective number for each country, you will know not to promote any more hooks about that country to your update.

Select your lead (picture) hook. Selecting the lead hook first tends to give an identity to an update around which you can build.

Select your quirky hook (you can leave this to later if your prefer).

Now select your four biography hooks. If either the lead or quirky were already biography, or both of them were, you only need two or three more biography hooks respectively. Space out your biography hooks so that none of them are adjacent to one another.

You are already well on your way to completing the update. Now you just need to look at which items on the list above you have still not crossed out and look for some hooks which are about those subjects.

Once you have selected your eight hooks, shuffle them around if necessary to ensure that there are no odd juxtapositions, ie no funny hooks next to tragic ones etc., and preferably no biography or country-related hooks adjacent. (Of course, you can't move the quirky or lead, just the others).

Congratulations! You have just completed your first update - hopefully the first of many!