Guide Update SOP

MAST Guide Update Subteam

To outline the process under which a member of staff may alter the various staff-controlled guides on the SCP Foundation Wiki.

Ensure that official staff resources tagged as guide are as up-to-date as possible.
The maintenance of this SOP.
Propose and carry out improvements to existing guides.
Propose and draft new guides.
Retire, repurpose, or otherwise handle redundant, outdated, or undesirable pages tagged as guide.
Maintain the Guide Hub and Comprehensive Guide Hub.
Per the above responsibilities, it is recommended that members of the Guide Update subteam at least be operational staff.

Includes routine small-scale changes made to guides, including SPAG fixes, specific rewordings, reflecting policy changes, etc.
Consult with the Section Head if you are unsure if a change is minor or not. Minor updates do not require 05 approval before implementation. The Section Head will make a judgment call on if an update is substantial enough to require an 05 thread or if it can simply be implemented.
Always comment on the nature of an update in the "description of changes" box.

Includes any changes made to guides that have been deemed significant enough to require 05 approval before implementation by the Section Head.
Efforts should be made to contact the author of a guide in the event that they are still an active member of staff to discuss the original goals of the guide and how those goals may have shifted over time.
Efforts should be made to contact the relevant teams affected by a guide whenever applicable.
The Section Head (or the proposing staffer with permission, should they so choose) will post a discussion thread going over the proposed changes, the reasons for them, and providing a copy of a sandbox containing the changes. A discussion thread should be open for at least 3 days, open to comment from all levels of staff, junior staff included.
Any suggested changes from the 05 thread should be implemented, with approval from the Section Head for more substantial changes (determined at the author's discretion).
A major update can be implemented once the suggested changes have been made so long as there are no major concerns or objections to the guide from the rest of staff. In the event that changes cannot be implemented due to this, the update will return to the drafting phase and the approval process will repeat until successful or abandoned.
Example 05 Thread: http://05command.wikidot.com/forum/t-14214641/discussion-reworking-the-guide-hub-into-a-required-reading-h

Ideas for new guides should be brought to the Section Head as they come up so that work can begin as soon as possible.
The Section Head (or the proposing staffer with permission, should they so choose) will post a discussion thread going over the proposed guide, the reasons for posting it, and providing a copy of the sandbox containing the proposed guide. A discussion thread should be open for at least a week, open to comment from all levels of staff, junior staff included.
Any suggested changes from the 05 thread should be implemented, with approval from the Section Head for more substantial changes (determined at the author's discretion).
A new guide can be posted once the suggested changes have been made as long as there are no major concerns or objections to the guide from the rest of staff. In the event that changes cannot be implemented due to this, the guide will return to the drafting phase and the approval process will repeat until successful or abandoned.
Example 05 Thread: http://05command.wikidot.com/forum/t-14111687/mast-guide-update-tag-guide

Calls to change the tags on a guide are not common. Generally, the transition will be both initiated and handled by the Section Head in conjunction with any relevant staff to the guide in question.
A former guide will face one of four possible fates as determined by staff:
- deletion
- movement to the archived: category
- conversion to an essay
- a transfer of responsibility to another staff team via a change in tags
In order to relinquish a page from staff control, a weeklong 05 discussion thread explaining the situation is required, open to all levels of staff. A weeklong vote may be held if staff are divided about the change or if multiple options are on the table.
The Guide Hub and/or Comprehensive Guide Hub must be updated to reflect any changes in guide status. This should be done by the staff member who altered the tags or moved the page.

In addition to the standard duties of a Section Head, the Section Head of the Guide Update subteam is responsible for the following:

Assuming responsibility for all changes made to official guides.
Ensuring that all guide pages remain locked when not being actively worked on.
Final approval of all changes, rewrites, new guides, and releases before presentation to 05 Command, subject to veto power by the Captain(s) of MAST.
Creation (or the delegation thereof) of 05 threads pertaining to the update, addition, or removal of a guide.
Implementation of (or the delegation thereof) 05-sanctioned actions.
General availability to the rest of staff for guide-related inquiries.
The Section Head of the Guide Update subteam requires the rank of Wiki Moderator in order to properly carry out their duties.
In the event that the Section Head is unreachable, the Vice-Captain(s) or Captain(s) of MAST may approve or deny all courses of action in their stead.

page revision: 29, last edited: 04 Oct 2021 05:05

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