MTG Salvation

This section is a guide. There is no set formatting for your primer that you must follow, however, formatting your Primer can make it more presentable and can be a very strong asset in organizing and conveying your information. This guide will cover some basic visual concepts, and follows with some help and advice for using specific tags.

Now that you've written your content, how do you format it to get the best effect possible?

Excellent writing is broken up into easily digestible sections. Formatting and Organization is all about making these sections easily identifiable and separable. Much of what you read in the following write up, as well as the rather blatant examples may seem obvious to you when reading it. This is precisely the trap: some of these things seem so basic people forget to consider them or look at them when composing a piece. These will seem obvious to you when you read it, since these principles align with how human vision and psychology group physical objects. As a tidbit, in a very basic view, it's how your eyes and brain detect moving objects.

The human mind naturally groups objects by similarity, by proximity, and by motion. I don't want to go too heavily into the theory of it, but this Wikipedia article covers the basic concepts, and has useful images to illustrate the concepts.

The human eye and human mind tends to focus and group objects of a similar nature together. This is why we are able to track moving objects, and why our writing is separated from letters to words to paragraphs to papers, moving upwards in an organization hierarchy of larger groups of objects.

Take for example, the following text:


In this example some titles are apparent as they remain different enough from the surrounding text due to their length, however, nothing in this text pops out at the user to really separate and organize this content. Since the titles and text are not distinguishable through formatting, the content tends to bleed through each other and is harder to separate.


By making various titles similar in formatting, they are grouped together in terms of importance. By grouping lesser sub-header in a smaller format than the titles, those remain grouped together in importance, but are visually grouped in a lesser category from the titles. By grouping the following content closer to the title, and further from subsequent sections, content is grouped together with the relevant title. This all improves the readability of the text, and helps set apart the sections from each other while creating a set hierarchy of importance in the text.

In order to assign equal importance between various tiers of your writing, you should keep similar levels of importance equal: Titles should all be one size, sub-headers slightly smaller, and content level text as the basic default for your piece. This scheme should remain consistent through each section of your piece.


In the example on the left, both sub-headers are distinguishable from the following content, but due to the differences between both sets of content, there is no indication that they are of equal importance, organizational level, or even following the same thought, since they don't belong to the same group. The example on the right clearly sets both pieces of content on the same organizational level, classifying both sections as sub-headers underneath their parent section.

Now that you have your formatting for each level of your Primer together, you need to consider how to group content in relation to the title. Most languages read in a top to bottom manner, so content following a title will naturally be attributed to the title above it, however if you don't distinguish the title from the content above and below, it can look a little bland:


In this example, while the text "I typically hold off playing Nemata..." follows the Strategy header and is thus attributed to that section, the header itself has equal spacing above and below the element. This causes the title to have some visual bleed, and it doesn't pop out as much.

To counteract this, place grouped content together; the human eye and mind groups objects of closer proximity to each other within the same level of importance. This is what separates paragraphs from each other when you read, or words at a lower level.

Try putting extra separation from the preceding element, and less on the following element to make your titles pop out much more visibly:


Increasing separation between major elements allows for a cleaner break in sections, and better groups your similar ideas and content together. In the preceding example the extra line break before a title compared to after it helps group the title more closely with the following text. Furthermore, using less spacing on sub-headers reinforces the hierarchical structure.

To further separate the content from the threads, consider adding extra indention for the whitespace:

Bold
Bold text takes the form of [b]contained text[/b]. These tags make the contained text a heavier weight, and feel darker. It also makes the text feel heavier, and should be used sparingly within content. This emphasis can be detrimental to reading if applied to a large volume of text, but is excellent for showing strength or importance on a few words or a short phrase. It is good for separating titles, or for highlighting a few key words.


Underline
Underlining text takes the form of [u]contained text[/u]. Underlining text places a line below the text. This emphasis can be detrimental to reading if applied to a large volume of text, but is excellent for stressing importance of a few words or a short phrase, or for indicating separation from an element that follows it vertically. It is good for highlighting an important phrase or line, or for adding separation to titles.



Italics
Italicizing text takes the form of [i]contained text[/i]. Italics places the contained text into a more slanted version of the font (if supported by that font). This emphasis is severely detrimental to reading if applied to a large volume of text, but is excellent for emphasizing a vocal stress or intonation on a short phrase. It is excellent for indicating interactions of extreme importance.

Sizing tags take the form of [size=#]contained text[/size] where the # sign is replace with a numerical digit. These forums support sizes from 1 to 7, with the size of the standard text you type in between sizes 2 and 3. Here is a representation of sizes 1 through 7:


Sizing is mostly important for use of separating titles, as well as emphasizing sub headers. Size=1 can also be used for footnotes or image captions.

Adding colors to your text can make certain key words or titles really 'pop' out, and can make portions of your text more engaging. This comes with the caveat that changing colors, using too many colors, or coloring too large a block of text can significantly impair readability. This is compounded online since the forum allows users to choose from multiple skins, so various colors will have differing impacts on different users.

Also be aware that while most internet use is primarily of Western origin, the internet is a global tool, and this site has users from around the globe. Colors have certain meanings that are subconsciously connected to them, and these meanings can be different based on culture. For example the color white in Western cultures is typically associated with purity, cleanliness, marriage, and so on - yet in several Asian cultures, the color white can take on the meanings of Death, Sickness, Unhappiness, Funerals and ancestral spirits.

Here is a decent compilation as to some color meanings by culture: http://www.sibagraphics.com/colour.php

Also be aware of two other forum specific issues with specific colors: The first is that while dark text on light background is the default skin for the site layout, some users may choose to apply different skins for their browsing, which may impede some color use. The second is that bold red text is strictly reserved for moderator use. Use maroon or darkred instead.

Since there is an excellent Card and Deck Tag Explanation resource in the Community Discussion forums, this section will only cover basic use examples and primer specific guidelines.

Card tags provide the capability to link a card to the database, which also provides an overlay when that link is moused over. This can provide a quick reference for readers. Card tags take the form of [card]card name[/card] or the shorter [c]card name[/c]. It is also possible to change the linked text, or to link to specific versions of cards. Examples of the extended functionality can be found in the Card and Deck Tag Explanation.


Deck tags are used to add a decklist or other short list of cards to a primer, and basic and extended tag use is also covered in the Card and Deck Tag Explanation resource. Deck tags start with [deck] and end with [/deck] with cards added in between, line delineated, preceded by a card number. Lines without card numbers form titles.

A decklist is a mandatory part of a primer, and at least one decklist should be clearly visible and a prominent part of the primer. Decklists should use the deck tags to highlight, unless there is specific reason for avoiding the deck tags. Decks should be separated into clearly organized sections, such as by card type or by function. Each section should also be further organized, such as by converted mana cost or alphabetically. Since Commander decks can typically have only one of any given card, the quantity number can either be marked with a '1' or with the converted mana cost of the card to aid in decklists that sort by the converted mana cost.

While not required, additional decklists can add value to a primer. Some authors choose to include additional decklists, either to show the same list organized in a different manner, or to showcase subtle differences among different lists.

Images can be an excellent resource to use to break up the monotony of a large text-heavy document of a primer. Whether you include images of single cards, or custom graphics, images can help highlight important sections, cards, or even specific interactions. A word to the wise though - overuse of images can lead to clutter and business, and can in fact impede readability. Try to use images sparingly, where needed.

Also, do remember that all images must be linked from image hosting services, from the forums themselves, or from magiccards.info.

Image tags take the form of [img]url[/img] and will add the image specified at the url to the page. To make image tagging easier, the forum tools also include a Card Image tag, which takes the form of [cardimg]Card Name[/cardimg]. Note that the Card Image tags will also link the image to the card database, which also creates the overlay when hovered over.

Indenting text uses the space tags, which take teh form of: [space=30]conatined text[/space]. They are useful for separating text from the left most alignment and gives a degree of horizontal spacing. It can be used to separate text from titles more effectively.

Lists indent the contained text, as well as applies bullet points in front of contained points. Using Numlist as the tag will make the list increment numerically, rather than use a generic bullet point. A list tag looks like such:

Much like how spoilers and and quotes put pretty boxes around things, the same can be done with the [box]content[/box] tags. The basic [box] tag scales to fit the text inside. To set a specific size you want to box to remain, you can use the [boxvar=#] tag to set a numerical size in pixels.

To align text to one side or another, you can use the [LEFT]stuff[/LEFT], [CENTER]stuff[/CENTER], and [RIGHT]stuff[/RIGHT] tags:

In a number of Primers, you will see some text wrapping around an image, or people putting two deck lists side by side. This is accomplished using the [ float=direction] content [/float] tags. Floating an object to a side moves the content to that side of the screen, and then text and other content continues to flow around it. Be aware, that on larger monitors text will wrap later, resulting in less text, when you are floating objects pay close attention to your formatting, or results may look odd on different sized monitors.

Spoiler tags take the contained content and put it in a hidden container that a user must open to view the content. The initial purpose of them is to obscure information which could spoil the plot of a movie/book/discussion, thereby allowing the reader the choice to see see potentially revealing information.


The ability to hide information though can be extremely valuable when writing a long document like a primer. When you have an already large document, the capability to add interaction and hide information that is only needed "on demand" can be a great asset though. Be sure that the information is "on demand" though; forcing a user to interact to reach needed information is troublesome and impedes reading. Further, since the user has no indication of the hidden content, such as the length of content, or organizational structure of headers, they have no indication as to the quantity, depth, or importance of the content. This should be demonstrated in the text or surroundings of the spoiler in the preceding text.

Generally speaking, these are good generic rules to follow when using spoilers:

• If it's something the majority of users will be opening anyways, leave it open (for example: intro, decklist, why play this general).
• If it is crucially important to your decklist, strategy, or generally needs to be read, leave it open (for example: crucial combos, decklist, strategy).
• If it's extra information, that does not need to be read, but is there for those interested in something more in depth, spoiler it (for example: nitty gritty details of how specific combos work, extra information regarding specific cards, changelog, personal bio).
• If it's really, really long, and should be hidden to prevent a person from scrolling 3 miles to skip it, spoiler it (for example: Card options).

A heavy rule creates a thick line to separate portions of your text. The [hr] tags surround a color word to create a thick line of that color:


A heavy rule can be used to separate major sections of text, or to isolate a header or footer to your post.

Tables of Content are a great tool for identifying to readers what sections you have, so they can skip ahead to what they want to read. Linking the table of contents gives the readers the additional shortcut to go directly to the content they want. In HTML, you can link to a specific part of a page using anchors, these forums have implemented this functionality in with two lesser known tags. [alink=] and [anchor=].

The Anchor tag specifies an endpoint for the link to go to, and will highlight the contained text in red, while the Alink tag will create a link that goes to the corresponding anchor, for example, creating this pair of tags:


Will create the word Spoilers that will highlight as if a link when you hover over it (try it on that one). That word is assigned the target called "asdf." Then when you create the corresponding link tag to that target, clicking the link will bring you to that word:

To the word "Spoiler!"

I found the anchors to be a bit exact, and the mouseover change to a bit annoying (apparently the [anchor=] tags require content between the opening and closing tags), so I personally prefer to put my anchors on the line above, and making them nearly invisible by floating a period to the right.


Check it out in my Nemata Primer - tiny periods are floating on the right side of the page; those are my anchors. This was my way of getting around making all of my titles turn red when you hover over them, as well as not having the links put the text directly flush with the top of the screen.

To complete the Table of contents that I created, I put all of the links into a list, and then put the entire assembly into a box. You can also see that same structure used in this very document as well.