Who does what and where

These guidelines describe how the Signpost team works together to produce the publication.

The content guidelines explain what we write, the style guidelines explain how we write it, and these coordination guidelines explain how we go about doing it.

Regular features in the Newsroom[edit]

The Newsroom is the central hub of the Signpost project. All features are brought together in the main table, with links to the "Next Issue" pages, links to content guidance and resource pages and all relevant discussions. The general discussion of the Newsroom also takes place here, in order to have everything related to the next issue of the Signpost visible at a single glance.

All regular features are started by their assigned writers in the Newsroom by clicking the "Start Article" button. Following that, the piece is developed until the writer marks it "Ready for copyedit" on the main Newsroom page, after which a Copyeditor will copyedit the piece. An Editor will then mark it ready for publication.

Irregular features on the Submissions desk[edit]

Irregular features and those not written by regular members of the Signpost team should first be posted to the Submissions desk, where team members will provide feedback and criticism. Once an editor has given their OK, the piece can be added to the main Newsroom page.

First-time writers should first read through the Quick Start page.

Tips and feedback[edit]

Article tips may be submitted at the Suggestions page. Section editors browse through the page for each edition and decide whether a suggestion will be included. Note: A suggestion does not need to have any written text, but can also just consist of a link to the relevant information. Suggestions will be developed by the relevant regular team member.

General feedback and ideas should be directed to the Signpost talk page.

For the current occupants of these positions, see the About page.

Writers[edit]

Writers are those who actually write the Signpost and their responsibility is to provide content for publication. Their contributions can be regular or irregular, or even one-time user submissions. Sometimes, writers also maintain another position in the Signpost. All writer content is subject to editorial oversight before publication, including those written by members of the editorial board.

Copyeditors[edit]

Copyeditors are not full-time editors, but are rather responsible for correcting spelling, grammar, and other minor changes.

Editors[edit]

Editors are responsible for taking the articles, drafts, and suggestions provided to the Signpost by regular and irregular writers and turning them into a publishable next issue. All members of the editorial board are editors, but the News and Features editors take most of the responsibility.

For each issue, the editors:

• Edit: They check the content of upcoming articles to make sure they're not saying anything insane. If there are dedicated copyeditors, copyediting can be left to them; otherwise, the regular editors will have to take over that as well.
• Solicit: They seek new writers for irregular features and replacement writers for regular ones. They also ask users involved in discussions if they want to write an Op-Ed, leaders of WikiProjects if they want their project featured, and solicit other users on other matters.
• Remind: They ensure the regular writers fulfill their duties. This includes reminding yourself.
• Approve: They approve each article for publication. Normally, News and Features editors do this for their own articles, but this can change.
• Manage: They clean up the Newsroom, Submissions, and Suggestions pages after each issue.

Editor-in-Chief[edit]

The editor(s)-in-chief has or have responsibility for executing the overall Signpost mission as outlined in our statement of purpose. Ultimate responsibility for the project rests squarely on the shoulders of the editor(s)-in-chief, but though they coordinate the overall project (and are, usually, the lead editors of at least one of the Signpost's regular columns), they cannot handle all tasks alone and depend on the assistance of the project's many other contributors.

For each issue, the editor(s)-in-chief:

• Assume(s) normal editorial duties; and
• give(s) the final okay for publication of the issue.

While editor-in-chief is a volunteer role like any other, its centralized responsibilities mean that (unusually for wikis) it can become a serious bottleneck that may even endanger the continuation of the entire publication. There is thus an expectation that the editor(s)-in-chief should

1. Give notice before going on a longer wikibreak, or when leaving the EiC post entirely
2. Be responsive to questions about information that's essential for others on the Signpost team to continue work on the Signpost and is only available to the EiC(s), within a reasonable timeframe
3. Accept the possibility of replacement after prolonged inactivity: After an extended period of unresponsiveness to Signpost-related questions and lack of any Signpost-related public activity, the rest of the Signpost team may look to appoint a new editor-in-chief.
4. Keep credentials shared: Making sure that access to any official Signpost-branded accounts or services (e.g. the official Twitter account and Facebook page, cf. documentation) remains shared so that it won't be lost in case of unexpected departures.

Editor Emeritus[edit]

Editor(s)-in-chief who have stepped down from overall responsibility but who maintain a presence at the project are given this title. Editor(s) Emeritus do not have any formal responsibilities, but help out with the general process of producing the Signpost.

Publication Manager[edit]

Signpost publication is a complex and multi-step semi-automated procedure; preparing to publish and then actually publishing each issue are the primary responsibilities of the publication manager.

For each issue, the publication manager:

• initiates the publication script after the final okay from the editor-in-chief.

Outreach Manager[edit]

Outreach managers assist the editor(s)-in-chief with managing the Signpost tip lines, handling the occasional Signpost reader surveys, and maintaining the Signpost's official email and social media accounts.

Upon publication of a new Signpost issue, outreach managers announce it in various external channels (see also instructions at Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Newsroom/Resources#Manual_off-wiki_tasks):

• Twitter: Send one or more tweets from @wikisignpost.
  • As of June 2022, people with access to the Twitter handle include The ed17, HaeB, EpicPupper and JPxG.
• Mastodon: Send one or more posts from @WikiSignpost@wikis.world.
  • As of May 2023, tweets are automatically cross-posted on Mastodon (without images)
  • As of December 2022, people with access to the Mastodon handle include HaeB, JPxG, The ed17 and EpicPupper.
• Facebook: As of November 2022, the Signpost's Facebook page automatically mirrors the Twitter feed (via an IFTTT applet).
  • As of November 2022, the people with access to the page are The ed17 (as administrator), HaeB, Evad37 and JPxG.
  • Separately, it may also be worth posting in the popular "Wikipedia Weekly" group, which has to be done from a personal account (example).
• Mailing list: Send an announcement from the official wikipediasignpost Gmail account to the WikimediaAnnounce-l list (example), using the pre-generated output here.
  • This posting should (after approval by that list's moderators) automatically forward to the Wikimedia-l list as well. However, this sometimes fails (phab:T115300). In that case it might be worth posting to Wikimedia-l directly.
  • As of 2022, people with access to the wikipediasignpost Gmail account include The ed17, Chris troutman and EpicPupper.