Inline Submission and Moderation Guidelines

📋 Summary

Add clear, accessible submission and moderation guidelines directly within the Games Database interface to ensure consistency and reduce confusion.

❗ Problem

Current guidelines for submissions and moderation are difficult to find, outdated, or buried in forum posts. This leads to:

• Inconsistent moderation decisions across contributors

• Confusion around what is considered acceptable data or media

• Frequent disputes over naming conventions, regions, and media types

• New contributors struggling to understand expectations

• Repeated mistakes that could be avoided with clearer guidance

This lack of visibility contributes heavily to moderator burnout and declining contribution quality.

💡 Proposal

Introduce inline guidelines directly within the Games Database UI, available during both submission and moderation.

• Display contextual guidance when editing fields (e.g. Developer, Publisher, Region, Image Type)

• Provide clear examples and best practices for common scenarios

• Include rules for:

  • Naming conventions

  • Region tagging

  • Media categorisation

  • Handling fanart vs official assets

• Add quick access links to full documentation where needed

🧩 Use Cases

• A contributor adding a new game can immediately see correct naming conventions

• A moderator reviewing media can reference guidelines without leaving the page

• Users unsure about region tagging can quickly confirm the correct approach

• New contributors can onboard without needing to search forum posts

📦 Benefits

• Improves consistency and quality of submissions

• Reduces moderation conflicts and subjective decision-making

• Speeds up onboarding for new contributors

• Decreases reliance on external documentation and forum discussions

• Helps align the community around a shared standard

⚠️ Considerations

• Guidelines should be concise and easy to scan

• More detailed rules can be linked out to full documentation

• Content should be regularly maintained and updated

✅ Outcome

Providing clear, inline guidance ensures contributors and moderators are aligned, reducing confusion and improving the overall quality and consistency of the Games Database.