Contribution guidelines

These aren't rules enforced by software: they're the habits that keep a community wiki useful. When in doubt, edit boldly; everything is versioned and nothing is ever lost.

Describe, don't prescribe

• Write what dancers actually do and what is commonly taught, not what you believe is correct. “Most teachers cue the tuck on 3” beats “the tuck must happen on 3.”
• When scenes disagree, say so. Disagreement is information, not a problem to resolve.
• Prefer video evidence over assertion: link a clip with timestamps.

Roles, not genders

• Write about leaders and followers. Never assume the gender of either. Anyone can dance either role, and at most events plenty of people do.
• Use they/them for a generic dancer: “the follower turns under their own arm,” not “under her arm.”
• Terms like “the man's side” or “the ladies' line” appear in older curricula. If a historical name matters, record it as an alias and explain it, but write the description itself in role language.
• When labeling videos, the leader/follower tags describe who danced which role in that clip, nothing more.

Words we use

• A move is anything with a page here: patterns, elements, footwork units, styling. A pattern means specifically a led figure with counts, so a whip is a pattern but swivels are not. Use whichever is accurate in your writing.
• A clip is a timestamped video segment showing a move, whether added directly to a move page or by marking a move in a dance.

Variants: parameters vs. patterns

• Handholds and minor parameterizations (two-hand vs. right-to-left vs. right-to-right, one-hand styling, a different exit) belong in a “Common variations” section of the move's description: they're parameters of the pattern, not new patterns.
• When a clip shows a specific variant, say so in the clip's note(“two-hand hold”, “R2R, hand-change exit”). Notes show on the clip card, so learners can find an example of the exact variant.
• A variant earns its own page only when it has its own skeleton: new geometry, counts, or skill (Basket Whip yes; two-hand sugar push no). Link it with a variation-of relation.

Names and aliases

• Names collide across scenes and eras. That's a feature. Pick the most widely recognized name for the page title and list every other name you've heard as an alternative name.
• One page per pattern. If you think two pages describe the same move, raise it in the discussion section rather than blanking either page.

Which dances to register

• Register competition spotlights only: moments where one couple dances alone for the crowd, like Jack & Jill and Strictly finals in spotlight format, routines, and showcases. Social-floor footage and all-skate heats, where nobody chose to be featured, don't belong here.
• You can always register a dance you danced in yourself.
• You can register spotlights of All-Star and Champion dancers without asking: dancing a spotlight at that level is a public performance, and studying those dances is what this site is for.
• For dancers below All-Star, get permission from both dancers before registering their dance. A newcomer or novice spotlight is often a personal memory, not a performance they expect to be studied move by move.
• The consent rules below apply on top of all of this: the video itself must still come from one of the dancers or from the event.

Video consent

• Only link a video if it was uploaded by one of the dancers in it or by the event where it was filmed, or if you have the dancer's explicit permission. Someone else's upload of someone else's dancing doesn't qualify, even when it's public.
• Instructional videos that were properly shared on YouTube by their creators are welcome for explaining a move: tutorials are published to be watched. Cite them in a move's “Learn more” section or link them as clips.
• Don't link workshop recaps. Recap videos are recorded for the attendees' personal review and are generally not meant to be shared. That stays true even when someone has uploaded one publicly.
• See a video that breaks these rules? Use the Report link on the clip or dance. Admins review every report. And if you appear in a linked video and want it removed, report it or say so in the discussion thread. It will be taken down, no questions asked.

Editing well

• Leave an edit summary: one sentence about what you changed and why. Future editors (including future you) will thank you.
• Improve rather than replace. If a description has a wrong detail, fix the detail; wholesale rewrites erase other contributors' perspectives.
• Disagree in the discussion thread, not by revert-warring. Every page has one.
• Videos of yourself or your students are welcome when they genuinely demonstrate the move. This is a reference, not an ad. Label dancers and events accurately.

Writing for learners

• Lead with the shape (counts, geometry, connection), then technique notes, then common variations and mistakes. Look at Sugar Push for the house pattern.
• Say which counts things happen on: “the redirection on 3&4” is teachable; “then you redirect” isn't.
• Markdown is supported: use ## headings, lists, and bold sparingly.
• Cross-link other moves inline with double brackets: [[Sugar Push]] links the move by name (aliases work too), and [[Sugar Push|sugar pushes]] customizes the shown text. Unknown names render as plain text, so links never break.
• Cite specific claims Wikipedia-style with footnotes: write most teachers cue the tuck on 3[^1] in the text, and [^1]: Skippy Blair, Dance Terminology Notebook (links welcome) on its own line at the bottom of the description.

Questions about any of this? Start a discussion on the move page you're editing, or read about the project.