Hunch Style Guide
updated January 19, 2010
Introduction
This style guide provides tips for contributing strong content to Hunch. Some of the guidelines are primarily for consistency, to help improve user readability and understanding of topic names, questions, question answers, and recommendation outcomes. Other guidelines are designed to help Hunch's algorithm maximize the accuracy of a topic's recommendations.
Hunch staff will often make stylistic or formulation tweaks to user-submitted content to help improve clarity and conformity to these guidelines. But to the extent you can submit content which already follows these general tips, it will speed your content to publication and you'll earn our deep respect and gratitude.
We're sticklers for proper grammar and spelling. So please join us by submitting content that would make your middle school grammar teacher proud -- and charm him with your creativity, insight and wit.
Summary: Example of each element in a topic
Topic name: What kind of car should I drive?
Topic short name: Cars
Q1: Do you prefer:
A1: Speedy sports cars
A2: Roomy family cars
A3: Something else
Q2: Would you say you:
A1: See my car as a reflection of my personality
A2: See my car as just a place to get from A to B
Q3: How much are you willing to spend?
A1: Under $20,000
A2: Up to $30,000
A3: Up to $40,000
A4: More than $40,000
Result 1:
Name: BMW 328i
Description: Offered in 328 and twin-turbo 335 forms with different engines, the 3 Series is BMW's bread-and-butter model. This series has a history in the U.S. market that dates back to 1977. Available in sedan, wagon, coupe and retractable-hardtop convertible body styles, the 328 competes with the Infiniti G and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
Topic Names
Topic names can either be formulated in question form to express a dilemma, choice, or decision, or in title case to describe the recommendation outcomes:
What's my true Zodiac sign?
New Cars
Should I be my own General Contractor?
Which face wash should I buy?
Televisions
Topic names can be no longer than 70 characters.
A few of the most common phrasings for topic names include:
Which [x] is for me?
What [y] would I like?
Which [z] should I buy?
Should I [x]?
Is it better to [x] or [y]?
Would I like [z]?
Topics should be written in the first person (I, me, my) as if the user is asking the question.
Not ok (because these address the reader using 'you'):
Which car should you buy?
What's your true Zodiac sign?
Are you a true sports fan?
So what types of topics do not work well on Hunch?
Topics which could probably be expressed as a mathematical formula, or which have results corresponding to a continuous numeric scale, do not currently lend themselves well to Hunch's recommendation algorithm. Some examples of these might include:
Am I saving enough for retirement? (basically a mathematical function of how much you've saved, how much you're still saving, your investment profile, how long until retirement, etc.)
How much is my house worth? (besides involving too many factors, like local market conditions and the specifics of the house, this topic's results would be a continuous scale of numerical outcomes, which Hunch is not designed to accomodate at this time.
Topic Short Names
(used when you mouse over a topic icon, for example)
When possible, topic short names should be initial caps describing the topic's items, although if there's not a clear way to reformulate the topic into a short name, it's ok to keep it as a question:
Superheroes
Cars
Should I be my own General Contractor?
Face Wash
General Hunch spelling conventions
email, not e-mail
web, not Web
website, not web site or Website or Web site
internet, not Internet
Styles of English
Hunch contributors are already a very international bunch, and different forms of English are welcome. However, we've put together the following guidelines to keep a bit of order: * If you're completely indifferent when starting a new topic, use American English. Exception: if a topic's content has something to do with another country, you're encouraged to use that country's standard. So "fun things to do in London" would probably lend itself well to British English; "American comfort foods" is probably best in American English. * Whoever starts a topic gets to choose their English preference (American, English, Australian, etc.) and sets the precedent * Once a version of English is established in a topic, stay consistent. So either "color" or "colour" is fine as long as the spelling is consistent with the rest of the topic.
Guidelines for questions
Questions are usually phrased to address the user in the 2nd person ("you"), either:
Explicitly: “Which of these living rooms best reflects your personal style?”, “Would you rather plan ahead or be spontaneous?”
Or implicitly: “Which makes the best non-human companion?” (the “for you” is implied)
Questions should never be phrased in the 1st person:
Not ok:
Q: We’d like to know your opinion on universal health care.
Exception for "word association" questions:
Ok:
Q: I say "potato." You say:
A1: PoTAHto
A2: Sour cream
Answers are generally phrased to allow the user to answer in the first person or 3rd person:
Ok:
Q: Which slogan best describes you?
A1: “I prefer to plan ahead” (or “It’s better to plan ahead”)
A2: “I prefer to be spontaneous” (or “It’s better to be spontaneous”)
Ok:
Q: Would you say you like to:
A1: Hang out on my own most of the time
A2: Hang out with my friends most of the time
Do not formulate answers in the 2nd person:
Not ok:
Q: Which would you say is more accurate?
A1: You like to plan ahead
A2: You like to be spontaneous
Not ok:
Q: Would you say you like to:
A1: Hang out on your own most of the time
A2: Hang out with your friends most of the time
Exception for answers that informally use the implied 2nd person:
OK:
Q: Would you prefer a watch with some bling, or something more subtle?
A1: Bring on the bling (it's ok to use the implied "you" in this case)
A2: More subtle
General question style characteristics:
Questions are punctuated, either with a period or question mark at the end (if a complete sentence) or a colon if the answers complete the sentence.
Answers do not have punctuation at the end, even if they form a complete sentence on their own or by completing the question.
The first letter of answers is capitalized, even when the answers complete the sentence which the question started.
Q: Would you prefer to:
A1: Take the subway
A2: Take a cab
Q: Which is your preferred mode of travel?
A1: Flying
A2: Driving
Q: Which best describes you?
A1: I like to plan ahead
A2: I like to be spontaneous
Exception: when a single answer contains multiple sentences, that answer and all other answers for the same question are punctuated, as in:
Q: Which statement better reflects your personal philosophy?
A1: Childhood is to be enjoyed. There's plenty of time to learn life's lessons later.
A2: It's never too early to learn important life lessons.
It’s ok to have a range of longer/descriptive questions and shorter/succinct questions.
Q: Boxers or briefs?
A1: Boxers
A2: Briefs
Q: The day after your $1MM lottery winning check clears the bank, do you:
A1: Buy a car
A2: Invest in the stock market
A3: Donate it to charity
Q: Paper or plastic?
A1: Paper
A2: Plastic
When possible, strive to keep questions to one line (maximum two) of text.
Tips for strong questions
The best questions do two things: they engage the user and they do a good job of discriminating among the possible results in the topic.
To engage the user, a question should be clear, concise and creative, with correct spelling, grammar and punctuation.
To do a good job discriminating among a topic's results, a question should generally have between 2 and 6 answers that are mutually exclusive and that uniquely correspond to a portion of the results in the topic.
Strong question:
Q: Would you prefer a camera which is:
A1: Basic and easy to use
A2: More advanced, with many features
Weak question (answers are not mutually exclusive):
Q: Should these binoculars be:
A1: Available at many stores
A2: Frequently on sale
Good questions often force the user to make trade-offs by using two or more functional dimensions.
Examples:
Strong question:
Q: Would you prefer a restaurant with:
A1: An amazing setting and ambiance, even if the food is only about average
A2: An average setting and ambiance, but with amazing food
Weak question: (seems like there's only one decent answer for most people, plus there's no logical trade-off for things like price, setting, location, etc.)
Q: How good should the food at this restaurant be?
A1: Really good
A2: Pretty good
A3: As long as it's edible
Hunch forces users to choose one and only one answer to a question, so make sure that a question's answers are truly mutually exclusive and applicable to everyone. Examples:
Good question (the answers cover multiple scenarios while still being mutually exclusive)
Q: Do you have a pet?
A1: Yes, only 1 or more dogs
A2: Yes, only 1 or more cats
A3: Yes, a combination of dogs and cats
A4: Yes, a pet other than a dog or a cat
A5: No, I don't have a pet
Bad question: (not mutually exclusive, plus ignores an important case of people who don't have a pet at all)
Q: What kind of pet do you have?
A1: Dog
A2: Cat
A3: Other
Qualifying words to imply generality
It's helpful for questions to be worded broadly enough to encourage people to think generally, but not too weak to seem overly watered down. Consider using 1-2 qualifying generality words.
For example, imagine a question associated with the following images.
Not so great -> Which phone do you use at home?
(no qualifying words = usually too specific/literal & neglects different usage situations)
Not so great -> Which general type of phone do you usually tend to use at home?
(too many qualifiers/ too watery)
Just about right -> Which type of phone do you tend to use at home? or Which style of phone do you usually use at home?
(1-2 generality qualifiers give the user some flexibility without being too awkwardly formulated)
Price questions should usually be phrased using a combination of "less than", "up to", and "more than".
Q: How much are you willing to pay for this camera?
A: Less than $100
B: Up to $200
C: Up to $500
D: More than $500
E: Not sure yet
…in general, don’t use “Don’t care” to refer to price questions.
3-4 price brackets plus one “not sure” is probably about right.
Any prices greater than $999 should include commas. ($1,000 is OK, $1000 not OK)
Take care that questions with numerical ranges do not containing overlapping numbers.
Bad question (it's unclear how someone serving either 2 or 4 guests should answer):
Q: How many people should this dinner dish serve?
A1: 1-2
A2: 2-4
A3: 4-6
Distinguishing overall general preferences vs. “mood right now”/ temporal preferences
It’s important to distinguish whether questions are asking about someone’s general preference vs. their current mindset for the topic. This is particularly true for media-related questions or anything with a high purchase frequency (food, drink, etc.). E.g. in video games, when asking about genre, we could be asking which genre is your favorite (in general - getting at your tastes), or which genre you are looking for now (someone’s favorite genre could be strategy but they may be in the mood for a sports game). The difference is obviously significant.
“Current mood” questions might be prefaced by “Are you in the mood for”, “Are you looking for”, “Would you like”, or similar formulations.
More general questions might be prefaced by “In general, do you…”, “Do you most often…”, etc.
Referring to “an item” or “this item” (for mood right now) vs. “items” (for general preferences) can also help. Ex: “Would you like this book to be: * fiction, * non-fiction, * open to both?” vs. “Do you prefer books which are: *fiction, * non-fiction, * open to both?”
Example: NY Times Bestsellers
General preference: “In general, do you mostly read for entertainment/fun, or for deeper knowledge/ intellectual growth?”
General preference: “Do you usually like books which are: *funny, *insightful, *dramatic, *topical?
General preference: Do you generally prefer popular books which lend themselves to discussion with friends, or are you happy with less popular books that most people may not have read?
Temporal preference: Are you looking for fiction or non-fiction for this book?
Temporal preference: Are you in the mood for a modern day theme, or a more historical one?
Temporal preference: Would you like a book that deals with strong a) character development, b) story lines, or c) issue exploration?
Temporal preference: Would you prefer a book which is light, easy reading (an “airplane book?”) or something a little deeper?
Tonality
Encouraged
- Plays on words or clever pictures which might be interpreted different ways by different demographic/psychographic groups, thus yielding strong insight from the question.
- Witty questions and answers.
- Mentions of cultural references (as long as they’re not too obscure.)
Discouraged/ Off limits
Besides the list of clear content no-nos referenced in Hunch's community guidelines, please avoid:
Gratuitously promoting an opinion or point of view for no good purpose:
Not ok:
Q: Since Democrats are obviously running the country into the ground, the best course of action can only be:
Trite/corny phrases or stating obvious facts as pedantic question qualifiers, such as:
Q: Families come in many shapes and colors. Which picture looks like yours?
Q: Pollution is a problem in the world. What’s the best way to tackle this problem?
RECOMMENDATION OUTCOMES (ITEMS) - TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS
Titles
The title of a recommendation should provide a very brief, one line description of what the item is, usually using initial caps. Imagine the title being just long enough to mirror how a friend would answer you if you asked for their verbal recommendation about something.
Examples of good titles:
BMW 328XI
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
Stainless Steel RFID Blocking Passport Sleeve
Examples of not so great titles and why:
Samsung LN40A650 40-inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color (way too much information + extraneous information which would more appropriately appear in the description)
Stainless Steel RFID Blocking Passport Sleeve -special price -discounted- limited stock (extraneous marketing information in the title)
"Either/or" topics (and "yes/no" topics) should usually have their two recommendations written as polar opposites. For clarity, it's good to also briefly repeat the topic subject in the result rather than just writing "Yes" or "No". Examples:
Topic:
Should I break up with my girlfriend?
Result titles:
Yes, you should probably break up with your girlfriend
No, you probably shouldn't break up with your girlfriend
Topic:
Is my family normal?
Result titles:
Your family is pretty normal
Your family is not so normal
Descriptions
Descriptions should be a clear, descriptive, and concise summary of what the item is and how it is different from other items in a topic. The description should be written in a 3rd person, objective tone. A good rule of thumb to judge a description is whether it gives the user enough information to reasonably answer the "Do you like this [x]?" question under the item's description.
Descriptions should avoid marketing hype such as excessive exclamation points, superlative claims ("the best to be found anywhere", "world's most awesome product"), or direct calls to action ("limited time offer!", "act now!").
Importantly, since Hunch is not selling or providing the product or service being described, the description should avoid use of the first person case (we, our). Take special care to remove 'we' or 'our' when repurposing descriptions you may find on another site, for example, "this is one of our top sellers" or "we highly recommend this item and we'll waive the shipping charges."
When applicable, descriptions should include basic price, size, and variety information which will help distinguish the item from similar ones in the same topic.
Example of a good description:
Increase mobile productivity and get better integrated mobile business performance with the Samsung SCH-i760, which is powered by the Windows Mobile 6 Professional operating system. You can also receive Outlook email, update your contacts and calendar, and stay securely connected with your office via Wireless Sync or ActiveSync.
Example of a poor description:
The Acme 7000 is one of the BEST OSCILLATORS ON THE PLANET!!! For a limited time we'll offer free shipping from our warehouse. Check our other products as well for all your oscillator needs.