Break documentation style guide out into its own file

docs/dev/docs.rst

@@ -67,36 +67,3 @@ you may want to verify those changes locally before pushing upstream.
       (.venv) $ RTD_DOCSET=dev make livehtml
 
 #. the documents will be available at http://127.0.0.1:4444/ and will rebuild each time you edit and save a file.
-
-Guidelines
-----------
-
-Please follow these guidelines when updating our docs.
-Let us know if you have any questions or something isn't clear.
-
-The brand
-^^^^^^^^^
-
-We are called **Read the Docs**.
-The *the* is not capitalized.
-
-We do however use the acronym **RTD**.
-
-Titles
-^^^^^^
-
-For page titles, or Heading1 as they are sometimes called, we use title-case.
-
-If the page includes multiple sub-headings (H2, H3),
-we usually use sentence-case unless the titles include terminology that is supposed to be capitalized.
-
-Content
-^^^^^^^
-
-* Do not break the content across multiple lines at 80 characters,
-  but rather break them on semantic meaning (e.g. periods or commas).
-  Read more about this `here <https://rhodesmill.org/brandon/2012/one-sentence-per-line/>`_.
-* If you are cross-referencing to a different page within our website,
-  use the ``doc`` role and not a hyperlink.
-* If you are cross-referencing to a section within our website,
-  use the ``ref`` role with the label from the `autosectionlabel extension <http://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/extensions/autosectionlabel.html>`__.

docs/dev/index.rst

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ or taking the open source Read the Docs codebase for your own custom installatio
    guides/index
    design
    docs
+   style-guide
    front-end
    i18n
    server-side-search

docs/dev/style-guide.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+Documentation Style Guide
+=========================
+
+This document will serve as the canonical place to define how we write documentation at Read the Docs.
+The goal is to have a shared understanding of how things are done,
+and document the conventions that we follow.
+
+Let us know if you have any questions or something isn't clear.
+
+The brand
+---------
+
+We are called **Read the Docs**.
+The ``the`` is not capitalized.
+
+We do however use the acronym **RTD**.
+
+Titles
+------
+
+For page titles we use sentence case.
+This means only proper nouns and the first word are capitalized::
+
+# Good ✅
+How we handle support on Read the Docs.
+
+# Bad 🔴
+How we Handle Support on Read the Docs
+
+If the page includes multiple sub-headings (H2, H3),
+we use sentence case there as well.
+
+Content
+-------
+
+* Use ``:menuselection:`` when referring to an item or sequence of items in navigation.
+* Use ``:guilabel:`` when referring to a visual element on the screen - such as a button, drop down or input field.
+* Use ``**bold text**`` when referring to a non-interactive text element, such as a header.
+* Do not break the content across multiple lines at 80 characters,
+  but rather break them on semantic meaning (e.g. periods or commas).
+  Read more about this `here <https://rhodesmill.org/brandon/2012/one-sentence-per-line/>`_.
+* If you are cross-referencing to a different page within our website,
+  use the ``doc`` role and not a hyperlink.
+* If you are cross-referencing to a section within our website,
+  use the ``ref`` role with the label from the `autosectionlabel extension <http://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/extensions/autosectionlabel.html>`__.
+
+Word List
+---------
+
+We have a specific way that we write common words:
+
+* ``open source`` should be lower case, unless you are definitely referring to `OSI's Open Source Definition <https://opensource.org/osd>`.
+* ``Git`` should be upper case, except when referring to the command, when it should be written as `:program:\`git\``.
+
+Glossary
+--------
+
+Since the above Word List is for internal reference,
+we also maintain a :doc:`/glossary` with terms that have canonical definitions in our docs.
+Terms that can otherwise have multiple definitions
+*or* have a particular meaning in Read the Docs context
+should always be added to the :doc:`/glossary` and referenced using the ``:term:`` role.
+
+Using a glossary helps us (authors) to have consistent definitions
+but even more importantly,
+it helps and includes readers by giving them quick and easy access to terms that they may be unfamiliar with.
+
+Use an external link or Intersphinx reference when a term is clearly defined elsewhere.