We have been getting several questions about the upcoming style guidelines, so here are a few FAQs.
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What’s the status?
The public comment period has ended. Comments have been incorporated. A second draft has been produced, and is currently being reviewed internally.
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When will the guidelines be released?
Before the end of 2014.
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When will the guidelines go into effect?
At the start of 2015.
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What does “go into effect” mean?
They are final and published. Competitions may start using them. Translations and other formats will start being produced. Exam materials will start being updated.
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I am scheduled for an exam. Which guidelines should I study?
We won’t use the new guidelines for exams before June 2015 at the earliest. A better schedule will be published once the guidelines are released.
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I’ve passed the online exam. Will I have to retake it?
No. Your online exam certificate is good for a year, even if we change the style guidelines.
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I am entering a competition in 2015. Will they use the new guidelines?
Maybe. Ask the competition organizer. We would expect a transition period where competitions earlier in the year would likely use the 2008 guidelines, but those later in the year would adopt the 2014 guidelines. It’s up to each competition to make that decision.
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When will [some other format] of the guidelines be available?
When they’re finished. Many of the other formats and translations are done external to the BJCP. We will publish and update the information when it’s available. After the guidelines are published, we expect to learn more from the maintainers and volunteers working on these other formats.