Help:Introduction
From Center for Friction Stir Processing Guide
For questions about creating or editing pages, this is the place to find your answers. Most questions will be answered here, though since this is a wiki sight, please feel free to add in what you believe is missing. However before you do, please consult the main Editing, and Etiquette pages for details on how to add a constructive page.
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Wiki Navigation
The most simple way to find the article your looking for is to type it into the search field on the left side of the page. This will take you straight to the article with the name you searched, or to a list of articles with similar names to what you searched.
The other way to navigate through the wiki is to use the Table of Contents on the left side of the page. This will bring you to a listing of all the chapters and subsections. The name of each chapter and subsection will allow you to quickly find the area that most likely contains the information your looking for.
For all user based pages, look to the upper right corner. As an anonymous user the only link that can be seen will take you to a login page. However after logging in several links will appear allowing for going to your preferences, watchlist, contributions and user pages.
Remember, if there are no pages with the exact name your looking for, try searching for it with a different name. If you still can't find it, then it might be something that you can add. For the creating and editing of a page see Creating a Page.
Wiki Etiquette
Wiki etiquette is a very important aspect of the wiki process. There are only a few things to remember when editing or creating new content, and especially when commenting on already written articles.
When editing or creating articles:
- Try to keep all personal bias out of the article that you are writing or editing. This will help keep any discussions or comments on the topic of the article instead of your opinion.
- When giving feedback, try to keep it concise and brief. Giving a short message is easier to understand, and easier to work with when integrating it into the article or correcting a mistake.
- Respond to feedback. Comments are essential to keeping information up to date and correct. After writing an article or even just editing a small portion of one, add it to your watchlist to be notified if someone else edits or comments on it. (see Watchlist)
- Be courteous.
- Even if a heated discussion arises and you are caught in the middle, take a step back and think about what your going to say. If all parties in a discussion keep the arguments civil and back up their viewpoint with sources instead of remarks, the argument is much more likely to be resolved in a matter that all members will agree upon.
- Always work toward agreement on any conflict.
- If someone doesn't agree with your edit, provide a good reason why you believe it to be necessary.
- Give praise where it is due. It always feels good to get a pat on the back.
- Remember that this site is for the distribution of information. Try to keep the facts flowing and help others, that's this site's whole purpose.
Wiki Page Management
Creating a Page
Creation
The quickest way to create an article is to search for its name on the site. If that page does not exist, there will be a button to "create this page". Clicking on it will bring you to a blank editing screen with the title you chose. Look to the Editing piece for more detailed information on the writing/formatting of the article.
Another way to create is a page is through entering a URL that has the page name you want to use. The URL for this page is http://cfsp.sdsmt.edu/guide/Help:Introduction. If you wanted to create a page with the name SDSMT, all you would need to do is change the ending to that URL, such as: http://cfsp.sdsmt.edu/guide/SDSMT.
- This provides another way to create a page, however it is advised to go through the search method given above. Searching for any articles with the name you wish to use will let you know if it has been used already.
Protection
After being created a page can be protected, though this can only be done by an administrator. The only time that this would be done is in the case of information needing to stay exactly as it has been written. Most pages that you will find throughout this wiki will be unprotected, allowing you to contribute freely.
Guidelines
- Always search to see if the page you'd like to create already exists.
- If it does not exist and you decide to create it, choose the title of the new article carefully.
- A title that is the most common name for the subject is the most helpful. It will allow people to find what they are looking for much more easily.
- The title for a page can only include letters, numbers, spaces, commas, colons, hyphens and periods. No other special characters should be used to name an article
- If a page exists, but you believe a new page should be created for another aspect of it, do not create the page. Add to the original and ask if others believe the addition constitutes a new page. Usually it's better to add to an existing page, unless it will cause the article to be far to long.
- When creating a new page, always try to write it so others can read it. Use formatting techniques to direct a users attention to content that is the most important.
Editing
Editing a wiki article is much like editing a word document. The editing page gives a text window that will show a row of buttons to do multiple things, such as bold facing or italicizing selected text. Below that is a text box for the article, here is where all of the information and formatting is done.
To open the editing window simply click on the edit button on the right side of the article section or on the top of the article. Using the per section edit will allow for more control over what you are trying to edit, showing only what you chose to edit.
- The editing window is also opened when a new article is created, allowing you to add what you want even before the page is displayed to others.
For a quick guide on how to use wiki markup see Mediawiki:Cheatsheet. This will get you straight into editing without having to learn a lot of code.
Always remember to use boldface or other special markups when editing a wiki. Boldface generally means that the statement or word is very important to the current section or the article as a whole.
(see Help:Formatting)
Watchlist
After editing or creating an article, usually the last step is to add that article to your watchlist. The watchlist is simply a way for you to monitor any comments and edits on the articles you've chosen to watch. This will help in getting feedback on information that has been written without having to constantly check those pages.
Using the watchlist mechanism is highly recommended as it will take much of the hassle out of using a wiki for spreading information among the community.
Changing which pages are watched
There are two ways to control which pages you have on your watchlist:
- When viewing a page, click the "watch" or "unwatch" tab at the very top of the page, to respectively add or remove the page from your watchlist.
- When editing a page, check or uncheck "Watch this page" before saving.
Viewing watched pages
When logged in, there is a "my watchlist" button in the upper right corner. This will take you to a list of recent changes on pages that you are watching, organized by the date of the changes done.
Additions, deletions and moves are also shown on the watchlist, giving you complete notifications of what happened and when.
