Help:Contents
If you haven't read them yet, now might be a good time to look through our Frequently Asked Questions and possibly our About Otnews page. If you've read them already, or just want to get to the nitty gritty of creating and editing pages, then read on...
Contents |
Before you start
- You must create an account on Otnews in order to add or edit pages
- Your account must have existed for a certain grace period before you can add or edit pages (see the FAQ for details of how long that period currently is)
Editing an existing page
Okay, so you've spotted a typo or some glaring omission in an existing page. Once you're logged in, simply click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the page and you'll be taken to a copy of the page's code. You can now edit the content as necessary.
For most content you just need to type some text. Even external links will be handled automatically provided they start with http://
If you do want to use some wiki code, the editor has a few buttons along the top edge which simplify insertion of some of the wiki syntax. For more complex content - or if you're curious about what else is possible - see the Help:Editing page (which is also linked at the bottom of the editing screen). There's also a comprehensive guide available here if the basic information doesn't meet your needs.
Once you've made your change you need to do a few things:
- Enter a summary about the change you've made into the "Summary" box. This appears in the page history, and helps other users see what you've done to the page.
- If you've just made a small correction - fixed a typo, for example - then please check the "This is a minor edit" box. Minor edits can be filtered out on the page history to make it easier to track the big, sweeping changes.
- Please use the "Show preview" button to check that your change looks okay (and that you haven't broken the rest of the page). If you need to make changes, scroll down to find the edit box, make the change, and preview again.
- If the preview looks okay, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the "Save page" button.
- Thank you for taking the time to improve Otnews
You think there's a problem, but you're not sure
Every page has an associated discussion page, reached via the "Discussion" tab at the top of the page. If you're not sure about a change, if you just want to chat (or argue) about the content of the page, please put an entry in there.
When you put something into a discussion page, please follow it with four tilde characters:
~~~~
This gets converted into a name and timestamp so that it's easier to track discussions. It will look something like this:
Xav 16:41, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
A page of your very own
Every user has their own page, reached by clicking on your name in the top-right of the screen once you've logged in. Please use this space to experiment with the wiki code. It can also be a handy place for you to store links to other pages (though there's also a watchlist that you can use for this purpose), and perhaps any notes to yourself to remind you about what you want to add to Otnews when you get more time.
Basically you can add whatever you want to your own page, but please note that user pages are publicly visible, so we reserve the right to modify or delete content that may be deemed offensive (see the FAQ), even if it's on your own page.
Creating new pages
The simplest way to create a new page is simply to create a link to it by enclosing the page name in double-square-brackets:
[[This would create a new page]]
This creates a link which is red in colour, indicating a page that does not yet exist (the example below isn't actually a link though):
This would create a new page
When you click on a red link you are taken to an edit screen for the new page. Enter some content; preview; save - and your new page is created.
If you want to create a new page, but your not sure where on the site the link should go (or you just want to keep it to yourself to some degree while you work on it), then you can create a link on your personal page. Ultimately, however, you need to find a place for it to live in the main wiki, otherwise people won't find it very easily.
Red links are not bad
A red link can be thought of as a "potential" page. There's no real page there yet, but someone thought it might be a good idea to have one eventually.
When you're creating your own pages, pay some thought to links that you might want to include in the page. Wherever possible you should link to an existing page by putting the page name in double-square-brackets:
[[Main Page]]
This would produce a link to the main page of Otnews:
Sometimes you want a link, but with different text. Use this syntax:
[[Main Page|A link to the homepage]]
This produces:
Sometimes there isn't an existing page which is suitable. Don't be afraid to create a link to a non-existent page and then leave it red. In those cases we hope that someone (perhaps you, when you've got more time) will come along later, click on the red link, and fill out some content. In other cases one of the admins might simply decide that the content doesn't warrant a page of its own, and will delete the link.
While you're wandering round the site keep an eye out for red links. If you think you can add some useful content - even just a paragraph or two to get the subject started - then please feel free to click on the link; enter some text; preview; and save.
