Help:Guide to the wiki
From ResNetWiki
This guide to the wiki is designed to be a tutorial, or short walkthrough, that helps a new user edit, create, and contribute pages to this wiki; a sort of primer for the wiki. It also includes a brief guide to wiki syntax as well as some advanced features.
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[edit] Understanding the ResWiki mentality
The concept behind a wiki is obviously driven by user-based contributions combining to make a database that is complete and professional. In this wiki the duty falls to all willing members to make the information the best that it can be. If a spelling or grammatical mistake is found, do not be afraid to edit the article and fix the error. The same goes for any incorrect, or incomplete, information in an article--contribute! The success of this database depends, and is necessitated upon, user contributions. The wiki cannot, and will not, be successful with only a handful of people working on it!
With that said, the wiki is totally volunteer-orientated. There is no requirement to contribute; only a request to do so. In other words, there is no punishment for a refusal to contribute to the wiki. However, a central point to this board is that it is, in a sense, employee owned. This is a site for users, by users. Wiki's work the best when a group of people work intensely on them. Do not be afraid to contribute--dive right in!
[edit] Edit an existing page
In order to edit a page on the wiki, the user must first be logged in. At the page the user wishes to edit, the user must click the 'edit' tab at the top of the page. Similarly, if a user desires to only edit a specific section, the user may click on the 'edit' link on the right side of the page directly across from that section head. A page then opens which shows whatever text/objects are currently on that page or section.
There are certain style structures inherent with an encyclopedia article that must be observed on this wiki. Firstly, avoid ambiguous statements. For example:
To find a mac...
The above statement is ambiguous because the reader does not know if the article is addressing the process to find a MAC address, or if it rather is addressing the process to find an actual Apple Mac computer. Also along these lines is the aim of making the wiki as precise as possible by avoiding vague generalizations in an article.
Secondly, be certain to maintain as much of an un-biased viewpoint as possible. Information must be presented as objectively as possible to maintain the quality of this wiki. Part of this aim includes using clear and direct prose. Remember that articles on the wiki are likened to encyclopedia articles and should be written as such. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of: correct spelling, grammar, appropriate language and avoidance of redundant language. Whilst these requirements may seem stringent and restrictive, please do not be afraid to edit or contribute. In order of importance with this wiki, content and organization come before professionalism. If a user does not feel confident in their abilities regarding spelling or grammar, other users will fix their mistakes. This is part of the beauty of a wiki.
Lastly, remember to use the wiki-style syntax as explained later in the article.
When desired editing is complete, use of the 'Show preview' button is recommended. Use of this button will show what your edits will look like by displaying the article or section in final form. This mode however does not save the page, so perform any proof-reading/editing desired before saving the page. This helps lighten the amount of data on the storage server. Before saving, it is considered polite etiquette (or "Wikiquette") to use the summary box at the bottom of the edit page to add a short explanation of what was edited. If it was only a spelling correction, or something similarly minor, check the 'This is a minor edit' box before saving.
If a user views an article and wants to drastically change something, it is recommended that the user start a discussion on the Talk tab of the page needing changes to discuss the desired change(s). This will provide a sound board for everyone willing to reflect and comment on the proposed change.
For more editing and style information see Wikipedia's editing tutorial and Wikipedia's 'perfect article'.
[edit] Create a new page
In order to create a new page the user must think first about where the page should best fit in the overall layout of the wiki. In other words, some thought should first be put into a page before its creation should begin.
The next step would be to actually create the article page. This is done by editing the page that the article falls under. For example, a section on how to Find the MAC address of an Xbox should be added to the page. The naming of wiki pages is a standardized practice because the title of the article is both the headline of the article, as well as the link for the article. The first character of the first word is always capitalized. All subsequent words are then spelled using only lower cases unless the word is a proper noun.
- Correct
- Understanding the rules of the Electoral College and the subsequent effects of elections
- Incorrect
- How To Wash A Car
The user would add the title of the page to be created as a link. Following the above MAC address example, the title to be typed in the editing box would look like this: [[Find the MAC address of an Xbox]]. Notice the use of double brackets. In wiki syntax, the surrounding double brackets indicate a link to an article.
Then the user should click on the newly created page link. A window with a blank text area should appear on the screen with a caption similar to: "You've followed a link to a page that doesn't exist yet. To create the page, start typing in the box below." Content can then be added to the page. This is very similar to editting an existing page, only there is no content yet!
One of the first things that should be done is to add this new page to the category it belongs to (see above for a discussion of the four categories). This is done by adding [[Category:<category name>]] to the bottom of the page, where <category name> is one of the four categories. If the page is to exist in more than one category, multiple category tags may be added. For example, a helpdesk page falls under the categories General information and How to. The category tags for the Helpdesk page look like this: [[Category: General information]][[Category: Policies]]. Note that its primary category is listed first.
[edit] Wiki Syntax
Much of the wiki syntax is not intuitive, but not hard to learn, either. HTML syntax sometimes works, but it's better to use Wiki markup whenever possible so that everyone can read the same text. For more information on syntax, see Wikipedia's guide to editing or Wikipedia's quick guide.
| Description | Code | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Italics | ''Two quotes creates italics'' | Two quotes creates italics |
| Bold | '''Three quotes creates bold''' | Three quotes creates bold |
| Bold and italic | '''''Five quotes is bold and italic''''' | Five quotes is bold and italic |
| Linking to an internal page | [[Guide to the wiki]] [[Guide to the wiki | This is an example of how you can change a link's text and not just list an article only]] | Guide to the wiki This is an example of how you can change a link's text and not just list an article only |
| Linking to an external website | [http://www.google.com] [http://www.google.com Google the World] | [1] Google the World |
[edit] Advanced features
The following are actions that require more work than simply typing an article.
[edit] Images
Images, such as screenshots, can be especially helpful in regards to this wiki. The following briefly describes how to upload and use images. For more information, see the Help:Graphics page.
[edit] Tables
Tables are used to organize data. For information on the creation and population of tables, see the Help:Tables page, or see Wikipedia's table page.
