Very short orientation

Latest revision as of 07:50, 18 February 2011

A wiki is . . .

1. a website where
2. you can edit the pages. (Yes, you!)

[edit] Details

[edit] Edit Tab

On almost every page, at the top, you'll find an edit tab. Go ahead, try it! You can use your browser's back button to come back here without changing anything. (There are also edit links at the right of each section heading.)

[edit] History Tab

Pages also have a history tab, so anything you change can be reverted later, if you regret it.

[edit] Formatting Codes

Unlike most websites, you don't need to know HTML to edit the pages. Wikis support an even simpler formatting code. These simple codes let you create links, headings, bulleted lists and other nice-looking content.

[edit] Your Page

Create an account for yourself. It's not required at this time, but it can give you a better user experience. It also gives you a personal user page, which is a great place to try out wiki codes when you're very new.

[edit] Link Colors

Blue links point to existing pages. Red links point to pages waiting to be created. (That's where you come in.) It really is that simple: To create a new page, you simply write a link to that page on some other, existing page. (See this cheatsheet for how to write a link.) Your personal user page can be a convenient place to write links to new pages. The new page will spring into existence when you edit it, add words and click save.

[edit] Recent Changes

To keep yourself informed about what other people have written recently, use the Recent changes link on the left of each page.

[edit] Next Steps

After reading the Introduction at Wikipedia, feel free to improve whatever you find here, including this short orientation.

You might also appreciate the Wikipedia article on wikis.