WikiPaltz:Introduction

Navigation

Navigating the WikiSeas

Navigation on WikiPaltz works like any other website. There are a few exceptions though and they are with the links.

Links that look like this are links to pages within this Wiki. Sometimes there will be links to pages that don't exist yet and they are red. Links that take you to external sites have an arrow next to them and are a slightly different color. They look like this Yahoo!.

If you're looking for a specific page then use the searchbox on the left side of the page. It's located under the navigation section.

Basic Editing

Create A User Name

Although it's not mandatory, creating a user name before you begin editing is the best way for everyone to know one another, in and outside of the Wiki. Students don't need to use their New Paltz ID here (i.e. smith29). Most people choose to use their real names, but an alias or screen name is fine as well.

Don't forget, the Wiki is warm, so there's no need to be shy.

Making Your First Edits

Below are some helpful tips to learn how to edit the Wiki, but if you're a bit nervous about jumping straight into the big leagues, you can play around in the The Fields. The Fields is a community sandbox where you can mess around and practice some editing techniques without editing regular pages. It's a good place to get your WikiLegs on as you prepare to travel the WikiSeas.

The best way to learn though is to just dive right in! Go for a swim and see what other editors have done. Swipe code from places you like and make it your own.

Create A New Page

There are two ways to create a page, both very simple.

Method 1:

• On a page that already exists, you can create a link to the page you want to create. For example, if you wanted to make a page about Geese, you could go to the Waterfowl page and edit it with the following markup.
  

[[Geese]]

• Then it will look like this Geese.
• Then click on the link and it will take you to a blank edit page where you can create your page.

Method 2:

• In the searchbox on the left side of the page, type the desired name of the page you want to create.
• If a page with that title already exists it will show up, if not you'll see a sentence that reads "You can create an article with this title or place a request for this page on the potential topics page." Click on the link that says "create an article with this title" and a blank edit page will arise. Type away!
  

When to use which method?

• Method 1 (placing a link on a page that already exists) is generally prefered, because the new page will already have a page linking to it. Method 2 will create "orphan pages" which have no pages linking to them - you'll have to go find a place to link from them if you want anyone to see it. Click here to see a list of orphan pages.

Editing A Pre-existing Page

At the top of the page you will see four different "tabs." They are:

• article
• discussion
• edit
• history
• move & watch are also present if you have a username.

To edit the page you are on, click the "edit" tab and it will take you to the edit page.

Basic Wiki Markup

To get you started, here are the basics in Wiki markup language. WikiMedia software (the same software that WikiPedia uses) supports some but not all HTML. Wiki language isn't hard either, just a bit different.

What you want to do:	How to do it:
To create sections, do the the following in order. (==)For a New Section (===)For a New Subsection (====)For a New Sub-Subsection Don't go from two to four. A table of contents will automagically be generated.	==For a New Section== ===For a New Subsection=== ====For a New Sub-Subsection==== NOTE: this format wasn't used on the left because it would mess up the format of the table of contents. This shows how it should look for proper formatting.
To insert a horizontal line,	To insert a horizontal line, ----
Link to a page within WikiPaltz such as the main page.	[[page title|link text]] ex: [[Main_Page|main page]]
Link to a page outside of WikiPaltz such as yahoo	[http://www.yahoo.com/ yahoo]
Insert a picture.	[[Image:filename.type]] where "filename" is the file name ".type" is .jpg or .gif or whatever type of file it is
Make text bold!	Make text '''bold!''' use three '
Make text italic!	Make text ''italic!'' use four '
Make text bold and italic!	Make text '''''bold and italic!''''' use five '
Lists are pretty easy all you need to do to make a list is use the asterik (*) to make the bullet points!	Lists are pretty easy *all you need to do **to make a list ***is use the asterik (*) ****to make the bullet points!
Lists are pretty easy all you need to do to make a list s use the number sign (#) to make the bullet points!	Lists are pretty easy #all you need to do ##to make a list ##is use the number sign (#) #to make numbered points!
:To indent a line all you have to do is use a colon To start a new paragraph, just start a new line.	:To indent a line<br>all you have to do is use a colon. To start a new paragraph, just start a new line.
When leaving a comment on a Talk page it is a good idea to sign it. To sign with just your user name use three tildes: Colin Mills Or four for name, date and time Colin Mills 00:27, 14 March 2006 (CST) Or five for just date/time 00:27, 14 March 2006 (CST)	When leaving a comment on a Talk page it is a good idea to sign it. To sign with just your user name use three tildes: :~~~ Or four for name, date and time :~~~~ Or five for just date/time :~~~~~

For more information on editing, and for a more indepth editing guide, please visit Wikipedia:Help:Editing

Furthering the Wiki

Places That Need Some Love

There is a page of potential topics that people have posted ideas for new pages and new projects on the Wiki.

The wanted list is a list of pages that have not been created yet and are ranked by how many pages link to them. These are essentially dead links that you can create pages for.

Sometimes there are pages that just don't have links to them. These pages can get lonely at night and would love to cuddle up with some links. A list of these pages can be found here.

Core Principle of Wiki

One of the core principles of a Wiki is that everyone has an equal share in shaping it. Everyone can edit and that is part of the beauty of Wiki. WikiPaltz needs your help to determine its course in the future. The best way to do this is to be bold and edit pages without fear. Don't worry about messing up pages because it's easy to fix.

There is an ongoing project to set up community guidelines and standards for WikiPaltz. To help with this project, see WikiPaltz:Guidelines.
Also check out these pages which are used to help define WikiPaltz:

• WikiPaltz:What WikiPaltz Is
• WikiPaltz:What WikiPaltz Is Not
• WikiPaltz:What WikiPaltz Will Be