Difference between revisions of "Help:Using this site"
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There are pages for people, roads, etc., but the majority of the entries relate to individual buildings. | There are pages for people, roads, etc., but the majority of the entries relate to individual buildings. | ||
| − | For a particular building, the box at the right-hand side gives a summary in tabular form. Most of these should be self-explanatory; The '''OS Grid ref''' is the Ordnance Survey's National Grid Reference, sometimes called "NGR". The first two characters are always "NO" for all the locations covered by this Wiki, and are followed by two 5-digit numbers, specifying the location down to the nearest metre.<ref>The first digit of the second number is normally 0 for | + | For a particular building, the box at the right-hand side gives a summary in tabular form. Most of these should be self-explanatory; The '''OS Grid ref''' is the Ordnance Survey's National Grid Reference, sometimes called "NGR". The first two characters are always "NO" for all the locations covered by this Wiki, and are followed by two 5-digit numbers, specifying the location down to the nearest metre.<ref>The first digit of the second number is normally 0 for the Falkland area. Many of the grid references quoted come from the HES listings, which confusing omit this zero - we are gradually correcting this in our articles.</ref> |
Many of the buildings described are listed buildings, which have additional details in another box at the left. | Many of the buildings described are listed buildings, which have additional details in another box at the left. | ||
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You can also navigate between one article and another. Almost all articles have '''links''' to other articles. Links are shown [[Help:Links|like this]] - normally in blue, depending on your individual settings. If you click on a link it will take you to another article with more information about the subject in question. Links that look [[like this]] (normally red) point to articles that haven't been written yet: it's one of the aims of the project to turn all the red links blue by creating new articles! | You can also navigate between one article and another. Almost all articles have '''links''' to other articles. Links are shown [[Help:Links|like this]] - normally in blue, depending on your individual settings. If you click on a link it will take you to another article with more information about the subject in question. Links that look [[like this]] (normally red) point to articles that haven't been written yet: it's one of the aims of the project to turn all the red links blue by creating new articles! | ||
| − | Every article is also linked to one or more '''Categories''' (not to be confused with listed building categories). So for example if you're looking at a page about a particular architect, you'll probably see [[:Category:Artists and architects]] in a box at the bottom of the page. If you click on this it will take you to a list of articles about other architects. All the categories are arranged in a hierarchy below [[:Category:Main categories]] which thus gives an overview of all the classes of information within this Wiki. | + | Every article is also linked to one or more '''Categories''' (not to be confused with listed building categories!). So for example if you're looking at a page about a particular architect, you'll probably see [[:Category:Artists and architects]] in a box at the bottom of the page. If you click on this it will take you to a list of articles about other architects. All the categories are arranged in a hierarchy below [[:Category:Main categories]] which thus gives an overview of all the classes of information within this Wiki. |
==Becoming an editor== | ==Becoming an editor== | ||
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Before creating an article you should search to check that there is no suitable article that already exists. If an article on the topic you want to create is there, but you think people are likely to look for it under some different name or spelling, learn how to add a redirect with that name; adding needed redirects is a good way to help improve this Wiki. | Before creating an article you should search to check that there is no suitable article that already exists. If an article on the topic you want to create is there, but you think people are likely to look for it under some different name or spelling, learn how to add a redirect with that name; adding needed redirects is a good way to help improve this Wiki. | ||
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If no suitable articles already exist, then you need to start a new article. | If no suitable articles already exist, then you need to start a new article. | ||
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If you're creating a page for a specific building, start by copying the contents of the '''[https://historicfalkland.scot/wiki/index.php?title=Building_Template&action=edit Building_Template]''' page. | If you're creating a page for a specific building, start by copying the contents of the '''[https://historicfalkland.scot/wiki/index.php?title=Building_Template&action=edit Building_Template]''' page. | ||
| + | A new article should always say where the infomration has come from. You should provide a source for any statement that might be contested, and for any direct quotations. Add the reference immediately after the sentence, surrounded by <tt><nowiki><ref></nowiki></tt> and <tt><nowiki></ref></nowiki></tt>, for instance:<br> | ||
| + | <tt><nowiki><ref>"Obituary: Sir Paul Latham", The Times, 26 July 1955, page 11.</ref></nowiki></tt><br> | ||
| + | or<br> | ||
| + | <tt><nowiki><ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/features/consenting-adults.shtml</ref></nowiki></tt> | ||
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| + | The references will appear as numbered footnotes at the end of the article. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==See also== | ||
See also a [[Links and sources|page of sources]] that we've drawn on to create this Wiki and some external links. | See also a [[Links and sources|page of sources]] that we've drawn on to create this Wiki and some external links. | ||
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:'''Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill''' (1874–1965) was a British writer and statesman, who led Britain to victory in the Second World War. | :'''Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill''' (1874–1965) was a British writer and statesman, who led Britain to victory in the Second World War. | ||
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Later, you'll learn how to improve the formatting (and see [[Help:Editing]] for guidance on how to use the Wiki markup). | Later, you'll learn how to improve the formatting (and see [[Help:Editing]] for guidance on how to use the Wiki markup). | ||
When you are done, press "Show preview" to take a look at how the page will appear. Try to fix any formatting errors, then click "Save page" at the bottom. Your article is now part of the Wiki and may be edited by anyone. | When you are done, press "Show preview" to take a look at how the page will appear. Try to fix any formatting errors, then click "Save page" at the bottom. Your article is now part of the Wiki and may be edited by anyone. | ||
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==Use your own words== | ==Use your own words== | ||
Write the article in your own words. Do not copy more than a couple of sentences from a published source, and even then give a reference, as otherwise you are likely to be infringing someone's copyright. | Write the article in your own words. Do not copy more than a couple of sentences from a published source, and even then give a reference, as otherwise you are likely to be infringing someone's copyright. | ||
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==Use a neutral point of view== | ==Use a neutral point of view== | ||
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== Gathering references == | == Gathering references == | ||
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The ideal is always to use reliable sources; that is sources that exercise some form of editorial control. Examples of reliable sources include books published by major publishing houses, newspapers, magazines, peer-reviewed scholarly journals, websites of any of the above, and other websites that meet the same basic requirements as any print-based source. In general, sources with NO editorial control are not generally reliable, for instance self-published zines, blogs, web forums, usenet discussions, BBSes, fan sites, and the like. Basically, if anyone at all can post information without anyone else checking that information, it is probably not reliable, but may be quoted if there is nothing better. | The ideal is always to use reliable sources; that is sources that exercise some form of editorial control. Examples of reliable sources include books published by major publishing houses, newspapers, magazines, peer-reviewed scholarly journals, websites of any of the above, and other websites that meet the same basic requirements as any print-based source. In general, sources with NO editorial control are not generally reliable, for instance self-published zines, blogs, web forums, usenet discussions, BBSes, fan sites, and the like. Basically, if anyone at all can post information without anyone else checking that information, it is probably not reliable, but may be quoted if there is nothing better. | ||
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== Things to avoid == | == Things to avoid == | ||
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'''Personal essays or original research''' | '''Personal essays or original research''' | ||
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==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
| − | <references> | + | <references /> |
[[Category:Wiki help]] | [[Category:Wiki help]] | ||
Revision as of 14:10, 28 March 2021
This page, Help: Using this site, gives guidance on how to use the The Falkland Historic Buildings Wiki, and also how to create new articles and improve existing ones.
For generic help on editing Mediawiki pages, see https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Contents.
Understanding the entries
There are pages for people, roads, etc., but the majority of the entries relate to individual buildings.
For a particular building, the box at the right-hand side gives a summary in tabular form. Most of these should be self-explanatory; The OS Grid ref is the Ordnance Survey's National Grid Reference, sometimes called "NGR". The first two characters are always "NO" for all the locations covered by this Wiki, and are followed by two 5-digit numbers, specifying the location down to the nearest metre.[1]
Many of the buildings described are listed buildings, which have additional details in another box at the left.
Finding information
To find information about a particular person, place or other subject, type the subject in question in the search box at the top right and click "search". Note that the search facility only finds whole words.
Alternatively you could click "Random page" at the left to see an article chosen at random, or "Recent changes" to see which articles have been added or updated most recently.
You can also navigate between one article and another. Almost all articles have links to other articles. Links are shown like this - normally in blue, depending on your individual settings. If you click on a link it will take you to another article with more information about the subject in question. Links that look like this (normally red) point to articles that haven't been written yet: it's one of the aims of the project to turn all the red links blue by creating new articles!
Every article is also linked to one or more Categories (not to be confused with listed building categories!). So for example if you're looking at a page about a particular architect, you'll probably see Category:Artists and architects in a box at the bottom of the page. If you click on this it will take you to a list of articles about other architects. All the categories are arranged in a hierarchy below Category:Main categories which thus gives an overview of all the classes of information within this Wiki.
Becoming an editor
If you would like to contribute to the Wiki, you'll need to become a registered user. E-mail ross@foxearth.net with your name, email address, and a chosen "Username" for this site and you'll be set up as a user.
Starting to edit the Wiki
Once you've been signed up as a registered user, it's probably best to spend some time looking at articles and improving them before you create an article of your own. If you find something wrong in an article, perhaps a spelling mistake, or something you know is factually wrong, click the "Edit" tab at the top of the page. This will show you the page in its markup form. Notice how this relates to the article as it's normally displayed. If you feel confident, just make the changes. To show what you've been doing, put a few words in the "Summary:" box at the bottom, to tell other editors why you made the changes. Once you're happy, click the "Show preview" box at the bottom of the screen and make sure that the article looks as you expect. If all is well, click "Save page" and the new version will be saved in the encyclopaedia.
Creating a new article
Before creating an article you should search to check that there is no suitable article that already exists. If an article on the topic you want to create is there, but you think people are likely to look for it under some different name or spelling, learn how to add a redirect with that name; adding needed redirects is a good way to help improve this Wiki.
If no suitable articles already exist, then you need to start a new article.
In the search box near the top right of a page, type the title of the new article, then click Go. If the Search page reports :"There were no results matching the query. Create the page "xxx" on this wiki!" (where xxx is the name of your subject in red) then you can click the red article name to start editing the article. If you're creating a page for a specific building, start by copying the contents of the Building_Template page.
A new article should always say where the infomration has come from. You should provide a source for any statement that might be contested, and for any direct quotations. Add the reference immediately after the sentence, surrounded by <ref> and </ref>, for instance:
<ref>"Obituary: Sir Paul Latham", The Times, 26 July 1955, page 11.</ref>
or
<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/features/consenting-adults.shtml</ref>
The references will appear as numbered footnotes at the end of the article.
See also
See also a page of sources that we've drawn on to create this Wiki and some external links.
Notes
- ↑ The first digit of the second number is normally 0 for the Falkland area. Many of the grid references quoted come from the HES listings, which confusing omit this zero - we are gradually correcting this in our articles.