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[edit] Page names

Page names should be unique and descriptive. Avoid generic names such. For example, if creating a page that contains a list of resources related to a specific topic (let's say bilingualism), "Links" is not a good title -- "Bilingualism Links" would be much better.

[edit] Editing etiquette

Most pages on StudyPlace are meant to be open for editing. You should not be hesitant about making changes to them: alter content, add more detail, or delete material as necessary.

If you are unsure about an edit, it is a good idea to first post the proposed change on the article's "Study" page. In so doing you alert interested parties of your intention and provide them the opportunity to respond. Generally, lack of response after a reasonable length of time can be considered implicit permission.

There are some exceptions to this rule. Generally, any User: pages (other than user talk/study pages) should not edited. Certain articles present the author's original work and generally should not be edited directly. These pages will be identified with an author's note or with a by-line. StudyPlace strongly encourages responses to these pages, though, and you should feel free to post comments, critique, and suggestions on the article's study page or on a new article created in response to the original.

[edit] Major revisions

If you are working on wholesale revisions to an article and you would like feedback to it before posting it 'live', it is recommended that you copy the contents of the article under revision to your user space.

You can do so by copying the source and then creating a page that begins with your User:USERNAME/article.

For example, if I wanted to work on a new version of "The Commons", I would create a page called User:Matt/The Commons. This would give me a place to work on my edits without disrupting the original as well as a page where others could comment on my changes.

[edit] Don't fork pages

Avoid "forking" pages. By this we mean, do not copy and paste the content from one page into a new page in order to make revisions (with the exception of the case above, where you temporarily are working on it in your user space). Forking pages makes it difficult for readers to distinguish which page is active, as both pages may show up in search, from links, and in categories.

Instead, consider moving the page or just editing it in place.

[edit] Deleting pages

Sometimes pages should be deleted. Test pages, drafts, false starts, nonsense, or otherwise obsolete pages are good candidates for deletion. Most editors don't have the permission to delete pages. If there is a page that you think should be deleted, follow these steps:

1. Mark the page with the "delete" template by adding {{delete}} to the top of the article.
2. add a comment to the top of the study page describing why the page should be deleted.

[edit] Wiki markup

• use wiki mark-up instead of html whenever possible (e.g. '*' instead of '<li>')
• use a css class instead of style attribute if the class exists

[edit] Tables

MediaWiki has built in facility for creating HTML tables. Generally, you should use tables when you wish to show a table of information. In most cases, you should not use tables to control the layout of your page. Using tables for layout makes the wiki text harder to read and edit by other users.

Instead of using a table for layout, consider:

• using a <div> or <span> tag
• rethink the layout: StudyPlace values content over style

[edit] Subpages

While Wikipedia disallows subpages for articles, they are sometimes appropriate for StudyPlace. Subpages are created by adding a '/' to a page title. Subpages should be used when the parent and subpage are closely related and the subpage does not make sense on its own. Subpages are often called for when creating course content, on user pages, or when breaking up content for large articles or portals to be included onto the main article page.

Good use of subpages

 Programming II
   --> Course Requirements
   --> Office Hours
   --> Course Participants

Inappropriate use of subpages

 Critical Pedagogy
   --> Paolo Freire
   --> bell hooks
   --> Peter McClaren

In the second example each of the articles stands on its own. It would be more appropriate to add the people (Freire, hooks, and McClaren) to a Critical Pedagogy category, rather than as subpages.

[edit] Linking to new pages

Once you create a new page, you want people to know about it. Here are some tips on putting your page on the map:

• add relevant categories
• search for related content on StudyPlace and add links to your article from those pages
  • if your term appears in the text, link directly
  • if there is not a good place to link from the text, add a "Other Resources" section at the bottom with a link to your page
• post a link on the community portal bulletin board

[edit] User page

All users are encouraged to create a user page once they join. Typically, user pages relay information about the editor, their interests in StudyPlace and other relevant information. In keeping with the spirit of community StudyPlace endorses, users are encouraged to use their real names. Using real names relationships to build around whole persons rather than pseudonymous identities used only on StudyPlace.

[edit] References

The preferred way to reference articles on StudyPlace is to use the footnotes generated by the <ref> tag. This tag works simply. You place the ref tag where you want the note to appear. Inside the lt;ref>lt;/ref> tags you place your note or citation. At the bottom of your page, you place the <references /> tag. This will output your references.

Example:

You Type	You See
This is an example with a referecence<ref>this is my note</ref>. ... <references />	This is an example with a referecence[1]. ... ↑ this is my note

If you make several references to the same source, you can use the 'name' attribute when you create your references. See the documentation for the full usage.