Help:What is a wiki?
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What is a wiki?
A wiki is a collection of Web pages (called articles) designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites.
The collaborative encyclopedia wikipediais one of the best-known wikis. Wikis are used in business to provide intranets and Knowledge Management systems. May be they are "the simplest online database that could possibly work".
For a short introduction have a look at this 3 minute film on Wiki's. Just push the play button!
A wiki is a dynamic website where in several people can work together easily. There are open wiki's (accessable to everyone) and closed ones (members only, like this one). Wiki originates from Wikiwiki, which means “quick” in Hawaiiaan language.
You can always have a look using the tab edit (or bewerken) to see just how documents, pages etc. are made. Try to hold on to the lay out used in the pages already there. Using copy paste (for layout purposes is encouraged! Trial & error are the best way to learn to work in a wiki: just copy the text you find under edit (bewerken) paste it into another page and change the content (names of picturs, texts etc.). If you copy content: be sure to mention the source and mind the copyrights! It is never allowed to copy large pieces of texts of course!
Wiki-software
This wiki works is a Mediawiki application the same application [1] uses. Lots of things you find in Wikip[edia and other Mediawiki wiki's are applicable here as well.
Lemma
The basic principal of a wiki are the so called Lemma: the articles (or maybe topics). Any contribution can be done by using Edit (bewerk) in the tab above the article/pagina. This only works (and is visible) if you do have the proper rights to do so. You basically can just type in text (or paste it in without lay-out) with copy past from Word etc. The software works with Wiki-çode, which acepts most HTML and XML codes. Be sure to use the button save page/bewaar pagina a lot on working!
Basics on Wiki's
A Wiki is a place for storing, upgrading and collecting information, knowledge and sometimes just data. The basic is that all of this is executed in so-called lemma or articles. There are two options:
- You adjust and improve an existing page or
- You make a new page yourself.
You can adjust an existing page by using the Edit tab above the article. This is only possible if you are logged in and have the rights to do this. Some pages are protected, and depending on who you are you can only see a specific part of this Wiki!
You can just type in your text: the lay-out possibilities in a Wiki are limited with a reason: everything should be lean and mean: the pages should load quickly. As in so many applications you are working in a screen copy of the database. So use the button Save page a lot.
You can also have a look at the results first before you save them with the button Show preview. Remember, nothing is saved yet! As rolling back is very easy most people prefer saving the pages several times as you work in the document..
If you look at the bottom of the edit page Apart form Save Page, Show Preview, Show changes, there is also the possibility to explain to others shortly what you have edited on this page in a short summary. This is NOT a summary of the page but a summary of your changes. So if the page is new: new page will do. If you have only corrected a few typing errors write as summary: corrected typing errors.
If you click on the tab history you can see all the changes with this very short explanation.
Tags
Software running the Wiki's is working on so called tags. So if you wan to have anything to be bold you use the tage '''dit staat vet''' of <b>dit staat vet met een HTML tag</b> <nowiki> These tags are the instructions to the software what to do: wiki code and HTML codes both work. Most of hen are words between <> or for instance other signs like'''. It is also possible to just see the tags without having the softare dop anything: then use the <nowiki><nowiki> code. So the instructions no will be done by the software:
Confusing, though is that for instance Flickr uses the word tag to describe the content of a picture.
Login and rights
This Wiki has different several levels of users. There are different levels of rights depending on who you are: this is effectuated by your login. So depending on your login you can
- see different things
- do different things (edit rights)
Apart from this structure there are also certain complete articles protected (no edit possible at all) as you can see by the tab 'unprotect'which means at this moment this article is protected (like this one). And even in an article you can edit some sections mights be protected.
To enter the Wiki you need a loginname and a pasword.
- Your loginname is not changeable, your password is. We recommend you though not to change it.
Be sure to keep the password to yourselves (your team). We sure to keep it stored somewhere as well. We can not provide you with the password as the course has started. Please fill a correct email-adres so that you can have the password send to you on problems.
Goals of this Wiki
The goal of this Wiki is:
- to communicate, publish and react
- to have a central place for your documents
- to have your questions in a central place
- to gather on overview of all that happens around the courses
To take part in a wiki is very easy, just do it. There are some rules but not to many. Making mistakes is not all that bad: it is always very easy to rollback your changes. But, of course, it is advisory to have a few minutes of practice in the Categorie:Zandbak which can be used for practicing.
Style in writing
Be aware of the fact that people who are reading your content might be less informed then you are. So be precise and make a lot of links on things that might need to be explained. In wiki's it is no problem to have some items (red) highlighted as an invitation to others to work further on this item in depth.
Objectiviteit inhoud
NPOV is often a standard in wiki's, which means a neutral point of view. This is so as many wiki's are used as a kind of encyclopedia. In your case you can be more personal, but still beware to name sources and back up all of your text and to account for all of your content. No brochure texts please and no leaflet like ads.
Wiki man?
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