ghs1974 - Hints

Here are some hints about things you can do in these pages...

To Edit a page, there is a link in the upper right of every page called Edit. Press it, and a window will open in the middle of the page. It has editing tools at the top. You can compose your work in the window. It is very similar to MS Word, or your email editor. Just remember when you are done to press the Save button below the window. You may have to scroll down (at the far right side of your browser) to see the Save button. Don't leave the editor open for more than a half hour, or it will close automatically. If you want to work longer, then save and re-open once in a while.

There are more detailed instructions on the New Member Instructions page.
Of course, write things that you want to share. If you haven't figured it out yet, if you are a class member, you can create and modify pages in this website. That's much different from other websites.
You don't have to take on a big job making fancy web pages. Errors are okay because they are easy to fix. Just add a little to the site now and then. Once you have made your first edit, you may find that it is extremely easy and great fun.
Other people would like to se a little biography about you. Put in the kind of stuff that you might email to one of us. If editing pages isn't your thing, send an email to one of us, and we will put it up for you.
To link to other pages, just type "[[LinkName]]" in the page that you are editing. Do not put spaces in the name - it's called "camel case". The page title will automatically get the spaces added before the upper-case letters. If you do put a space, the first word will be the page name, and the second word will be the string value that shows for the link.
Start a page about something that you don't know. Put a question or a request for anyone else to edit it.
Don't be afraid to edit any page. As long as you are making it better. Embelish on someone else's thoughts.
Pages can be blocked from public access if you only want classmates to see them. I can do it for you. An example is Directory. The Guests and Chat Room pages are open for anyone to edit. All other pages are visible by the public, and editable by members. That leaves a trace in Versions of who is accountable for each edit.
To add a photo, first make an attachment from the menu & choose "Hide", then put it in the page with "Insert Link or Image into Selection:" at the bottom of the Edit page. Please keep the files small, because our disk space is limited. About maximum 200KB total per person is reasonable. Step-by-step instructions for adding a photo are available at How To Add A Photo. If you put a big photo, no problem - I will probably shrink it for you to a smaller lower-resolution file.
If you want to delete a page or an attachment, mark the checkbox (at the bottom of the Edit or Attachments pages). It will not actually be deleted until an administrator finishes the deletion. Don't worry about it - I will get to it before too long.
To change a linked page name, use the Page > Rename button, check the page name in Page > Edit, and check links on other pages which call it. I'm not sure if the last two items are necessary, but it is good to check. (You can fix this item for me, if you know better.)
Did you see the Site > Search button? You can find things, like references to peoples names. Since page name links do not have spaces, try searching for your word (or someone's name) as a substring, like "*grant*", instead of just "grant".
The Index is automatically updated to include new pages you create. So even if there is no link, there are ways to get there.
Someday you may miss something new. Look in the Site > Changes.
If you want to be alerted when there is something new to see, change your Notification settings in User > Preferences. For now, I get email messages on my phone every two hours if something has changed (That is severe geek behavior, but I'm trying to give a fast response to new members. Besides, observing human behavior is fascinating.)
Comments can be added to a page by just editing the page, and adding at the bottom. Others will know about it from the Changes page, or by the automatic email notification. Responses and discussions are common on pages. (This is different from the Comments field at the bottom of the editor. See hint #20.)
Put a date and signature for your page comments.
There is a fundamental concept in Wiki, and in software programming, called "refactoring". When something gets cluttered, it can be cleaned up, rewritten, reformatted to present the knowledge concisely and clearly. This is very different from newsgroups, threaded discussions, and blogs.
Don't leave the editor open when you leave. It is necessary to save your work when you are done. If you leave it open for 30 minutes, you will get closed automatically. There is a warning a few minutes before. If you want to take longer, save, and re-open for edit.
If your edit session gets closed automatically, you may lose your edits. Try using your browser's Back button, after you login again, to get back to the editing session with your work.
When you edit a page, put a short note in the Comment field (which appears just above the Save button). That comment will be included in the notification email, and will show in the Versions list for the page. That will communicate the intent of your edit to others. It is a great way to highlight changes which might otherwise be lost in a large page. Some suggestions for comments: "message to John", "spelling", "updated job", or whatever.
The Site Changes (in the right-side menu) page shows which pages have changed. It is a great way to find what is new since your last visit.