Chester Wiki Guide

Introduction

A wiki is a linked set of pages which anyone can edit and expand. This freedom allows for unique expression and helps foster interesting and new ideas in an organic and very dynamic way.

If you see something you think is inaccurate or incorrect, you have the power to change it. If you see that something is incomplete, you can add more information. You can also create completely new content and tie it into the rest of the site. Likewise, others have the power to veto your changes. It is a delicate balance but one which ultimately leaves the users with the content they most want.

Never be afraid to change something or try something new!

IMPORTANT: In order to edit pages, you must first create an account. This is a very painless process and the only hurdle to contributing content.

Making an account is as easy as clicking a button and choosing an appropriate name (like BobSmith). If you would like to be able to retrieve a forgotten password, you should also enter a valid email address. That's it. After making an account you should check out the People page and make a homepage for yourself. [edit] Facts and Opinions

The aim of a wiki is to present objective facts, rather than personal opinions. The exception is reviews of pubs and restaurants, bearing in mind that libellous comments will be removed swiftly (see Legal notice for more info). Repeat offenders making libellous comments on businesses risk being banned.

We recognise the importance of healthy and lively debate. If you wish to express your personal views on, for example, aspects of development plans in Chester or other controversial local topics, please use the Forum. [edit] References

Chester Wiki does not (yet) have the same rigorous approach as Wikipedia to providing references to stated facts on the various pages. This is largely because in many cases it is not necessary. However, if you are writing anything historical about Chester, it is polite and useful to back up your facts with referenced sources. You can do this in two ways: either add a superscript notation number to your fact and create a list of numbered references at the foot of the page; or add a link to the external web page you consulted. [edit] Editing

Editing a page is as simple as clicking on the "Edit" tab at the top of the screen. There are, however, many possible options for markup (i.e. making the page look pretty.) For your convenience, we have made a formatting toolbar, which works very much like a toolbar in a word processor. By highlighting text and clicking one of the buttons, such as Bold, the text will be surrounded by the appropriate markup to make it appear bold. More information on editing can be found over at Help On Editing. In general, just looking at how existing pages do things (by clicking on Edit and looking at the "raw" content) should let you figure out the markup — which is very simple! (Always make sure you "Preview" before you "Save Changes", otherwise you might end up editing a page several times). [edit] Linking

Linking is the most important concept. The idea is to have all pages linked together in a logical and intuitive way. To make a link to a page, type the exact name of the page you wish to link to, surrounded by 2 brackets. This means to link to the page Front Page I type Main Page. All I did there was. It's that simple. To make a link to a page that displays differently, such as a link to Front Page that displays as Hello World! you just write Hello World. Capitalisation doesn't matter for links. If you create a page and do not link it then it will become invisible unless people look in the General Index.

Also, try to be descriptive in your linking. Try not to use the "click here!" phrase: "For more info check here" is bad! "See Hermitage for more info" is good!

To link to a page outside the chesterwiki, write your link like Chester Wiki which displays as this. Of course, you can also just write http://www.chesterwiki.com if you don't want any alternative text.

Remember — use 2 brackets for things inside the wiki, and one pair of brackets for things outside (external websites).