Contribute

Keep in mind the site will be under constant development. Wikis require a bit of learning to get started, but with a bit of dedication, you can take part by editing pages, adding categories, and so on here and on other wikis. We'll stay on top of changes to make information easy to find.

How do I navigate the wiki?

From the front page, you can click on a featured artist photo and be taken to their page. You can view artist events by date by browsing the calendar, and even add events to your Google, Apple or other calendar using the iCal link.

Once on a page, you can click on the page's categories to see all other pages in that category, for example other artists in the same city. We'll be adding major categories and guiding pages to the left-hand menu to help you navigate.

You can also follow the "site life" by clicking on the recent pages link, a page's history link, and user pages, when available.

Why would I create my own User page?

User pages are separate from normal pages in that they represent a site user's page, rather than a page create for some one. If you're an artist or organization, you can manage your own page. First create an account using your full name. Then go to the existing page, click edit, copy the wiki text, then click on your User page (the first link on the very top of the page), then paste the text. Once that's done, you can go back to the original page, and "move" it (using the menu) to point to your User page.

Anyone, not just artists, can also add their own wiki pages, if you edit the site or want to be connected you're encouraged to do so.

How do I create pages?

There are three ways to add pages. The first two involve forms, the third is standard wiki pages. Remember when adding pages, every page must have a unique name. So don't call your event "Dance party," call it "Central Calgary Dance Party Spring 2012." If you see someone else's data on a form you're editing, start again with a unique name.

Add an artist

Add an artist or group entry:

guidelines around adding an artist

Add an event

You can add events directly from an artist page, in which case that artist will be already added.

Or from here, add an event:

guidelines around adding events

Adding wiki pages

To add a simple Wiki page, you can either create a link to it from another page (see Help:Editing) or enter it's name in the search box, hit enter, then click on the link to create the new page. Don't forget to add your page to a category or link to it from relevant places so it can be found.

Keep in mind you can view how any page was created by clicking its Edit or Show source link.

Adding media (images, documents, etc)

It's a little more complicated, but the same process once you get the hang of it. When logged in, you'll see a link to Upload file on the left menu. Click that link, upload your media, and make a note of its file name. If it's called My picture.png, you can include it in any document with this syntax: [[File:My picture.png]]. Note files must also have unique names. When uploading pictures, it's best to use the Image syntax, which also lets you control layout and size.

Why and how do I create categories?

You can create your own categories as appropriate to add different dimensions to pages. A page may not just about an artist, it may also be about an artisan instrument maker, someone who immigrated to Canada, and so on. When added to a category, pages becomes part of a new category list. This page is part of Category:Wiki documentation, artist pages are in categories according to art, location, and so on.

Add the wiki markup to the page that belongs in the category. For example, [[Category:My category]]. That will become a link that lists all pages in that category, including the one you're editing.

Categories can be reused. You don't need to add a new set of locations to a category about a topic, since categories can be joined in queries — Asian Heritage Month and Location categories, using Ask queries, for example.

You can add text to category pages as an introduction. Categories can be made sub-categories of other categories. Just add the parent category to the category page. You need to add your categories to specific categories to add them to the tags available when editing artists.

You can list all categories on the site using this page.

Using ask queries

Since this is a semantic wiki, you can re-use content across the site using ask queries. Here's an example:

{{ #ask: [[Category:Montréal]][[Category:Literature]] }}

Will list all the Montréal Literature artists, like this:

Akhtar Naraghi, Amir Khadir, Amrita Choudhury, Andy Thê-Anh, Apsara Theatre Company, Arashi Daiko, Asia Pacific Law Association, Asma Khan, Bahman Sadighi, Beats from the East, Canadian Asian Studies Association, Canadian Japanese Brazilian, Chanti Wadge, Chantria Tram, Cheryl Braganza, Cheryl Sim, Chih-Chien Wang, Chinese Tea Salon in Montreal/fr, Ching-Hui Kuo, Christy Chung, Cindy Daniel, Constantinople, Dan Li, Dang Thai Son, David Mason, David Usher, Day's Lee, Deepali, Ehab Lotayef, Festival Accès Asie, Festival Monde d'Arabe, Festival du Monde arabe, Filipino Association of Montreal and Suburbs Inc., Florence So, Frances Itani, Ganesh Anandan, Geneviève La, Gillian Sze, Ginger Garden, Giri Kedaton, Glenda Braganza, Hossein Sharang, Hyphen Islam-Christianity, Hyun Jou Lee, Isabelle Dauby, J. Torres, Jaggi Singh, Janet Lumb, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (Montreal), Jenny lin... further results

Advanced options include adding information, and special views like maps and timelines.

You can use these facilities in your own pages to create output that updates itself.

For more help, see structured wiki help.

How can some content be featured on the front page

Under development. For now any Person page that has an image will be featured. (in the future Person will be separated from Organization).

ZoneAlarm problems

There is a Zone Alarm (Antivirus&Firewall) window that pops up saying that the website is suspicious, I tried to copy/paste it but didn't work. The alert also says to avoid entering sensitive data. The pop up window does not detail anything else but it does have an icon that we can click on to stop the warning, if we trust the site is safe. There are no other details from Zone Alarm saying why the site is suspicious.

— Contacted Zone Alarm support staff June 2, 2010. Response — "I will go ahead and send that site to our development group, I was able to get there without any issues," ticket ID LTK164019794485X.