Contribute
[[::Contribute|English]]
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. Create an account, including passing the verification test, then confirm your email before editing, you will only have to do this process once.
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 entry
- First create your account. The confirmation email will go immediately to your email address to confirm you are for real. If you don't see it, it may have been redirected to a Spam folder.
- Once you have created your account, select "Contribute!" from the "Participating" tab.
- In the box under "Add an Entry" type your name or organization name as you would like it to appear on the wiki. Click "create or edit."
- On this new page, there should be various categories and empty boxes to the left.
- To upload a profile picture, click "Upload file" beside the empty "Image" box
- Click "Choose file" and find your file. Open this file.
- Add a description if it is important for licensing, etc. Note the name of the file (ie: Chinese_Tea_Salon_in_Montreal.jpg)
- Scroll down and click the grey "Upload file" button. Close this window. The window should disappear, leaving your file name in the box.
- On your new page, click "Edit." Insert the image file name next to "|Image=": for example, Chinese_Tea_Salon_in_Montreal.jpg
- Fill in the remainder of the wiki entries as you see fit!
All pages (including artists) must be uniquely named. If you try to create a new artist with an existing name, you'll be editing the existing artist, which you can update if required. If two artists have the same name, the wiki practice is to add the differentiator in brackets, for example, Person A (Musician) and Person A (Cartoonist).
To get started, enter an artist or group name here, then click "create or edit."
Entry categories
Entries use categories, which are linked to each other to show up in the appropriate input box. For example, Dance is a subcategory of Arts. To add a new category, use the CreateCategory page, making sure to select the appropriate parent category — Arts or Aspects.
See also Why and how do I create categories?
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, film clips, music, 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 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. If you're editing an artist, you can upload a representative image using the form.
If you're feeling particularly creative, visit MediaWiki Widgets for details on how to add various social media widgets to your wiki page.
Deleting a page
Wikis pages aren't normally fully deleted. Instead, move the page, using the drop-down menu item, or equivalently change it to a redirect by changing it's contents like this: #REDIRECT [[New page]]
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. See #Entry_categories.
You can list all categories on the site using this page.
Copying content from other sites
When copying content from other sites, please respect terms of use or copyright, and use the provided From templates.
- Copying from Wikipedia: {{From wp|URL of version you copied}}
- Copying from other sites: {{From|URL of site|URL of version you copied}}
Note the difference; one template is {{From wp}}, the other is {{From}}.
Embedding Youtube video
You can use this format on any page:
{{#widget:YouTube|id=<Youtube token>}}
<Youtube token> is the last part of the YouTube page URL when you go to it directly. For example, the token for http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VJIUAjMexOY is VJIUAjMexOY.
See an example here: Youtube.
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 is content featured on the front page
Any Person or Group that has an image will be featured. Click on the image to go to that entry.
Editing content
Wikipedia has multiple "cheatsheets" to make formatting easier. Here are a few:
- formatting
- ":" = indent
- "" and "" around the text = bold font
- "==" and "==" = for titles and subtitles
- Wikipedia A longer, more complicated how-to edit a page
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.