CZ:Getting Started: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 12:58, 6 November 2024

Let's get started!

Learn about us

Essential reading. Don't miss these crucial documents. (They're part of the CZ:Organization pages.)

About - An introduction to the Citizendium; our goals.
Help system - questions and answers to find the help you need.
FAQ - A lengthier, question-and-answer style introduction.
Policies - The current "constitution" of the Citizendium community.

How to get to work

You don't need to read a thick manual before actually working. We'd prefer it if you just dove in, which you can do, because wikis are easy (really!). But the following documents should clarify your role as author or editor, and give you an idea of where to have your questions answered in the future.

Start a new article - There's an easy way--and it is very easy.
Every contributor is an Author (we no longer have Editors).
Introduction to CZ for Wikipedians - We do things differently here, but not that differently.
A few essentials - Here are a few hints if you want to avoid common faux pas.
How you can help - What to do. There's a lot that needs to be done!

Citizendium culture

We're a community, and we have a culture. Read about what "gets us going" and what "makes us tick."

Why Citizendium? - Why should you contribute at all? There are many good answers.
Be Bold - If no one is giving out orders, you're free. Freedom requires boldness!
Under Construction - This is a wiki. Things aren't perfect; we keep making it better.
How to collaborate - Collaboration with a global group of colleagues requires finesse.
CZ:Group Editing - Commentary on how editing and writing as a group is much different than rough draft/final copy formats that most are used to.
Professionalism - We're a pretty friendly bunch.

Learn more

This is just a getting-started page. There's a lot more on the community home page, CZ:Home. Here are some other links to help you get started.

How to edit an article - The technical nitty-gritty. WikiMedia markup, etc.
Approval Standards - A list of the qualities a good article should have.
Article mechanics - A guide to mechanics and style
Subpages - We're more than just an encyclopedia. See what else.
Workgroups - How we organize ourselves by discipline.
Citizendium by Citizendium - our article about ourselves.
Introductory Video - A third-party video introducing the concept of wikis.

Citizendium Getting Started
Quick Start \| About us \| Help system \| Start a new article \| For Wikipedians

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-<!-- please let's keep this page reasonably short, thanks -->
+__NOTOC__
-'''If this is your very first visit to this wiki, welcome!  And please read this.'''  It'll get you started, and it has some "do's and don'ts" you should know about.
+<center><div style="font-size: x-large">Let's get started!</div></center>
-If you've never used a wiki before, finish reading this page first for an orientation, then make [[Help:Contents|the help page]] your next stop.
+; Learn about us
+: Essential reading.  Don't miss these crucial documents.  (They're part of the [[CZ:Organization]] pages.)
+:* '''[[CZ:About|About]]''' - An introduction to the ''Citizendium;'' our goals.
+:* '''[[Help:Index|Help system]]''' - questions and answers to find the help you need.
+:* '''[[CZ:FAQ|FAQ]]''' - A lengthier, question-and-answer style introduction.
+:* '''[[CZ:Policies|Policies]]''' - The current "constitution" of the ''Citizendium'' community.
-'''What do you want to do here?'''  You should do precisely what you want to do.  Since this is a bottom-up project, there is no one telling you what to work on, when.  But here are some ideas:
+; How to get to work
-* [[:Category:CZ Live|Look at the pages that others have been working on]], and help out.
+: You don't need to read a thick manual before actually working.  We'd prefer it if you just dove in, which you can do, because wikis are ''easy'' (really!).  But the following documents should clarify your role as author or editor, and give you an idea of where to have your questions answered in the future.
-* Spruce up the discipline gateway articles found on the [[main page#Disciplines|front page]].
+:* '''[[CZ:Start Article|Start a new article]]''' - There's an easy way--and it is ''very'' easy.
-* Some people have been working on a list [[CZ:High priority articles for pilot|high priority articles for the pilot project]].  Please have a look.
+:* Every contributor is an '''[[CZ:The Author Role|Author]]''' (we no longer have '''[[CZ:The Editor Role|Editors]]''').
-* Have you seen a Wikipedia article that you always wanted to improve, but couldn't?  Well, have at it; the article's here, and the Wikipedians you fought with probably aren't.
+<!--
-* A lot of people work ''outside'' of their areas of expertise on Wikipedia.  You might actually be more comfortable working within your area in the ''Citizendium'' project.
+:* '''[[CZ:The Author Role|The Author Role]]''' - Authors are the lifeblood of the project.  How to do your job.
+:* '''[[CZ:The Editor Role|The Editor Role]]''' - "Editor" means something a little different here than what you might be used to.
+-->
+:* '''[[CZ:Introduction to CZ for Wikipedians|Introduction to CZ for Wikipedians]]''' - We do things differently here, but not ''that'' differently.
+:* '''[[CZ:Essentials|A few essentials]]''' - Here are a few hints if you want to avoid common ''faux pas.''
+:* '''[[CZ:How you can help|How you can help]]''' - What to do.  There's a lot that needs to be done!
-'''Enlivening Wikipedia articles: do's and don'ts.''' The articles on this wiki are taken from Wikipedia.  Some (a very few) we've edited; most we haven't.  The ones that we have worked on are called "live."  The articles that we ''haven't'' worked on are called "refreshable" because we might be refreshing them from time to time with the latest from Wikipedia.
+; ''Citizendium'' culture
-* '''Do''' look at the bottom of an article for the "<nowiki>[[Category:CZ Live]]</nowiki>" tag to see if it is "live."  You can double-check in the page history.
+: We're a community, and we have a culture.  Read about what "gets us going" and what "makes us tick."
-* '''Do''' help out with "live" articles!  This helps other people at work on the ''Citizendium'' and helps build our essential, all-important community.
+:* '''[[CZ:Why Citizendium?|Why Citizendium?]]''' - Why should you contribute at all?  There are many good answers.
-* '''Don't''' make changes to a refreshable (non-live) article unless they're ''significant'' changes.  Don't make an article "live" by making minor edits.  Make minor edits only to articles that are ''already'' live.  (The reason for this is that we want to help ourselves to the latest major edits that Wikipedia might have made to an article.)
+:* '''[[CZ:Be Bold|Be Bold]]''' - If no one is giving out orders, you're free.  Freedom requires boldness!
-* If you change an article, '''do''' add "<nowiki>[[Category:CZ Live]]</nowiki>" to the bottom of the article.  That makes it show up on [[:Category:CZ Live|the list of articles we've changed]].  That way we keep track of what we've done.  (Later, that list will be constructed automatically.)
+:* '''[[CZ:Under Construction|Under Construction]]''' - This is a wiki.  Things aren't perfect; we keep making it better.
+:* '''[[CZ:How to collaborate|How to collaborate]]''' - Collaboration with a global group of colleagues requires finesse.
+:* '''[[CZ:Group Editing]]''' - Commentary on how editing and writing as a group is much different than rough draft/final copy formats that most are used to.
+:* '''[[CZ:Professionalism|Professionalism]]''' - We're a pretty friendly bunch.
-'''Make your user page.'''  We think it's only polite to let other people know who they're dealing with.  So, when you get a chance, edit your user page (a link to it will be up at the top of the page) and say a little about yourself.  But user pages should be ''limited'' to only the following sorts of information:
+; Learn more
-* Biographical information (your education, interests, etc.).
+: This is just a getting-started page.  There's a lot more on the community home page, '''[[CZ:Home]].'''  Here are some other links to help you get started.
-* Articles you have started or are watching.
+:* '''[[CZ:How to edit an article|How to edit an article]]''' - The technical nitty-gritty.  WikiMedia markup, etc.
-* "To do" lists.
+:* '''[[CZ:Approval Standards|Approval Standards]]''' - A list of the qualities a good article should have.
-* Other helpful notes directly of personal use to you in your work on the Citizendium.
+:* '''[[CZ:Article mechanics|Article mechanics]]''' - A guide to mechanics and style
-* Editors require further information--a link to CV-type information and a list of your areas of expertise.  See [[User:Gareth Leng]] for an example (sorry to put on the spot there Dr. Leng :-) ).
+:* '''[[CZ:Subpages|Subpages]]''' - We're more than just an encyclopedia.  See what else.
+:* '''[[CZ:Workgroups|Workgroups]]''' - How we organize ourselves by discipline.
+:* '''[[Citizendium]] by Citizendium''' - our article about ourselves.
+:* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY Introductory Video]''' - A third-party video introducing the concept of [[wiki]]s.
-'''Here are a few general hints.'''
+{{Getting Started}}
-* To learn the technical means of editing a page on Citizendium's wiki, see [[CZ:How to Edit Citizendium|how to Edit Citizendium]].
+[[Category:Getting Started]]
-* CZ = ''Citizendium''
-* This is an "alpha" pilot project, which means that things might break occasionally.  Don't let that freak you out.  Just ask questions if you're curious.
-* Be bold in updating pages!  Don't be shy!
-* But be kind and collegial.  Among other things, this means that if you edit someone else's work on the ''Citizendium,'' you should explain why you made the edits you did on the "discussion" page.  But here we don't mean the original Wikipedia article--feel free to be the first person to completely change it without explanation.  Consider that your reward for whipping it into shape.
-* Want to discuss general policy, get help, etc.?  Don't do that here on the wiki except about particular articles (use the "discussion" tab).  Instead, join [https://lists.purdue.edu/mailman/listinfo/citizendium-l Citizendium-L] and, if you're an editor, [https://lists.purdue.edu/mailman/listinfo/citizendium-editors Citizendium-Editors] (you should already be subscribed, actually, if you accepted our invitation).  Also, there's a lot of good stuff in the [http://smf.citizendium.org/ Citizendium Forums].
-'''Where are the rules?'''  This is a wiki.  That means that smart people working  in good faith usually don't need rules.  But we do have some rules that are under active development.  See [[CZ:Policy Outline|our Policy Outline]].
-'''"I'm an editor, where do I go to learn about my editor duties?"'''  Again, see [[CZ:Policy Outline|our Policy Outline]].  We ''won't'' be approving ''any'' articles anytime in the next few weeks; we haven't established the process yet.  But you ''can'' start making decisions about articles in your specific areas of expertise.  Simply begin a section titled "Editors' Instructions" at the top of the article's discussion page.  If you have some question as to whether you are in fact an editor of a particular article, consult the policy outline, first, and if you have questions still, then contact Larry Sanger.
-'''Why are we doing this?'''  Because it's merely productive to respect expertise.  Because the world needs a better free encyclopedia than Wikipedia.  Because we love knowledge and love formulating it beautifully.
-'''Next stop?'''  If you've never used a wiki before, then make [[Help:Contents|the help page]] your next stop.  But if you have, what are you waiting for?  Dive right in!

CZ:Getting Started: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 12:58, 6 November 2024

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