Help:Editing rules

Here is a set of rules that you should use. These rules are open for negotiation. Use the Discussion page to discuss.

Contents of this Wiki

Articles related to educational technology and all related fields (e.g. see the the big picture
No spamming of any sort is tolerated, i.e. we explicitly refuse entries no related to educational technology and related subject matters! In most countries spamming is not allowed, legal action can be taken quite easily and fines can be substantial. All your actions are registered by IP ! (see also the privacy policy). We also reserve the right to block access to any user, IP number or even whole domains !
This Wiki is managed by TECFA and DSchneider.

Authorship and opinions

No neutral point of view

We do not require "neutral point of view", "no research", "quality" etc. as it is for instance the case in the Wikipedia policy. Simply follow academic standards of presentation, i.e. make sure that reader can find out whether a statement is based on solid research, on speculation, on opinion, on practical experience, etc. and whether it may be controversial. Also make sure that the reader understands if an entry is a "good" piece or just "notetaking" (see #Templates_for_page_status below)

Recognition

If you wish, you can sign an article with your name and institution like, e.g. something like this:

;[[User:DSchneider | Daniel K. Schneider]]
''TECFA, University of Geneva''

which will show as:
Daniel K. Schneider

TECFA, University of Geneva

Of course if you modify an existing article then you may have a look at the history and add at least the wiki login names of those who made significant contributions Authorship is something that may need some more discussion ....

Your opinions

If they may be controversial, sign a statement with your Wiki user ID (or even better with your full name and a link to your wiki ID)
Three ~~~ insert your user ID

E.g. DSchneider thinks that these editing rules are just fine

Four ~~~~ insert your user ID + Time/Date

E.g. These rules need some improvement (11:21, 11 April 2006 (MEST) - DSchneider)

If you totally disagree with an article

If you believe that there can't be a way to present different views and opinions within an entry, just write your own with an other title, but link the two please.

New articles

Improve old contents

Before starting a new article: search the wiki to check if there is already an article. If so, try to improve it.

New article titles

Never use capital letters except for the very first one (the only exception are proper names). Good: Educational theory - Bad: Educational Theory
Use singular (e.g. theory, not theories)
Don't use articles (bad: "the xy theory ...", good: "xy theory")

Synonyms, multiple meanings etc.

If a entry (page) exists under an other name

You can use the redirection feature to point from a new page name to another existing one.
Alternatively to use your favorite synonym for a concept in an other article, use complex links like [[link | your label]]

If a term for an article title has too many meanings

Create a small page that lists various meanings and insert a "disambig" template (see below).
Then write your article under a more specific title.
Examples are Category:disambiguation

Templates for page status

Since this Wiki (so far) is mostly used as a note taking device, it is useful to tell users something about the status of an entry with a banner. For this purpose we created some templates.
Templates refer to code inserted between {{...}}, i.e. they will add contents to a page, insert it into a category and maybe modify it's look.
We are not yet sure which templates to use here, e.g. the Wikipedia has lots, but we certainly can do with less. See the Category:Templates for a list of templates in use. Here are the most important ones:

Disambiguation pages (Template:disambig):
- These are small pages that will split an ambiguous term into more specific terms (specific articles). Example: Activity
- Insert the disambiguation template {{disambig}} at the end of the article (will insert a message and disambiguation category.
Under construction (Template:Under construction):
- Use the {{under construction}} template if you are working on an article and want other people to know about. Once you stop working on it you may revert the article to "incomplete" or "stub"
Planned contents, i.e. stubs (Template:Stub)
- Use the {{stub}} template if you just want to create an article, but without really working on it.
Incomplete articles (Template:Incomplete)
- Use the {{Incomplete}} template to signal that an article is ok as a resource, but that it should be further improved in various ways (e.g. by adding new sections, reorganizing contents, etc.)

Structure and categories

Please make sure that your articles are structured and that they belong some category. Also try to link information.

Structure of articles

Use titles, e.g. == Level 1 == , === Level 2 ===, etc.

Categories

Insert at least one category at the end of each article !, e.g. [[Category:educational technologies]]
You may suggest new categories if needed ! Use plural, not singular. (Categories are auto-creating, we will decide together if we keep yours ...).
See the start page for a list of major categories, or look at the full list

Links

use complex links when need, do not use: "(see here)".

Bad "this is a frequent statement in behaviorist theory" (see [Behaviorism)."

Good: "this is a frequent statement in behaviorist theory".

One article = one topic

create new pages for topics that are relevant to other articles.
Note: There is a system to compose articles from several pages if needed.

Images, quotations and citations

Inserting an image

To insert an image you can do better than [[Image:xxx.png]]

E.g.

[[image:input-process-output-paradigm.png|frame|none|Input-process-output paradigm]]

Documenting an image (when you upload it)

Please add a description for images that you upload
Indicate the source (avoid using pictures that may be undercopyright or ask permission to reproduce)

Cite please !

Always quote the source, never copy/paste from the web without indication of the source and if possible date of retrieval
- Do note copy whole pages, even if you cite the source. Use some "liberal idea" of fair practise.
Use the quotation templates if you want
- {{quotationbox | bla bla }} for longer quotes, see Template:quotationbox
- {{quotation | bla bla}} for short quotations, see Template:quotation

Useful shortcuts

Five ~~~~~ inserts the current date.

Example:

At the time of writing it was ~~~~~

At the time of writing it was 17:04, 18 May 2006 (MEST).

The {{retr}} template will show as:

retrieved, 17:17, 15 September 2006 (MEST)