Powerbase:Help Contents

What is "wiki"?

A Wiki is a collection of interlinked web pages.

What if someone tries to vandalize or insert disinformation into Nuclear Spin?

Currrently all people who want editorial access to Nuclear Spin must register with SpinWatch. This is our first level of security. The Nuclear Spin software also includes a number of features that make it possible to detect and manage vandalism.

• As editors to the site are registered, it is easy to track the editing activities of registered user.
• In the case of someone still managing to write malicious material, the software keeps an archive of all past versions of each article, making it easy to undo by reverting to a previous version.

Do I have to register to edit pages?

Yes.

Do I have to use my real name?

Yes.

What is an orphan?

An orphan is an article that no other article links to. These can still be found by searching Nuclear Spin, but it is preferable to find another article where a link can be added. You can find a list of orphan articles here.

What is a minor edit? When should I use it?

When editing a page, one has the option of flagging the edit as a "minor edit". When to use this is somewhat a matter of personal preference. The rule of thumb is that an edit of a page that is spelling corrections, formatting, and simple rearranging of text should be flagged as a "minor edit". A major edit is basically something that makes the entry worth relooking at--either through substantial additions or reorganisation--or fixes a major error.

This feature is important, because users can choose to hide minor edits in their view of the Recent Changes page, to keep the volume of edits down to a manageable level.

What is "Recent Changes", and what do the abbreviations used there mean?

The notations on "Recent Changes" are "N" for new page (new pages often attract a bunch of copyedits); the "M" stands for "Minor edit" or "minor change", which you can set by checking the check box labelled "This is a minor edit" when you edit a page. If you check your "Preferences", you can suppress minor changes in the Recent Changes List. Checking this box is a courtesy to people who suppress seeing minor changes -- check the box if the change is a simple spelling or grammar change.

Are there any standard formats, for things like dates for example?

For referencing please see here

Links: External and International

Is translating pages from other SourceWatch that have more information than ours a good way to add to the project in general?

Yes, it's a good idea to cross-pollinate.

Is it OK to link to other sites, as long as the material is not copied onto SourceWatch?

External links are just fine. Arguably, they increase the usability of SourceWatch. Keep in mind, however, that SourceWatch is not a web directory; external links should support the content of the article, not replace it. The current convention is to place external links in a separate section at the bottom of the article. However, sometimes they are placed within the article as a footnote. See SourceWatch:How does one edit a page for different ways to create external links.

Copyrights

I have, or can get, special permission to copy an image or article to SourceWatch. Is it OK to do that?

The text and images of SourceWatch are covered by the GNU Free Documentation License. Unless an item is covered by the same or a similar license, or is in the public domain, it cannot be used on SourceWatch. So you have to ask the copyright holder of the material to license it under GFDL.

I have an out-of-copyright image (or text) that is reproduced in an in-copyright book. Can I scan / type it into SourceWatch?

Providing they haven't altered the image then they can't claim a copyright on it. If it was in the public domain before they used it, it's still in the public domain afterward.

Does using a GIF image in SourceWatch violate the GFDL because of its patent?

The LZW compression algorithm used with the GIF format is patented. It is nevertheless legally permissable to produce gif's and release them under GFDL, just like it is legal to produce a CD-ROM with GFDL material even though the CD-ROM format is patented. People who write or use gif creation programs are bound by the patent. That is why free software generally does not support the format anymore. That being said, we encourage SourceWatchns to use the technically superior and patent-free PNG format instead of GIF.

Under the copyright law in Japan, copyright holders cannot make their works public domain, therefore there is no public domain in materials covered by Japanese copyright law. What can I do?

Technically, there is still expiration in Japan too. So if the works exceeded expiration term, they are considered public domain. Otherwise, they cannot be public domain.

Miscellaneous

SourceWatch is great but I no longer have a life. I feel the urge to spread this affliction to my fellow human beings. How do I spread the word?

See SourceWatch:Building SourceWatch membership for some ideas.

How do I edit a page?

It's quite simple. Simply click "Edit this page" on the bottom or the side of the page, and type away. See SourceWatch:How to edit a page to learn about making links, using bold and italics, linking to images, and many other things...

How do I make links?

A link is just the name of the page surrounded by double square brackets. It's also possible to make the link display text that is different to the link:

[[page name]]

[[page name]]s -- suffix text will display as part of the link

[[page name|display name]] -- hide the page name and display something else (but use this sparingly, and never "click here"!)

[[page name (disambiguation)|]] -- the "pipe trick": the part in parentheses will not be displayed.

How do I delete a page?

Consideration for others demands that you exercise extreme caution in doing so. Think about what you are trying to accomplish. SourceWatchns generally discourage deleting information from the encyclopedia unless there is a good reason for it. Please review SourceWatch:Policy on permanent deletion of pages before taking action.

It is trivial to delete the text from a page. You can click the edit link, erase all of the text, and click save. However, this is rarely helpful, as the page's history is still available, and anyone can restore the text again.

Usually (but not always), rather than deleting a page, the page should be redirected somewhere useful. If someone writes a nice article on 'JFK' it should be moved to 'John F Kennedy' (or similar) and a redirect put in place. See SourceWatch:How does one edit a page to learn about redirects.

To request that a page be permanently deleted, put the page title on SourceWatch:Votes for deletion, with the reason why you think it should be deleted. At some point an administrator will come by the page and decide to remove it for you. Unless someone else comes by and decides not to agree with you, of course.

How do I rename a page?

Registered users can move a page; this moves the page content and edit history to a new title, and creates a redirecting page at the old title. This method is better than just copying the content by hand, as it preserves the article's history. Use the "Move this page" link. If you want to move a page, please click the "What links here" and fix the links to the page in question. See SourceWatch:How to rename (move) a page.

How do I edit a redirect page?

The easiest way to edit the redirected page is to click on the link you see at the top of the page after being redirected: "redirected from ...". For example, if you try to go to the Tobacco Industry Research Council page, you are redirected to the Council for Tobacco Research page. At the very top of that page, you will see a message: "(redirected from Tobacco Industry Research Council)", Click on the Tobacco Industry Research Council link, and you will edit the redirect page page.

What is "Recent Changes", and what do the abbreviations used there mean?

The notations on "Recent Changes" are "N" for new page (new pages often attract a bunch of copyedits); the "M" stands for "Minor edit" or "minor change", which you can set by checking the check box labelled "This is a minor edit" when you edit a page. If you check your "Preferences", you can suppress minor changes in the Recent Changes List. Checking this box is a courtesy to people who suppress seeing minor changes -- check the box if the change is a simple spelling or grammar change.

What is the ideal/maximum length of an article? When should an article be split into smaller pieces?

Separate stub sub-articles for each area of a topic can be very inconvenient for the reader to be chasing stubs that don't say very much. Articles seem to have clearly diminished technical performance when they exceed 32K in length. A rule of thumb: >30K must be divided; 20K-30K probably should be divided; 10K-20K consider dividing if the subject conveniently warrants; <10K don't bother. Size is only one factor; a 30K article with no likelihood for increased size is probably fine the way it is.

See also: SourceWatch:Administrators

What is an administrator? What is a sysop?

Two words for the same thing. An administrator is simply a SourceWatch user who can access the few restricted SourceWatch software functions: deleting articles and uploaded files, protecting and unprotecting pages, blocking and unblocking IP addresses, and running certain direct database queries.

How can I become an administrator?

It's easy. First, you need a user account. Then, make useful edits over a period of time. In this way, you prove to the community that you are here in good faith. Then, send a message to editor@prwatch.org and request sysop status. Voila! Be sure to read SourceWatch:Administrators and SourceWatch:Policy on permanent deletion of pages, and use your new "powers" with caution.

Administrative Tasks

How can I unban an IP?

Select "Blocked IP addresses" from the drop-down box at the top of each page (Special:Ipblocklist), and click on "unblock" as required. Developers can unblock multiple IPs at once.