Wiki getting started

What is this wiki?

(Adapted from Wikipedia:) This OLPC website is a wiki. A wiki is software that allows users to create, edit, and link web pages easily - in this case, information and projects surrounding the One Laptop Per Child initiative. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites like the one you see here.

The OLPC wiki is completely open; generally speaking, anyone can edit any page if they think they can improve it in some way. Wikis are generally designed with the philosophy of making it easy to correct mistakes rather than making it difficult to make them. A handful of active, experienced wiki editors act as wiki administrators reverting and blocking vandalism while also helping new users get started.

Learning to use the wiki

Ordinarily, the structure and formatting of wiki pages are specified with a simplified markup language, sometimes known as "wikitext". Wikieducator uses the same software we do, and they maintain an excellent tutorial on how to get started editing.

We recommend you start by:

1. Creating an account
2. Reading through the Wikieducator tutorial and working through as many of the exercises as you like.

It usually takes people about 30 minutes to get comfortable using the wiki. Of course, you can do things in any order - you can even practice editing without creating an account first, if you'd like.

Once you do create an account, check your preferences and be sure you verify your email address and turn on email notification if you'd like it -- you can find out when your talk page, or any page on your watchlist, is modified. You may want to upload a photo or information about yourself to your userpage (see Lauren's, Mel's, and Xavi's pages for some examples).

Getting help

Wiki mentors

There are a number of active volunteers who are always willing to help new users get started. No question is too small; we're here to help point people in the right direction. Contact information should be on their userpages; just click on a name to get started.

• Mel Chua
• Add yourself here

Live chat

The #olpc-content channel on irc.freenode.net is usually a good place to find people and ask questions about using the wiki. Instructions on using IRC can be found here, or just visit the web chat on http://olpc.osuosl.org/chat and type the words "/join #olpc-content" (no quotes) once you sign in.