View source for Project:Contributing

[[Category:Guide]]

This wiki is intended to be a clear guide, information source, and documentation repository for all things Wisconsin Racing. Style isn't as important as the information, but care should be taken to make the information easy for future members to find and interpret.

== Rules ==
TODO

== Organizing ==
A number of tools can be used to organize pages. The primary way to connect pages together is through links to other pages.

=== Namespaces ===
Namespaces are mostly used to control who has access to pages. At the moment, the main/default namespace is used for most pages, while everything in the "Public" namespace will be accessible to users who are not logged in. Special namespaces are used for organizing Users, Categories, Talk pages, etc.

=== Subpages ===
Subpages can be used to create pages that are a child of another page. These should only be used if the subpage can be considered part of the parent page. Subpages can also be used on your own user page to store user content, for example [[User:Myself/my_notes]].

Subpages are created by creating a page with the "/" symbol after the parent page name, followed by the subppage name.

=== Categories ===
Categories are used like tags, grouping related pages together for easy access. See [[Special:Categories]] for a list of all categories. Tag pages with all relevant categories to make them easy to find.

New Categories can be created by creating a page in the Categories namespace, like any other page. For example, [[:Category:Guide]]. Add at least a brief description of what the category should contain. All pages tagged with that category will then show on that page. Sub-categories can also by created by making subpages in the Category namespace.

== Creating & Editing ==
Create pages as needed for new topics, guides, etc. Some general notes:
*Write your pages outside of the wiki's text editor. If you try to save or preview and it's rejected for some reason, you'll lose all your work!
* Try to stick with a consistent naming and formatting scheme in pages.
* Tag new pages with relevant categories, can be done in the editor by adding {{Ic|<nowiki>[[Category:category_name]]</nowiki>}} to the top of the pages
* Most pages should be created in the main namespace. Only Public pages and meta-information such as this page should go in other namespaces.
* Add pages you care about to your watchlist, so you can see when they are updated. You can view your watched pages at [[Special:Watchlist]].
* Use the update summary box when possible to describe what changed with your update.
* Use templates where applicable.

Improving existing pages is appreciated. This can be done by:
* Expanding partial articles or re-writing in a more clear way.
* Fixing spelling, grammar, and style.
* Updating outdated or incorrect information.

=== References ===
TODO link markup references, style info, etc.

===Note on block formatting===
If you start a line with a single space, you can get block formatting for code or to represent file contents:

 Create lines like this.

=== Templates ===
Templates are bits of content or code that can be inserted into pages, to allow a common element used on multiple pages to reduce work.
Use them by inserting putting {{Ic|<nowiki>{{Template_name}}</nowiki>}} in the code of a page. Templates can also take parameters, for example {{Ic|<nowiki>{{Template_name|param1|param2}}</nowiki>}}.

See [[Help:Template]] for more information.

=== Page Templates ===
Page templates are different from templates, and are used as a starting point for the entire page. Page Templates can be used for an easy way to make pages that have similar layout or content. 

== Meta discussion ==
Any discussion about the wiki that needs more permanence than [[Slack]] messages can be put in the Talk pages. Each created page has a corresponding Talk page, where meta-discussion or meta-info on the page can be put. These are accessible from the "discussion" button at the top of each page. Good things to put on these pages might be plans for changing the pages, questions about possibly incorrect content, asking opinions about changes, etc. Again note that shorter term discussions might be better served by using [[Slack]], where they will be addressed more quickly.

Add new headings for different topics to discuss. Sign your comments by typing {{Ic|<nowiki>-- ~~~~</nowiki>}} to insert your username and a timestamp. Reply to other comments by indenting your reply one level. Do this by preceding your reply with {{Ic|<nowiki>:</nowiki>}}. Multiple colons indent by multiple levels for nested replies.
Avoid editing your posts in Talk pages, though you can strike through with {{Ic|<nowiki><s></nowiki>}} tags. Once a discussion has been resolved, it can be deleted from the Talk page.

Information or policies on the wiki as a whole should go in the Project namespace, and discussion on those topics in the corresponding Talk pages.

User talk pages can be created at for example [[User_talk:Name]] and can be used as a space to ask questions of a particular user.