Help:Contents

Getting Started

Before getting started, please read over this page and skim the BME wiki forum on IAM. The first thing you should edit is your user page. Do so by clicking on your username (very top of the screen), and clicking edit. Use preview as well while you're editing so you don't commit any major errors.

Want pages to edit? You can clean up existing ones, but more important is that we fill in the missing/wanted pages ASAP!

Naming Policy

Please name new items with full capitals (ie. "Apadravya Piercing", not "Apadravya piercing").
Before adding a new entry, please make sure it does not exist under another spelling or capitalization.
Category names should be plural (ie. "Ear Piercings" not "Ear piercing")

Category Policy

Items should be categorized. Here is a list of current categories. If you feel one is missing, it's OK to add it. Multiple categories in many cases should be used. For example, The Lizardman is very talented, so his category list (which should be placed at the end of the entry) reads:

[[Category: People]]
[[Category: BME Staff]]
[[Category: Performers]]

Some people may have more, some people may have less.

Linking Policy

I prefer external links to be at the end of the entry in a related links section rather than inside the entry. For now, please do not make commercial links unless necessary (ie. don't say "and you can buy this item here", but do say "visit this piercing studio here").

Descriptive Linking

When linking to pages outside of the wiki in blocks of text please use something that describes where the link is going or what kind of information it will contain.

Do not link to words or phrases like: 'here', 'go', 'click here', and 'more'.

Borrowing Text From Other Resources

Treat this like a school paper. It's OK to quote from another reference (please cite it if you can), but please don't make it the basis of the entry. And whatever you do, don't wholesale copy entries from somewhere else, or just tell people "go look here instead". We can do it ourselves!

Starting new entries

It's OK to add a short entry to get things going, but please do not add totally blank entries. Also, please don't add an entry if you have no idea what the entry is about. Lastly, do a search to find out if the entry isn't covered in another, similar entry.

Layout and basic "HTML", wiki-style

You can get full information on using this system on the MediaWiki User's Guide. However, for starters, here's some quick reference materials.

To create bold text:

'''this is bold'''

(becomes this is bold)

To create italic text:

''this is italic''

(becomes this is italic)

To create an internal link to another entry here:

[[Prince Albert]]
or
[[Prince Albert|PA]]

(becomes Prince Albert and PA)

To create an external link:

[http://www.bmezine.com]
or
[http://www.bmezine.com visit BME]

(becomes [1] and visit BME)

To create a new section:

== Section Name ==

becomes (something like)

Section Name

To insert a full-sized image, use a code like:

[[Image:Example.jpg]]

Be sure to give the image a unique filename, and you will need to click on it to upload it after you create the entry.

To create a centered or left/right aligned image:

[[Image:Example.jpg|center]] or [[Image:Example.jpg|right]]

To create a zoomable 100 (pixels) thumbnail with a caption:

[[Image:Example.jpg|caption goes here|alignment|thumb|100px]]

This should get you started with the basics. Please familiarize yourself with the full documentation if you want to do anything more complicated.

Adding Images

You should also visit the "Adding Images to the BME Encyclopedia" subpage for logos and more information.

Templates

Marshall, a very experienced wikipedia editor, has proposed that we start using his template for piercings (and maybe he'll add more). Follow that first link to his user page to check it out.

Still Confused

There is a full MediaWiki User's Guide on their page, and questions are always welcome in the BME wiki forum on IAM. Good luck everyone!