A video incorporating the new RefToolbar (the thing that appears when
you click "Cite" in the editor) would be helpful in this regard.
Citation templates and citation formatting are definitely one of the
biggest barriers to truly integrating newbies into Wikipedia editing
(i.e. getting beyond doing spelling corrections). I think that people
would be a lot less intimidated if they knew they could just paste in an
ISBN number and click a button and the citation is automatically created
for them. (I remember my own amazement at learning this.)
Ryan Kaldari
On 3/15/11 4:04 PM, Carissa Wodehouse wrote:
Hi,
Yep I do find both of those videos too basic
(http://www.howcast.com/videos/317521-How-To-Edit-a-Wikipedia-Article
and http://www.commoncraft.com/wikipedia-video). I get the nuts and
bolts of how to click around, I know basic html when I see it, and I
remember neutral tone and proper citations from college and time in
publishing (but gotta love a video on the internet that explains that
you need an internet connection). The Howcast referenced the Wiki:Cite
page, which I then find confusing because I don't get when to use each
citation method.
A Strunk & White version of the rules is what I need! There's so many
women in publishing, that could be a good group to target for women on
Wiki involvement, as someone said before. I just need to know how wiki
editing is similar and different from AP Style, for example.
I would also be interested in a video that explains the community,
which is both one of the primary barriers and primary motivations I
have for participating. I didn't know about barnstars and awards, for
example. Then I eventually found this Editor Assistance page
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_assistance) which looks
like something handy-- I didn't know there was a place to ask for
help. Then, what are user talk, user boxes, who gives awards, who are
some key figures (Jimbo, etc), what is the user/editor/moderator
relationship, and what are some things that can happen once I start
editing and interacting. That's what a video would be handy for. It
all feels like trying to get into Lost in the last season-- all these
time tunnels and smoke monsters that I couldn't trace to their
original form if I tried.
Sadly, I see no meet ups in Portland or Mexico City, yet...
Thanks,
Carissa
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