Help:Editing 101
The following aims to generally outline how to get started with helping contribute and edit the Wiki. Most of the content on this page is not specific to the Wiki, and other pages may be more useful if you are looking for specific guidelines.
This is one of several Wiki editing guides, and it is highly recommended to review the ones related to your editing interests.
Preface[edit source]
The idea behind Wikis is that it is community-contributed. No one owns the main pages, so editing is open to anyone and everyone within the Wiki guidelines. Don't be afraid to start editing. All editors were once beginners.
Mistakes can also quickly be reverted if you do mess up, but also ask if you're working on something you're unsure about. Communication is key, so make sure you talk with other contributors to get help, or just in general to make sure you're not stepping on any toes.
As long as you're kind and considerate to your fellow editors, they are more than happy to help you learn.
Editing methods[edit source]
The two main editing methods are:
- Source Editor (Highly Recommended)
- Visual Editor
Visual Editor[edit source]
Visual Editor utilizes a visual interface similar to word editors that makes edits more approachable for new users; however, it is highly recommended to eventually learn using the source editor. This is due to Visual Editor being imperfect in editing parts of the Wiki, mainly revolving around templates. Visual Editor does not know how to parse some templates, so you will hit a wall on some portions of the Wiki while using it.
Due to the prevalence of template usage on the Wiki, most guides will be under the assumption that you are using the source editor.
Source editor[edit source]
The source editor uses a WYSIWYG editor. It consists of a few basic action buttons across the top, and a text editor where the pure Wiki syntax is displayed.
To learn more about working with Wiki source code, Check out the MediaWiki Help pages for documentation on basic formatting, writing guidelines, to more complex templating. Common basic pages that may be helpful include:
- Make sure you also follow our Wiki-specific image guidelines.
There are also editors who also find it helpful to find an existing page, copy it, and modify it to figure out what it does.
Getting started[edit source]
Some of the easier contributions you can start with are:
- Spelling and grammar mistakes
- Uploading missing images
- Editing manual tables (Visual Editor actually is very handy for manual tables that weren't automatically generated)
- Editing pages that are not complex template-heavy (e.g. Character and lore pages)
If you are still unsure, you can check the Project:To-do list, or ask around in the Discord and see what tasks might be recommended there for your skill level.
Once you've made you first edit, congratulations! And a huge thank you for taking your time to help make this Wiki as best a resource it can be for the community.
For more in-depth Wiki editing, here are more additional editing guides:
- Project:Style guidelines - (WIP - Refer to RuneScape Wiki's style guide for now) Specific writing style guidelines to keep in mind when editing the Wiki.
- Project:Page guidelines - Covers several types of pages we have on the Wiki and how to add them.
- Project:Upload guidelines - Guidelines for uploading images, videos, and more. This includes image naming, categorizing, licensing and more.
- Help:User pages - Overview on user pages, how to use them to talk with others, and using your own for personal writings (e.g. Guides) and drafts.
- Help:Templates - Overview on templates and a list of useful ones across the Wiki.
- Help:Cargo - The Wiki uses Cargo to store page data to allow for querying content in a SQL-like manner. Want to find how many Zayne cards there are? Or automatically create a calendar of all recorded events? Cargo can do that.
