User:Tomwsulcer/my sandbox 3

Why reference?
Why not? Referenced additions usually aren't reverted. Inline references are extremely easy for others to check and will give your constructive edits credibility. References are like tent pegs which keep new information anchored in a gusty storm. Many volunteers don't understand the basic mechanics of referencing. Here's a simple guide. Please click the blue words "edit this page" above to read this. You'll see reference shells hidden on this page.

The reference shell
Copy and paste the reference shell below into your text processor. With your cursor, highlight a section of text; hold CTRL and type "C" (to copy); now the highlighted text is remembered inside your computer's buffer; move your cursor to where you'd like to place the text (within a blank page of your text/word processor perhaps?); then hold CTRL and type "V" (to paste). Did it work? Copy-paste is a useful skill. Here's a blank reference shell:

Suppose you're researching Vermont. I research offline, finding stuff on the web, pasting facts with references into a text processor. A benefit of offline editing is avoiding editing conflicts. Split your computer screen. Put your text processor on one side. Put Google on the other. Type "Vermont" into the Google search bar. Click on an article or source. Is it a good one? When you find one that's trustworthy, relevant, believable, copy & paste the information from Google into a blank reference shell. Here's one filled out.

First point.

Paste the publisher name within the italic marks so it's italicized as per Manual of Style. Paste the url, title, quote (optional but helpful), date. Picking an identifying name for the reference helps by making it re-useable. My identifying system is my initials tws with 27 nov = date and 37 a serial counter. If you want to re-use the reference (same reference, but elsewhere in the article), the identifying tag comes in handy since you can repeat the reference without retyping. Here's how:

Second point but using same reference.

Notice the backslash "/" character after the 37. You need that character in there to reuse a named reference. What's cool is the references automatically appear with numbers at the bottom of the article. How does this happen? Beats me. But it works.

References will appear if there's a "references" section at the bottom of the article (visit the bottom of this page to check out what is should look like).

Don't know what to write about?
Many areas need improvement. Use your good judgment. If something interests you and Wikipedia doesn't have it, why not write it yourself? For ideas: Requested articles.

How to upload images
Images can make Wikipedia articles look great. They're fun to read. They're visually appealing. But there are a slew of difficult-to-understand rules regarding copyrights and pictures. But here are a few basic points:


 * If YOU take a picture of something inanimate, like a park around your town, there are few problems. Exceptions: you'll need specific permission if you take a picture of a specific person, or artwork, or something copyright-able. Take a picture of a tree, of your OWN painting, yourself, you're fine.


 * If you fish a picture off of the web, chances are there are copyright issues involved, and it probably won't fly past the Wikimedia image police. Exceptions: something earlier than 1923. Or something made by the US government. Or an image from Flickr with the proper attribution.


 * Declaring something "public domain" is the easiest, simplest copyright level. It means it's totally free to everybody. But it means anybody else can copy the picture. This is fine by me. I dripped a handyman painting, hung it on on wall, photographed it, and uploaded the image of this fabulous first-class artwork to Wikimedia Commons, and declared it "public domain". Handymanart will never make me any money; it will NEVER be featured in the Metropolitan Museum. So, I don't care.

Upload images to Wikimedia Commons. Use this link:

Wikimedia Commons upload link

If you click "it's entirely my own work" things sail through quickly. It's somewhat easy, as well, if you click "It is from somewhere else". Follow the steps. Choose an easy-to-remember destination file name. Put the date. In the description area, it sometimes helps to put information there so another editor can verify that the image is yours; on occasion, I've uploaded images that others have sent me, and I included their email addresses in the "description" section in case anybody wanted to verify the picture. And I prefer "public domain" but other license options are possible too.

After you click "upload", remember the filename. Write it down (or copy & paste it). You'll need this filename for your Wikipedia article.

Now, you've uploaded a picture. Below is the text which puts a picture, with a caption in it, inside a Wikipedia article. Switch in your filename for the "File:Poles, Wellington.jpg"; if you don't, you'll see this street in Wellington, New Zealand instead of your picture. Keep the thumb. You can have it either be "left" or "right" (most prefer right). The alt= is text to describe the picture in case the user doesn't have a browser that lets him or her see the picture; so the alt= text describes the picture in words; but it's optional. Last, the caption goes in the last verbiage section. Here's an example of a picture:



The vertical line is a pipe. Highly useful. Your keyboard can make it. Sometimes you have to hunt for it. I hold SHIFT and hit a key on the upper right.

How to research stuff
Here's a list of mainstream news sources which I sometimes use. Paste it into your text processor.

(site:newsweek.com OR site:post-gazette.com OR site:usatoday.com OR site:washingtonpost.com OR site:time.com OR site:reuters.com OR site:economist.com OR site:miamiherald.com OR site:sfgate.com OR site:chicagotribune.com OR site:nytimes.com OR site:wsj.com OR site:usnews.com OR site:msnbc.com OR site:nj.com OR site:theatlantic.com OR site:businessweek.com OR site:crainsnewyork.com OR site:CSMonitor.com OR site:cbsnews.com OR site:abcnews.com OR site:npr.org OR site:msnbc.com OR site:cnbc.com OR site:news.yahoo.com)

Suppose you're researching Beaver migrations of the 19th century. Split the screen: left side should be a blank text file and the right side is Google. In Google's search bar, I type perhaps "beavers" "19th century" migration?. Then I cut and paste the (site:newsweek.com.... ) stuff to the right of it in the search bar area. Surprise! It all fits! Hit return. Reference-able stuff (usually). You can make your own list of sources-sites if you're researching something different, such as science or art or whatever you're studying. Avoid sifting through irrelevant unusable web sites, press releases, advertising. I combine a factoid with a reference:

Beavers migrated mainly from Western Ontario to Ohio by swimming in parallel lines across Lake Erie in late October, 1803, to fake out mathematically-inclined storks. Many hitched a ride on canoes.

When done researching, I edit the assembled information into article form. Copying the editing page of an existing article can be helpful too, then switching text as needed. Next, I copy the edited offline file to a sandbox page. So I can tinker with it without being "online" to the Wikipedia community. Anything RED usually indicates a fix is needed.

Add wikilinks
Wikilinks point to other Wikipedia articles. They help readers immensely. It's a huge advantage Wikipedia has over book-bound encyclopedias. Here's the format:

[ [ topic wikilinked ] ] <---Wikilink format, except don't put the spaces in

Sandbox preview
Click "Preview your changes" to see how it will look before saving. Put categories at the bottom using this format LEFT bracket LEFT bracket (two brackets close together)Category:Category name RIGHT bracket RIGHT bracket. An example (disabled using because this is a special page)

Categories are sometimes tricky to find. One way to locate categories is to hunt for articles similar to yours, and see what categories are at the bottom. Another is to type into the Wikipedia search area "Category:(and then your particular subject)" and see what emerges. Unfortunately there isn't an excellent tool yet to help users guess categories. But if categories are done right, they won't light up red in your article. Remember if you're writing in your sandbox page, then experiment with categories briefly, but when you find out which categories work (ie not red), then disable them using the stuff.

Launching your article
Remember there are a slew of deletionists who will check the sources and viability of your newly-launched article; they'll see if it makes sense or is relevant; if not, they'll pounce by beginning a process of deletion called AfD. Wikipedians will vote on whether to keep or delete it. But if your well-written article is referenced, it should survive the scrutiny of many eyes.

To create an article, copy your sandbox creation to your computer's text buffer, then type the article name in Wikipedia's search area. It should say no such article exists. Create the article. Then hit CTRL-V to paste it into the new article space. Remember to un-disable the categories (remove the stuff) so the categories are fully functioning again. Preview. Then SAVE. Write something in the discussion page to get that going. And you've created your first article. Congratulations! And remember to click "watch this file" so you can be apprised of future developments.

Using Pipes
One thing about pipes. That's this character: "|"

The internal "wikilink" has this format:

What lights up blue as the link

The stuff LEFT of the "pipe" character is where Wikipedia fetches the actual article. Above, it will hunt for "Actual Wikipedia article" and go there. Make sure the capitalization's right.

The stuff RIGHT of the "pipe" is what appears in the article.

Use it to abbreviate stuff, and help writing. Suppose you're writing about the United States Supreme Court. Everybody knows it's the United States. So the "United States" information is really redundant based on the context. So, do this:

The Supreme Court has nine justices.

So this appears in the article: The Supreme Court has nine justices. (and "Supreme Court" will be blue, telling readers there's a link). If they click on Supreme Court, it will go to the "Supreme Court of the United States" article.

Last, the "pipe" character can be made by most keyboards, by holding down "shift" or "alt" and finding a key on your keyboard that looks similar. It's useful to know how to do. It's also possible to cut and paste the pipe character into your text processor.

Good luck editing!