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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