Help:Introduction to Wiki Editing

Welcome to the Earth Empires wiki, and thanks for your interest in contributing. Before you can edit any pages, you must create an account first.

Once your account is created, you're good to go. Some pages may not allow new users to make changes. Once you have made edits to other pages or created your own, you will be able to change them, however in the meantime, use the page's Discussion Page and talk about what you would like to do. If you haven't done so yet, be sure to read how discussion pages are used.

Creating New Articles

First, make sure that a page you want to create doesn't already exist. You may find similar information on related pages as well. Think of how other users may search for the information you would like to add and search the wiki yourself before making any new pages. If you find something in an existing page, you may want to edit only that section. If you feel an entire page should or can be devoted to something, create it. Avoid making short pages. Pages with only 2-3 sentences can usually be added in sections of existing pages.

Page Sectioning

If you look at the source of this page (click the edit/view source tab at the top of the page), you'll see each of the main headings is surrounded by 2 ==s. All major topics start at the second level. You can increase the depth of a subject by adding another level:

=== Sub-Section Example ===

shows as:

Sub-Section Example

This is a sub-section example. You'll notice in the table of contents this is a child of Page Sectioning.

==== Sub-Sub-Section Example ====

shows as:

Sub-Sub-Section Example

This is a child of Sub-Section Example

Wiki Markup

As shown above, page sectioning is a very basic example of wiki markup. It is suggested you continue reading this introduction before jumping right into markup if you are new to editing wikis.

Page Linking

Where possible, always include links to associated articles. It is only necessary to link to the article once. For example: The first time you mention Bombing Runs, link to the Bombing Runs page, but the second time it is not needed.

Internal Wiki Links

Are links within this wiki.

This will link to the [[Main Page]], and this to a [[Special:Random|random]] page.

This will link to the Main Page, and this to a random page.

• Jump to the wiki markup page.

HTTP Links

Full http links will be auto-linkified in an article. Most of the time it is a good idea to use alternate text for links. (Notice the single square brackets).

[http://www.earthempires.com Earth Empires]

shows as: Earth Empires

Sandboxes

You might be thinking.. wow, some of this stuff looks confusing! I don't want to break any pages or make a mess of anything, what can I do? Well fear not! Everyone can create a sandbox page of their own. A sandbox page can be used as a staging area for pages you are working on. You can create your own sandbox page in just a few seconds:

1. You must be logged in.
2. Click on your name at the top of the page.
3. if you are redirected to your Earth Empires profile page, click on the "Redirected from User:..." link and remove the redirect.
4. Your Special:Mypage will now become your home base. All you need to do is click on your name at the top of the page!
5. Make a link on your Special:Mypage (replacing General Earl with your login name):

[[User:General Earl/sandbox]]

Clicking on that link will bring you to a non-existent sandbox page which you can now edit at will without harming the rest of the wiki.

Multiple Sandboxes

Sometimes larger projects require more than one page. Having multiple sandboxes works on the same principle as other sandboxes. Follow the steps above to link to more new sandboxes. Example:

* [[User:General Earl/sandbox|Main Sandbox]]
* [[User:General Earl/sandbox1|Sandbox 1]]
* [[User:General Earl/sandbox2|Sandbox 2]]

Ask an Editor

If you require assistance or have any wiki-related questions, leave a message on General Earl's talk page. You can also come to #wiki on irc.earthempires.com and ask there.