TBwiki:Getting started
Thank you for interest in contributing to the TelcoBridges wiki, TBwiki.
In order to insure the proper operation of this site, we have designed some policies and procedures which should ensure timely and relevant content.
Before you can make (lasting) changes to this site, you must first become a registered user. See the top right of this or any other page on the Wiki for the same link.
Contents |
Editing content
TBwiki is based on the MediaWiki software platform, the same software used to power Wikipedia. Consequently, it uses the same techniques for creating, editing and linking to pages.
Wikipedia provides an overview of how to edit a page in a Wiki based on MediaWiki. You may also find it worthwhile to follow this tutorial as well.
To supplement the basic page editing tools provided with MediaWiki, if you use the Firefox web browser, you should consider enabling a 3rd-party solution called wikED. (This also requires having the Greasemonkey extension for Firefox installed.) Once installed, wikED will provide you with a series of extra editing tools within the web browser window. These greatly simplify importing content from other sources.
New page content
Before you decide to create a new page, please make sure that a similar page does not exist. If a similar page does exist, and can be reasonably updated with your new content, it is preferable to place it there. If not, then create your new page and determine the most appropriate way to link to it from the existing related topic page.
There are two ways to create a new article in TBwiki. The first way is to search for a page that does not exist. TBwiki will give you the opportunity to create a new page of the same name as your search term. The term you use will become your permanent page title so, if you do intend to create a new page, it is important to first search on a term that would make a good page title.
The second way to force the creation of a new page is by editing the content of an existing page. By placing a link in that original article to a page that does not exist, and then clicking on a new link, you are inviting TBwiki to create a new page for you. As in the first case, the name of the link term will become the title of your new page. It is therefore important to use a link term that would make a good title. MediaWiki makes it easy for you to create a link that features the page title you want along with a shorter or different term for display in the content on a different page; see the example of piped text on this page.
Other considerations
- Please focus on being as concise as possible.
- To facilitate legibility, consider adding a double space between each element in the page, such as a section header, an inserted image, or even a paragraph. (This last one is up to you; if you think it improves readability, add that extra line space.)
- Images that are not core to the article at hand (i.e., they are facultative) should be represented with a thumbnail and a short description
- Sub-sections should be clearly identified as such (wrapping the header with two 'equal signs' before and after the header to apply the formatting)
- Sub-sub-sections should be identified as well. (These require three equal signs before and after the header text)
Important note: There is a list of wanted pages, which refers to pages requiring content, as well as a page for suggesting new articles.
Article content
Each article should begin with a broad description of the subject to be discussed, followed by a more in-depth description and discussion.
For articles related to TelcoBridges products, please take the following approach:
- General discussion/description
- Detailed information and/or steps divided into sub-sections and sub-sub-sections as required
- Links to related actions that can be achieved with the topic under discussion. For example, the ability to configure hardware or software to use a given function. The section header title should be 'Related actions'
- Links to related articles from the main TelcoBridges sites web site or documentation developed by TelcoBridges. You may also find it worthwhile to link to information on Wikipedia or from organizations such as the ITU and the IETF, among many others; the section header title should be 'References'.
- Additional information indicating the category of the topic. For technical standards, etc., this is always 'Glossary'.
For industry topics such as RFCs, signaling protocols, voice codecs, and other technical standards, please take the following approach:
- General discussion/description
- Discussion about how TelcoBridges supports the topic in question; the section header title should be 'TelcoBridges and 'topic name
- Links to related actions that can be achieved with the topic under discussion. For example, the ability to configure hardware or software to use a given function. The section header title should be 'Related actions'
- Links to related articles from sites such as Wikipedia or organizations such as the ITU and the IETF, among many others; the section header title should be 'References'.
- Additional information indicating the category of the topic. For technical standards, etc., this is always 'Glossary'.
For frequently-asked questions (FAQ):
- If the article is related to a specific product, technology, component, etc, then you should prefix the article with the name of that item. For example, an article on TB StreamServer, the page title would start out as ‘TB StreamServer:' and then the rest of the title to produce something like the following: 'TB StreamServer: location of logs'.
- Where a FAQ concerns two or more TelcoBridges products, you should defer to the technology or component that is common to the question about the products, then append the name of the concerned products. For example, ‘IVR: maximum channels on the TMG800/TMP800” instead of creating two separate articles, with one for each TelcoBridges product...
NOTE: See the article on SS7 signaling for a good example of the desired approach. Click on the 'Edit tab' to see how the formatting codes are applied to generate the page formatting.
Duplicate content
If you are bringing in new content to TBwiki and there is topic-specific content that exists already, please refer to that topic whenever possible. If applicable, and it can be done so while leaving the topic concise in nature, update the topic itself with the new information, instead of leaving it at the new article level. Then refer to the updated topic from your new level.
Policies and procedures
The MediaWiki software that powers TBwiki was not designed to provide centralized administration of all functions. (In theory, all visitors, whether registered or not, have the ability to view and modify content-- this is how Wikipedia works as well.)
While we are able to configure permissions in order to restrict certain types of behaviors by non-registered (anonymous) users, it is not possible to completely lock down all functionality to avoid the risk of content being temporarily altered or deleted in a malicious manner. (WikiMedia provides the ability to restore previous versions of a page in case of vandalism.)
As a result, it is the responsibility of all users to ensure the quality of the content that they view on--and contribute to--this site. We therefore propose some steps that should ensure that this is what happens.
Conventions
- All acronyms should be capitalized (e.g, DHCP and not dhcp; IP not ip, etc.)
- Where an acronym is used for the first time in an article that defines what the acronym stands for, you should spell out the acronym. For example, an article on DHCP should start as follows, with later references retaining the acronym: "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a ... . DHCP also provides... "
Monitoring a page
After creating a page, you should monitor it for changes. To monitor a given page, click on the ‘Watch’ tab at the top of that page or at the bottom of the page editing window (if you are in Edit mode). This will then alert you by e-mail to any future changes made by a different user to that page.
Please note that every page in TBwiki features a 'Watch' tab. You may choose to watch pages for which you were not the initial contributor. You may also consult a list of pages that you are currently watching.
Validating changes
If a modification has been made to a page you are 'watching', you should visit the page in question so as to ensure the validity of changes. This includes the actual content, its presentation/formatting and the spelling and style of the writing.
Via the History tab, you can compare the current and any previous versions of the page. From there, you can reject (or 'roll-back') those changes.
Ensuring content remains current
You should ensure that at all times that the content for your pages is current. There are various ways and moments when this should be done.
- When you have received notification that a page that you are 'watching' has been modified, you should visit it to validate the content.
- From time to time, you should click on the link titled "Recent changes" found in the 'Navigation' navigation bar on the left-hand side of each page. From there you can see a list of pages that have recently been modified. You should visit some of those modified pages and insure that content is correct.
- From time to time, you should click on the link titled "Special pages" found in the 'Toolbox' navigation bar on the left-hand side of each page. From there, you will find a link titled 'Oldest pages'. Clicking that link will provide you with a list of those pages that have not been revised for the longest period of time.
- From time to time, you should click on the link titled "Special pages" found in the 'Toolbox' navigation bar on the left-hand side of each page. From there, you will find a link titled 'Orphaned pages'. Clicking that link will provide you with a list of those pages that have not been revised for the longest period of time.
- From time to time, you should click on the link titled "Special pages" found in the 'Toolbox' navigation bar on the left-hand side of each page. From there, you will find a link titled 'Wanted pages'. Clicking that link will provide you with a list of proposed pages-- created by links -- for which no content has been provided. By adding content to those pages, you are helping to improve this site.
If you come across a page that appears to be out of date and that would benefit from being updated, please add the following to the bottom of the page:
[[category:Needs revising]]
This will automatically populate a page with links to article that need to be revised. On a regular basis, we will consult the list of pages that need to be revised. This is in addition to the usual page revision efforts.
