What is a wiki?
A wiki is a cooperative Web site - a site where any one can edit any thing on any page. Sound like a recipe for disaster? Thanks to revision control and community spirit wikis are thriving all over the 'net..
how does it work?
Contributing to a wiki is simple. First, it is advisable (but not compulsory) to set your user name on the [Preferences] page. The name you enter will be stored in your browser as a cookie and added (along with your IP address) to the log for any page you edit. Enter your user name as a WikiWord to prevent (Your Name)? with a question mark showing up in RecentChanges.
To edit a page, click the Edit this document link near the footer of the page you wish to edit. You will then be able to make any alterations to the page you like. When editing pages, text is added using a special wiki markup language which is simple but powerful - you can learn more about the markup language on the EditingTips page.
Wiki pages are generally identified by a WikiWord, consisting of WordsSmashedTogether. To link to a page, just type its WikiWord. To create a new page, make up a new WikiWord and add it to an existing page - when you view the page normally the new WikiWord will have a question mark next to it to show that the page has not yet been created. Click on the question mark to create it.
To create a new page without linking it to the current page: 1) edit the current page, 2) add a new WikiWord, 3) Preview, 4) click on the question mark and away you go. Or, you can go to any page and edit the address to "[...]page=NewPageTitle".
Don't worry if you make a mistake - all previous versions of wiki pages are saved and can be accessed through the View Document History link at the bottom of the page. This also helps prevent vandalism or other mishaps, as any damage done to a page can be quickly and easily reversed.
That's pretty much all there is to it. Experiment with wiki markup on the SandBox page, and have fun adding to the wiki.
