How to Edit Halachipedia

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT US AT ASK@HALACHIPEDIA.COM
IF YOU WANT TO APPLY TO BECOME A HALACHIPEDIA MODERATOR, GRAPHIC DESIGNER, OR CODER, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT SUPPORT@HALACHIPEDIA.COM

Step 1: Become a user

1. Create an account by clicking here.
2. Please note, that in order to prevent bots, we have set up a system that allows anyone to create an account, however the account's first edits will not be shown on the default view of the page until the account is approved, which is usually done right after the first edit is made. Once the account is approved, all future edits are shown on the default page automatically. Even after a person has an approved account, his edits are still viewed by others to see if they could be improved, but by default they do appear on the finished page.

Step 2: Learn how to edit

Wiki coding is relatively simple to learn and use, but it's not always so intuitive, and so it would be a good idea to first read some very brief help guides before adding content.

How to Create a New Page

• Unlike most websites whereby you create a new page and subsequently connect the new page to the main site via a link, in a wiki you first have to create the link and then the page. When you create the link, it will be to a blank page. Then when you click on this blank page, it will give you the option of adding content, so that it’s no longer blank.
• Therefore, the first thing to do is decide where your halachik article would belong within our topical categories as displayed on the left sidebar.
  • For instance, “The Laws of Shema” would fall within the “Prayer” category.
• Next, you need to create the link. To do this, click the edit tab towards the top of the page. From here you’ll see a large editable text box with all sorts of strange looking coding symbols. Find where you should add your link and surround the title with double brakets
  • For instance [[Laws of Shema]] = Laws of Shema
• A red link means that it's an empty page, which you can then click on and add content

How to Add Content

• To make a simple page, there are really only a few codes you should know

1. Subtopics have == before and after ==
2. Bullet points use the asterisk sign *
3. Numbers use the pound sign #
4. References require two things:
   1. Each individual reference needs <ref> before and </ref> afterwards
   2. And, at the very bottom of the page, you must include: ==Notes== <references/>

Here's an example:

According to scientists, the Sun is pretty big.<ref>E. Miller, The Sun, (New York: Academic Press, 2005), 23-5.</ref>
The Moon, however, is not so big.<ref>R. Smith, "Size of the Moon", Scientific American, 46 (April 1978): 44-6.</ref>

==Notes==
<references/>

An Example Template

<!-- cut and paste the following template into a word file, 
replace any text with your desired text, leave all symbols-->

Write a two sentence introduction-just replace this text with your introduction. 

<!--Use the next line of code if you want to insert an image, else erase -->
[[File:name of image file.jpg|thumb|right|''text you want below image'' ]]

== Replace this text with First Section title ==
# Replace with desired text <ref> Replace with desired reference</ref>
# Replace with desired next point text<ref> Replace with desired reference</ref>
# Replace with desired next point text<ref> Replace with desired reference</ref>

== Next Section Title ==
# text <ref>reference</ref>
# next point text<ref> reference</ref>
# next point text<ref> reference</ref>

== Next Section Title ==
# text <ref>reference</ref>
# next point text<ref> reference</ref>
# next point text<ref> reference</ref>

<!--Do not erase the next two lines -->
==Sources== 
<references/>”

Transliteration from Hebrew to English

We hope to offer a dynamic interface that allows the user to choose his transliteration or pronunciation style (Ashkenazic, Sephardic) and the text will appear accordingly. However, until we can implement this feature this is what we have:
This issue is troublesome because there is no universally-accepted method. For a brief introduction to the topic there is an article in wikipedia called Romanization of Hebrew. Of the various options, we have chosen to use the "Common Israeli" version, except that the 8th Hebrew letter should be denoted by 'ch'. While this represents the official recommendation of the site, we realize that there are often numerous variations in spelling, some more common than others. We hope to list such spellings at the bottom of the given synonymous page, and to create a redirect page accordingly, and we encourage your help in this regard.

Links for More Coding Help

• [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Formatting Wiki