Manual:FAQ
| Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
This space is provided to address questions about use of the wiki in general. Wiki contributors should check here first to help understand their role in developing content for the wiki. If you have a question not addressed here, CONTACT US and we will response soon. |
Contents
Content
What do we mean by "content"?
Content is the collection of text, tables, images, and videos that Contributors provide to create an article.(Return to Top)
What is an article?
An article is the presentation of content on a page. Each article is a uniquely identifiable topic. An article may have one or several sections. The sections are logical divisions of topics (or subtopics) within the article. (Return to Top)
What is a page?
A page is essentially the location of the article on the wiki. It can be easily accessed with links from one page to another. The terms "page" and "article" may be used interchangeably as long as it is recognized that the article is the content and the page is the place where the content resides.
A page may be associated with one or more related pages by assigning them to a category. A category page is like a directory of related articles that the reader can access to find select topics of interest. For example, Remediapedia has more than one article dealing with the overall topic of common groundwater contaminants. These articles are listed on a category page called Common Groundwater Contaminants.
In a similar way, any content on a given page may be linked to one or more related pages either internally or externally to the wiki. For example, the article Chlorinated Solvents refers to several chlorinated compounds that are already well documented on Wikipedia. Therefore, if a reader wishes to learn more about a compound, a new and redundant page within Remediapedia is not required, but rather a link can take the reader to Wikipedia.
Categories and Links provide a way to organize related topics over multiple pages (articles) and provide the reader an opportunity to obtain a more complete understanding of the subject matter. Contributors are encourage to observe how their individual articles may relate to other articles on Remediapedia and recommend links or category names that will enhance the reader's experience. (Return to Top)
What is a contributor?
Remediapedia is initially being developed with select input from experts in their respective environmental restoration topic areas. Recognizing that these experts may collaborate with their peers and/or staffs to complete an article, the project will collectively recognize them as "contributors". Original authors of the content will be noted as the first contributor as is customary for science papers and reports. Since a wiki is organic on the web and not static as in a physical book, it is anticipated that facts and understandings will be updated as they are developed. Consequently, future contributors may be recognized leaders in a given environmental restoration topic that have not yet been included in the original work.
Each contributor's name will be linked to a special contributor's profile page that provides the reader with a short bio, contact information and relevant links (e.g. a contributor's website). To that end, contributors are asked to provide their personal profile information at the time they submit articles using the format described in the Format Section of this FAQ. (Return to Top)
How should contributors submit their content?
In General
For Remediapedia, the Environmental Restoration Wiki ( also called ERWiki), contributors may submit their text and tables to wiki staff in a standard MicroSoft Word format (.doc or .docx extension) and their images in high resolution .jpg or .png format. The contractors who are developing this wiki platform will convert the contributor's materials to wiki format using standard wiki markup code. Any contributor who is already familiar with wiki markup is free to format their article directly on the wiki. If a contributor has ever provided content on mainstream wikis such as Wikipedia, they will be able to write directly to the wiki. Any contributor interested in / comfortable with editing within the wiki framework can receive help from the Wiki Staff to accomplish this.(Return to Top)
Outline
Main Article
Who is the main target audience for this wiki?
The main target audience of the wiki is Department of Defense (DoD) Remedial Project Managers (RPMs) and regulators who actually manage and regulate environmental restoration (ER) projects. However, we also want the Wiki to be useful to a range of audiences including consultants, students and researchers. (Return to Top)
How long should a wiki article be?
Contributors should limit content to concise, easy to comprehend pages so that a reader only needs to scroll 2 or 3 screen lengths (assuming a standard 21" monitor) to read the full article. If your article needs to be much longer, consider dividing your topic into multiple pages so that appropriate sections can be "stand-alone" articles linked to each other. When an article needs to be longer to provide meaningful continuity of topic, exceptions are made, realizing that some topics will be complex and require development of concepts not easily condensed. (Return to Top)
Format
What is the format for my article(s)?
- Text: Submit any document format that is easily accessible on the average computer. Most contributors will likely use Microsoft Word format (e.g. .DOC, .DOCX) or Word compatible document formats (e.g. .TXT, .RTF).
- Tables: Tables are typically formatted within documents so that they will be extracted from text submittals. However, contributors may submit spreadsheets or presentation files (e.g. excel or powerpoint) and even images in the appropriate image format.
- Images: Appropriate image formats are .jpg and.png. High resolution images are preferred (300 ppi or greater).
- Video: MP4 is preferred. However, most video formats can be converted if necessary.
What is the format for my Contributor Personal Profile?
- Contributor's Name: [TITLE] [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME] [CREDENTIALS]
- Contributor's Work/Contact information: [PLACE OF WORK] [EMAIL ADDRESS] [PHONE NUMBER] [WEBSITE] [SOCIAL MEDIA (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)]
- Brief Bio: One hundred (100) words or less including education and professional credentials
References
How should I reference my article content?
References are encouraged and add validity to content. Contributors should provide as much information as possible to allow readers to find the referenced materials themselves. Ideally all references will be more reliably accessed by using standard permanent catalogs where they exist, such as Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or International Standard Book Number (ISBN). The [Defense Technical Information Center] may be a source. When referencing SERDP/ESTCP reports and papers, please link to the [source repository] (Return to Top)
