How to use "Discussion" pages

Every "content page" in this wiki has an associated "discussion page" that any user can add to. Discussion pages are accessed by clicking on the Discussion tab at the top left of the page.

Users of this wiki are encouraged to contribute to discussions about the material presented and to suggest updates and corrections for the content pages. You can start a new discussion topic or add comments to an existing thread. These can be specific suggestions to improve the associated content page or discussions linked to the material on the page.

Adding material to a wiki site requires a little learning about how inputs need to be entered (see below). You can keep this page open in a separate window for reference. Further information can be found in the MediaWiki help pages: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Talk_pages

To be able to add comments you will need to create a log-in (see "Log in" link on the top right).

When starting broader discussions, please do your best to add your contribution to the Discussion page linked to the content page that is the most relevant to your issue. This will help others find it and engage. Topics do overlap and so wiki moderators may add links to connect discussions and/or move discussion threads to consolidate them (leaving links to the original location), with the aim of fostering more exchange.

If no one has started any discussion threads on a page yet, then you may see a message that says "You have followed a link to a page that does not exist yet". This is not a problem - go ahead and start posting using the instructions below and the Discussion page will be "created".

Signing your contributions

Please sign off on your contributions to discussions. To do so type four "tilde" characters at the end of your entry: ~~~~

Once your entry is saved, these symbols will automatically convert into your log-in name and the date and time you have posted (magic!)

It is much easier to follow threads, and it's more conversational, if posts are signed. All additions and changes are also tracked in the page 'history' and this will include your log-in name, even if you don't sign it. Your posts are linked to your user log-in so that you can easily find all the discussions you are participating in. To do this, use the "Contributions" link that appears at the top right after you have logged in.

Starting a new topic thread

When you are on the desired Discussion page where you want to start your new topic thread:

• Click on "Add Topic" tab, top right. You will be given a subject box where you can enter a heading name for the thread and a content box below where you can write the full comment or question.
• Sign off at the end of the entry by simply typing: ~~~~ (automatically converts to your log-in name and time of your entry when you hit Save)
• You can preview what your addition will look like by clicking on "Show Preview". If you change things, you will need to click "Show Preview" again to refresh.
• Once you are happy, click "Save" and it will be posted on the site.

Adding comments to an existing topic thread

To add input to an existing conversation thread on a discussion page:

• Click on the "Edit source" tab on the top right of the page. Here you will see the 'wiki' language source code of the page. Don't be alarmed, it's not very abstract coding and once you look at it briefly, you'll see its quite simple and mostly just basic text.
• Navigate to the place in the discussion where you want to insert your input.
• Add a new line for your entry and add a colon, : , before you type. The colon will indent your addition below the previous entry. If an entry that you are responding to is already indented (i.e. it has a " : " in front), then add two colons before your response entry, :: , and so on.
• After the indent colons, simply type in your comment or question in normal text.
• Sign off at the end of the entry by simply typing: ~~~~ (automatically converts to your log-in name and time of your entry when you hit Save)
• You can preview what your addition will look like by clicking on "Show Preview". If you change things, you will need to click "Show Preview" again to refresh.
• Once you are happy, click "Save" and it will be posted on the site.

To see an example or for more help: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Talk_pages