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, improvements, or corrections for the content pages.

Basic instructions for how add your input on the Discussion pages is given 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

Contributing to Discussion pages

• To add material, you first need to create a log-in. Click on the "Log in" link on the top right of the page and follow the prompts to create a user name and password.
• Once logged-in, click on the "Discussion" tab for the content page you are interested in. Here you can:
  • start a new discussion topic thread, or
  • add comments to an existing thread.
• NB: If no one has started any threads on a Discussion 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! Please go ahead and start posting using the instructions below and the Discussion page will be "created".
• 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.

Signing your contributions

Please sign off on your contributions to discussions. To sign off, simply 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.

Starting a new topic thread

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

• Log into the wiki if you haven't already (see Log in link top right), navigate to the content page of interest, click on the Discussion tab at the top left.
• 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.
  • NB: If no one has started any threads on a Discussion 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! Please go ahead and start posting using the instructions below and the Discussion page will be "created".
• 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 again, you will need to click "Show Preview" again to refresh.
• Once you are happy, click "Save" and it will be posted on the site.

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 may 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.

Adding comments to an existing topic thread

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

• Log into the wiki if you haven't already (see Log in link top right), navigate to the content page of interest, click on the Discussion tab at the top left.
• 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. Fortunately it's not very abstract coding and is mostly just basic text.
• Navigate to the place in the discussion thread where you want to insert your input.
• Add a new line (hit Enter) to make space for your entry and then 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 (it has a " : " in front), then add two colons before your response entry, :: , and so on.
• After the indent colons, type in your comment or question in normal text.
• Sign off at the end of your 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 again, 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