Thelemapedia:Where to start
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Revision as of 06:05, 8 Nov 2004 Adityanath (Talk | contribs) Contribution strategies - fix link to Thelemapedia namespace |
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*Wikipedia. (2004). ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:How_to_write_a_great_article How to write a great article].'' Retrieved Sept. 18, 2004. | *Wikipedia. (2004). ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:How_to_write_a_great_article How to write a great article].'' Retrieved Sept. 18, 2004. | ||
*Wikipedia. (2004). ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights Wikipedia:Copyrights].'' Retrieved Sept. 18, 2004. | *Wikipedia. (2004). ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights Wikipedia:Copyrights].'' Retrieved Sept. 18, 2004. | ||
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Revision as of 06:09, 8 Nov 2004
Thelemapedia is a big site and it can be tough to know where to begin. This article is designed to get you started...
First, you will want to read these articles. They are pretty easy to get through, and they really will make your participation here much more productive:
Table of contents |
Contribution strategies
There are several ways you can contribute to Thelemapedia:
- Write on a new topic. Find a red link or create a brand new topic and get writing. The beauty of the wiki is that you don't have to write a complete article. Just write as much as you know or have time for. If you do write something that has obvious omissions, just write that in the article, and someone will eventually get to it. If there is a section in your article that you know someone has more knowledge about, try leaving a note on the "discussion" page of their userpage. You can also leave a note in the Community Portal that your article needs more contributors.
- Edit existing topics. Click on a blue link of your choice and see if there is anything you want to add or change. Read Thelemapedia:Editorial Policy to find out good etiquette in doing this. Oftentimes articles will have large chunks missing that you might be able to fill. Other times, you will see an article that is—let's face it—hideous. By all means clean up such entries. When you do, be sure to leave a note in the discussion page.
- Fact-checking. Comb through articles and make sure that things stated as facts really are.
- Correcting spelling and grammar. Pretty self-explainetory, huh?
- Formatting. You don't need to change content to make it more legible. Take what's there, move it around, add headers...do what you must to make it easier to read (please!).
- Adding citations and links. If you see quotes or statements that you know come from specific sources, help the article out by putting in a citation and links to relevant materials.
Getting information
Copyrighted materials and citing references
Remember, you cannot take material that is copyrighted (like in a book or on a personal website) and just copy it over verbatim. However, there are ways to use such materials without violating their copyrights. Note that copyright law governs the creative expression of ideas, not the ideas or information themselves. Therefore, it is perfectly legal to read an encyclopedia article or other work, reformulate it in your own words, and submit it to Thelemapedia.
However, distinct ideas should be cited and referenced, like this (Gates, 2004). Then put in a reference at the bottom of the article linking it to the site or book, like this:
- Gates, B. (1998). The Big Open-source Advocacy Homepage. (http://www.opensource.org/halloween/halloween1.php) Retrieved Sept. 18, 2004.
For a complete list of citation and reference formats, see the Wikipedia page on Citing Sources (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cite_sources).
Citing sources provide references that help the reader to check the veracity of the article and to find more information. If you consult an external source while writing an article, citing it is basic intellectual honesty. More than that, you should actively search for authoritative references to cite. If you are writing from your own knowledge, then you should know enough to identify good references that the reader can consult on the subject. The main point is to help the reader—cite whatever you think will be most helpful. This applies when writing about opinions, as well—beware the temptation to write weasel phrases like, "Some people say..." Who said it, and where and when?
Sources of content
There are lots of great sources of information regarding Thelema, magick, astrology, and the like. Here are some references to get you started...
Books
Naturally there is an abundant amount of information printed in books. If you want to see a basic list of books on Thelema, we recommend this list (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?tag=scarletwomanl-20&keyword=aleister%20crowley&mode=books).
Reference sites
Thelema References
- U.S. Grand Lodge (http://oto-usa.org/)
- The Hermetic Library (http://www.hermetic.com/)
- The A.'.A.'. (http://outercol.org/)
Esoteric References
- Bulfinch’s Mythology (http://www.bulfinch.org/)
- Folklore & Mythology (http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html)
- Sacred Texts Archive (http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm)
- Astro.com (http://www.astro.com/astrology/in_intro_e.htm) (astrology)
- Skeptic's Annotated Bible (http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/)
- Magick Dictionary (http://www.choronzon.com/tocmirror/tzimon/Magidict/magdic1.html)
General References
- Encyclopedia.com (http://www.encyclopedia.com)
- About.com (http://www.about.com)
- All Reference (http://reference.allrefer.com)
- Bartleby (http://www.bartleby.com/)
- U.S. Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/)
- RefDesk.com (http://www.refdesk.com/)
- InfoPlease (http://www.infoplease.com/almanacs.html)
Open source sites
Open-source sites have material that is openly available. However, you need to cite properly anything you use verbatim. Use the references at the bottom of this article as an example of how.
- Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/)
- SourceryForge (http://sourceryforge.org/)
- Wikinfo (http://www.internet-encyclopedia.org/)
- WikiSource (http://wikisource.org/)
If you use an article from one of these sources, you can do so verbatim, but you need to reference it properly. A good reference line looks like this:
- This article was originally taken from: Wikipedia. (2004). Aleister Crowley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley). Retrieved on Sept. 3. 2004.
Search engines
Do not underestimate the power of Google (http://www.google.com) to help you find information!
Where to go from here
- Where to start Read this if you are having trouble with getting started
- Really Simple Tutorial A friendly guide to all the basics
- Editorial Policy Basic policies regarding content and behavior on Thelemapedia
- How to Contribute A quick start primer for adding content to Thelemapedia
- Wiki Markup Full list of all the formatting code, including text, images, sections, and links
- Article Basics Find out how to write a great article
- Common Sources How to cite sources (including short libers), and a list of common books in reference format
- Projects Page List of needed articles organized by general topic
- What Thelemapedia is not
- Thelemapedia Power Structure Who's in charge
- Characters How to use Greek and Hebrew letters in your article
- Using Images How to upload and use images in your Thelemapedia articles
- Dispute Resolution What to do when the fighting breaks out
- List of boilerplate templates Automatic text messages, like the "stub" line
- Comprehensive Wikipedia Help Pages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents) Everything there is to know about using a wiki
References
Some materials on this pages were taken from:
- Wikipedia. (2004). Cite sources (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cite_sources). Retrieved Sept. 18, 2004.
- Wikipedia. (2004). How to write a great article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:How_to_write_a_great_article). Retrieved Sept. 18, 2004.
- Wikipedia. (2004). Wikipedia:Copyrights (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights). Retrieved Sept. 18, 2004.