...and how do I use it?

Introduction

Welcome to the Squadra Guzzista wiki community website. I have added this page to explain to you what a wiki site is and how you can make the most of it. Before we start, I'd like to advise you that this site is equipped with a detailed Help section which you can access by clicking here GO. What follows is a summary to help you on your way.

I'm sure you are all well used to the use of a forum for the purpose of building a community, creating discussion topics, and getting in touch with like minded people around the world. The basis of the forum, as you know, is that the administrator creates a number of categories, then users create threads and other members respond to them.

Whilst I enjoy forums myself I believe, however, the most exciting wayto build communities is by the use of a wiki, such as this, which combines the fun of a forum but gives the user a whole host of features.

What can I do as a registered user?

The main difference between this and a forum, is that the user is not tied down to categories. As a registered user you are free to create your own pages, as long as they are Moto Guzzi related.

Other registered users can then add discussion threads to the pages which people may respond to...just like a forum...but those users can then also add their own pages too. What this means is that, whereas on a forum you are restricted to the comment box, on our wiki there is no such restriction. If there is something you wish to say about Moto Guzzi, go ahead.

As well as creating pages registered users can add threads to any other page and respond to any other thread to keep the Guzzi conversations going. There is no limit to how big this can get! By using the link on the left entitled "discussion forum" (or click here: GO )you can view all the other threads and respond to them as you would on a forum. For more detailed assistance, use the help site: GO

How do I create a page?

You don't need any HTML or web editing skills to do anything. Creating a page is incredibly simple, and if you can use a word processor you can use this.

On the right you can see a box called "Page toolbox". This toolbox gives youall the necessary facilities to do what you need. To add a new page, simply click "Add a new page".

A box will then apear asking you to name the page. Enter the title of the new page then add some keywords sepparated by commas. This enables your page to be found on the web (because each of our pages carries keywords, we regularly appear in the Google top ten results).

The keywords also allow the cross-reference function to work. If you scroll to the bottom of this page you will see "related content" which highlights other pages of interest based upon the keywords you have used.

When you have finished, click ok and the site will automatically create your page. You will see a blank page with the title. The rest of the content is up to you. Simply click "easy edit", the page will open, and the toolbar will appear.

The "Easy Edit" toolbar

If you can use microsoft word, or a standard word processor, you will recognise the various symbols in the toolbar. The top row is made up of standard word processing tools, such as undo, redo, heading format, font, font size, font colour, and then basic editing tools such as text allignment, bullet points etc.

Links: At the far end, there is a link button. Use this button to add links to other pages on this site and/or other websites. It is much easier to use than on a forum. I find a good way is to highlight a word, click the link button, then add the url (web address) of the page you wish to link to. The add link button carries help if you have difficulty.

Images: Adding an image is so easy, so much easier than on forums, as you don't need an external upload. As you know to add an image to a forum you need to first upload it to photobucket, picasa, etc and then obtain the code which you then paste into the forum thread...not here, you can add images from your own PC...just click the image button, selec"browse" and find it on your hard disk. The image will then automatically upload to the page and you will have the opportunity to upsize or downsize it by using + or - keys to ensure it fits nicely on the page...so no more huge images making your screen enormous, like on forums.

Tips for images: to add images inside blocks of text, use the wrap text buttons to decide how you would like the image to be embedded into the text. For the little image here, I have chosen a left wrap, so it allows you to type text up to the left hand edge of the image. This is very useful for making your page look neat.

If however you wish to add a block of images, such as on this page GO, my advice will be to create a table and add the individual images to individual cells. This will make it a lot easier and will look a lot neater...it's that simple.

Widgets: Widgets make wiki sites unique and add extra an extra dimension to what you can do with your page. Basically, widgets are compatible programs where they supply you with a bit of code which you paste into the widget box. this then inserts the widget into the page. For example, you may have seen the "embed" code on youtube clips...that is the code for the youtube widget. You past that code and the youtube video will be embedded into your page. All you then have to do is format it just like you would an image.

Examples are google video, youtube, vizu polls to create opinion polls, photobucket to add photo slideshows, and many more. Click the widget button on the toolbar to see what you can do and how easy it is. I have used a youtube clip to embed into this example to show you. Try it. For more detailed help, click here: GO

Spellcheck: The toolbar is also equipped with a useful spellchecker, just like a word processor, to ensure you remove those typos.

Save: Once you have finished, click save. You will be asked for a edit note. You don't have to add one, but it does help indexing. If, as moderator, I make any updates, I will add one so you can see what I've done. Once the page is saved that't it, all done!

Further assistance

It really is that simple. The more you use this the more you will see what an excellent tool it really is. Why not practice with your profile page...add some text to tell people about you, some video clips maybe, and just have fun.

If you need help, you can use the help site:GO This site is also equipped with a messaging service whereby you can contact all users or specific ones. You may send me a message, I'm "guzzista" or e-mail me at: joe@guzzista.com. Enjoy, and have fun!

Regards

Joe

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