Help:General

First of all, thank you for sharing your research and information with the Dead Architects Society. Our hope is that this clearinghouse of information will become an important resource for understanding the built environment in Baltimore and the surrounding region.

Although vastly easier to use and maintain than older computer-based information systems, a wiki does come with some knobs and buttons that require some introduction. It is our hope that once you have a few edits and additions "under your belt," using this wiki will become very easy for you.

Overview

Wikis are page focused. In other words, each subject is presumed to have its own page which contains all the information pertinent to that subject. It can be as long as needed. It can link to other related subject pages and will be linked-to from related subject pages. It can contain images, maps or videos (although we have not implemented the video functionality yet here. That will come after the wiki is in its permanent home.) It can link to YouTube videos or other websites. In short, the format is flexible. One other thing this wiki uses to advantage is the infobox, which is a box of data and maps found near the top right of most pages. The infobox contains structured data that is used to update other pages in the wiki automatically. It also serves as a concise listing of data important to the subject.

Generally, the DAS wiki functions identically to Wikipedia; they both use the same software at the core and most of the functionality in one will be found in the other. The DAS wiki, however, has added functionality that allows for automatic updating of pages when certain information is added or changed on other pages.

A few more words of general application: Links to other pages in the wiki appear in blue text. Links to pages that have not been created yet are called red links and appear, well, you get it. Clicking on a red link will take you to a page asking you if you want to create the page. If you are merely looking for information, don't bother clicking on a red link.

The DAS wiki restricts additions and updates to its content to registered users. Anonymous users can review and print out whatever material they wish, but they cannot change anything on the wiki. We took that approach to eliminate the spam and graffiti which is a constant problem with publicly-updated wikis. The current policy is to allow user accounts to anyone requesting one. We hope that will always be the case.

One word of caution: by definition, wikis are collaborative creatures. No single person "owns" any page; no one has veto power over someone else's content. (Well, that's not strictly speaking true; system administrators can boot users off the wiki and can "lock down" pages so they cannot be further edited. But no one wants that.) So it could be that you may find your pages later edited by other users. In fact, we hope that will be the case. However, you may find that you don't agree with the edits.

There has arisen an etiquette with respect to editing others' work in a wiki. We recommend using the Discussion page at the top of each page to document the discussions and to otherwise keep any debate civil. The Wikipedia:Etiquette page is a useful resource on this topic.

Creating New Pages

While we're on the subject of creating pages, the DAS requests that you create them using the designated "Add ***" links in the left-hand menu. When you do so, database entries get created behind the scenes that make all the cross-pollination magic between pages happen. You don't have to create pages this way, but you won't have infoboxes or any of the other automatic mapping functions available to you.

Once the pages are created, updates can be made right on the page by clicking on the "Edit" links near the top of the page. No special-function pages are required.

Here are some links to pages addressing specifics:

Adding a new architect to the wiki

Adding a new building to the wiki

Adding a new firm to the wiki

Adding a new place to the wiki

You may find it helpful to open those links "in a new tab" so as to have the help page handy while creating the subject page.