Everyone has a little bit of knowledge about something they are interested in or passionate about. If you know any Great War history of any kind, then consider helping out by writing about it and maybe even uploading your own war-period photos or postcards. The more quality information there is to work with, the more scope there is for improvement. It’s all about taking a leap forward and jumping in!
So, what exactly does to "jump in" mean?
Well, for starters I’m glad you’re here and you’re reading these words as this is the very first step of understanding what you can do on The English Lakes.
You can contribute in any way you think will be helpful to the project, whether it is creating new and interesting articles, fixing spelling mistakes or tweaking the grammar to make it read in a smoother, more structured way. There’s definitely enough to keep the project going for many years to come. Have a look at this list of wanted articles and you’ll see there is always going to be a diverse selection to choose from.
You’re not expected to write whole articles and fully proofread them in one go. Starting off small is the natural, more relaxed way to progress. Take your time and check your work. Read through it to see if your ideas and thoughts sound right. There is no time limit and no pressure. If you prefer, write in your preferred text editor of choice beforehand, then copy and paste here.
Don’t be afraid of breaking anything. Front-end editing can always be corrected if something goes wrong so don’t worry about making mistakes and causing damage to the site. If something goes wrong you can always revert to your last edit. Mistakes are how we learn and if you’re stuck, ask if you’re unsure about something.
Always be prepared that someone else may want to edit something you have written. It is, after all, community-focussed format that wikis are editable by anyone. There may be opportunities to discuss proposed changes to an article using the discussion tab. Every page has one of these for this very purpose.
Your edits are always publicly visible. Edits should always be done in a similar, slightly informal style. We don’t want any stuffy tomes here. A decent article can still be a lengthy one providing it is informative, has punchy sentences and gets the message across without being too pompous.
Definitely no bad language, political, religious or personal agendas are allowed here. Anything that is derogatory and controversial or violates the terms of use will be actioned accordingly and most likely removed without warning. Words and phrases that were written with derogative undertones from the Great War period, or the period that followed shortly after – the period in which this site covers – are allowed based on the premise that they are present-day transcriptions of the original texts.
Reference things accordingly and where necessary. Not everything requires a reference but we do like to have accurate information.
It’s about sharing your knowledge in a constructive, helpful and enjoyable way so that others can learn from what you have to say, driving the project forward and making it a better resource for all. Be confident. Expand the content, improve its readability and do so in a positive and constructive way. This is the fundamental approach to wikis.
Get to know others and if you like, introduce yourself on your own dedicated user page. Also use this space to test things out, the best way is to create your own user sub-pages and test stuff out on those pages. Rest assured there will be no issues with it clashing with any articles.
What are you waiting for?
Jump in and enjoy!