Absolute Beginner's Jump-Start Guide

by berk

New editors may find the editing process at the Open Encyclopedia Project (OEP) fairly daunting. Not only must one write original articles, but there are also the editor tools and menus to decipher. This tutorial is a simple guide for novices on how to create their first entries or "sections".

Let us say you just joined OEP as an editor for the Home/Cooking/Recipes category. This means that you can edit sections in this category or any subcategories (categories contained within Home/Cooking/Recipes).

1. After logging into OEP, you will be brought to the Editor Main dashboard. This is the entry point to the forums, various editor tools, and your categories.

2. If you are editor of Recipes for example, click on the Home/Cooking/Recipes category under the "Current Categories" list. This will bring you to the Home/Cooking/Recipes edit screen.

3. It so happens your grandmother passed down a fantastic chicken soup recipe that you would like to share with the Internet world. If the "Chicken Soup" sub-category (Home/Cooking/Recipes/Chicken_Soup) does not exist, then you would have to first create one. To do so, click on "New Category".

4. Enter "Chicken Soup" as the category name, and click the "Create" button. The Home/Cooking/Recipes/Chicken_Soup category will be created for you. Notice that an underscore replaces the space between "chicken" and "soup".

5. You will be returned to the Home/Cooking/Recipes edit screen. Scroll down the screen and you will find the following: "• Chicken_Soup (0, 0)". Click on the category. This will bring you to the Home/Cooking/Recipes/Chicken_Soup edit screen.

6. In the edit screen, select "Add new section" (item 1).

7. Enter a title (e.g., "Grandma's Secret Chicken Soup Recipe") and the content (the actual recipe). Then, click on the "Submit" button. Voila, you have created your first section which will appear under Home/Cooking/Recipes/Chicken_Soup.

8. Toward the bottom of the edit screen, you will see the new section. Clicking on the "edit this section" link will lead to a screen for editing the title or content. You can also select an option to "Update", "Unreview", or "Delete" the section. Update is the default option and simply permits the changes to the be made. Unreview hides the section from public view, but does not delete. Delete permanently erases the section.

If you are new to OEP, welcome to our editing community. If you have further questions, feel free to post them in the editor forums. We also have a Mentoring Program for editors who desire more individual attention during the initial learning stages.