Help:Contents

Note
Spot a mistake, an omission? Please help out by correcting it! Making quick changes to the wiki is easy, even for a newcomer! It's a great way to contribute to the Gentoo project, and anyone can get started in minutes - check out the contributor's guide.

Warning
Some email providers can occasionally block the account creation confirmation email as spam. If not receiving the email, check the "spam" folder, but the email can sometimes be blocked even before that. Using an account with an alternate email provider can sometimes circumvent the issue. Please get in touch on #gentoo-wiki (webchat) if having issues creating an account. See the warning on the main page about the current issues with Gmail mail delivery.

The wiki help pages provide useful information about using the Gentoo wiki (as opposed to documentation for Gentoo itself, which the Wiki contains).

These pages are resources for both readers, on wiki usage and on finding relevant information, and for contributors, with explanations of how to add content correctly.

Tip
For people looking for help using Gentoo Linux, the main Gentoo Wiki page and the Handbook are the principal online sources for Gentoo documentation.

Tip
For those looking for help with a particular issue from the community, after having checked all the documentation, see the support page.

Important
Please follow the code of conduct when engaging in all wiki activity. The wiki project aims to maintain a respectful, constructive environment - please be polite and considerate of other users. All wiki edits should be made in the spirit of moving the project towards the common goals. Documentation and discourse should be objective and fact based. The project is consensus based.

The Wiki project page has information about how the Wiki is run. See also the Gentoo wiki FAQ.

Reading

Reading the Wiki should be somewhat self-evident, it works much like most standard websites. More detailed information is provided here for more advanced use:

• Navigation

• Searching

• Tracking changes

• Watchlist

Editing

For small corrections, such as typos, fixing or adding links, etc., please just create an account and make the change!

Once logged in, it only takes a few clicks to make a change: click the "Edit source" (or "Edit") button at the top of a page, make changes (edits) to the text, add a brief summary of the edit, and click the "Save page" button! Don't worry too much about making mistakes: everything is backed up, and changes will be checked by an editor soon after they are made.

The contributor's guide is invaluable when getting into editing wiki pages, for anything more than a simple correction. It explains wiki fundamentals, goals and general workings - all the basic information to start editing articles. At the very least, check out the getting started section.

Please read the official Gentoo wiki guidelines before making anything more than the most basic changes. The guidelines explain how to properly write and lay out pages, to create well formed articles, while maintaining a coherent style across the wiki.

Tip
Editing the wiki is a really great way to contribute to Gentoo! It really does help other users, and it is easy to get started with. Remember that there are also other ways to contribute to Gentoo.

Tip
For any questions, comments, or suggestions, or for anyone starting to make somewhat regular contributions, please come join us on IRC: #gentoo-wiki (webchat). The web chat should work really well for anyone not wanting to set up an IRC client. The channel can be quiet, but we will try to answer any questions the best we can.

Essential editing topics

These pages are essential reading for anyone getting into editing the wiki:

• Code of Conduct
• Contributor's guide
• Official Gentoo wiki guidelines

These topics are important to know when making any substantial edits:

• Formatting
• Links
• Starting a new page
• Talk pages
• Translating
• Wiki project page

Advanced editing

• Blueprints
• Bots
• Categories
• Deleting a page
• Editing pages
• External searches
• Images
• Magic words
• Managing files
• Moving (renaming) a page
• Namespaces
• Redirects
• Patrolled edits
• Protected pages
• Special pages
• Subpages
• Tables
• Transclusion

Templates

Templates help layout standard or repetitive elements.

• Templates
• Template sandbox and test cases
• All templates
  • Embedded Pages
  • Formatting templates
  • InfoBox templates
  • License templates
  • Maintenance templates
  • Templates for templates

User pages and preferences

Create a wiki user account to edit pages or communicate with other wiki users. A user account has a preferences page that can change the parameters of how the site is shown and behaves for that user. Each account has a user page to communicate to other wiki users, with a talk page. User subpages can be used as a staging area for wiki work.

• Preferences

• Signatures

• User page

• Special account modifications

See also

• Category:Gentoo Wiki — how to use the wiki, and information and resources for editors.

External resources

• Help:Contents at meta.wikimedia.org