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Welcome to '''Tolkien Gateway'''! I, along with those who wish to help contribute, hope to create the largest encyclopedia based on [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s works on the net. You may be a bit confused, seeing as the site is a bit different than most sites. It allows anyone, anywhere, to update any page, instantly. We keep moderators online 24/7 to monitor for spam, but giving users the ability to update mistakes, and add to content, we find the site expands much more quickly and gives users the sense of contribution.  
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<div style="margin-bottom:10px;background-color:#ffff99;border:1px solid #ffcc00;border-top:3px solid #ffcc00;border-bottom:3px solid #ffcc00;padding:5px;font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;align:justify;"><h3 align="center" style="margin:0;font:18pt Times New Roman, serif;">'''''Mae govannen.'''''</h3>
Feel free to use the search form on the left to search for anything related to [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[The Lord of the Rings]] and [[Middle-earth]]. The [[Special:Recentchanges|Recent Changes]] link on the left is also a good way to check out what is getting updated. The [[Special:Allpages|All Pages]] link will give you a good idea at how much content we really have on here. If you find a page not listed, make it! If you find some content you want to add to, add it, alter it, this is your site.
 
'''Welcome'''! [[Tolkien Gateway]] is a an encylopedia which aims to document anything and everything related to the life and works of [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]. Like [http://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia] it is written and maintained by volunteers, and anyone is encouraged to edit its content.
 
If you're looking for something in particular the place to start is the '''search box''' in the top right-hand corner of your browser screen. If not you are bound to find something interesting by following the links on the [[Main Page|main page]] or clicking ''[[Special:Random|random page]]'' on the side bar.
 
Everything you see has been written by volunteers and is always expanding. If you see a mistake or omission in ''any'' of our articles you we strongly encourage you to '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Be_bold#Be_bold.21 be bold]''' and edit it (by clicking the button at the top of the article). If you would like to contribute further this page will provide you with a starting point; it contains links to various help articles and lists of things which need doing.</div>
 
<div style="width:48%;float:left;margin-bottom:10px;background-color:#ffff99;border:1px solid #ffcc00;border-top:3px solid #ffcc00;border-bottom:3px solid #ffcc00;padding:5px;"><h3 align="center" style="margin:0;">How to edit</h3>
:''See also [[Help:Contents]]''
Tolkien Gateway runs on [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki MediaWiki] so if you've ever edited Wikipedia or similar wikis you'll find it works much the same.
 
You can edit ([[Special:ProtectedPages|almost]]) any article by clicking the "edit" button at the top of the page. There you'll see a text box with the text of the article and some [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Wikitext_examples wikitext]. Wikitext is a markup language which is used to create links, format text and do lots of other things on MediaWiki sites. You'll find a quick introduction to wikitext at '''[[Help:Editing]]'''. You can experiment in the [[Tolkien Gateway:Sandbox|Sandbox]].
 
After you've learnt the basics of wikitext you should probably familiarise yourselves with Tolkien Gateway's [[Tolkien Gateway:Manual of Style|standards]]. These aren't rules but guidelines that are designed to make articles consistent and easy to use. There's quite a lot of them so don't worry too much about it right now, if you make a mistake somebody else will catch it later. But it's something to keep in mind.
</div>
 
<div style="width:48%;float:right;margin-bottom:10px;background-color:#ffff99;border:1px solid #ffcc00;border-top:3px solid #ffcc00;border-bottom:3px solid #ffcc00;padding:5px;"><h3 align="center" style="margin:0;">What to edit</h3>
:''See also: [[Tolkien Gateway:Community Portal]]''
No article is perfect so there's always something to do on Tolkien Gateway. Try hitting [[Special:Random|random page]] and seeing what you can improve.
 
There are various ways to find articles which need improvement:
* The [[Tolkien Gateway:To-do|to-do list]] holds general long-term goals and ideas.
* See if you can improve any of the pages needing [[:Category:Cleanup|cleanup]] or [[:Category:Articles needing expansion|expansion]]
* [[:Category:Stubs|Stubs]] are 'placeholder' articles which need significantly more information.
* Check [[Tolkien Gateway:Requested articles|Requested articles]] and see if there's anything that catches your eye.
* [[Tolkien Gateway:Collaborations]] lists major articles which need attention.
 
Finally there are a few '''[[Tolkien Gateway:Projects|projects]]''' which have their own lists of open tasks:
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<div style="clear:both;background-color:#ffff99;border:1px solid #ffcc00;border-top:3px solid #ffcc00;border-bottom:3px solid #ffcc00;padding:5px;"><h3 align="center" style="margin:0;">Questions?</h3>
If you're stuck with anything, feel free to ask on this article's [[Tolkien Gateway talk:Welcome|talk page]] or ask another member on their talk page.
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[[Category:Tolkien Gateway]]

Revision as of 17:17, 10 January 2011

Mae govannen.

Welcome! Tolkien Gateway is a an encylopedia which aims to document anything and everything related to the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Like Wikipedia it is written and maintained by volunteers, and anyone is encouraged to edit its content.

If you're looking for something in particular the place to start is the search box in the top right-hand corner of your browser screen. If not you are bound to find something interesting by following the links on the main page or clicking random page on the side bar.

Everything you see has been written by volunteers and is always expanding. If you see a mistake or omission in any of our articles you we strongly encourage you to be bold and edit it (by clicking the button at the top of the article). If you would like to contribute further this page will provide you with a starting point; it contains links to various help articles and lists of things which need doing.

How to edit

See also Help:Contents

Tolkien Gateway runs on MediaWiki so if you've ever edited Wikipedia or similar wikis you'll find it works much the same.

You can edit (almost) any article by clicking the "edit" button at the top of the page. There you'll see a text box with the text of the article and some wikitext. Wikitext is a markup language which is used to create links, format text and do lots of other things on MediaWiki sites. You'll find a quick introduction to wikitext at Help:Editing. You can experiment in the Sandbox.

After you've learnt the basics of wikitext you should probably familiarise yourselves with Tolkien Gateway's standards. These aren't rules but guidelines that are designed to make articles consistent and easy to use. There's quite a lot of them so don't worry too much about it right now, if you make a mistake somebody else will catch it later. But it's something to keep in mind.

What to edit

See also: Tolkien Gateway:Community Portal

No article is perfect so there's always something to do on Tolkien Gateway. Try hitting random page and seeing what you can improve.

There are various ways to find articles which need improvement:

Finally there are a few projects which have their own lists of open tasks:

Questions?

If you're stuck with anything, feel free to ask on this article's talk page or ask another member on their talk page.