Help:Getting Started

This page is your guide to contributing to the Family Commonplace Wiki. You do not need any technical experience — if you can type an email, you can edit this wiki.

Creating an account

1. Go to the wiki's home page and click Create account in the top right corner.
2. Choose a username (your name works great — e.g. "JaneGianutsos").
3. Enter a password and a valid email address. The email is used for password recovery.
4. Click Create your account.

That's it. You can start editing immediately.

Editing an existing page

Every page has an Edit tab at the top. Click it to open the editor.

• The editor lets you type text just like a word processor. You can make text bold or italic, add headings, and create links.
• When you're done, scroll down and add a short note in the Edit summary box (e.g. "Added photo" or "Fixed birth year").
• Click Save changes.

Your edit is saved instantly and appears in Recent Changes so other family members can see it.

Creating a new page

The easiest way to create a new page is to search for it first:

1. Type the name in the search box (e.g. "Mary Gianutsos").
2. If no page exists, you'll see a red link: "Create the page 'Mary Gianutsos' on this wiki."
3. Click that link and start writing.

Adding a person

When creating a page for a family member, paste this template at the very top of the page before writing anything else:

{{Infobox person
| name        = Full Name
| birth_date  = Month Day, Year
| birth_place = City, State
| spouse      = [[Spouse's Name]]
| parents     = [[Parent 1]], [[Parent 2]]
| children    = [[Child 1]], [[Child 2]]
}}

Fill in what you know, and leave blank any fields you don't have. Then add the category at the bottom:

[[Category:Living Members]]

Or for someone who has passed away:

[[Category:Ancestors]]

Adding an event

For a wedding, reunion, graduation, or any family milestone, create a page with this template:

{{Infobox event
| name      = The Event Name
| date      = Month Day, Year
| location  = City, State
| type      = Wedding / Reunion / Birthday / etc.
| attendees = [[Name 1]], [[Name 2]], [[Name 3]]
}}

Then add:

[[Category:Events and Milestones]]

Adding a recipe

Family recipes are some of the most valuable things we can preserve. Use this format:

{{Recipe
| name        = Recipe Name
| serves      = 8
| prep_time   = 20 minutes
| cook_time   = 1 hour
| passed_down = [[Grandmother's name]]
}}

== Ingredients ==
* 2 cups flour
* 1 tsp salt
* ...

== Instructions ==
# Preheat the oven to 350°F.
# Mix together...

== Notes ==
Grandma always said to use real butter, not margarine.

Add the category:

[[Category:Recipes and Traditions]]

Uploading photos

1. Click Upload file in the left sidebar (under "Tools").
2. Choose your photo from your computer.
3. Give it a clear file name (e.g. "Gianutsos-family-reunion-1987.jpg").
4. Add a short description of what's in the photo and who appears in it.
5. Click Upload file.

Once uploaded, you can insert it in any page with:

[[File:Filename.jpg|thumb|Your caption here]]

Linking between pages

One of the best things about a wiki is that pages link to each other. To link to another page, put its name in double square brackets:

[[Mary Gianutsos]]

If the page doesn't exist yet, the link will appear in red — that's an invitation for someone to create it.

Getting help

If you get stuck, you can:

• Leave a message on the Main Page talk page.
• Ask another family member who's used the wiki before.
• Check MediaWiki's official help pages for detailed documentation.

Welcome to the wiki — and thank you for helping preserve our family's story.