Instructions

In order to add or edit your entries in the Livingstone and MacLea Emigration Registry, you will need to follow these instructions in the use of the ikiwiki wiki software program.

Here is an overview of what will be covered in these instructions:

1. Registering/Logging in
2. Editing the Wiki
3. Adding Pages to the Wiki
4. Formatting
5. Help!
6. Sandbox

Registering and Logging In

There are two alternative ways of registering to edit the Register. When you click the "edit" link at the top left of any page, you will be asked to login, or register, if you have not yet registered.

Method one: Conventional

Type a name and password into the fields, and hit Register if you've never edited before with that name, or Login if you have already registered. This is a perfectly fine way to edit the wiki, and will work. Simply use this every time you enter the wiki.

Method two: OpenID

OpenID is a new movement to reduce the number of distinct logins and passwords we all have to use to access the web. Basically, some "OpenID server" is responsible for keeping track of what logins you have approved and in a very simple way, registering once at an OpenID server provides you with one name and login to use at any website that supports OpenID. Since ikiwiki supports OpenID, you can also use OpenID to login.

I use getopenid.com for my OpenID server, but there are others, and you can even use your own personal website/email account as an OpenID server. Once you have registered at some OpenID server, to login at any website that supports it, you simply enter your personalized URL into the "OpenID" box, and hit Login. It will automatically take you to your OpenID server login page, where you will enter your one password, and be able to login to all OpenID supporting pages for the whole time you have your web browser open. Pretty simple! And the more sites you use that support OpenID, the easier it gets!

So, for ikiwiki, I just type this into the OpenID box when logging in:

getopenid.com/kmaclea

If I am not already logged in to my OpenID, I would be taken there to login. If I were already logged in, I would be ready to go. Voila, I'm ready to edit!

For you, you would enter:

getopenid.com/youropenid (where "youropenid" was whatever you had registered).

It is really easy, and hopefully will become a larger movement. I recommend it! Note that you don't need to use getopenid.com, either. You can use whatever you like for your OpenID.

Editing the Wiki

When you want to make your additions to the Register, you will need to go that page, click Edit to access the editing controls, and find a place to add your Livingstone or MacLea emigrant. I suggest using alphabetical order by last name, then first.

This is the style I will recommend for everyone to use: In the Register itself, add the information requested (name, dates of birth and death, dates of emigration, destination, family today, all if known, for instance). Enclose the name of your Emigrant in square brackets ([[ and ]]) to create a new page for that family member and use underscores (_) instead of spaces when making new pages.

Then, follow the instructions for adding new pages, below, to edit that new page you've created (provided you spelled everything correctly). Keep in mind, as I point out below, that currently there is no way to delete/rename pages, so if you make a mistake, you may be stuck with it, to some extent, though I may be able to help a little.

Keep all information except for the basic vital facts of emigration, OFF the main page of the Register, to make it easier to look through the Register for family. If I see content on the main page, I'll eventually move it off, but it would be nice to have everyone do this for themselves too. One of the benefits of a collaborative wiki experience!

Adding Pages to the Wiki

You will use [[ and ]] to make a new page in the Register. So, if you make a page for [[Ronald_Reagan_Livingstone]], you will need to enclose the title of each new page (i.e., Ronald Reagan Livingstone) you wish to create in the square brackets on the page you are editing that will contain a link. Additionally, you must use underscores to represent spaces in between first, middle, and last names, and any special characters. For instance, with my own name, [[Kyle_Scott_MacLea_(1975-)]] I use my date of birth as a way to differentiate myself from any others of the same name who may come after or before (something I also recommend doing with each new Emigrant, because there are many common family names that will soon make the number of John Livingstones easily confusing!).

When you have entered a new link on a page (for instance, the name of your Emigrant in square brackets), and you save that page, a ?Link will appear. Clicking on the ? portion will begin editing that new page with that name.

Keep in mind that currently there is no way to rename or move pages, so be very careful you don't create any pages you don't want to be in the wiki somewhere, even if they contain no information.

Formatting

?HelpOnFormatting provides some instructions on using the fancy features of formatting in your Register entries. It is not necessary to do anything like this, but possible if you wish! Some good examples of things you might want to use would be ** on either side of a word or phrase to bold, and * on either side of a word or phrase to italicize.

I may come through and add formatting every one in awhile to make things look nicer or organize them. Don't be alarmed! =)

Help!

You can always contact Kyle at ksm6 -at- cornell -dot- edu.

Sandbox

If you want to test any of this out, you can always use the Sandbox, a place to experiment.