Help:How to edit a page
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Editing pages on Judgepedia in its most basic form is just like writing an e-mail. Once you have clicked the "edit"
menu tab that appears in the horizontal menu bar at the top of each article, you'll see a space that is either blank
(if you're just starting an article) or full of type from the existing article--all of which you can change or edit in any way.
In its simplest form, you just start typing, and when you've typed what you wish, you located the "save page" button that appears on the bottom of every article, click it, and you're done--just like sending an e-mail, except what you've just done is publish a page on the internet.
Beyond that, it's all about making it look good. The few (very few) bits of code you need to use to make an article look attractive are done in what is called "wiki markup." This article tells you what you need to know to make even the most complicated visual effects.
However, the easiest way to make something look the way you want it to look is to find a page on Judgepedia that looks the way you want your article to look, and just copy the editing code from that page.
For specific quick tips on creating links and formatting text, see
Correcting text
For many people, this is the way they first decide to make the jump from reading a wiki to editing onw. You want to fix that typo, don't you? So, you click "edit", you find the spot on the page that you want to fix, you fix it, and you hit the "save page" button on the bottom of the page. Easy!
Adding content
Say you're reading an article, and you think the author left out an important fact. Decide where your addition would make the most sense within the article, click "edit", and plug your addition in. Some people prefer to write their additions offline first, and copy and paste it into the wiki once they are satisfied with it. It's good manners to fill in the "summary" bar at the bottom of the page before saving your edits. That way, someone with an interest in the page will have a better understanding of what you changed and why you changed it.
From time to time there will be disagreement on what ought to be included in an article. That's fine, in fact it is often encourged and can result in a superior product at the end. However, it is preferred that this type of discussion occur on the page you find when you click on the "discussion" tab that appears at the top of each page, rather than by taking turns deleting someone else's contributions, and having them delete your own.
Creating new content
Once you are comfortable editing pages, and changing other people's content, why not add some of your own? There are two main ways to go about creating new pages, and they both involve using red links. A red link is a link that doesn't exist... yet. It is words placed in the double brackets that indicate an internal link ( [[ ]] ), meant to encourage (or remind) people to follow up on that subject. To use them for writing new pages use one of these techniques:
- Follow a red link on a topic that interests you
- Example: you can see on the Rhode Island page that there is a red link for Judicial selection in Rhode Island. You happen to know about or be interested in judicial selection in Rhode Island, so you decide to write about it using that link.
- Find a page that would lead naturally to the topic you want to post about, and edit it to create a red link
- Example: you are on the Utah Supreme Court page, and you notice that the page is outdated, because the court recently elected a new Chief Justice.
Character formatting
- Italics: Type: ''Judge'' to yield judge.
- Bold: Type: '''Judge''' to yield judge.
