Help:Creating

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Getting started

Thanks for your interest in contributing to cpudb. Before you create a new article, the first thing you should do is log in or register. This is not required, but doing so will ensure that your contributions are credited to you.

Next, decide what you want to create an article on. Try searching for the article you want to make first, to ensure that it doesn't already exist. If the article does not exist, you'll see a link to create an article with this title. Click on this link, and you'll be taken to a new page where you can create your article.

If you want to include pictures with your article, you can upload them by clicking on the Upload File link in the toolbox menu, on the left side of the page. Before uploading a picture, you should check to see if you can use an existing image already. For example, on the AMD K7 page, there's a picture of a K7 550MHz processor. This same image is re-used on the SECC page as an example of an SECC package. Re-use images whenever you can, as this will help to save space on the server.

Wiki markup and you

cpudb uses MediaWiki to manage content. You may be familiar with MediaWiki from sites such as Wikipedia or Memory Alpha. Instead of HTML tags, MediaWiki has a number of tags which you can use to control formatting of your article. A few of the most commonly used wiki tags are show below:

  • [[Link]] - Links to another article on cpudb.
  • [http://www.cpudb.com Off Site Link] - Links to another website. Enter the URL, and then text. The text is optional.
  • [[Image:picture.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Description]] - Inserts an image. Parameters are optional, you only need the filename.
  • ''Italicise'' - Makes the text italic.
  • '''Bold''' - Makes the text bold.
  • '''''Bold & Italic''''' - Makes the text bold & italic.
  • ==Section== - Begins a new section, with a divider that spans the page.
  • ===Subsection=== - Begins a new subsection.
  • ====Sub-subsection==== - Begins a new sub-subsection.
  • <nowiki></nowiki> - Stops the wiki markup tags from parsing. Useful for lists such as this.
  • : - Indents the text. Use additional :'s to indent further.
  • * - Adds a bullet point. Additional *'s can be added to indent the bulleted list.

A full list of wiki markup tags can be found on Wikipedia.

When you use the section and subsection tags, a table of contents is automatically created if you have four or more sections.

What makes a good article

There's a few elements that come together to make a good article. At the very least, your article should inform the reader about the subject. Try to include as much information as possible, and present that information in an easy to read manner. You may want to refer to existing articles first to get a feel for how we do things.

An easy way to create a new article is to copy and edit an existing one. For example, if you wanted to create an article on the new Intel Pentium XII, you might want to start by taking an existing article, such as the AMD K7 article, and just editing it. Change the details in the sidebar, use different pictures, and write new text for it.

When writing the text for your article, please don't just copy and paste from another website. Copying other cpudb articles is fine, but other websites have most likely copyrighted their content. Besides, writing the article in your own words brings something new to it.

Another thing you should do when writing your article is to link keywords. For example, in the AMD K7 article, many words are linked. These words have articles associated with them that explains those words, so linking to them is a good practice.

Don't go link crazy though! A good rule of thumb is to only link a keyword once per section. For example, in the K7 article, x86 is linked in the sidebar, and then linked again near the top of the article. However, subsequent mentions of x86 are not linked. This way, keywords are linked, but aren't overdone. If you started a new section however, you'd want to link those keywords again. AMD K7 is linked several times in this article, but not more than once per section.

You're not done yet!

Before you submit your article, PREVIEW IT! This will help you to fix any problems with your formatting or spelling before you submit the article. Once it's submitted, any changes you make will be shown under the history tab. You'll look silly if you have to edit your new article 20 times before it's done, so save yourself some embarrassment and use the preview feature to work out the bugs.

After you're satisfied with your article, click the Save page button to submit it.

If you want to edit the article, see the tutorial on editing articles.

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