Tips for New Users

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About PLWiki * Main Page * PDF Repository * PL Mailing List

1 What is a Wiki?
2 Password Authentication
3 How to Contribute
4 Account Customization
5 Help

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What is a Wiki?

A wiki is a collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language. That is, you click on a link, write what you want to say in a straightforward way in a little box that opens, click on the Save page button and voila -- your text is now part of the word-wide web. Better still, you can upload PDFs and other files and they become instantly available from anywhere. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. For example, the collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia is one of the best-known wikis.

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Password Authentication

The access to the PDF files on this site is password-protected. The password is the same for all users and has probably been sent to you when you joined the PL Mailing List. The user name that goes with this password is plwiki and is the same for everyone.
If you don't know the access password, feel free to ask somebody who does. Conversely, once you learn it, feel free to pass it on to the members of your lab and to other colleagues. As a last resort, ask the wiki administrators Alex Petrov and Aaron Seitz.
Once you are in and can see the PDF icons and other images on the page, you are set to read and download whatever you like!
However, if you are just reading and downloading information, you are not utilizing the full potential of the wiki. Be active -- upload your recent papers, advertise your work, post announcements, make a personal page for yourself and link it to your home page on the web. It is to your advantage to be an active contributor to the wiki.
Again, the wiki administrators Alex Petrov and Aaron Seitz are there to assist you. Feel free to contact them.

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How to Contribute

To be able to contribute, you will need to register a wiki username for yourself. The wiki username allows you to edit pages; it has nothing to do with the plwiki authentication. Your unique username identifies your contributions and allows you to customize style sheets and preferences and have them be the same regardless of the computer you are connecting from.
To register, click on the button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. After filling out the required forms, you will receive a confirmation email. Follow the included link to finalize the account creation process. Store your password in a safe place.
Now you are ready to edit and create pages and upload files.
Please follow the naming conventions for the PDF that you upload and the pages that you create. Consistent naming avoids wasteful duplication of PDF uploads.

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Account Customization

Once logged in, the following options appear near the top of all pages:

My Preferences -- Customize site appearance and behavior, change passwords, edit personal information, etc.
My Watchlist -- View list of currently watched pages. Add a page of interest to the list by clicking the "watch" tab found in the top margin of every page.
My Contributions -- View a record of your activity on the site.

To truly customize your experience, visit here to learn how to change fonts, colors, link location and behavior, and much more.

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