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Help:FAQ

From AstrologyNotes

AstrologyNotes Astrological Knowledge Base

These are some general frequently asked questions about using AstrologyNotes.

What is a wiki?

A wiki is a collection of interlinked web pages, all of which can be visited and edited by anyone at any time (collaborative software).Clearly, this sounds fun and inviting, but leaves the information unprotected from being tainted and, at worst, unreliable and false. Ward Cunningham invented the concept and software. You could even edit this page by clicking the "edit" link on the third tab above, or edit only a section by clicking on "edit" to its right! If you don't have anything to add or correct on this page and you just want to see how it works, try out the AstrologyNotes:Sandbox.

What is AstrologyNotes and who owns it?

AstrologyNotes is a project to produce an astrological encyclopedia that is comprehensive and free. See AstrologyNotes:About for more information. AstrologyNotes was originally created by Linda Pedersen, who still owns and manages the server space on which it runs. However, in principle it is owned by the community of members. Eventually, if it gets large enough it will probably be moved to some kind of non-profit organization or something, but right now it is just a little project with a lot of heart :).

The articles hosted on this site are released by their authors under the GNU Free Documentation License, so the articles are free content and may be reproduced freely under the same license. See AstrologyNotes:Copyrights for information on how you can use AstrologyNotes content. Note: User and member forum pages are not licensed under the GFDL. All text and images on user pages are copyrighted by the user and may not be reprinted without permission.

Who is responsible for the articles on AstrologyNotes?

You are! This is a collaborative endeavor. All you need is to know is how to edit, and have some knowledge you want to share about astrology.

You can learn who is responsible for the most recent versions of any given page by clicking on the "Page history" link. But if you spot an error in the latest revision of an article, you are highly encouraged to be bold and correct it. This practice is one of the basic review mechanisms that maintains the reliability of AstrologyNotes.

If you are uncertain or find the wording confusing, quote the material on the associated talk page and leave a question for the next person. This helps eliminate errors, inaccuracies or misleading wording more quickly and is highly appreciated by the community.

Should I create an account? Why can't I just edit articles anonymously?

You do not need an account to read articles. If you wish to make any changes you will need to create an account. AstrologyNotes does not allow anonymous editing. If you disagree with this policy you can take it up in the member forum.

Is my personal information safe?

Yes. If you create an account, your personal information is visible only to Bureaucrat level admins, of which there is currently only one; members only see your nickname and what you put on your personal user page. If you are worried you do not need to give your correct name or even an email address. However if you do provide an email address you can set it to be hidden in your preferences so that other members cannot see it. You will also be able to use the watchlist notification feature and email other members while still masking your email address from them. Since your email address is not accessible on the web or to other members, it can't be used for spam or other dubious activities.

How can I email other members anonymously?

Simply type the following in the browser address box: http://astrologynotes.org/Special:Emailuser/Username where Username is the wiki name of the AstrologyNotes user you wish to contact. Note that they must have a confirmed email address set in their preferences and they must not be blocking mail from other users. You can also make a wiki link on your user page to allow people to easily email you by typing [[Special:Emailuser/Username]]. For example, here is a link to email me: Special:Emailuser/StarAlchemist.

How do you know if the information is correct?

As anyone can edit any article, it is of course possible for biased or incorrect information to be posted. However, because there are so many other people reading the articles and monitoring contributions using the Recent Changes page, incorrect information is usually corrected quickly. Thus, the overall accuracy of the encyclopedia is improving all the time as it attracts more and more contributors. You are encouraged to help by correcting articles and passing on your own knowledge.

Some website seems to be copying your articles. Do you guys know about this?

Anybody may mirror or copy AstrologyNotes as long as they comply with the GNU Free Documentation License. However, please post the site to AstrologyNotes:GFDL Compliance so that we can watch it.