Wiki is Live!
At long last our Wiki beta test is over. Now, all registered forum users can contribute.
We apologize for the delay in the final public release. Although our test phase was very successful, with very few issues, there was a bug in the user authentication which prevented login for about 3500 users with spaces in their username. We did not want to release the Wiki until all users could have equal access.
How do I get access?
You can access the Wiki from:
- The quick link at the very top line of every page on our website or forums, where it displays the links to News, Wiki, Forum.
- The Main Menu > Support > Documentation link.
- Directly from the forums via the Main Menu > Wiki | Documentation
Then just log in (top right of screen) with your forum user name and password.
If you are one of the several hundred users who already logged into the Wiki during the test phase, just log out and back in, and you should have access to contribute. Just check if the Edit Page Menu option is accessible.
Be sure to add your email address via the Tools > My Preferences menu option to unlock many advanced features of the Wiki, like page notifications, etc. (note your email address will not be visible or accessible to other Wiki users).
Can I contribute to the Wiki?
Of course! The whole point of a Wiki is to pool our knowledge and experience, much the way we share our development expertise to enhance MediaPortal. There are so many options to tweak MediaPortal in so many ways, it is impossible for any one person to know everything. We want our developers to develop, right? So the more users document this great software, the more time the developers have to improve it!
Certainly, if you have ever answered a forum post you should contribute that knowledge to the Wiki to ensure it will remain accessible to all users, get updated, and not get lost in the Forums. It is very likely you are already using MediaPortal in a unique way that can benefit other users. You may add your tips and knowledge, not only for your own future reference, but to help others as well.
Even if you do not feel expert enough to edit or create Wiki pages, you can still contribute by marking pages that you find are incomplete, out of date, or unclear. You may even rate and add comments about the Wiki page. However, please note that Wiki comments are only about the page contents. Support questions and discussions should be posted in the appropriate Forum.
How can I contribute?
The Wiki Help pages provide extensive guidelines and assistance how to contribute to the Wiki.
You can edit or create Wiki pages. However, only the Docs Group and Wiki Administrators can delete Wiki pages. Don't worry, the Docs Group reviews all changes/additions to ensure consistent style, and grammar. Even if English is not your first language, don't feel shy! We can fix your spelling and English, but we need your help for good content! We will contact you for clarification if necessary. Besides, the Wiki keeps track of all revisions, so you can always revert your changes. To view the revision history, just click on the date under 'Last Edit > Page last modified' on the left panel.
You may also mark content (see Wiki Help > Mark Content) using the mark content templates to indicate if you think a page needs updating, expansion, additional or updated screenshots, etc. This process is similar to Wikipedia and other major Wikis. If the content of a page requires discussion, editors can use the More > Talk Page menu item to resolve differences of opinion about the page content.
When you use the mark content templates, the pages are automatically tagged and added to our Wiki ToDo Lists, where anyone can view which pages, or content, currently require work. You can even tag a page (assigned:[username]) to indicate you are working on it. Your username will then appear in the Assigned column on the ToDo lists tables, so you can easily find all the pages you would like to work on.
How else can I use the Wiki?
When you log in to the Wiki, it automatically creates a User Page for you, accessible via the My Page Menu item. You may add sub pages, such as draft Wiki pages, and develop these in collaboration with other users before moving them to the public Wiki.
You may also add a description of your involvement with MediaPortal on your User Page, outlining any special skills or experience you have with MediaPortal. Then anyone can easily search the Wiki user pages when looking for people with particular skills to help with specific projects or activities.
If you find another great way to use the Wiki let us know!
What do users say about our Wiki?
During the test phase the most common remarks, even from some of our Team developers, were:
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The biggest comment about our Wiki is that with over 1.5M pageviews and 500K visits during the beta test, we received no complaints, only praise!
Comparing the four months of the beta test to Wiki usage during the previous four months: Visits +19.61%, Pageviews +36.02%, Time on Site +28.21%, Bounce Rate -51.25% (which means users go on to read more Wiki pages).
Feel free to post your own feedback and suggestions about our Wiki in the comments thread for this news, or at any time in our General Forums > Website/Forum/Wiki Feedback sub forum.
Thanks for all your support! Now let's make our Wiki as great as MediaPortal itself!
