Difference between revisions of "Project:About"

Latest revision as of 15:54, 30 August 2022

Important: The majority of this wiki's content (like SL itself) is Resident-created and while it may be helpful, we can't vouch for its accuracy, except for pages in the "Linden Lab Official" namespace. For official documentation, see the Second Life Knowledge Base.

About the Second Life Wiki

This is a collaboration between Linden Lab and Second Life Residents to provide help and information about Second Life.

Linden Lab can't review every submission, but reserves the right to remove unsuitable content at any time. Linden Lab provides this wiki as a service to numerous communities, including those represented by the portals on the Main Page. New portals are added at Linden Lab's discretion.

We encourage you to contribute your awesomeness this wiki! See Editing Guidelines for how, and policies regarding acceptable content.

How to use this wiki

If you're not familiar with what a "wiki" is, think of this place as containing "help pages". A question you have may already be answered!

How to search

It's easy to get started. A couple suggestions:

Use the SEARCH box on the left of every page: type in something and click the Go button or press Enter ↵. (The Search button uses the wiki's built-in search, which can be more specific but less flexible, instead of Google.)
- Typing in a partial match and waiting a few seconds can autocomplete. For example, try "ani".
- If your search matches an exact page title, it goes there.
- Otherwise, search is powered by trusty ol' Google, and shows relevant pages on top.
Click links to browse from one article to the next (it can be addictive). Many articles are categorized to help you learn more about related topics.

Finding out when a page was last updated

Click the history tab on the top of a page. This shows, in reverse-chronological order, all the edits that have been made to a page over time. It can be fascinating to watch how a page has evolved. If you suspect a page is stale (has outdated info) and the history shows it was last updated ages ago, it's an excellent opportunity for you to either update it directly (if you feel comfortable) or let someone know.

Tip: All pages whose names begin with "Linden Lab Official:" have a contact form link at the top you can use to let the Documentation Team know that something needs to be updated.

How to discuss a page

You need to login to this wiki first. Then, click the discussion tab at the top of the page to get to that page's matching "talk page". Every page has one. See example. Discussion is done similarly to regular edits, but your posts should be signed for attribution.

Every user (including you!) has a talk page, which can be seen by clicking my talk at the top of the page when logged in. See example. Whether you choose to use this as a means of contact is up to you. (Compared to inworld IMs and regular email, it's generally uncommon, so don't worry.)

Unless specifically stated, Linden Lab does not generally check talk pages for comments. Instead, other tools like the blogs and forums and Office Hours are used. Linden requests for feedback usually specify which channels for communication are right for a specific topic. Most talk pages deal with issues of a technically intricate nature, such as scripting functionality or wiki meta-organization.

Also, talk pages can be quite user-unfriendly to wiki newcomers. Due to this, talk pages aren't broadly used places for discussion, and while they have the advantage of being inseparable — and easily accessible — from the page they're referring to, they don't support communication-optimized features found elsewhere.

Also see talk page etiquette.

How to contribute to the wiki

To be able to edit and create pages, you must log in to the wiki using your Second Life user name and password. Once logged in, you will be able to edit any page, with the following exceptions:

Pages in the Linden Lab Official namespace, that contain official policy or other sensitive information. There are also corresponding localized namespaces for various languages (for example, Linden Lab Offiziell for German) that are also protected.
Pages in the Viewerhelp namespace, that provide content for the Second Life Viewer's context-sensitive help system.
Certain pages in the main namespace that have been protected.

For general information and guidelines on what's acceptable, see Project:Editing_Guidelines.

To Do List

Here are a few things that need cleanup:

Double redirects
Uncategorized Pages - ideally, every page would be categorized.
Category:Articles with vital information missing
Category:Articles in need of updating
Category:Articles in need of expansion

Involved Lindens

Several Lindens administer the wiki, and numerous others contribute. There isn't a single Linden who has "ownership", but many may contribute to areas of their expertise (such as adding new script functions or touching up documents in the Linden Lab Official sections).

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{KBcaution|The majority of this wiki's content (like SL itself) is Resident-created and while it may be helpful, we can't vouch for its accuracy, except for pages in the "Linden Lab Official" namespace.
+For official documentation, see the '''[http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/tkb-p/English_KB%40tkb Second Life Knowledge Base]'''.}}
 {{TOCright}}
-== About ==
+== About the Second Life Wiki ==
-This wiki was started on January 8, 2007, as a '''collaboration between Linden Lab and our Second Life [[Residents]] to provide help and information'''. The first big initiative handled here was the [[Open Source Portal|viewer source code release]]. Since then, as shown on the [[Main Page|main page]], the wiki's grown from its technical-centric roots to encompass diverse realms of knowledge of interest to Second Life Residents.
+This is a collaboration between Linden Lab and Second Life [[Residents]] to provide help and information about Second Life.
 Linden Lab can't review every submission, but reserves the right to remove unsuitable content at any time. Linden Lab provides this wiki as a service to numerous communities, including those represented by the portals on the [[Main Page]]. New portals are added at Linden Lab's discretion.
-We certainly encourage ''you'' to contribute your awesomeness this wiki! See '''[[Editing Guidelines]]''' for how, and policies regarding acceptable content.
+We encourage ''you'' to contribute your awesomeness this wiki! See '''[[Editing Guidelines]]''' for how, and policies regarding acceptable content.
-{{KBcaution|The majority of this Wiki's content (like SL itself) is Resident-created and while it may be helpful, unless stated otherwise by an employee of Linden Lab, we can't vouch for its accuracy. For our official documentation on how to use Second Life, please see the '''[[KB|Knowledge Base]]'''.}}
+== How to use this wiki ==
-== How do I use this wiki? ==
 If you're not familiar with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki what a "wiki" is], think of this place as containing "'''help pages'''". A question you have may already be answered!
-''Can't find something that should be here? Tell [[Torley]].''
-=== How do I search? ===
+=== How to search ===
-It's super-easy to get started. A couple suggestions:
+It's easy to get started. A couple suggestions:
-# '''Use the SEARCH box on the left of every page:''' type in something and click the '''Go''' button or press {{k|Enter}}. (The '''Search''' button uses the wiki's built-in search instead of Google, which can be more specific but less flexible.)
+# '''Use the SEARCH box on the left of every page:''' type in something and click the '''Go''' button or press {{k|Enter}}. (The '''Search''' button uses the [[Special:Search|wiki's built-in search]], which can be more specific but less flexible, instead of Google.)
 #* Typing in a partial match and waiting a few seconds can autocomplete. For example, try "<code>ani</code>".
 #* If your search matches an exact page title, it goes there.
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 # Click links to browse from one article to the next (it can be addictive). Many articles are categorized to help you learn more about related topics.
-=== I found something old! When was a page last updated? ===
+=== Finding out when a page was last updated ===
 Click the '''history''' tab on the top of a page. This shows, in reverse-chronological order, all the edits that have been made to a page over time. It can be fascinating to watch how a page has evolved. If you suspect a page is stale (has outdated info) and the history shows it was last updated ages ago, it's an excellent opportunity for you to either update it directly (if you feel comfortable) or let someone know.
-While the wiki is collaborative, a page may have stated "owners" that watch over and shape the content of a page. This is notably true for [[:Category:Linden_Lab_Employees|Lindens (Linden Lab employees)]] providing official documentation. If there's no contact info called out on-page, the '''history''' may also show the most frequent editors of that page, who are likely going to be the most knowledgeable about the topic.
+{{KBtip|width=90%|All pages whose names begin with "Linden Lab Official:" have a contact form link at the top you can use to let the [[Documentation Team]] know that something needs to be updated.}}
-{{KBtip|All pages whose names begin with "Linden Lab Official:" have a contact form link at the top you can use to let the [[Documentation Team]] know that something needs to be updated.}}
+=== How to discuss a page ===
-=== How can I discuss a page? ===
 You need to login to this wiki first. Then, click the '''discussion''' tab at the top of the page to get to that page's matching "talk page". Every page has one. [[Talk:Display_Names|See example.]] Discussion is done similarly to regular edits, but your [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sign_your_posts_on_talk_pages posts should be signed] for attribution.
@@ Line 40: / Line 38: @@
 Every user (including ''you''!) has a talk page, which can be seen by clicking '''my talk''' at the top of the page when logged in. [[User_talk:Torley_Linden|See example.]] Whether you choose to use this as a means of contact is up to you. (Compared to inworld IMs and regular email, it's generally uncommon, so don't worry.)
-'''Linden Lab does ''not'' generally and regularly check talk pages for comments.''' Instead, other tools like the [http://blogs.secondlife.com blogs and forums] and [[Office Hours]] are used. Linden requests for feedback usually specify which channels for communication are right for a specific topic. Most talk pages deal with issues of a technically intricate nature, such as scripting functionality or wiki meta-organization.
+'''Unless specifically stated, Linden Lab does ''not'' generally check talk pages for comments.''' Instead, other tools like the [http://blogs.secondlife.com blogs and forums] and [[Office Hours]] are used. Linden requests for feedback usually specify which channels for communication are right for a specific topic. Most talk pages deal with issues of a technically intricate nature, such as scripting functionality or wiki meta-organization.
+Also, talk pages can be quite user-unfriendly to wiki newcomers. Due to this, talk pages aren't broadly used places for discussion, and while they have the advantage of being inseparable — and easily accessible — from the page they're referring to, they don't support communication-optimized features found elsewhere.
+Also see [[Quickie_Wiki_Intro#Discussion_Pages|talk page etiquette]].
-Also, talk pages can be quite user-unfriendly to wiki newcomers. Due to this, talk pages aren't broadly used places for discussion, and while they have the advantage of being inseparable from the page they're referring to, they don't support communication-optimized features found elsewhere.
+== How to contribute to the wiki ==
-== [[Project:Editing_Guidelines|How do I contribute to this wiki?]] ==
+To be able to edit and create pages, you must log in to the wiki using your Second Life user name and password.
+Once logged in, you will be able to edit any page, with the following exceptions:
+* Pages in the '''Linden Lab Official''' namespace, that contain official policy or other sensitive information.  There are also corresponding localized namespaces for various languages (for example, '''Linden Lab Offiziell''' for German) that are also protected.
+* Pages in the '''Viewerhelp''' namespace, that provide content for the Second Life Viewer's context-sensitive help system.
+* Certain pages in the main namespace that have been protected.
-^ Click the question to see your answer!
+For general information and guidelines on what's acceptable, see [[Project:Editing_Guidelines]].
-== Who's running this ship? ==
+=== To Do List ===
+Here are a few things that need cleanup:
+* [[Special:DoubleRedirects|Double redirects]]
+* [[Special:UncategorizedPages|Uncategorized Pages]] - ideally, every page would be categorized.
+*[[:Category:Articles with vital information missing]]
+*[[:Category:Articles in need of updating]]
+*[[:Category:Articles in need of expansion]]
-Several Lindens administer the wiki, and numerous others have contributed. Appropriate for this collaborative environment, there isn't a single Linden who has "ownership". But like video game bosses, each one of the following has a specific area they lord over and a special attack power, or something like that. Seriously, we have a sense of humor, and if it helps to know who we are in alphabetical order:
+== Involved Lindens ==
-* '''[[Documentation Team|Jeremy Linden]]'''
+Several Lindens administer the wiki, and numerous others contribute. There isn't a single Linden who has "ownership", but many may contribute to areas of their expertise (such as adding new script functions or touching up documents in the Linden Lab Official sections).
-* '''[[Documentation Team|Jon Linden]]'''
-* '''[[Rand Linden]]''' - Responsible for API and other developer-oriented documentation; originator of the Viewer 2.0 Help System.
-* '''[[Torley Linden]]''' {{TorSig}} - Community-facing stuff. Has written tons of help pages/documentation, established wiki policies and structure, continues to make connections and fill gaps. Eager to help you if you're curious about that, so [[Contact Torley|get in touch]].
-* '''[[Yoz Linden]]'''