Help:Tracking changes: Difference between revisions

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'''Welcome to the FlightGear Wiki!''' This is a guide to some things you should know before creating your first wiki article. We'll explain some of the DOs and DON'Ts of writing an article, then we'll tell you how to create your article. Before you create your first new article, here are some tips that may help you along:
{{tip|
Giving a comprehensive and concise '''edit summary''' will help other understand the revision history.


#'''Try editing existing articles''' to get a feel for writing and for using the mark-up language in use at the Wiki.  Also, try reading some of our better articles.
'''Why''' the edit was done is more useful than '''what''' was edited — a diff will show '''what''' was edited but not '''why'''.}}
#'''Search Wikipedia first''' to make sure that an article does not ''already exist'' on the subject, perhaps under a different title.  If you find an existing article on your subject, it is best to redirect the name you were thinking of onto the existing article.
{{tip|
#'''Gather references''' to the source(s) of your information. Articles that do not cite reliable published sources are likely to be deleted.
You can help '''fighting spam''' by checking [[Special:RecentChanges|recent changes]] when you log in on the wiki.}}
#Please '''don't create''' pages about '''yourself or your friends''' (ofcourse you may post info about yourself on your user-page), pages that '''advertise''', or '''personal essays'''.
#'''Be careful''' about the following: '''copying things''', '''controversial''' material, extremely '''short articles''', and '''local-interest articles'''.
#Gather references to '''reliable published sources'''. (Did we mention this one already?)
#Create a '''new page'''.
#'''List references''' to your sources. ('''We''' '''''really''''' '''mean it.''')


==Search for an existing article==
{{Wiki help navbar}}
The Wiki already has a lot of articles. Before creating an article, try to make sure there isn't already an article, perhaps under a [[Special:Search|slightly different name; you can search for it here;]]. If an article on your topic '''is''' there, but you think people are likely to look for it under some different name or spelling, learn how to add a redirect with that name; adding needed redirects is a good way to help the Wiki. Also, remember to check the article's deletion log in order to avoid creating an article that has already been deleted.


If a search does not find your article, consider broadening your search to find existing articles that might include the subject of your article. For example, if you want to write an article about a band member, you might search for the band and then add information about your subject to that broader article.
'''Tracking changes''' on the wiki is relatively easy.  One of the main characteristics of the MediaWiki software the FlightGear wiki is using is that the revision history of all pages are preserved and available to everyone.   This allows for very transparent collaboration.


==Gathering references==
== Notification of edits to your discussion page ==
TODO
You will be notified if someone else edit your discussion page.  The next time you log in on the wiki or load a page you will see a notification that there are new messages on your discussion page.


==Things to avoid ==
You can also optionally change your preferences so that you will receive an email if your discussion page have been edited.
TODO


== And be careful about...==
== Recent changes to the wiki ==
*'''Organization.''' Make sure there are incoming links to the new article from other Wiki articles (click "References" in the toolbox) and that the new article is included in at least one appropriate category. Otherwise it will be difficult for readers to find the article.
The page [[Special:RecentChanges]] is a list of all the recent changes on the wiki.


==How to create a page==
If you want to have a feel about what is going on on the wiki you could start your wiki session by having a peek at that page.
In the search box left ot this text, type the title of your article, then click Go. If the Search page reports "No page with that title exists" then you can start a new article by going to this link: http://wiki.flightgear.org/flightgear_wiki/index.php?title=your title. Click the Edit button in the menu to start the new article.


After you have entered your article, click Show preview to check for errors, then click Save page.
Some of the things visible there are:
 
* Edits to pages
* Creation of new pages
* File uploads, usually images
* Creation of new users
* Pages being protected
* Deletion of pages or files
 
As it shows all the latest changes it is often the place where one will find any spam, vandalism or other unwanted edits.
 
If you are logged in, changes to pages that are on your [[#Your watchlist|watchlist]] will be highlighted in bold.
 
One days changes will for example look like below:
 
[[File:FlightGear wiki recent changes.png|none|frame|Recent changes on the wiki.  Only some users have rights to block users.]]
 
For each row you will see
* A mark indicating for example '''N''' for new pages and '''m''' for minor changes (if the user marked that checkbox when saving his edit of the page)
* The time of the revision (in the time zone set in your preferences (see [[Special:Preferences|Preferences]] link on the top right of every page)
* A link with the title of the page to the revision of the page
* A link '''cur''' linking to a [[#Diffs|diff]] comparing the revision with the current revision
* A link '''prev''' linking to a diff comparing the revision with the previous revision
* The number of characters added or removed in the edit
* A link with the name of the user who did the edit linking to his user page
* A link '''talk''' linking to the users discussion page
* A link '''contrib''' linking to to a list of the users contributions
* A link to the article section that was edited if the user edited a specific section (click the right arrow)
* The edit summary if the user wrote one
 
If there is several edits to one page on the same day they are grouped together.  They can be shown as separate lines if you click on the triangle.
 
If there is a huge amount of minor edits you can hide them by clicking ''Hide minor edits'' in the ''Recent changes options'' box at the top of the page.
 
== Your watchlist ==
The ''watchlist'' will help you keep track of interesting pages if the recent changes page is too busy.
 
The watchlist presents changes the same way as the recent changes page.
 
The watchlist is accessible from a link in the top right corner of every wiki pages when you have logged in.
 
Pages can be added to it either by clicking the ''watch tab'' (the star icon tab) or by clicking the "Watch this page" box below the edit summary text box when editing or creating a new page.
 
== Page revision history ==
The ''revision history'' of a page, accessible from the history tab, holds all the changes to a page.  Some data regarding deleted revisions is only available to users with sufficient rights.
 
[[File:FlightGear wiki revision history.png|none|frame|The top of the revision history of a page]]
 
The revision history allow you to look at and compare selected revisions using ''page diffs'' (or often just ''diffs''), as well as link to a certain revision or comparison of revisions.
 
== Page diffs ==
{{tip|If you need to compare two separate pages you can do so with [[Special:ComparePages]].}}
{{tip|By pressing the ''Show changes'' button when you edit a page you can see your changes as a diff. It can be useful when writing the edit summary.}}
 
A ''diff'' is comparison showing the differences between two revisions of a page, much like the <code>diff</code> utility in some operating systems. With them you can see what was changed, added or removed in a revision.
 
A diff page is typically shown with the actual diff at the top of the page and the rendered page as of the latter revision at the bottom of the page.
 
The diff itself is split into two columns: Typically the old one to the left and new one to the right.
 
On top you have the dates and usernames as well as the edit summaries added before saving the revisions.  Below that are the changed chunks of lines and a few lines surrounding them.
 
[[File:FlightGear wiki diff.png|none|frame|The diff part of a diff page]]
 
{{tip|If [[User:Johan G|Johan G]] above had used the ''Show preview'' button more he might have remembered to add the other changes as well.}}
 
== Finding a specific edit to a page ==
[[File:Finding an edit using successive approximation.png|left|thumb|200 px|Finding an edit through successive approximation.]]
 
If you are looking for when a particular section of text was edited, you can use ''binary search''/''successive approximation''.
 
Start by comparing the revision ''between'' the oldest and newest possible revision with ''its previous'' revision.  Then in ''halfway steps'' compare revisions with their previous ones till you find the edit.
 
This can come in handy for example if you want to discuss a confusing phrasing with the user who added it, if you want to sign an unsigned comment on a discussion page with {{tl|unsigned}}, or if you are an administrator and need to find a specific user due to spam etc.
 
[[Category:Help]]
 
[[fr:Help:Tracking changes]]

Latest revision as of 14:23, 17 December 2022

Tip

Giving a comprehensive and concise edit summary will help other understand the revision history.

Why the edit was done is more useful than what was edited — a diff will show what was edited but not why.

Tip

You can help fighting spam by checking recent changes when you log in on the wiki.


Tracking changes on the wiki is relatively easy. One of the main characteristics of the MediaWiki software the FlightGear wiki is using is that the revision history of all pages are preserved and available to everyone. This allows for very transparent collaboration.

Notification of edits to your discussion page

You will be notified if someone else edit your discussion page. The next time you log in on the wiki or load a page you will see a notification that there are new messages on your discussion page.

You can also optionally change your preferences so that you will receive an email if your discussion page have been edited.

Recent changes to the wiki

The page Special:RecentChanges is a list of all the recent changes on the wiki.

If you want to have a feel about what is going on on the wiki you could start your wiki session by having a peek at that page.

Some of the things visible there are:

  • Edits to pages
  • Creation of new pages
  • File uploads, usually images
  • Creation of new users
  • Pages being protected
  • Deletion of pages or files

As it shows all the latest changes it is often the place where one will find any spam, vandalism or other unwanted edits.

If you are logged in, changes to pages that are on your watchlist will be highlighted in bold.

One days changes will for example look like below:

Recent changes on the wiki. Only some users have rights to block users.

For each row you will see

  • A mark indicating for example N for new pages and m for minor changes (if the user marked that checkbox when saving his edit of the page)
  • The time of the revision (in the time zone set in your preferences (see Preferences link on the top right of every page)
  • A link with the title of the page to the revision of the page
  • A link cur linking to a diff comparing the revision with the current revision
  • A link prev linking to a diff comparing the revision with the previous revision
  • The number of characters added or removed in the edit
  • A link with the name of the user who did the edit linking to his user page
  • A link talk linking to the users discussion page
  • A link contrib linking to to a list of the users contributions
  • A link to the article section that was edited if the user edited a specific section (click the right arrow)
  • The edit summary if the user wrote one

If there is several edits to one page on the same day they are grouped together. They can be shown as separate lines if you click on the triangle.

If there is a huge amount of minor edits you can hide them by clicking Hide minor edits in the Recent changes options box at the top of the page.

Your watchlist

The watchlist will help you keep track of interesting pages if the recent changes page is too busy.

The watchlist presents changes the same way as the recent changes page.

The watchlist is accessible from a link in the top right corner of every wiki pages when you have logged in.

Pages can be added to it either by clicking the watch tab (the star icon tab) or by clicking the "Watch this page" box below the edit summary text box when editing or creating a new page.

Page revision history

The revision history of a page, accessible from the history tab, holds all the changes to a page. Some data regarding deleted revisions is only available to users with sufficient rights.

The top of the revision history of a page

The revision history allow you to look at and compare selected revisions using page diffs (or often just diffs), as well as link to a certain revision or comparison of revisions.

Page diffs

Tip  If you need to compare two separate pages you can do so with Special:ComparePages.
Tip  By pressing the Show changes button when you edit a page you can see your changes as a diff. It can be useful when writing the edit summary.

A diff is comparison showing the differences between two revisions of a page, much like the diff utility in some operating systems. With them you can see what was changed, added or removed in a revision.

A diff page is typically shown with the actual diff at the top of the page and the rendered page as of the latter revision at the bottom of the page.

The diff itself is split into two columns: Typically the old one to the left and new one to the right.

On top you have the dates and usernames as well as the edit summaries added before saving the revisions. Below that are the changed chunks of lines and a few lines surrounding them.

The diff part of a diff page
Tip  If Johan G above had used the Show preview button more he might have remembered to add the other changes as well.

Finding a specific edit to a page

Finding an edit through successive approximation.

If you are looking for when a particular section of text was edited, you can use binary search/successive approximation.

Start by comparing the revision between the oldest and newest possible revision with its previous revision. Then in halfway steps compare revisions with their previous ones till you find the edit.

This can come in handy for example if you want to discuss a confusing phrasing with the user who added it, if you want to sign an unsigned comment on a discussion page with {{unsigned}}, or if you are an administrator and need to find a specific user due to spam etc.