Help

Getting stuck with Wikiprogress? Encountering problems in using this website? Please watch the Wikimedia manual to help you use the Wikiprogress website, or refer to our Frequently Asked Questions to find help. See also Help:Editing.

What is Wikiprogress?

Wikiprogress is your online resource for information on progress. This innovative platform gathers experts and the general public with one clear objective: sharing knowledge on issues related to progress for a better understanding of the situation of progress around the world. See also the page about Wikiprogress.

What is a “wiki”?

Wikiprogress uses a specific technology (a “wiki”) that allows users to easily build, edit and link web pages. Think of a “wiki” as a large black board, where (authorized) users are given chalk and sponges to start writing up whatever they think is important to others, or to edit already existing articles as they deem necessary. This technology is emblematic of Web 2.0, with content generated by users. In a “wiki”, information is organised into “articles”. These can be edited or new articles can be added by registered users, without needing an external webmaster.

How do I find articles on Wikiprogress?

There are several ways to find information on Wikiprogress. The easiest and most intuitive solution is to search for specific keyword/s using the search field on the top right. If you don't know where to start, you can click on "Random article" in the left menu. You can also find information by browsing through our topics. Click on the name of a topic to see article related to it. Finally, you can see a complete list of articles by clicking on all articles. However, the nicest and probably most interesting way to explore a topic is to follow the links that are provided in existing articles. A blue link takes you to another article. Red ones indicate wanted pages. Why not create one?

How do I create an account?

Everybody can access the information on Wikiprogress. However, you need to be registered in order to edit or draft an article. Creating an account is easy:

click on the link “log in/create account”
choose a User ID and password and provide your email address and name.

How do I log in once I have an account?

If you already have an account, logging in is easy:

click on the link “log in/create account”
fill in the form with your username and password

What does the toolbar on top of the page indicate?

Once you are log in to Wikiprogress as a registered user, you will have access to several features:

“my talk” keeps track of all your comments on the discussion pages.
“my preferences” allows you to modify your name, email address, password and alerts preferences.
“my watchlist” tracks changes on any article/page you are interested in. You can add an article to your watchlist by clicking the “Watch”-tab on any page/article you are reading.
“my contributions” lists all contributions you have made so far and tracks changes that have been done by other users .
“log out” before you leave Wikiprogress.

How do I use the menu on the left?

The menu on the left has some useful links that will help you find your way in Wikiprogress:

Navigation

Main page: Wherever you are, this link drives you to the Homepage.
Community: This “chat room” allows you to bring specific topics to the attention of the Wikiprogress Community. It promotes open discussions on issues that may be interesting to all users of Wikiprogress.
Current events: The Events section is your place to advertise and find events related to progress.
Recent Changes: if you want to see recent changes, click on it !
Random page: Don’t know where to start? Let the “wiki” choose for you
Help: Encountering a problem? This link will take you to this help section

Search box

Search within titles and articles for specific keywords. The “Go” button drives you directly to the page with the exact name you entered in the search field. If the article does not exist yet, you have the option to create it. The search results list all articles in which your keyword appears.

Toolbox

The toolbox is your place to find some interesting facts and figures about articles and the general Wikiprogress initiative.

[[Special:RecentChangesLinked|Recent changes linked: helps you track the most recent changes linked to the wiki
What links here: displays all pages with a link to the current page
Upload file: lets you upload images and other documents into Wikiprogress.
Special pages: is a useful resource to find even more facts and figures.
Printable version: facilitates printing of articles
Historical link : give you the permanent link for this version of the page.

How can I participate in the Wikiprogress Community?

Wikiprogress is there for you and welcomes your active engagement. You can participate in several ways:

Finding and reading an article: search for a specific topic you are interested in and you will find all articles that mention the keyword that you put in the search box.
If your search returns some results that you would like to improve, modify the article or add new information. Specially if you see :

This article isn't complete. Please, contribute in adding references, links or information.

Find all incomplete pages.

If your search does not match any articles, this is the perfect occasion to create a new entry in Wikiprogress by clicking on the link “You can create this page”.
If you see a intern link in red, it's a page to create.
Some page contains only a template (below). They're important pages which were not drafted yet. Contribute to it!

Please contribute and update this page. Your input is very much appreciated!

Find all empty page.

How do I create or edit an article?

Log in or - if you haven’t already done so - create an account.

Create an article

In order to create an article, click on an empty link (these appear in red), link to a page that you want to create.

Editor box

If you choose to edit an article, an editor box will open that allows you to draft or modify the text. Editing articles in Wikiprogress is simple as we use the Richeditor. More advanced users who prefer using wiki markup can change to the wiki code at any time by cliking on "Wikitext" in the top left corner.

Type your text in the textbox as if it was a word document. A toolbar helps you bring your articles into shape.
Categorise your article by inserting it when you are in the "Wikitext" mode. Categorizing articles will help others identify your contribution and improve the overall navigation within Wikiprogress.
Summarize your changes in the Summary box that is located below the article (e.g. what did you do and why). You may use shorthand to describe your changes. For more information, see How should I use edit summaries?
Preview the new page before saving to see how your changes will look on Wikiprogress before making them permanent. Repeat the "edit/preview" process until you are satisfied with the outcome, then click "Save page" and your changes will be immediately visible in the article.

Toolbar functionalities

If you edit an article, a toolbar helps you bring your text into shape. More advanced users may also use wiki markup to format the text and link content to other articles, which adds to the value of your contribution (for more information see Help:Editing).

You can format existing text by highlighting the section you want to format and clicking the relevant button on the toolbar. In many cases, pop-up windows will help you achieve the desired results.
Make sure to always reference!
Apart from simple formatting functions (e.g. bold text, italics, underline) you can also insert images or documents. However, all files must be uploaded into Wikiprogress prior to being used. Before editing a text, please upload all relevant images or documents by clicking on "upload file" in the left-hand menu. See "How do I upload a file?) for more information.
Try to link to other articles in Wikiprogress by highlighting a relevant key word and clicking on "Insert/edit link".

How do I upload a file?

Wikiprogress allows users to upload images and documents that can be used or referred to in articles. It is important that you upload the respective file prior to editing the article. This is what you'll have to do:

Click on "Upload file" in the toolbox menu that is located on the left of each page
Browse for the file that you wish to upload
If necessary, rename your file in order to facilitate finding it later on (e.g. replace names of image files such as "IMG2293.jpg" with something more meaningful such as "Wikiprogress_logo.jpg")
Explain why you have the copyright for the file; e.g. you created the file or have the right of the coyright holder. You may not upload material for which you do not have the copyright.
Give a brief summary of what this file is, e.g. what does a photo show, when and where was it taken, why do you have the copyright etc.
Click on "upload file". As a rule we recommend to use small file sizes, but if it is unavoidable you may also upload large files
Your uploaded file will appear in the list of "all uploaded files". However, ideally you use an uploaded file in an article, e.g. by inserting an image or referring to a document (see "How do I edit an article?" for more help)

Illustrations from this websites are freely usable.

WikiMedia Commons "Wikimedia Commons is a media file repository making available public domain and freely-licensed educational media content (images, sound and video clips) to all"
Flickr Insert a link towards Flickr when you post its contents on a page.

What do the tabs on top of each article mean?

If you are logged into Wikiprogress as a registered user, you will find six taps on top of each page:

“Article” is selected by default to display an article in a regular read mode
“Discussion” lets you bring specific questions/comments related to the article you’re reading to the attention of the Wikiprogress Community
“Edit” lets you edit the page
“History” allows you to see previous versions of the article
“Move” lets you rename a page, moving all of its history to the new name. The old title will become a redirect page to the new title
“Watch” adds the current page to your watchlist. Future changes to this page and its associated discussion page will be listed here, and the page will appear bold in the list of recent changes. If you want to remove the page from your watchlist, click "Unwatch" in the sidebar.

How can I comment on an article?

If you like to comment on an article, click on the "discussion" tab on top of each article. If other people have already commented on a particular article, you will find these entries on the discussion page that will open up. Feel free to participate in an ongoing discussion (by clicking on "+" to add a comment) or start a new discussion thread. Referring to the discussion page may be particularly valuable if you intend to make changes to an article, which you would like to discuss with the author (or other users) beforehand. Needless to say, you can also contact the author of an article directly by clicking on his or her name (which you can find by looking a the "history" of an article) and leaving a message on this person's talk page. In order to give your thoughts wider visibly, the discussion page may nevertheless be the better option.

No matter how you decide to voice your opinion, please let mutual respect be the guiding principle of your actions. Although all Wikiprogress contributors know that their writing may be edited mercilessly, it is easier to accept changes if the reasons for them are discussed beforehand.

How should I use edit summaries?

If you change an existing article, clear edit summaries and transparent explanations are highly appreciated. Other editors need to understand your actions, and sometimes writing a little summary even helps you determine if a specific edit was really justified. Please state what you changed and why. If the explanation is too long, elucidate on the discussion page. It is a fundamental principle of Wikiprogress that all registered users can edit articles, so there are a lot of changes to watch.

Wikiprogress policies and conventions

Wikiprogress is not a final product, but a continuous process to improve the knowledge on progress. All previous versions of an article and even deletions are recorded, so anything you do here remains an accessible part of Wikiprogress, available for future reference. But don't be anxious! When editing, keep following guidelines in mind and you will soon find yourself making effective contributions to the project.

The primary objective of Wikiprogress is to share knowledge on progress and to distill this knowledge into high-quality articles.

If you follow these guidelines, you will likely be treated with kindness and respect. As you gain experience, you might learn of additional style guides, handy ways to do things etc. But don't worry too much if you don't understand at first. Someone will clean up after you, and, as time passes by, you will learn the subtleties of how to be a great community member of Wikiprogress!

Many people get started on Wikiprogress because they are reading an article and they notice an omission, a factual error, or a typo. If you know how to make edits and changes, go ahead, and if you add or change information to an article, please include references, because all unreferenced material is subject to removal. But if you are not sure what to do, go to the discussion page associated with the article, hit the "discussion" tab, and make a comment on what you think needs to be changed. Remember to please end your comment with four tildes, which will sign and timestamps your comment.

Wikiprogress articles generally contain links to other articles. Blue (or purple, if you have already visited them) links represent pages that do exist. Red links (or tan, if you have already visited them) point to pages that do not yet exist, or have been deleted. Whoever created these links thought that an article on the topic should be included in Wikiprogress. If not many people agreed with these suggestions, the links may have been removed. It is also possible that a spelling error was made, or that they did not know the correct name for an existing page on the same (or a more general) topic. In this case, you could fix the link, and/or create a redirect page. If you decide there should be an article at the other end of the link, please start writing it!

Make a list of everything you know. Do not include things that are not verifiable or not supposed to be covered by Wikiprogress. Then, find the proper places to write about the items that remain on your list. In order to integrate this new content to articles that already exist on Wikiprogress, click on "What links here" to also modify similar pages.

Wikiprogress.org was created by the OECD Global project. In order to make Wikiprogress a useful information resource, we advise you to stick to following rules:

Neutral point of view

Write articles from a neutral point of view. This is a fundamental principle of Wikiprogress, which allows us to make a fair representation of the world around us. Even if material is verifiable, it is still important to put it into a balanced and representative form so that it conveys a fair impression of the views of the many significant viewpoints on a subject.

Verifiability

Articles should contain only material that has been published by reliable sources. Editors should cite reliable sources for any material that is challenged or likely to be challenged; otherwise it may be removed by another community member.

No original research

Articles may not contain previously unpublished arguments, concepts, data, or theories; or any new analysis or synthesis of published arguments, concepts, data, or theories that serves to advance a position.

What are safe behaviors on Wikiprogress?

The intent of these guidelines is to provide a safe set of rules. Following these behaviours will avoid any potential problems from the start.

Be bold in updating pages. Go ahead, it's a wiki!
Encourage others, including those who disagree with you, to share their knowledge.
Be civil to other users at all times.
Always reference!
Assume good faith: try to consider that the person on the other end of the discussion is a thinking, rational being who is trying to positively contribute to Wikiprogress. If you really do not agree with an edit to your article, revert once, with an edit summary stating something like "(rv) I disagree strongly, I'll explain why in talk" and immediately take the issue to discussion page.
Be gracious: be liberal in what you accept, be conservative in what you do. Try to accommodate other people's quirks the best you can, and try to be as polite, solid and straightforward as possible yourself.
Signing: Sign on discussion page (using four tildes "~~~~" which gets replaced by your username and timestamps when you hit submit), but don't sign on main space articles.
Use the Show preview button: it prevents cluttering up the page-history.
Don't infringe copyright. Wikiprogress uses the GNU Free Documentation License. Everything you contribute must be compatible with that license. See also the Privacy policy