Frequently asked questions

• Why is there no 'edit' tag on the pages?

Are you logged in? Only registered users can be editors and they need to have editing rights confirmed by a system administrator. Send an email to johnadams@imailbox.com to request edit rights.

• I am registered and logged in but some of the pages don't have an edit tag.

This is probably because their content is not for public editing and they have been 'locked' by an administrator. In some cases, senior editors might lock pages that are considered complete and definitive.

• I think some of my contribution should lead to further pages in the future. Should I 'wikify' them?

Probably. It's easy to 'wikify' a page as you go along. If you see the possibility for a link from your page then just put it in [[square brackets]] and when saved it will show up in red providing a later opportunity to produce a new page. BUT, please be careful what you 'wikify'. The following points may help.

• • People may have already started that topic. Check by looking at http://folkopedia.efdss.org/Special:Allpages
  • Don't reserve general terms for one particular section. For example, if you are editing 'Step Dancing' and wanted a special page listing particular steppers, you wouldn't produce a link to 'Dancers' because then the Clog dancers would not be able to use the term. Your new page should be more specific like Step Dancers or even Dartmoor Step Dancers
  • Don't make new entries too long and be aware of what people have already done and what they might want to do in the future.

• An article already exists in Wikipedia. Should I copy it across?

Probably not. If the Wikipedia article looks authoritative then the best thing to do is to copy across the first paragraph as illustration and then add a statement to say that it has been copied and that the full article can be read on Wikipedia. Then link to the relevant Wikpedia page. In many cases, the Wikipedia article may be a stand-alone piece and not relate to any others. If this is the case, it would be good to enter Wikipedia and add a link back to Folkopedia so that people can find similar or related information. Thus, Folkopedia becomes a focussing point for related information on Wikipedia without being in competition. For example, our page on Sarah Makem links to Wikipedia here where you will find a link back to Irish Source Singers in Folkopedia.