WikiFIREpedia:About
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About WikiFIREpedia
WikiFIREpedia is a collaborative website resource focused on fire and life safety knowledge. This site is modeled from the Wikipedia Encyclopedia, but not affiliated in any way. WikiFIREpedia is administered and owned by Fire Smarts, LLC.
WikiFIREpedia is written collaboratively by volunteers from all around the world. Volunteers do not need specialized qualifications to contribute. Most of the articles can be edited by anyone with access to the Internet, simply by clicking the edit this page link. Anyone is welcome to add information, cross-references or citations, as long as they do so to an appropriate standard.
Substandard or disputed information is subject to removal. Users need not worry about accidentally damaging WikiFIREpedia when adding or improving information, as WikiFIREpedia's software is carefully designed to allow easy reversal of editorial mistakes.
Because WikiFIREpedia is an ongoing work to which, in principle, anybody can contribute, it differs from a paper-based reference source in important ways. In particular, older articles tend to be more comprehensive and balanced, while newer articles more frequently contain significant misinformation, errors, or vandalism. Users need to be aware of this to obtain valid information and avoid misinformation that has been recently added and not yet removed. However, unlike a paper reference source, WikiFIREpedia is continually updated, with the creation or updating of articles on topical events within seconds, minutes or hours, providing the opportunity for currently relevant information.
WikiFIREpedia Contributors
(Also see WikiFIREpedia Copyrights)
Anyone with internet access can edit WikiFIREpedia, and this openness encourages inclusion of a tremendous amount of content.
Where there are disagreements on how to present facts volunteers work together to arrive at an article which fairly represents current expert opinion on the subject. Volunteers who fail to work with others in a civil manner can be temporarily or permanently banned from editing WikiFIREpedia by the administrators.
Using WikiFIREpedia
WikiFIREpedia is designed to be a resource for those seeking fire and life safety information. You are encourage to search the articles for topics that interest you.
As a collaborative collection of knowledge you are also encouraged to contribute to WikiFIREpedia by adding to an existing page or adding a new topic page. Contributions subject to WikiFIREpedia Copyrights
Basic navigation in WikiFIREpedia
WikiFIREpedia articles are all linked, or cross-referenced. Wherever you see highlighted text like this, it means there is a link to some relevant article or WikiFIREpedia page with further in-depth information elsewhere if you need it. Holding your mouse over the link will often show you where a link will take you. You can add further links if a relevant link is missing, and this is one way to contribute.
WikiFIREpedia retains a history of all edits and changes, thus information added to WikiFIREpedia never "vanishes", and is never "lost" or deleted. Discussion pages are an important resource on contentious topics. There, serious researchers can often find a wide range of vigorously or thoughtfully advocated viewpoints not present in the consensus article.
Editing WikiFIREpedia Pages
WikiFIREpedia uses a simple yet powerful page layout to allow editors to concentrate on adding material rather than page design.
The Editing Handbook provides you with specific instructions on editing a Wiki page. Please note that this is an external link that will take you to a site outside of WikiFIREpedia.
Once you are more familiar with the information covered in the Editing Handbook you may find the following quick reference .pdf guide useful.
WikiFIREpedia has robust version and reversion controls. This means that poor quality edits or vandalism can quickly and easily be reversed or brought up to an appropriate standard by any other editors, so inexperienced editors cannot accidentally do permanent harm if they make a mistake in their editing.
WikiFIREpedia Content Criteria
WikiFIREpedia content is intended to be factual, notable, verifiable with external sources, and neutrally presented, with external sources cited.
Editorial Administration, Oversight and Management
Any user may build a reputation as a competent editor and become involved in any role they may choose, subject to peer approval. Individuals often will choose to become involved in specialized tasks, such as reviewing articles at others' request, watching current edits for vandalism, watching newly created articles for quality control purposes, or similar roles.
Handling Disputes and Abuse
WikiFIREpedia has a rich set of methods to handle most abuses that commonly arise.
- Intentional vandalism can be reported and corrected by anyone.
- Unresolved disputes between users, whether based upon behavior, editorial approach or validity of content, can be addressed through the talk page of an article or through requesting comments from other users. The administrators reserve the right to make a final decision if the dispute is not able to be resolved through other discussion methods.
- Abuse of user accounts, such as the creation of Internet sock puppets or solicitation of friends and other parties to enforce a non-neutral viewpoint or inappropriate consensus within a discussion, or to disrupt other WikiFIREpedia processes in an annoying manner, may be banned from using WikiFIREpedia.
Feedback and questions
Feedback about content should be raised on the discussion pages of those articles. You are invited to be bold and edit the pages yourself to add information or correct mistakes if you are knowledgeable and able to do so.
