With the surge of new users on lemmygrad there has been growing interest in ProleWiki on the grad. This is some info if you want to start editing, in no particular order:
1 - Lemmygrad and ProleWiki are completely separate projects. While we share some history and the lemmygrad community is sort of our outreach homebase, prolewiki has its own policies, editorship, etc. Just to clear up some misconceptions I see around :) (and so if you want to discuss prolewiki you should join our discord to talk with the editorship directly). We’ve evolved our own demcent, our own community, policies etc over time.
2 - With that bummer out of the way, you can either make anonymous edits to ProleWiki or request an account. We explain the difference here: https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/ProleWiki:How_to_make_anonymous_edits
3 - if you make anonymous edits, they go through a moderation queue and the trusted editorship decides to approve or reject the entire edit. For that reason it is preferable to keep them short because if we need to decline an edit for just one part of it, we can’t keep the rest of it easily.
4 - We are a marxist-leninist encyclopedia so you don’t need to do a wikipedia style both sides when editing! Bring a marxist perspective with the wordage, and put the reader first.
4 - (yes there’s two 4s) Please note all claims must have a source attached, you can use the Cite button and then a citation template if you use the visual editor. Edits that do not cite sources will be rejected.
5 - we consider all anon edits individually, regardless of the IP attached. We might also approve it but then undo the edit, usually with denial reason. you can then go into the page history, open your edit, and start editing from it. It’s a bit complicated to explain in a couple sentences but if someone asks in the comments I can make a quick guide.
6 - we also ask that edits respect our Principles. We also have other guides for your benefit:
a. Encyclopedic tone guide b. User guide (to use the editor) c. Editorial guidelines
I would say the encyclopedic tone guide, while it could be improved in the ‘fairness’ section (don’t hide our marxism), sets a good base for a good edit. A lot of people, editors included, remove history when it comes to unfolding or current events, but we have a task of adding and preserving history as well.
7 - you can also request an account which allows you to bypass the moderation queue and participate in the health of the project. Account requests are voted on democratically and take some time, but once you’re accepted you don’t have to do it again.
8 - anon edits can only edit main content pages, that is those not preceded by a namespace (E.g. Library:, ProleWiki:, Essay:, Category: etc). With an account you can edit almost the entire wiki including adding library books or your own essays.
9 - we have a seldom used library editor account, which only lets you edit the library and nothing else. You still get access to the editors-only chat rooms in the discord with it, allowing you to be embedded in the project. The idea is that we get books, and you get to read them and learn. So if you feel you don’t qualify for a full editor account, you can put in your request that you want a library account, it’s a bit easier to get.
10 - There’s also no quotas or participation merits. You can make an account and then use it sparingly, but of course we prefer that people participate on the discord so we can get to know them and talk to them. But it’s not a requirement.
11 - If we deny your account request, you can still make anon edits or try again for a new account at any time! The point is not to gatekeep but to make sure there is ideological consistency and knowledge within the project, since we are an encyclopedia.
12 - if you don’t know what to edit honestly just start somewhere and see how it goes! Add sources, fix typos, add paragraphs, whatever you notice. Most of my edits are made either on topics I’ve researched a lot, or pages I come across and think “this could be improved”.
As an editor you can also participate in more than just editing. For example we’re interested in a library maintainer: someone that can provide some vision for the library space, oversee edits made on it, etc. Experience is not necessary but some vision and ideas would be nice. You can also propose your own ideas in the project for stuff you’d like to start.
suggest changes or ask questions?
(Like my post on the topic of FOSS)
Would it be advisable to request an account to
hide one's IP?
(As I think the warning suggests when attempting an anon edit)
There is a matrix space but it’s empty and we’re reorganizing it, so for the time being consider it non-existent.
The discord has more editors and generally faster replies but also has a ticket vetting system. but if you only want to make suggestions you can open a ticket and discuss there without doing the entire vetting.
for anon edits you can use a VPN or even Tor, we don’t check and don’t mind! Requesting an account will hide your IP but also takes longer and is more stringent, though people have reported they like answering the form. It’s best to use it if you plan to make a lot of edits or want to participate in the health of the project, otherwise you can start with anon edits.