FamilySearch Wiki:Moderator/Getting Started

Registering on the wiki
A Wiki Moderator should already have a wiki account to access the Wiki as needed. However, in some circumstances a moderator may not have one. If you currently have a user ID and password for any Family Search product, it will work on the Wiki. If you do not have an account create one.

To create an account, click sign in. The sign in feature is found on all Wiki pages on the upper right corner. When the screen comes up to sign in, click the link to register a new account. Create your account and log in. After you have created your User ID and password, you can click the box that allows you to remain signed in for two weeks. This feature is activated when you click "sign in" on the upper right corner of the page. The two week feature is particularly useful for Wiki users who go in and out of Wiki throughout the day or week. It is also very useful to keep a small notebook to keep your passwords handy. You may find that you need a reminder of your password if you are not active every day on the wiki.

Moderator Setup

 * We have added you to the FamilySearch Wiki:Moderator page. Please make sure that the link there to your user page is correct.
 * We have also added you as a moderator to the main Locality or Topic page you will be moderating. If you are moderating, for example, New York content, you have been added to the New York page.  Note that you will also be moderating all of the New York content.
 * You need to "watch" pages of specific interest to you to keep abreast of the changes on those pages.
 * You need to create a User Page.

"Watching" wiki pages
Once registered, the first thing you will need to do is understand how "watching" pages work. Watching the pages you moderate is important so that you can be aware of changes that are made to the pages. When you watch a page, you will be notified via email each time a change is made to that page, and you will know who is working on these pages. Moderators should:


 * 1) Thank the people who are working on those pages and encourage their contributions to the wiki on the contributor's talk page or via email.
 * 2) Be aware of potential problems that may arise.

Here is how to "watch" a page:


 * Once you have logged in and are on a page you want to watch, look on the upper right side of the page for the toolbar with watch, share and print.
 * Click watch. The system will indicate that you are now watching that page
 * “Watching” will generate an e-mail to you when other users make edits to the page. When you visit the page, you can view the History tab to see what was changed. This makes it easy for you to track changes to the pages you moderate.

Watch the following pages:


 * First, add the FamilySearch Wiki:Moderator page to your watchlist. This will notify you of any new helps for Moderators and any changes to the job description.
 * Second, add the locality or topic pages you are moderating to the watchlist, their topic pages, and the sub-locality pages. For example, if you are the New York moderator, you will add the New York page, the New York topic pages, and the New York county pages to your watchlist.

Be involved - learning about policy changes saves rework
Changes occur often on wikis regarding policies, governance, stylistic issues, time-saving templates, and even the roles of moderators and adopters. When such changes occur, it is necessary to be aware of them as they happen. It will save time and unnecessary reworks if new writing and editing follow new changes and policies.

At FamilySearch Wiki, changes that affect moderators, adopters, and other contributors are proposed and discussed at the FamilySearch Wiki Contributors Meeting which is held on the first Thursday of the month at 1:00 Mountain time. Everyone is welcome and your opinions are valued.

Creating your user page
The last thing you need to do to get set up is to create your user page. This will tell users and contributors about you and your organization.


 * 1) Using the navigation menu on the right side of the page, expand the section titled: Personal Tools by clicking on the arrow to the right.
 * 2) The first item you see under Personal Tools should be your username. Click on this, and it will take you to your user page.
 * 3) Before you make your first edit to your user page, a message will display saying "This page has not been created yet." Do not let that confuse you; just click on Edit This Page and begin typing. You will need to use Google Chrome or FireFox to utilize the Edit feature.

Ideas for your user page
A user page is a great place to tell a bit about yourself and link to wiki articles and other sites you find helpful. There are no requirements about what user pages must contain -- they exist to help users -- but here are some ideas of what you might add:


 * A short Personal Section telling about yourself.
 * A section about your personal genealogical projects.
 * Links to pages you moderate.
 * Links to Help pages you use often.
 * A section (a user box) about any genealogical associations with which you are affiliated, and your responsibilities an activities there.
 * A section that suggests the types of improvements that are still needed on pages within the topic area you oversee. (This, along with a project page is a good way to make a "call to action" that can get others working on your projects!)
 * It's fun to add User Boxes to your user page. After accessing your user page, click the "Edit" box and add a Moderator Box to your page by doing the following: Type two left curly brackets ({) followed by the words: User Moderator and type in two right curly brackets (}) . This will create a User Moderator box on your page. Then go to the bottom of the page and identify your edit as an addition of a User Box and click "Save page". If you wish to delete the box, simply go into Edit and delete the text you typed in before saving page again.
 * To learn more about user pages, see Help:User page and FamilySearch Wiki:User page. To see a good example of a user page, see User:Cottrells.

Ready to moderate
Once you have completed these tasks, you are ready to begin moderating pages in your subject area.