Help:Wiki University--Special Pages

Special Pages

 * Special pages are accessed under Toolbox on the right hand toolbar.
 * Although there are 11 sections, you should be particularly familiar with the ones listed below:
 * Maintenance reports
 * List of pages
 * Users and rights
 * Recent changes and logs
 * Media reports and uploads

Maintenance reports

 * This is a list of the various reports that tell what items in the Wiki need our constant attention and are part of our patrolling duties.
 * As you can see, there are a lot of items to pay attention to. Some, however, are not of immediate concern and can be worked on when time is available.
 * Take a minute and click on some of them.

List of pages
Clicking on "All pages" will take you to a list of all the pages in the Wiki. However, you can restrict that to a more manageable list by selecting a category from the drop down list under "Namespace."

For example, the namespace "MediaWiki" gives a list of items, such as the text in the right sidebars that you can edit, if you have the proper rights. This would enable you to update the right sidebar with new links or delete items that are no longer useful.

User and rights
Here is where we have influence over users and their ability to edit in the Wiki. We can block users that are not following policies. We can also change our passwords, if needed.

Recent changes and New pages
Here is a list of items that are paramount in patrolling.
 * Recent changes - any edit to any article will show up on this list.
 * By clicking on "(diff)" you will see what edits were made.
 * Then check that these edits conform to Wiki policy.
 * Check any newly added links for appropriate content.
 * New pages - List of newly created pages
 * Click on the name of the page to open it.
 * We need to make sure these are in accordance with Wiki policy.
 * We also check the links on these new pages to make sure they work.
 * Make sure that these links do not lead to undesirable sites or fraudulent material.

Media reports and uploads

 * Upload file - is where we upload the images we want to use in the Wiki. The process is explained here in detail Image Approval.

Check out the other sections
Check out the links in the other sections so you have an idea of what items we can control in the Wiki.

Try these out
 Quick Quiz

On the special pages page, which section do you go to in order to:

A: Maintenance reports B: Login/signup C: Media reports and uploads D: None of the above
 * Block a user?

A: Users and rights B: Recent changes and logs C: Maintenance reports D: None of the above
 * Change your password?

A: Lists of pages B: Users and rights C: Media reports and uploads D: None of the above
 * Upload an image?

Reviewing recent changes is not a priority when patrolling the Wiki.
 * True
 * False


 * To change the right sidebars, you go to List of Pages and the Namespace box
 * True
 * False

Check your answers