Swallow Yachts Forum > General Discussion

Contributing to the web site

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Jonathan Stuart:
We now have a Library area on the web site where all members can create and edit pages.  The idea is that we use this for members to contribute and collaborate, especially around some of the ideas that have been discussed on the forum recently, e.g. boat register, accommodation venues, sailing locations & technical/modifications articles. With regard to the latter, it would be good to get some of the technical discussions buried in this forum written-up as articles and added to the Library.

Clicking on the top level of the Library menu takes you to the Library page. That contains links to all articles. At present these are not grouped, but we can categorize pages and then display the page links grouped by category on the Library page. I think we should do that in future so just need to decide what categories are required. If any pages become interesting or important enough that we want them on the main web site menu instead of (or as well as) in the Library then this is something I can do. Please post here if you feel any articles should be promoted like this.

Any member can create and edit pages but they must be approved by an editor before they become effective. Editors receive an email notification when a change is pending approval and we will try to review and approve as quickly as possible but please allow a little time for this. At the moment I am the only editor but if anyone else wants to join me then please send me a PM or reply to this topic. I suggest some familiarity with the process for creating pages would be useful before becoming an editor.

Given what recently happened with some forum posts, I propose a condition that anyone who contributes to the Library is agreeing that their work is going in to the public domain and can be edited and reproduced by any other member. Please post here if anyone disagrees with that otherwise we should assume that anyone contributing to the Library is accepting this condition.

There is a page documenting how to create/edit library pages and that can be found on Library menu. Please read that before working on any Library pages!

The next step for me is to add a picture gallery and I am working on that now. It should be a lot easier than the Library so will hopefully be available in the next week.

If you have any questions, problems or suggestions then please reply here.

Michael Rogers:
This could become an exceptionally useful resource for all of us. I'm not quite sure how the decision would be made, if one had something with 'library potential' to contribute, whether one would stick it on the forum for starters, or go straight to the library. I suppose the whole thing will bed down with use. Anyway, thanks for setting it up, Jonathan.

I have recently been putting stuff about junk rig in the 'Technical' slot on the forum. It became a bit of a monologue, and I think most of it would sit much more appropriately in the library. Folks will probably have gathered that I am more than a bit IT-phobic, and I find Jonathan's page of (doubtless crystal-clear) 'how-to-do-it' instructions somewhat daunting. I would be more than happy for anyone who has the time and know-how to lift the straight descriptive-of-JR bits out of that particular thread on the forum and put them together, complete with the photos obviously, in the library. Fell free to edit. Any offers? Apologies if this sounds like getting other people to do my work, but anything beyond the most basic IT and word-processing skills gets me in a bit of a tizz, which I (and my nearest and dearest) do not enjoy!

Michael

Jonathan Stuart:
I doubt my "How to" instructions are crystal clear. Although I am no longer a practicing techie, I come from a technical background and in the world of IT they are the worst at creating any sort of user documentation! I will attempt to improve the user guide over time to make them more user friendly (or I can open this to others to edit if anyone has the urge....!).

At this stage I don't think contributors should worry too much about getting their articles perfect, let's just get some content created. I see the editors as checking more than suitability of content, etc, and should also tidy up formatting, etc. So if anyone wants to contribute but is feeling intimated, then feel free to create something that is just words and no formatting and others will tidy it up. Or post it on the forum or email it and I am sure someone will happily to create the page from that.

Julian Swindell:
Hi Jonathan
Well done for organising this.
I have tried creating a page about the Baycruiser range. I wanted to embed a Youtube video for the launch, but it seems to delete the coding for that when it is saved. Any ideas? I think it will have been submitted to you for vetting.

Jonathan Stuart:
Julian,

Thanks and I have approved your new page so it is now available in the Library.

Re embedding YouTube, I haven't tried this before but have now worked out what to do. I have embedded a BC20 video on your page and this works for me but please check if you can play the video. I will add the instructions to the Library documentation but here's what I did:

1. Find the video on YouTube that you want to embed.
2. Copy the address (URL) of that YouTube page. This will be something like "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPdcZ7B4t-E" and can usually be found in the address bar at the top of your browser.
3. Copy that text to the Windows clipboard by right clicking with your mouse on the text and select "Copy".
4. Now go to the Swallow Boats Association web site and open the page editor.
5. Click where you want the video to appear in your page. Click on the toolbar icon that has a picture of a red square containing a white triangle. If there is a toolbar icon with "You Tube" written on it then do not use that, use the red square/white triangle instead because this uses a more reliable method to embed video.
6. A new window appears. There is a text box at the top of this window underneath the label "YouTube video url or code:". Click in the text box and paste your You Tube URL here by pressing Ctrl + V or click the right mouse button in the box and select "Paste".
7. Now click the "Insert" button and your page will contain an embedded YouTube video.

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