Help:Contents

FAQ

How Do I Add an Article?

Anyone, including you, can write for WikiRecording!

When editing other articles, you can surround words like this to create a new article out of them: [[Word you want to make an article out of]]

Or you can simply write in the url wikirecording.org/yourarticletitlehere to start a new article.

For information on how to format an article, read the style guide below and check out Editing Help.

WikiRecording's Style Guide

What Articles Should You Write?

WikiRecording is a guide to Audio Recording. That said, any topic having to do with Audio Recording is fair game. However, while any Audio Recording topic is fair game, there are certain guidelines that rule how you should write your article.

Basic Rules

Here are the two basic rules writing an article:

• Don't Use the First Person. While your experience with a certain technique or a piece of equipment may be your primary source of information, you are not the only author of any given article. If you were to use the first person, no one would know which contributor it referred to.

• Don't Promote Your Own Product. Maybe you've recorded an album using a certain piece of equipment or maybe you are part of a company that makes audio recording products. Please resist the temptation to plug your own products within the main text of an article. If you used a piece of equipment to record something, create a section called Audio Samples or Resources to put a link to that recording (please don't upload audio files if they are already on the web). If you are part of a company that makes Audio Recording products, feel free to write an article about that product following these guideline: Only write facts about the product and how to use the product. Don't write about how great the product is, what a good deal it is, or any other advertising-esk jargon. Let the product speak for itself. Also, feel free to add a link back to the products own website, where you can rant about it as much as you like.

WikiRecording's Nomenclature Policy

Audio Recording is plagued by vague terms. One of WikiRecording's goal is to take every possible vague term and define it as accurately as possible.

So here are some general "Nomenclature" rules to follow. (Nomenclature is the devising of names for things in a field.)

• Don't use words you can't define. If you can't define a word, it has no real meaning to anyone else, even though it might have meaning to you. Remember that this site is about communication.

• Define the words you do use. Particularly descriptive words like "Bright" should be defined.

• Its acceptable for one word to have multiple definitions, just make it clear which one you intend. If the word you used is already defined, try to find a better word (or even make one up, remember that languages aren't set in stone.)

As long as you define it, it is a word. If you are having trouble thinking of a different word, try using a Thesaurus or add another definition for the word and make it clear that you mean the second definition rather than to the first.

Types of Articles

Articles on WikiRecording fall into four categories: Technical Terms, Products/People/Companys, How To Guides, and Product Guides.

Technical Terms

Technical Term articles are often the easiest to write. They rely on simple facts and definitions, with little temptation to add personal opinions. Technical Term articles should be sectioned off into 'What is Term Here', 'When is this Term used?' and an optional 'Fun Facts' section.

Other sections can be added as necessary. Remember, as a rule, the more sections an article is divided into the easier it is for readers to find what they are looking for.

Products/People/Companys

Articles describing audio Products/People/Companies present more challenges than Technical Term articles. It is tempting to write about how great/terrible a product is, how much you like/hate a certain company, or how a certain audio engineer or inventor is year hero. Here are some guidelines to help you write these sorts of articles.

Generally Products/People/Company articles should be divided into several sections, starting with "What is Name Here" and "History." Depending on the topic, sections like "Uses", "Setup Guide", "Product Line", or "Notable Achievements" might be necessary.

Keep the following rules in mind:

• Never write an article about Yourself. Again, self promotion in article form is not acceptable. If you are a registered user, you already have a "User" page in which you can write about yourself all that you want.

• Stick to the Facts. The line between facts and opinion can become blurry at this point, particularly when it comes to your own experiences with a product or company. Write about well established facts first. If you have had a problem with a product or a company, create a section called "Potential Problems" and list the difficulties you have had. Don't say things like "When I bought this mic, it sounded terrible", but rather write up a description of the problem, like this: "Some users report a clicking noise coming from the microphone during high gain recording." Do a little research to see if you are the only person who has had a problem. If you are, don't write about it, but rather add it to the discussion page.

How To Guides

How To Guides can be a great place to use your experience to help other people. Your opinions about the best way to do something can be expressed here, but remember not to use the first person and don't engage in a "My way is better than your way" battle. If there are differing opinions, they both should be expressed and supported.

How To Guides are best organized in this fashion.

First, choose the Title carefully. For instance, the article How To Mic A Guitar might sound like a good idea at first, but you may realize when your writing it that you should have called it How To Mic An Acoustic Guitar. For some topics, its better call the article something like "Approaches to...", particularly if the method you are going to describe is more of an artistic choice rather than a practical solution.

When you have named the article, start it off with a section called "Theory and Considerations" or something along those lines. Explain in general terms what problems the article is presenting solutions to and what causes those problems.

Then proceed with the How To section of the article. Make sure to explain why everything is done the way its done. Also remember that there are a multitude of different ways to do anything when recording audio, so leave room for other methods.

Product Guides

Product Guides can be the most challenging articles to write. They require the author to list off and compare products while not allowing the author to express any opinions of their own.

Remember that this is not a magazine and WikiRecording is not meant to rate products. Product guides should be organized by a logical order rather than a top ten style order. Group products by their uses and compare their features, providing audio clips when possible. Leave it up to the reader to make a decision regarding which product is the best. Product guides are meant to show people their options, not to make a choice for them.

Editing Articles

When you edit an article, the edit is either minor or major. Minor edits include fixing spelling errors, adding links or re-organizing sections. An edit is major whenever the text itself is changed or content is added.

When you make an edit, it is helpful to the community for you to write out the Edit Summary before it is submitted.

If you are reading an article and there is a word or concept which you don't understand and you believe deserves an article, simply put the word in brackets like this: [[The Word]]. This will create a red link which other users can click on to write an article with that title.

Diagrams, Drawings, and User Created Graphics

We are attempting to create a site wide color scheme for all drawings and diagrams. While it isn't imperitive we are trying to create a continuous look that will be informative and pleasurable to viewers.

Colors:

Grey color: #666666

Blue color: #3677B8

Fonts

Helvetica Neue Light