Quick Start Guide

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Hello. We're glad you made it. Welcome... To... The Future!

Ok, all kidding aside, if you are here, then that means you want to learn the ropes on how to best utilize this site, or at least some quick pointers. While we all have probably ended up on various pages on Wikipedia from time to time, we may not really understand "what" a wiki really is or how it is structured. I'm still figuring this out a bit myself as well.

What follows will be as quick and concise of information as I can manage about what you really need to know in order to use this site. This page will evolve over time as we all learn together.

First off... what exactly is this site, and how does it compare to Wikipedia.

What Is This Site All About

The members of the Chanticleer Society are devote cocktail enthusiasts, some are professional bartenders, some (like myself) are merely hobbyists. While Wikipedia has a lot of great cocktail and spirits related information, it often is too general, and may not really dig into the type of specific details that we want. So this site is going to be similar to Wikipedia, but tailored specifically to the type of geeky information that us cocktail enthusiasts cherish.

Also, unlike Wikipedia, this site (at the moment anyway) doesn't allow "just anybody" to maintain it's content. There will be two types of "users" to this site. The general public will be able to access all of the information here, but they won't be able to create or edit anything. Content management will be done by members of the Chanticleer Society. At the moment, that means that the general public won't be able to create accounts here, but if an individual feels that they qualify as a "cocktail enthusiast", then they can request an account and thereby become a member of the Chanticleer Society.

For the General Public

If you are just browsing through and wanting to read the information we have, here are some pointers on how to use this site.

Hopefully, search sites like Google and Bing will redirect your cocktail/spirits searches to pages we have here. In which case, you'll do a basic web search and end up on a page which (hopefully) answers your questions. If you instead come to this site to specifically try to research some information, then there are two basic approaches you should be using.

  1. Use the "Search Chanticleer Society" box at the top of the page to enter the topic you are trying to find.
  2. Since this site is going to be "sparsely populated" in its early days, use the [Special:AllPages | All Pages link] to see a list of all of the pages on this site so you can select the one you are interested in.


For Members

Ok, here is where it might get a little tricky. If you are a member, then you have the capability of creating and editing content. Hopefully, this responsibility is not taken lightly.

There are essentially two things you can do as a member:

  1. Edit Content
  2. Create Content

Edit Content

If you are logged in, and viewing one of the pages on the site, and feel that there is something wrong, or missing, you can click the "Edit" button you will see at the top of the page to edit the information that is there.

Create Content

If there is information that you can't find on the site, that you wish it included, the steps you should follow are:

  1. Do a "search" for the information
  2. Click on the "created [search context] on this wiki!" link.

You will end up at a page which will allow YOU to provide details about the information you were trying to find. If you have any details to share, simply enter it into the page provided. If you are scared about this responsibility, then click the back button and clear your conscious.

Editing Content

Once you are in the process of adding content to this site, the most important concept is "every blank line creates a new paragraph".

In other words, as you type in information, just make sure that there is a blank line before each break in the content.

Frankly, if that is all that you do, then you are good-to-go. There are a variety of other formatting tricks that this software provides, but that, as they say, is content for another discussion.