OpenWetWare:Getting started 3

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Set up your user page/lab wiki
• 3. Contribute to the community

Contribute to community pages

Sharing the same wiki between multiple labs enables community pages that permit sharing of expertise. OpenWetWare has many shared areas listed under the resources section on the Main Page. Everyone is encouraged to contribute to these pages!

List your lab equipment

• In the equipment section of OpenWetWare, several groups have listed their lab equipment. This is a convenient way to keep information and records about usage and maintainance. See this page on the Endy Lab plate reader for an example.

Link to your lab protocols

• Each lab has their own way of doing particular protocols. Typically a lab will have a list of lab-specific protocols. However, we are also collecting protocols from multiple labs in the shared protocols area. A good example is DNA Ligation which has a general overview of the procedure. It also provides links to the specific protocols of individual labs so that people can compare different techniques. Link to your lab's protocol from the relevant shared protocols section!

Document information about lab reagents

• Almost every lab has a set of solutions or media that they regularly need to prepare. In the materials section, OpenWetWare users list reagents they use and include useful information: like recipes, usage notes, safety info. etc.

Remember that you don't need permission to edit a community page. If you have a protocol or other information that you would like to share, please do so even if you are unsure if it will be of interest to the community.

Become a power user

Want to make OpenWetWare better? Here are some things you can do ...

Check the recent changes list often

• Often seeing the changes that people are making in real time can lead to an urge to correct errors, contribute to discussions and overall improve the quality of pages. Many people actually bookmark the Recent changes rather than the Main Page because it is more reflective of what is happening on OpenWetWare at any given time.

Join the OpenWetWare steering committee

• OpenWetWare is very much in its infancy. Everyone is still trying to figure out how to make the site as useful as possible to themselves and everyone else. So contribute your ideas and participate on the OpenWetWare:Steering committee to help guide the overall direction of the site!

Go to the Community Portal

• If you are looking to kill time and want to edit OpenWetWare, the Community Portal lists various pages that have been edited recently and where discussions are taking place.

Advertise OpenWetWare to your friends and colleagues

• OpenWetWare, being based on community contributions, can only benefit from having people talking about the usefulness of the site. Many of our new members hear about it through word of mouth.
• Write a testimonial to explain how you use or benefit from OpenWetWare.

Join our mailing list

• Sign up for one of the mailing lists to find out how you can help out and to share your thoughts on how to make OpenWetWare better.

Adding comments

Discussions are an integral part of OpenWetWare whether you are asking for or giving feedback, contributing to the Community Portal, or simply commenting on a user's talk page. In order to easily track and read discussions, we have standardized our commenting protocol.

To comment, type *'''~~~~''': followed by your comment to get example below.
▪ Jennyn 16:16, 25 February 2006 (EST): Hello World.
▪ Jennyn 12:14, 18 March 2006 (EST): Hi back!

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