Revision as of 10:22, 25 September 2009

Articles

An article is a text-only document written by an Arena user, and published on Arena for other users to read and comment upon.

Read an article

First, you need to find an article to read. You may do this in the following two ways:

1. Search for an article. To learn more see Search.
2. Click on an article's title to view it and read it.

If you find an article that you feel is offensive or illegal, inform a member of library staff.

Create an article

When adding an article, remember that it may be read by many people. Think about what subjects are likely to interest readers. Articles are usually about one subject, and will include a point of view. An article which makes an argument for and/or against a point is likely to attract more interest than one which merely makes a statement or provides information. A statement such as "I hate this book" may be true, but it does not enlighten the reader or engage the reader. If this is your opinion, expand on it by explaining why you feel this way.

Try to write your article in a balanced and interesting way. Here are some tips to help you:

• Write your article in the most appropriate language. If you are using Arena in Sweden, then Swedish may be the best choice for your article.
• Keep it friendly. Avoid patronization and conceit, as these will alienate readers.
• Pay close attention to spelling and grammar. A misplaced letter can change the meaning of a whole sentence.
• Do not litter your writing with exclamation marks!!! or question marks???
• Avoid writing in CAPITALS. If your words need extra emphasis, try using more emphatic words.
• Keep your sentences short - try to have no more than one clause (usually marked with a comma) in a sentence.
• Refer to the reader directly - "you may agree" is more engaging than "the reader may agree".
• Group related sentences into paragraphs.
• End with a closing point that relates to your opening point.
• Balance your argument. A one-sided rant is likely to irritate readers.
• Try to learn from the way that magazine and newspaper articles are written.
• Avoid using abbreviations, slang or text message shorthand that other Arena users may not understand.

Also note the following:

• Do not include personal information, such as your real name, telephone number, home address, email address, or other details that may be used maliciously.
• Do not use your article to advertise or promote goods or services.
• Third party contributions must not violate any law in any relevant jurisdiction. This may include, but not be limited to, civil and criminal law regarding profanity, racism, sexism, copyright, patent, privacy, data protection, public order, incitement, indecency, terrorism, obscenity, libel, slander, religious hatred, banned organizations, secrecy and/or blasphemy.
• Do not include personal information, such as name, telephone number, home address, email address, or other details that may be used maliciously.

1. Click Write article on the toolbar near the top of the screen.
2. In the Create article section, click Create article. The article editor screen will open.
3. In Name type the title of the article.
4. In Available languages select the language that the article will use.
5. In Description type a brief description of the article. This will appear below the article title in Arena.
6. In Body type the body of the article.
7. If the article is not yet ready to save, tick Draft. Draft articles are not visible to other Arena users.
8. Click Create to create the article, or click Cancel to abandon and lose the article.

The article editor toolbar

To find out what an icon does when clicked, point the mouse cursor at it (in Arena). I descriptive tooltip will appear.

To hide the toolbar, click the X icon in the top-right corner of the toolbar. The toolbar will re-appear when you click inside the Description or Body sections.

Publish an article

When writing an article, you may need to create and save a few drafts of it before you are happy for other Arena users to see it. When an article is marked as a draft, only you may see it. When your article is finished, you can enable other Arena users to see it by ending its draft status.

1. Find the article you want to publish. To learn more see Search.
2. When you have found the article, click the article title.
3. In the Article details section, click Edit.
4. Untick Draft.
5. Click Update to publish the article.

• If you no longer want the article, click Delete to delete it.

Edit an article

• Do not include personal information, such as name, telephone number, home address, email address, or other details that may be used maliciously.

1. Find the article you want to edit. To learn more see Search.
2. When you have found the article, click the article title.
3. In the Article details section, click Edit.
4. In the Edit article section, click Edit article. The article editor screen will open.
5. If the article is not yet ready to save, tick Draft. Draft articles are not visible to other Arena users.
6. Click Update to save the changes to the article, or click Cancel to abandon and lose the changes to the article.

• If you no longer want the article, click Delete to delete it.

Delete an article

1. Find the article you want to delete. To learn more see Search.
2. When you have found the article, click the article title.
3. In the Article details section, click Edit.
4. Click Delete to delete the article.
5. At the confirmation prompt, click OK to delete the article.