How to Start an Article

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2. Browse through the library and check if they are already articles on similar topics, and evaluate it is necessary to create a new article, or if you should rather edit and add on to an existing one.
3. After creating or choosing a target article from the main chapters, copy this article with its syntax from the editing window (click on edit above the article) and paste it in the editing window of your future article.
   
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PLEASE DO YOUR FIRST TRY IN THE SANDBOX

This article is a draft. It was just started and needs further work.

How To .....

Short Description

• Problem:
• Idea:
• Difficulty:
• Price Range:
• Material Needed:
• Geographic Area:
• Competencies:
• How Many people?
• How Long does it take?

Description

Write here the description of the technology and the steps to achieve the goal. It should be recipe like. If there are several possibilities to do the same thing, think about dividing the article: Maybe there are even so many different possibilities that this technology needs a special section. Try to be as clear as possible, use relatively simple terms or give the definition of complicated words: Not everybody who reads (or writes) English is a native speaker!

Difficulties

Don't forget pointing out difficulties, even potential dangers if they exist.

• Are there some parts that can't be replaced? Are there some difficult manoeuvres?
• Some difficulties might appear with the new good or the new common good, try to address such themes as management of the new good, repairs, acceptance and reaction of the community. Does the technology ask for a cultural change?
• If you think an information needs a special attention and should be diffused only under certain circumstances, consider:

1. Not diffusing it at all,
2. Warn us about the potential danger of one article at warn@howtopedia.org,

Success Story

Are important because they illustrate how a technology or a know-how have been adopted by some people and how they changed their lives. The story should be real and also show the difficulties that had to be overwhelmed. You are not selling a product, you are trying to give someone tools so he can decide if a technology is an appropriate solution to his problem or not.

Plans, Illustrations, Posters

Try to have the clearest illustrations possible, imagine them being photocopied 5 times and what's left of them. The best would be black and white line drawings. Have letters on the illustrations to make legends in several languages possible. Try to have precise plans, but keep in mind one should be able to adapt the design to it's possibilities. Ask yourself if a poster that could communicate the know-how would be relevant. Let some space for traductions of the poster in local languages, or make also a blank version of the poster. We will try to raise a community of illustrators to help by the illustrations, but try to make at least a scheme for the start, so that this scheme can be later refined.

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Rainwater harvesting

helptopic on images: [1]

Reference

You can find the original of this article at asdfghjkl.pdf
This article also refers to asdfghjkl 2.pdf

Contributions

This Article was initiated by Maud 09:16, 13 July 2009 (UTC), howtopedia.
M.Mitch, 13:40, Jan 14, 2009 (UTC)
V.Vople, 13:40, Jan 14, 2010 (UTC)
J.Johnson, 13:40, Jan 14, 2011 (UTC)

You should sign your comment:

• appending four tildes (~~~~) to the comment so as to add your user name plus date/time: Patricia Zhang 13:40, Jan 14, 2007 (UTC)
• Adding three tildes (~~~) will add just your user name: Patricia Zhang

Important: Please click the watch button (above the article, next to Edit) to be informed per E-mail about possible changes done to your contribution.

Contacts

They are the real people behind the technologies. That is to say You. It is important to us that the technologies are not left "alone", but that visitors might have a chance to contact a specialist for a more specific question.

Links

Don't give too many links, try to give quality, not quantity. Choose them carefully as being real reference links for the technology you are presenting.

Bibliography

The same as for the links. If you have a very good bibliography, though, don't hesitate to create a separate article, specified as a bibliography, with links and books.

Related articles

• Mention here the other howtopedia articles that relate to the subject.

Name them exactly the same as the original title so that redirection functions.

• And link your article to it's translation in another language: [[fr:Modèle]] this will appear in the left side bar.

Categories

• Add or choose from those categories (that is to say one or more themes for which this article is relevant), so that it can be recognized in these categories, and quickly found by users.

Write them this way [[category:Example]].

• If you created a new category, please add it here in this template article, so that they can be used by others.