SetupBooster

Game Content

Overview

SetupBooster's final implementation will provide a tutorial system that helps new users to learn about its wiki system by editing test articles and working with simulated user accounts. Completing each tutorial activity earns points and badges along the way. Completing all activities earns a "Basic Training" badge, which is required to edit articles. Sample text is provided for each activity. (Submit buttons are non-functional and will just reload the page.)

Note: The current early-stage implementation of the system does not support file uploads or many of the features of article editing.

Activities 1: Site Basics

The first category of activities deals with the basics of what the site is for and sets out the least someone needs to know about site policy (though it is not comprehensive). This largely consists of activities in which users read a short text (videos could be substituted) and have their answers to comprehension questions be verified by administrators.

1. What Is A Wiki? (5 points)

A wiki is a website with articles that can be edited by any of its members at any time. The ideal of a wiki is to provide a platform for users to share knowledge with others by creating and improving articles. Wikipedia is one of the largest and best-known examples of this kind of site.

In general, should anyone be able to edit a wiki article?

Yes
No

(Correct answer: Yes)

2. What is SetupBooster? (5 points)

SetupBooster is designed to be a wiki for software articles organized by version, operating system, subject, and tags indicating article content. A problem of many help sites is that it's difficult to determine what version of the software is being referred to and what platform it's supposed to be on. It's also sometimes difficult to contact the person who wrote the article if you have more specific questions, or if the solution for whatever reason doesn't work for you. SetupBooster allows guides to be updated and the original authors to be contacted if you have problems.

SetupBooster is not a bug reporting system; those should be handled by the actual developers. However, it can be a place to tell people how you got around a bug or took advantage of an undocumented feature.

SetupBooster is not a place to complain about things unless you've found a way to fix them.

SetupBooster articles should:

1. Tell people how to do things with a specific application, API, or other software
2. Report bugs or design issues without describing a workaround
3. Complain about things you don't like

(Answer: 1.)

3. Is It Original? (10 points)

Unlike Wikipedia, a lot of what is posted on SetupBooster will fall under "original research" - things users figured out how to do on their own. However, if your article does use other sources as reference or combines and organizes content from many other, less comprehensive articles on other sites or in printed guides, it's important to give credit where credit is due.

Setupbooster uses the APA (American Psychological Association) format. The Purdue Owl's Reference List: Electronic Sources (Web Publications) is a good place to start.

You are citing a post on the online forum "Queue Overload" with the title "World Simulator keeps crashing and forcing me to restart from scratch," by a user with the screen name "John Doe." It is Post 1 in the thread, posted on October 25, 2012. The URL of the post is http://queueoverload.com/questions/134021605/world-simulator-keeps-crashing. How would you write this citation?



(The answer to a question like this would probably need to be reviewed manually.)
Doe, J. (2012, October 25). World Simulator keeps 
	crashing and forcing me to restart from scratch
	[Msg 1]. Message posted to http://queueoverload
	.com/questions/134021605/world-simulator-keeps-
	crashing
4. Acceptable Content (5 points)
SetupBooster has some rules on user-generated content (which covers most things here). Please acknowledge that you have read and understood the terms and conditions.
I have read and understood the terms and conditions that govern my use of this site. By selecting "Yes" and submitting this answer, I accept the terms and conditions (if I have not done so previously).
Yes
No

(Answer: Yes. The user should be presented with the terms and conditions during the signup process; this adds another level of redundancy.)

Activities 2: Articles

The second category of activities deals with the basics of creating and editing articles. Sample text is provided for each activity. (Submit buttons are non-functional and will just reload the page.)

1. What Articles Are (5 points)

The purpose of articles on SetupBooster is to provide instructions to accomplish a task or solve a problem using an application, API, or other software. Articles are not meant to be editorials or places to complain about things unless the article can demonstrate a solution for a particular version or versions of the software.

True or false: SetupBooster articles should be used to complain about any issue which annoys you, and you do not have to implement a solution.

True
False

(Answer: False)
Learn to Format: Markdown Basics (10 points)

SetupBooster articles use Markdown syntax. The full documentation can be found at Daring Fireball.

Read the Markdown "Basics" page, then mimic the formatting of the following text:

This is a top-level header.

This is a paragraph, and...

...this is another paragraph.

This is a second-level header.

This is a paragraph. Some of the text has strong emphasis.

This is a blockquote, with some of the text emphasized.



(Answer is below. The * and ** emphasis would also be accepted.) 
This is a top-level header.
===========================
This is a paragraph, and...

This is another paragraph.
This is a second-level header.
------------------------------

This is a paragraph. Some of the text has __strong emphasis__.
> This is a blockquote, with some of the text _emphasized_.
3. Your First Article (10 points)
Before publishing an article, it's a good idea to test it out in the sandbox, a special area where each user can write up drafts.
Type "Test" as the article title, select "Linux" as the Operating System, and type "Other" as the subject.
Title:
Operating System:
Subject:
4. Start to Make It Better (10 points)

Assuming you named your article "Test" in the previous activity, click here to go to your new article. Make any change at all, then come back to this page and click "Submit Query."

5. Publish It (5 points)

Once you're done editing an article, click its Publish button to make it visible to everyone. This is a demo button, so pressing it won't do anything this time.

Publish

You can still edit an article after publishing it.

Click "Submit Query" to finish this activity.

6. Tag, That's It (10 points)

You can add tags to your articles to make them more easily searchable. Tags are added via a comma-separated string of values, e.g.: 

xml,parser,semantic-web,singularity,self-replicating,sentient,buzzword

Tag your "Test" article with "setup" and "guide."
Add tags:

(Answer: setup,guide)
7. Comments, Anyone? (5 points)

In addition to the rating system (which we'll cover later), comments are another, more detailed means of letting users know that you like their articles or have a suggestion for improving them.

Add a comment on your own article (plain text):
Comment by username on article Test:


Activities 3: Article Extras

These short activities cover some extra things users can add to their articles, which demonstrate combinations of Markup with HTML. Alternately, since Markup allows HTML, clicking "view source" on the question page is a perfectly acceptable way to find the answer.

1. Embed Media Files (5 points)
Markup syntax supports any media file embeds you could make with regular HTML. To embed an image, use the <img> tag.
Type the code to embed the image in (SITE URL HERE)/test.png with title text "TEST", as shown below:




You can also use HTML to embed videos and other media files.
(Answer:) 
<img src="images/test.png" title="TEST"/>
2. Upload Files (5 points)
SetupBooster supports non-executable file uploads of less than 20 MB in size. The upload form looks like this:
Browse

Upload
For a list of supported file types, see the full list. Click "Submit Query" to finish this activity.

Activities 4: About Users

These activities are related to the roles of users.

1. Types of Users (5 points)

SetupBooster has two types of users: normal users and administrators. Normal users can create articles, edit articles, delete their own articles (if they are the only listed editor), and rate articles that they are not listed as editors of. Administrators can ban users, edit or delete any article, and nominate new administrators.

For another version of this explanation, see the About User Types page. Click "Submit Query" to finish this activity.

2. Messaging (5 points)

Registered users can leave messages for each other using the "Send Message" tool on their own page.

Send the message "Hello" to user tutorialRobot:
Send to user:


3. Reporting (5 points)

If a user has violated the terms and conditions, submit a complaint via the "Report User" tool on your page. Once your report is accepted or rejected, you will receive a message.

Report the user antimatterRobot:
Report user:
Reason:


4. User Points (5 points)

By now you've probably noticed that you've been getting points for finishing all of these tutorials. These points are part of how SetupBooster ranks its users. In addition to these points, users earn:

  • +10 per new article published
  • +5 for being added as an editor to another article
  • +3 for adding an editor to an article
  • +3 each time the user's article gets a rating of 4 or higher
  • +2 each time the user's article gets a rating of 3
  • -3 each time the user's article gets a rating of 2 or lower
  • -3 each time the user is reported to administrators and the complaint stands
For a more comprehensive explanation, see the Points page. Click "Submit Query" to earn 5 more points.

5. User Badges (5 points)

Badges are awarded for completing certain milestone tasks (e.g., publishing your first article, being added as an editor for the first time, getting over 100 points, etc.) Badges are worth values that are multiples of 5 points. Finishing all of the tutorials earns a "Basic Training" badge worth 20 points.

For the full list, see the Badges page.
Click "Submit Query" to finish this activity.

Activities 5: Collaboration

These activities are related to collaboration between users.

1. Why Restricted Editing? (5 points)

While limiting editing of an article somewhat breaks from the true wiki model, it has the advantage of limiting edits to an article to a smaller group of users that have some degree of familiarity with each other. For a user to be able to edit an article they did not create, one of the current editors needs to add them. Since multiple competing articles on the same topic can exist, the best versions will rise to the top regardless of who creates them.

On SetupBooster, which of these statements is true?

1. Any user can edit any article.
2. Any user can edit an article if an existing editor adds them.

(Correct answer: 2.)

2. Request editor status (5 points)

On an article page, you will see a "Request Editorship" button similar to the following:

Request Editorship

Press this button to send a request message to all of the current editors of that article. You will receive a message upon being added.

Who receives your message requesting editorship?

1. Only the user that created the article
2. All users that are currently editors of the article

(Correct answer: 2.)

3. Add an editor (10 points)

If you are one of the current editors of an article, you can add an editor by typing their username into the "Add Editor" tool.

Add user helpfulRobot as an editor:

Add Editor:

4. Remove an editor (10 points)

You can remove editors from an article if needed, using the "Remove Editor" tool on an article page for which you are an editor. It is advised that you not do so unless one of the following applies:

  • The user asks to be removed.
  • The user is being disruptive or otherwise violating the terms and conditions. If this is the case, report the user in addition to banning him/her.
Remove the user unhelpfulRobot from an article:
Remove Editor:

Activities 6: Ratings

These activities teach users how the article rating system works.

1. What Ratings Are For (10 points)

Ratings will be limited to once per user per article per day. All articles start with a rating of 3 stars (average). Though what makes an article "good" can be very subjective, the following suggestions are provided:

  1. 1 Star
    ☆★★★★
    • The article provides no or almost no accurate information.
    • The article provides no or almost no relevant information.
    • Completing the instructions causes unexpected file loss, data corruption, or other problems not attributable to other causes, and the article did not warn of this possibility. (If this happens, it's recommended that you leave a comment that describes your problem.)
  2. 2 Stars
    ☆☆★★★
    • The article is accurate but contains significant gaps in its instructions.
    • The article provides some irrelevant information that detracts from readability or makes it hard to understand.
    • Completing the instructions causes non-harmful side effects which are not documented. (If this happens, it's recommended that you leave a comment that describes your problem.)
  3. 3 Stars
    ☆☆☆★★
    • The article is missing some minor details but its instructions are otherwise complete.
    • The article is understandable and organized.
    • The article's instructions do not cause undocumented side effects, and the documented side effects are not harmful.
  4. 4 Stars
    ☆☆☆☆★
    • The article provides very precise instructions.
    • The article contains clearly defined sections with a beginning, middle, and end.
    • Side effects, if any, are documented and not harmful. The necessity of the steps which cause them is justified.
    • You judge this documentation to be of at least equal quality with comparable official documentation of the same feature (if this documentation exists).
  5. 5 Stars
    ☆☆☆☆☆
    • Like a four-star article, but somehow indefinably...better. (High-quality images can help push something over the edge.)
    • You judge this documentation to be of better quality than comparable official documentation of the same feature, or it documents a feature which official documentation does not mention. (Note that using truly undocumented features can backfire, as such features may be unstable or slated for removal without warning in future versions.)
If following the instructions in an article causes your operating system to crash under certain conditions, and the article did not warn you that this could happen, what is the appropriate course of action?
1. Rate the article as "1 star"
2. Leave a comment explaining what happened
3. Both (1.) and (2.).

(Answer: 3.)
2. Pose as a Team (5 points)

For articles with multiple editors, points gained or lost through positive or negative article ratings are applied to all editors. This is intended to provide incentive to coordinate edits, put revisions into one or more drafts before publishing, and to push less experienced editors to improve.

Points gained or lost from an article rating affect every editor of that article.
True
False

(Answer: True)
3. It's Full Of Stars (5 points)

This activity was intended to be completed last in the tutorial series. How useful have all of these tutorials been for you? Be honest.


(Answer: Any answer is acceptable.)