Chaserpedia:About
Chaserpedia (Chaser-PEE-dee-a) is a multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project based on an storm chasing, Skywarn storm spotting and meteorology topics. The name "Chaserpedia" is a combined word out of two words, Chaser being a recognition of our main niche topic storm chasing and Pedia to resemble the face that it is an online encylopedia. Chaserpedia is a free wiki project that can be edited by and added to by any registered member. The articles on Chaserpedia provide visitors with further information about storm chasing and general meteorology topics as well as links with further related information.
Chaserpedia is written by many different members of the site as well as volunteer staff members. Anyone on the internet can access, edit and add pages on this wiki project in the English language. There are rules against wiki abuse, vandalism and spam of Chaserpedia. Some pages may not be edited by users due to being official or a protected section. All edits and additions of pages are logged and saved.
Chaserpedia does have rules and guidelines that all guests, members and staff team members are expected and required to abide by. However, this community is very open source and we would rather common sense be the official rule to follow. We encourage members to read the Help:Contents section to learn more about using this wiki.
Chaserpedia's main focus is to anyone ages 13 years and older who wants to look-up or add to the wiki project. We encourage storm chasers, storm spotters, those interest in weather, meteorologists, weather/related website/product owners, emergency personnel and related to come here to research, learn and contribute.
Chaserpedia is very focused on making this wiki a accurate and resouceful website and reference project. We also want to inform users that safety and privacy is our priority here. Please read and abide by the Chaserpeda:Rules and check out our Chaserpedia:Safety section for safety tips, information for parents and privacy information. Please read below to learn more about Chaserpedia.
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About Chaserpedia
Chaserpedia history
Chaserpedia was created for having a simple way to learn and teach information about storm chasing, meteorology and related topics. There are many websites, articles and sources on the internet that teaches meteorology-related information but as they are so spread out, it can become a huge task to search for everything one wants to research. With Chaserpedia, this site can contain huge amounts of information and it allows users to easily add more. Chaserpedia information is anything from storm chasing to Skywarn, severe weather to general meteorology and everything related to weather and climate.
Chaserpedia was founded in early 2011 by Shawn Gossman and Justin Mann. The two also own and operate Chaserpedia's parent website network, Weather Communities Network. Shawn Gossman decided to use the open-source software MediaWiki which is a part of the Wikipedia network. Chaserpedia is focused on being a clone of Wikipedia except focused on Storm Chasing and Meteorology. Chaserpedia is becoming the largest and most active weather-related wiki project on the internet. Chaserpedia is currently an English-Only wiki based project but further language expansion is planned for the future.
Chaserpedia contributors
Anyone on the internet can access, edit and modify most pages on Chaserpedia. Those who wish to edit or add pages will have to become a member, it is completely free. Membership is required to help combat spam. Once there are more members and daily active contributors, we may allow guest edits and additions if spam can be quickly prevented or deleted. Registration is simple and allows members to have their own profile and username.
Our registered members are the reason this wiki exists. Their dedication and volunteerism of editing and adding new pages is what makes this project possible and able to grow greater in the future. Chaserpedia could not make it without them. Chaserpedia would also like to mention and recognize Matthew Carman for his awesome contributions when the wiki first launched. Matthew added a lot of content which helped get the wiki on its feet. Chaserpedia would also like to recognize Chris Zenzel, Lead Administrator of Chaserpedia for quickly volunteering to be a part of this project and helping so much. Our homepage was designed by Chris. Chaserpedia also wants to give a big thanks to EMTDON for his efforts in the combat of spam on this wiki project. EMTDON is an administrator here at Chaserpedia as well.
Although Weather Communities Network is the owner and parent of Chaserpedia, it is largely uninvolved with writing and daily operations. We owe everything to our members and staff for their hard work in making this wiki possible.
Credits
The articles and information added on Chaserpedia is credited to those who have added it. Their editing and addition is recording in the Recent changes log of a page which may be viewed by anyone. Chaserpedia would also like to thank Weather Communities Network, staff members and advertisers of the wiki project. Chaserpedia software is a free software provided by MediaWiki which is a part of the Wikipedia network. Chaserpedia would also like to thank MediaWiki Users Forum for helping answer many questions regarding the launch of our wiki project.
Making the best of Chaserpedia
Exploring Chaserpedia
Many people come to Chaserpedia to share and find information about storm chasing and weather. Frequently, many articles are either being edited or more pages are being added making this wiki project to grow as the largest and most active weather-related wiki project on the internet. Users can use our search engine to find certain information they desire. If the search term is in red and provides no result, users can click on the red link and add a the page. Editing history can be found on Recent changes and Related changes links on the portal to a page's left. Users can also select to visit a random page or find official pages on the left portal as well.
The navigation on Chaserpedia is very simple and will continue to be very simple. The theme is also very simple because it is not about the look and feel of the project, it is about the information that can be found and added to the project. Important links can be found on the left-hand portal of any page as well as the bottom of any page. Anyone can see the latest news about Chaserpedia by visiting the official blog for recent updates and major additions and changes.
Reasons to use Chaserpedia
Chaserpedia in an online user-contributed encylopedia. The reasons to use Chaserpedia are unlimited and can not be fully listed on this page. However some great reasons to use the wiki can be found below.
General learning is a great way to use the wiki. If you want to learn more about storm chasing, Skywarn, severe weather, climate and general meteorology, then this is the site for you. You can search for the topics you want to learn more about and read the information.
Referencing for your own article or research assignments in school or other institutions on Chaserpedia can provide a great advanatge of using the wiki. Please be sure to read school policies in case they have rules against using wiki projects for referencing and information.
Adding resources to expand the wiki project and helping others learn more about weather and storm chasing is another great way to use the wiki. Just become a members and start adding more information whether it is by adding to current pages or adding entire new pages itself.
Chaserpedia vs. other sites
Other websites providing stand-alone articles and learning materials are a great resource. However, they are just that and may only be updated when the site administrator or webmaster decides to add new material. Many of the sites go un-managed and un-updated for many years after their creation. Chaserpedia provides a user contribution environment where anyone can become a member and add to the wiki project allowing information to be updated as well as more newer information added. In order to keep this wiki active, users need to keep being active on the wiki.
Pros and cons
There are pros and there are cons to using Chaserpedia for finding and adding information. This however is a fact for most interactive and social websites on the internet.
- Chaserpedia is open to be edited by anyone allowing people to add their resources and useful information to help improve the wiki. The con is that some information added could be inaccurate or vandalism. We encourage members to add accurate and useful information and report abuse, spam and vandalism.
- Chaserpedia can be edited and improved by anyone ranging from meteorologists, veteran storm chasers and even amateurs. The con is that some people may not know a lot about a subject and not add too much useful information to it. We encourage users to help improve and add to content to make it better for readers.
Chaserpedia is a social interactive wiki project. Users can view who has recently changed article. Users have talk pages where they can interact and discuss things with one and other. Users have user pages which can act as profiles with more information about them. There is an official blog where people may comment on and a forum for support and general wiki discussions.
Disclaimer
Chaserpedia is a great site to learn and share information. However, we do have a Chaserpedia:General_disclaimer that everyone should read and understand.
Contributing to Chaserpedia
Anyone can contribute to the Chaserpedia wiki project. However, before being able to contribute, a user needs to be logged in with their account. If a user does not have an account, they should Create an account and register for free. Membership is required to help combat spammers. Before adding to the project, members should also read and abide by our Chaserpedia:Rules and research the contents on Help:Contents to learn more about how to add more content to the wiki project.
Editing Chaserpedia pages
Chaserpedia uses a very simple and default page layout. Overtime, we will work on improving the user interface and touching up on our design but we want to keep it as simple as possible and focus on the content first. A website can look really well and be extremely user friendly but it is nothing without content. We have listed some terms below to help you with editing and adding new content to the wiki project.
- Article - shows the main Chaserpedia page or article.
- Red colored page name link - means the page does not exist. Clicking on the red link will allow a registered and logged in member to add the page.
- Edit - allows a user to edit a page or article. Some pages are protected meaning that only certain usergroups (such as staff) can edit them. Most protected pages are pages with high vandalism, pages being investigated for violations and official Chaserpedia pages.
- Discussion - is where users can discuss the page with other users. This would be a great place to add updates about new content added, suggestions and etc.
- History, Recent changes and Related changes - will show you a history of edits of a page.
- Watch - allows you to watch a certain page for edits and be notified when it changes.
Management
The Chaserpedia wiki project is mainly managed by the members who contribute to the community. Members join and add content making it possible for the community to continue and grow. However, there is an official team of staff members on Chaserpedia and groups.
- Anyone can edit and add page. Some pages are protected which can only be edited by certain groups and staff members.
- Anyone can edit and add as long as they are logged in registered members of the wiki. This is required to reduce spam bots from adding spam content.
- Administrators are the top level staff members of the wiki project. These members are also known as Sysops (System Operators) which are also staff that mainly moderate spam and look for violations and vandalism.
- Shawn Gossman is the president of the Chaserpedia wiki project and the main founder. Justin Mann is the vice president and co-founder of this wiki project. These two members are the main leaders of the community.
Abuse and Actions
Chaserpedia has a system to deal with abuse, spam and vandalism and how to take action against it.
- Vandalism and spam can be reported here.
- Vandalism and spam reports will be reviewed by our official staff members and investigated.
- Those who are found in violation of our rules can face feature suspension, warnings and even temporary and lifetime bans.
Help us combat vandalism
Members who edit and add content can help us combat spam and vandalism and are encouraged to do so. If vandalism is found, report it to us and feel free to recall the page or fix the content.
Feedback
Chaserpedia is a social interactive project. Feedback and ideas are very encouraged. Below are some resources for giving feedback.
Help and support
- Help:Contents is a great place to get support.
- Chaserpedia forum is the place for support questions, ideas and general Chaserpedia discussions.
- Contact us anytime for support, ideas, suggestions, general feedback and reporting spam and vandalism.
User Interaction
- Talk Pages can be found on all user pages as well as content pages. This is where users can have discussions. These pages are public.
- Chaserpedia blog is a great place to read updates, comment and discuss news about Chaserpedia.
- Chaserpedia:IRC is a free IRC chat room where people may or may not be to discuss the wiki project.
Sister projects
Chaserpedia is a part of the Weather Communities Meteorology Network. The following sites are also a great resource for those interested.
- Chaser Update is an online Twitter-like social network for storm chasers, spotters and severe weather enthusiasts.
- Storm Chaser Forum is a free online message forum for the discussion of storm chasing and severe weather topics.
- Skywarn Forum is a free online message forum for Skywarn storm spotters all over the world.
- All Weather Links is a free online link directory for weather and related links.
- Network is the page to go to for a list of all the sites within the WC network.
