Naturally, you have to be an eBay member in order to contribute to eBay Wiki, so if you haven't joined eBay already, your first course of action should be to do so. If you're already an eBay member and you feel as though you might have something to contribute to eBay Wiki, it's easy to do so:
- Log into eBay Wiki. Visit the front page of eBay Wiki and click on the sign in link at the upper-right of the page. Then, enter your eBay ID and password to sign in.
- Select a category. Choose the category in which your article will appear by clicking on one of the categories down the left side of the eBay Wiki front page, or by visiting the All Topics page and selecting a category there.
- Click the Create New Article button. At the upper-left of any category page you'll see a large button labeled "Create New Article." Click on it to open the article creation form, where you'll be able to type the text of your wiki entry.
- Type your entry and supply related data. On the entry creation form you'll see space or choices for several types of information. Fill them all out.
- In the Title box, enter a brief title that summarizes your entry.
- In the main editing box, enter the body of your anecdote, tip, or discussion topic about eBay. You'll notice a number of editing buttons at the top of the editing box similar to those you'll see in any word processor. These can be used to nicely format your text, and you should use them.
- If one of the items in the Sub Topic drop-down list near the bottom of the page fits your entry, select it.
- In the Tags boxes at the bottom of the form, enter any keywords that you feel apply to the entry you've written. These are used to return more relevant search results to users that may be interested in what you have to say.
- In the Title box, enter a brief title that summarizes your entry.
- Click the Preview button to begin submission. When you're done filling out the form, click the Preview button to begin the submission process. You'll be shown a preview of your entry. Once it meets with your approval and you've ferreted out any spelling and grammar errors you can see, you'll be able to submit it for publication.
Editing and Rating Other Peoples' Articles
Because eBay Wiki is—well—a wiki, you can also edit the entries created by other people. To edit any eBay Wiki entry you encounter, or to add information or expound upon the ideas presented in it, click on the Edit Article button you'll find near the bottom of the article. You'll then be able to correct errors, add additional information, or answer questions posed by the original author.
If you have noting to add, but would merely like to tell eBay and other eBay Wiki users about your opinion of the article's usefulness, click on the Yes or No buttons beneath the article to indicate that yes, you felt the article was helpful or no, you felt that it wasn't, respectively.
Rules and Final Notes
Though wikis are meant to be a free information exchange in the best traditions of the Internet and the World Wide Web, there are still a few rules you'll need to follow. eBay Wiki is subject to the same community content rules that apply elsewhere on eBay. Read them over before posting or editing, and for the most part simply use common sense: avoid personal attacks or information, don't use offensive, obscene, or racist language, and don't tell lies.At the moment, eBay Wiki is relatively new and in the beta testing stages, so not everything you'll find there will be high quality or even on-topic. Just remember, as an eBay member and interested eBay Wiki reader, it's your job to participate in the discussion—to post new articles you think others might like to read, to edit other articles in order to improve them, and to post answers to questions that others are asking or that you think the community is wondering about.
