How you can contribute

Unable to render {children}. Page not found: KB:How you can contribute.

Why contribute?

The success of any open-source project lies with the community contributing its collective energy, knowledge, enthusiasm, and effort. The KnowledgeBase is a resource developed and monitored by the user communities to benefit potential, new and existing DSpace or Fedora users.

Who can contribute?

You do not need to be a developer or even an expert to contribute. If you have experience using DSpace or Fedora, know a lot about a particular feature/functionality and/or if you know how to communicate information effectively, we welcome your contribution. We are always looking for content contributors (people to willing to write/present/edit content) as well as content moderators (people who review and provide feedback to content contributors).

What is the goal? 

The main goal of the KnowledgeBase is to improve the entry level experience for DSpace or Fedora users. The intention is to show how to set up a repository and get it running. The KnowledgeBase is NOT intended to be a duplication or replacement for the official software documentation for either DSpace or Fedora. Rather, it is intended to be a supplemental on-line resource, including dynamic content delivered through various methods (text, screencasts, presentation slides, webinar recordings, etc.) which describe specific examples to make the material as accessible as possible. For more information visit KnowledgeBase Basics.

Content Licensing

All content in the KnowledgeBase, like the rest of the DuraSpace wiki, is licensed under a a Creative Commons Atrribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. This means that anyone is free to share and remix the the content, with the hope that any remix of the content will also be shared. Contributors are encouraged to include a footnote on content they create with author attribution. 

Example author attribution footnote: "This content was contributed by John Smith from the University of Michigan and Betsy Jones from the University of Illinois". 

Delivery Tools

The KnowledgeBase is designed to communicate information using a variety of methodologies. Since not all people take in information in the same way, the intention is to offer a text based guide, short recorded screencasts, presentation slides as well as webinar recordings.  All of these delivery tools can be found in the KnowledgeBase wiki, integrated into the Table of Contents framework. 

Text-based Content and Images

Text content and relevant images (screen shots, diagrams, etc.) are the foundation of the KnowledgeBase wiki. The KnoweldgeBase uses the Confluence "Documentation Theme" and has been customized to provide a unique look and feel. The information is organized based on a draft Table of Contents proposed by DuraSpace in consultation with community members. Community members should feel free to change/add topic items as they see necessary. Detailed guidelines/recommendations for creating text based content, including a template, can be found here.

Screencasts

Screencasts are available to provide users with a quick visual 'how to' reference. Screencast videos appear as embedded links through out the KnowledgeBase and are generally stored on Youtube.com. Detailed guidelines/recommendations for creating screencasts can be found here.

Slides

There are many useful conference presentations which take a deep dive on topics. While the usefulness of some presentations can be time sensitive, many have long term value to the community. Slides files appear as embedded links throughout the KnowledgeBase and are generally stored on Slideshare. Detailed guidelines/recommendations for posting slides can be found here.

Webinars

There are several useful recorded webinar presentations which provide an in-depth discussion on topics. Webinars appear as embedded links throughout the KnowledgeBase and are generally stored on Youtube.com. Detailed guidelines/recommendations for posting slides can be found here.