View source for Chalo Chatu:Contributing to Chalo Chatu

'''''[[Chalo Chatu]]''''' is a free online collaborative encyclopedia by the [[Chalo Chatu Foundation]]. Launched on 1 June 2016, the website aims to be a knowledge hub that will preserve the History and Pride of [[Zambia]]. We are a non-profit organisation and content on this website is contributed by volunteers.

==Writers and contributors==
[[File:JJA7938.jpg|300px|right|thumb]]
Documenting an entire nation is no easy task! Because of that, we have a number of passionate writers and contributors who have voluntarily come on board to gather information from various locations of the country. 

Refer to the section below on how you too can contribute and help build this encyclopedia for this generation, and the generations to come.

==How you can get involved==
Anyone who is registered to the site can contribute to Chalo Chatu by clicking on the Edit tab in an article. It is important to realize that in contributing to
Chalo Chatu, users are expected to be civil and neutral , respecting all points of view, and only add verifiable and factual information rather than personal views and opinions. Once the contributor has decided a topic of interest, they may want to request that the article be written (or they could research the issue and write it themselves). The ease of editing Chalo Chatu results in many people editing. That makes the updating of the encyclopedia very quick, almost as fast as news websites.

===Become a writer/contributor===
# Are you passionate about documenting Zambia? Good! You can join our team of volunteers and help this website grow. Simply '''[[:Special:RequestAccount|request for an account]]''' and we will be happy to have you on board as a contributor!
# Or, if all you want to do is send us a piece of information that you feel would be of interest to society, feel free to e-mail it to us at <big>contribute@chalochatu.org</big>.

You can think of a topic to write about, or check through our '''[[:Special:WantedPages|list of wanted pages]]'''.

===Editing Chalo Chatu pages===
Chalo Chatu content is intended to be factual, notable, verifiable with cited external sources, and neutrally presented.

Chalo Chatu uses a simple yet powerful page layout to allow editors to concentrate on adding material rather than page design. Page aspects facilitated include: 
* sections and subsections —which follow a page's lead section introduction and (if specific conditions are met) a table of contents ,
* references ,
* images,
* tables,
* indentations
* lists ,
* links,
* ISBNs ,
* maths ,
formatting elements and most world alphabets and common symbols, most of which have simple formats that are deliberately very easy and intuitive.


Normally editing is chosen by clicking the Edit tab at the top of a Chalo Chatu page (or on a
section-edit link ). This will take you to a new page with a text box containing the editable text of the page you were viewing. In this box, you can type in the text that you want to add, using wiki markup to format the text and add other elements like images and tables. You should then press the Show preview button to review your contributions for any errors. When you have finished editing, you should write a short edit summary in the small field below the edit-box describing your changes before you press the Save page button. This will help others to understand the intention of your edit. To avoid accidentally leaving edit summaries blank, you
can select "Prompt me when entering a blank edit summary" on the Editing tab of your personal preferences.

===Edit summary===
An edit summary is a brief explanation of an edit to a Chalo Chatu page. When you edit a page, there is a small text entry field labeled Edit summary located under the main edit box and above the Save page button. It is good practice to fill in the edit summary field, or add to it in the case of section editing, as this helps others to understand the intention of your edit. Edit summaries are displayed in lists of changes (such as page histories and watchlists), and at the top of diff pages.

===Always provide an edit summary===

'''It is considered good practice to provide a summary for every edit''', especially when reverting (undoing) the actions of other editors or deleting existing text; otherwise, people may question your motives for the edit. Edits that do not have an edit summary are more likely to be reverted, because it may not be obvious what the purpose of the edit was. 

Accurate summaries help other contributors decide whether it is worthwhile for them to review an edit, and to understand the change should they choose to review it. When a major edit (e.g. deletion of a substantial amount of text, a significant addition, or a substantial rewrite) doesn't have an edit summary, there are fewer reasons to assume good faith and busy editors may be more inclined to revert the change without checking it in detail. Summaries are less important for ''minor changes'' (which means generally unchallengeable changes such as spelling or grammar corrections), but a brief note like "fixed spelling" is helpful even then.

To avoid accidentally leaving edit summaries blank, you can select "Prompt me when entering a blank edit summary" on the ''Editing'' tab of your [[Special:Preferences|user preferences]].

==Donations==
Chalo Chatu is a highly-efficient non-profit project driven by a dedicated team of volunteers from all across Zambia. You can help support our efforts by making donations towards:

*'''Technology: ''Servers, bandwidth, maintenance, development''.''' To support our rapidly growing website and vast information, Chalo Chatu runs on a large server that comes with high monthly and yearly costs.

*'''Projects''': In order to research and gather information on various topics from all parts of the country, we incur logistical costs such as travel and internet bandwidth. The project currently does not have its own equipment and has been relying on individual volunteers to use their own equipment, such as computers and cameras, to gather information. This has, however, proven difficult for those that don't have their own.
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==Contact us==
For general enquiries and information, you can reach us by e-mail on <big>bwanji@chalochatu.org</big>

You can also connect with us on our social media channels:

*[http://www.twitter.com/chalochatu '''Twitter''': http://www.twitter.com/chalochatu]
*[http://www.facebook.com/chalochatu '''Facebook''': http://www.facebook.com/chalochatu]
*[http://www.instagram.com/chalochatu '''Instagram''': http://www.instagram.com/chalochatu]

''Stay updated with our daily posts and conversations by following our hashtag <big>#ChaloChatu</big> on all our social media channels.''