Using the SEG Wiki

The SEG Wiki is a highly robust research tool. While the Wiki contains many useful and exciting features, mastering the following four foundational discliplines will help make your journey through the SEG Wiki fulfilling and fruitful.

Navigating

To navigate throughout the SEG Wiki, use the links listed on the left-hand side of the page. The links in the "Navigation" box remain the same regardless of the page you are currently visiting. The "Toolbox" links are contextual. These links change depending on the nature of the page you are visiting.

Page tabs are included as an additional navigation feature. Page tabs are located at the top of the page. While navigating through Wiki articles, these tabs allow the user to access a number of different views and tools.

View tabs are on the left side at the top of each article page. The view options available are "Dictionary" view and "Discussion" view.

  • Dictionary view – This view allows the user to view the definition of a given term, as well as any additional or modified content that has been added to the term's definition by other users.
  • Discussion view – This view allows the user to view questions or concerns (and any relevant responses) about the given page.

On the right side at the top of each article page are contextual Tool tabs. When in "Dictionary" view, the Tool tabs that are available are "Read," "Edit," and "View history."

  • Read – This tab is the default, and it simply enables a user to view a given SEG Wiki term, its definition, and any additional content that may have been added to the article over time by SEG Wiki users.
  • Edit – This tab opens the tool that enables SEG Wiki users to modify existing content on the SEG Wiki. Upon selecting this tab, a user is presented with a simple editor and a content field that contains contributed content pertaining to the selected term. See "Adding to/Editing Pages" below for more information on how to use the SEG Wiki Editing tool.
  • View history – The "View history" tool allows an SEG Wiki user to view edits made to a selected term. Users may specify a range of time in the term's history which they wish to study.

When in "Discussion" view, the Tool tabs that are available are "Create" and "Add topic."

  • Create - This tab opens the tool that enables SEG Wiki users to create new Discussion page content pertaining to an existing term on the SEG Wiki. Upon selecting this tab, a user is presented with a content editor and a blank content field.
  • Add Topic - This tab opens the tool that enables SEG Wiki users to create a new section (subject) on the SEG Wiki Discussion page. Upon selecting this tab, a user is presented with a content editor, a blank content field, and a blank "Subject/headline" field. See "Creating a New Page" below for more information on how to use the SEG Wiki Editing tool.
    • Watch – By clicking the down-pointing arrow to the right of the "Add topic" page tab, one may enact the "Watch" tool. By clicking "Watch" in the tab's drop-down menu, SEG Media Wiki users may add selected terms to their personal "Watchlist." A user's Watchlist may be accessed via the "Special pages" contextual link in the "Toolbox" section on the left side of most SEG Wiki pages. The Watchlist contains a list of user-selected terms, as well as any recent changes that have been made to said pages.

At any time, you may click on the SEG starburst image at the top of all SEG Wiki pages in order to return to the Wiki's home page.

Searching for articles

In order to view specific articles, a user may take the time to browse the terms in the Sheriff's Dictionary or the SEG Wiki by clicking the "Encyclopedic Dictionary" link in the Navigation section at the left of any SEG Wiki page, and clicking through groups of terms that are categorized alphabetically. However, to navigate quickly to a specific term as it may appear anywhere in the Wiki, a user may simply enter a search term in the search field in the top, right-hand corner of the SEG Wiki. Upon doing so, a user will be presented with results that are categorized broadly by result titles and result text. As the category titles would suggest, "Page title matches" include results in which the searched word appears in a term's title. "Page text matches" include results in which the searched word appears in the body of a term's definition/description.

Users may conduct an "Advanced' search by clicking the "Advanced" link in the shaded area at the top of the Search results page. In conducting an advanced search, users may search for a term according to the disposition of the given word on the site (e.g. Category, Virtual Museum, or Dictionary).

Adding to/editing pages

After viewing an existing page/term on the SEG Wiki, a user may find it appropriate to make changes or add content to said page/term. To do so, first ensure that you are on the page that contains the term and corresponding content you wish to add to or edit.

To add new content to the page, simply perform the following steps:

  1. Click the Edit tab at the top, right-hand side of the page.
  2. Begin typing the new content into the editor in the middle of the page.
  3. You may add a summary of the impetus behind the creation of the new content (e.g. "lacked a complete description of the S-wave's role in an acoustic log").
  4. Preview the changes made to ensure accuracy by pressing the "Show preview" button under the editor.
  5. Save the changes made to ensure accuracy by pressing the "Save page" button under the editor.

To view changes made to the Dictionary over time, you may receive notifications via Microsoft Outlook by subscribing to the Dictionary's RSS feed. To subscribe to the Dictionary's RSS feed, simply perform the following steps:

  1. While viewing an entry in the Dictionary, click the "Atom: Dictionary Changes" link in the lower, contextual Toolbox on the left side of the screen. (Look for this icon:)
  2. Select from the list of RSS options available from the drop down.
  3. Click "Subscribe Now."

Note: if you have made Microsoft Outlook your default RSS feed reader, you will not be given a list of options in step #3 above; you will simply confirm your desire to subscribe to the feed in Outlook.

Creating a new page in the Dictionary

In the event that a geophysics term is altogether absent from the SEG Wiki, a user may add the term. Once a user has confirmed that indeed the term does not appear explicitly or in any derivative fashion, he or she may follow the steps below to add a new term to the SEG Wiki:

  1. Search for the term in the Dictionary. (The word "Dictionary:" will precede the search term.) If no results are found, you will be given the option to create the page.
  2. Click the red term to be presented on the new page.
  3. You will be presented with and "Editing" page. Enter the new content into the editor.
  4. Press the "Save page" button below the editor.

Mastering these four disciplines will help you immensely as you navigate through the SEG Wiki. For additional Wiki news and resources, view the links on the right side of this page.