TWiki has very simple TextFormattingRules. You won't go wrong if you start each line without spaces and separate paragraphs with a blank line. Run capitalized words together to make WikiWords, which become hyperlinks. This sometimes requires creativity; you're up to it. WikiWords tells you how to create good topic names.

If a discussion is going on on a WikiTopic, separate each follow up with a separator. It is style to add your WikiName and date at the end.

A good format for a new topic is "dissertation followed by discussion": a factual introduction followed by opinions. After a while, the discussion will die down and the page will become static. At that point, feel free to "refactor mercilessly" to capture the key points whilst reducing the noise; this is how wiki content matures with time.

If you summarise an old discussion and merge or delete individual contributions, you can add the word "Contributors:" to the bottom of the page, and list the contributors there.

If you want to link to external sites: Just type hyperlinks directly into the text - that makes it clear to readers whether they're browsing within TWiki or leaving it. It is usually better not to use the HTML tag <A HREF="..."> .

Date format: TWiki is international, so the ISO date format like "06 Feb 1998" is preferred to one like "2/6/98", which can mean either February or June to different readers. For the month use Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov or Dec.

-- PeterThoeny - 30 Jul 2000

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Feel free to look at the source to an existing page if you want to see how something is formatted. A bit of HTML experience can't hurt, but is far from necessary.

-- TWikiGuest - 27 May 2000