Begun in early 2008, the CoalSwarm wiki is a joint project between CoalSwarm and the Center for Media and Democracy, a Madison, Wisconsin-based media watchdog group. Consisting of over 3,500 articles, the CoalSwarm wiki is housed inside CMD's 50,000-entry SourceWatch wiki. CoalSwarm articles are distinguished by the CoalSwarm "badge," which also provides basic navigating buttons:
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| This article is part of the Coal Issues portal on SourceWatch. Click here to return to the home page. Click here for a list of coal-related articles. |
There are two main ways to use the CoalSwarm wiki. One is as a collaborative research tool; the other is as a reference.
Using CoalSwarm to share information
CoalSwarm has two features that make it an excellent tool for building informational resources. One is the SourceWatch's staff of professional wiki editors. These editors (not present in Wikipedia) provide guidance on everything from formatting standards to referencing methods. They ensure a level of reliability and quality not found in most wikis.
The other reliability features is the expectation that all statements of fact contained in coalSwarm articles will be referenced to a published source. This is accomplished through a simple tool that allows the web address and title of each source to be embedded in the text and then automatically assigned a footnote number.
Anyone can use CoalSwarm for collaborative research. Articles do not have to be highly polished on the first round. Embedding a {{stub}} tag at the bottom of a preliminary article signals that the author intends to build further and welcomes the involvement of others. Of course, anyone is welcome to edit or add to any article at any time.
To create or edit articles, the first step is to register with SourceWatch. This is done by clicking on the "create new account" button found in the upper right corner of the screen.
Additional tips and instructions on creating CoalSwarm articles can be found by clicking the "how to edit" tab on the left side of the screen. Those seeking help are also encouraged to contact coalSwarm's wiki editor, Ted Nace, at [email protected].
Using CoalSwarm to find information
Most people find CoalSwarm articles through links on other web sites or through Google or other search engines. (Due to the size of the SourceWatch wiki that houses coalSwarm, articles in CoalSwarm tended to receive higher Google rankings than they otherwise would.)
Another way to find CoalSwarm articles is by using SourceWatch's own search capability, which is found on the left-hand guide bar.