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Library FAQs
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Definition/Summary
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Any PF member may create a Library entry.
Once you have created it, it will "go into moderation" for several days or weeks while "moderators" approve it (and maybe hack it about a bit). Only you and the moderators will be able to see it and amend it.
When it reappears, you, or anyone else, may suggest changes to it, in the "Add a comment" field.
The unique feature of the PF Library is its AUTOLINKING: when the title appears (followed by a space) in any post (past or future) in any PF sub-forum, it will appear underlined, and with a clickable link to the Library entry.
The following answers to FAQs may help you (you should particularly note that the Library software does not allow all "tags" in all fields, and so some of what you type may appear mangled). |
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Equations
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HOW DO I PREVIEW MY ENTRY?
There is no preview facility in the Library itself (that's why you asked, isn't it?), so open a "New topic" page in any sub-forum, and compose the entry there, using the preview facility there.
IF I MAKE A MISTAKE, CAN I CORRECT IT?
Yes, but it makes a mess of the "Edit log" if you keep doing it: it is better to try to get it right first time by previewing it on another page.
HOW PERFECT DOES IT NEED TO BE?
It needs to be right. It does not need to be finished. You can "seed" an entry, leaving other people to enlarge it later.
WHO IS IT AIMED AT?
It should be useful to the average PF user.
It is not a reference work for researchers.
CAN I USE ITALICS BOLD UNDERLINE OR SMILIES?
Only in the "Extended explanation" field.
WHAT TITLE SHOULD I CHOOSE?
1. Do not use capital letters (except for names of people or places). This is to prevent the autolinking facility from adding unwanted capitals to the words it underlines elsewhere in the forum.
2. Choose a short commonly-used phrase, so as to maximise the amount of autolinking. Remember, your work may be wasted if you choose an unsuitable title, since fewer people will look at your entry, or even know that it exists, unless they see an autolink.
For example, "friction" will obviously get more autolinks than "coefficient of friction"!
WHAT TOPIC SHOULD I CHOOSE?
Anything you like. But it's probably quicker to adapt a post you (or someone else) have already made elsewhere in the forum.
Topics which come up regularly on the forum are obviously more useful to forum users, and therefore a better use of your time.
BRITISH OR AMERICAN SPELLING?
Whichever you prefer.
WILL I BE NOTIFIED WHEN ANY CHANGES ARE MADE IN THE FUTURE?
There is no notification facility at present ("Subscribe to this item" does not seem to have any effect).
I CLICKED "SAVE", BUT NOTHING HAPPENED!
Was it around 2.00am CST? The PF database goes offline for some minutes around that time every day.
Otherwise, click "Save" again (and save your work to disk, just in case).
WHY SHOULD I BOTHER?
PF Library needs to grow much faster, and lots of input is needed.
You will initially be recorded as creator in the "Edit log" field at the bottom of the entry (though that does tend to get wiped for no known reason, so you may like to write "Created by …" in the Commentary, also).
PF forum is run by its members, and your input is needed and valuable.
Time spent on a Library entry may help many future PF forum users, while the same time spent on specific homework problems may help only one or two.
You can deliberately drop the title of your entry into your future posts, to inveigle PF forum users into looking at it! |
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Recent forum threads on Library FAQs
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Breakdown
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Physics
> Other Topics
>> Miscellaneous
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Extended explanation
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Definition/Summary:
No italic bold underline or smilies  , or non-standard characters such as ∞ or ≥ or π or … (if you need them, you must put them in itex: [itex]\boldsymbol{v}\ \infty\ \geq\ \pi\ \dots[/itex]).
No tex, only itex (so do not use fractions or powers).
Keep it reasonably short and clear … you can extend the definition in Extended explanation.
Equations:
No italic bold underline or smilies , or non-standard characters such as ∞ or ≥ or π or … (if you need them, you must put them in tex or itex).
Obviously, keep this mostly for equations.
Keep it short … do not define the symbols you are using if they are standard (for example, r m G t g µ), or obvious.
Put each equation on a new line (usually).
Equations or symbols in a text line should be in itex, not tex.
Vectors should be in bold (use "\boldsymbol{}"), not with arrows (except for vectors between two specific points).
LATEX TIPS:
Most equations will be short, and there is plenty of space, so experiment with increasing the spacing by using "\ " for a large space and "\," for a tiny space … for example "\ =\ " instead of just " = ".
Huge brackets may be made by inserting "\left" and "\right" before "(" and ")" or "[" and "]".
For a huge bracket at one end of a line but not at the other (because the equation carries on over more than one line), type "\left." at the beginning, or "\right." at the end, instead of the "missing" bracket.
If necessary, you can put an equation in colour by putting COLOR tags outside the tex or itex tags.
For latex symbols, see http://web.ift.uib.no/Teori/KURS/WRK/TeX/symALL.html
and for latex basics, see http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~dwilkins/LaTeXPrimer/
Scientists:
First and last name, then years of birth and death in brackets.
Use the "link" tag to link to (usually) the wikipedia page.
List in order of date of birth.
Extended explanation:
Feel free to experiment. The following is suggested:
Headings in bold, followed by a colon (:).
Highlight colour red (middle of the left-hand-side of the colour palette). Use sparingly, for fundamental concepts.
Reduced size: click size "1" for bits which are slightly off-topic, or for chatty bits about scientists, or the origin of words etc., or just for variety.
Smilies: use sparingly. 
Indent: use to break up the text, expecially when it is starting to look too boring.  Units: use SI units, except in topics where it is normal to do otherwise.
Citations and links: If it needs a citation, it's probably too obscure for PF Library. Links to outside articles or books for a more detailed treatment may be useful. |
Commentary
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