How to contribute

Here are a number of ways to contribute to Longevity Wiki.

Writing content

First and foremost we need content writers. So if you have anything interesting to share on longevity, you are more than welcome to join us. For an overview of the articles currently under development, see the Drafts page.

The following 8 writing tips will help you get started editing or creating content immediately:

Edit an existing page

To edit an existing page on the Wiki, first navigate to that page on the Articles page or by using the search bar. Then, click ‘Contribute’ on the menu bar and then ‘Edit’ under This page. Now you can start editing.

Create a new page

To create a new page, click ‘Contribute’ on the menu bar, then click ‘Create new page’. You will then be prompted to enter the title of the page. Choose an appropriate title that is descriptive and concise and click ‘Submit’. You can then use the visual editor to write content on the page.

Create a stub

If creating an entire article on a subject seems too much work or too complicated, instead you can also create a 'stub'. A stub is a short article in need of expansion (say just a few lines and a reference). If you refer to a journal article in your stub, you could maybe ask the authors of that journal article to expand the Wiki stub into a full Wiki article. Here's an example of a stub.

To create a stub, first create a new page, then from the Insert menu select 'Template', type in 'stub' and click the 'Add template' button and click Insert.

Choose a category

To add an article to an existing category, first enter the editing mode. Category selector is under the "hamburger" (three horizontal lines) menu that appears visible when editing. Then click on "Categories" and type on the search bar your chosen category (eg: Drafts, Stub, Drugs, Longevity...). You can see the list of all existing categories here: https://en.longevitywiki.org/wiki/Special:Categories

Adopt an easy to understand, scientifically accurate tone

The goal of the Wiki is to make scientific content about aging and longevity as accessible and comprehensive as possible. Therefore the content should be clear enough that non-scientists can understand most of the content, much like for Wikipedia. Where possible, writers should opt for simple sentences. For an example, see our article on Rapamycin to get a feel for the style of the Wiki.

Scientific references where available

The goal of the Wiki is to create scientifically accurate content. We encourage the use of primary scientific literature wherever possible. If citing non-scientific information, other references such as government reports, or credible websites are acceptable. Furthermore, the Wiki uses APA referencing style. For examples, see this Wikipedia article about APA referencing.

Add images and diagrams to your article

Add images and diagrams where appropriate to convey complex ideas, or portray relevant visual information. ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’, as they say. Since Longevity Wiki is a non-profit educational organisation, we are generally covered for using images on the internet under ‘fair use’. This means you can add any images on the internet to your Wiki entry, provided the original reference is cited.

Join the Longevity Wiki Discord server for quick answers

If you have any further questions, consider joining our Discord Server, which is the primary platform for communication for this project. General questions about the Wiki can be posted in the ‘general’ channel, and specific questions about editing the Wiki can be posted in the ‘content-writers’ channel.

Create an account for faster editing

To better keep track of your work, and to get extra functionality, create an account. Note that you are able to edit or add content to the Wiki without creating an account, though this requires completing a ReCAPTCHA to save your work.

Other roles

Besides writing, we could also use help in the following areas:

• Software engineering
• Marketing
• UX and graphic design
• Translations
• Community manager
• Social media manager

More information

If you want to help out, great! Please contact us to discuss what you can do, or fill out our Volunteer Survey Form and we get back to you. More information about specific roles, the Wiki organization or editing tips can be found in our Handbook.

Donate

Finally, you can also financially support the Wiki through the open-source organization Gitcoin.