AntWiki:User Accounts

User Roles
Adding content to Antwiki requires a user account that includes a user name and password. These accounts can only be created by an Antwiki administrator. There are two types of users, or user roles, that allow content to be added to the website.

Editors
Editors are ant experts that can edit existing content, create new pages, and upload files. Restricting editorial rights to this select group will allow the website to be populated with informative, trustworthy content.

Contributors
Contributors can add text to discussion pages.

Contributors are not ant biologists but have more than just an enthusiastic interest in ants. Undergraduate students working in the laboratory of an ant biologist or a graduate student studying ants under the guidance of a non-ant biologist, for example, could be considered for a contributor account. The most important qualification for becoming a contributor is to have an existing Antwiki editor willing to serve as your "sponsor." This means an editor is willing to request a contributor account on your behalf. Your editor sponsor is, in effect, vouching for you as being someone that would like to and is able to provide useful additions to Antwiki.

Contributor account requests are reviewed by the Antwiki management team. Approved accounts are created using the Contributor's name.

There are many people that are interested in ants but such interest does not make someone an expert nor necessarily qualify them as a Contributor. Ant hobbyists and enthusiasts can find numerous outlets for discussing ants and sharing their observations with other like-minded folks. One such site is the Ant Farm

Requesting an Account
If you are a professional biologist and would like an editor account please send an email to David Lubertazzi or Steve Shattuck. Existing editors can also request Contributor accounts from Dave or Steve.

If you have never published a paper about ants in a peer reviewed journal, or have only published a few papers in very obscure journals, we are unlikely to know your qualifications for being an editor. Please provide some background information, if necessary, regarding your qualifications.

Antwiki management reserve the right to deny an account to anyone that offers qualifications that do not show clear support for ant-expert status. We are also firmly committed to keeping the Antwiki editor community one that is respectful of other users and is mindful of providing sound contributions. Editorial rights can be revoked if an editor does not participate in good faith, as outlined in the following section.

Account names
All account names are created using the first initial and the surname of the account holder.

Antwiki edits are automatically logged and include the editor's username. No anonymous changes, or changes that are hidden by an unidentifiable username, can be made to Antwiki content.

Account Holder Responsibilities
Being granted a user account means you agree to:


 * be respectful of fellow Antwiki editors
 * not add content that is counter to Antwiki’s aims
 * respect copyrights

It is recommended that account holders provide, at a minimum, their institutional affiliation (if applicable) and contact information in the form of a mailing or email address on their user-account homepage. This page is located at: http://ants.csiro.au/User:xxusernamexx.