SourceWatch:Project: Expanding or Creating Articles on Speakers at the International Conference on Climate Change (2009)

You don't need to be an expert on climate change policy to help add very useful information to the profiles on the key speakers and organizations at the International Conference on Climate Change (2009) organized by the Heartland Institute for global warming skeptics.

On the Researching global warming skeptics page we have listed some of the simple but very useful pieces of information that can be added to the profiles).

Adding Material to an Existing Article Page

 * Step 1. First, you will need to register as an editor. (You can do that here.) Then login (See here for more details. There is also more background on SourceWatch here).


 * Step 2. Then pick a page that you would like to add to.


 * The key people and groups associated with the conference and the most prominent of the climate change skeptics -- and therefore most likely to be sought out by web searchers -- are:


 * Joseph L. Bast, the President of the Heartland Institute;
 * Dennis Avery of the Hudson Institute;
 * Craig Idso of the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change;
 * David Legates from the University of Delaware
 * Richard Lindzen from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 * Fred Singer of the Science and Environmental Policy Project
 * Willie Soon of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
 * Patrick Michaels of the University of Virginia.


 * If you aren't familiar with any of these and aren't sure what would be worth adding see Researching global warming skeptics for some suggestions.


 * Alternatively, you could go to the International Conference on Climate Change and pick another group or individual. (The red links means that page doesn't yet exist, while the blue links are for the already existing articles.)


 * Step 3. It is easiest if you compile the material you want to add in a word processing or a blank email message first. Then click on the article title of the individual or organization you want to work on from one of the above lists and the editing window will open. If you click on a page with a blue link you will see the existing text. If you click on a red link you will get a blank page -- see the section below about the full formatting for new pages.


 * Remember, don't worry about making a mistake -- all versions of the article pages are saved and even if you accidentally delete all the contents of a page, it can be very easily restored. If you can't work out how to undo a mistake, just go to the "recent changes" page -- this can be accessed by a tab in the "Navigation" box over on the left hand side of all SourceWatch pages -- and click on the "talk" tab of one of the other editors who are online when you are -- pick someone who has made a number of recent edits.


 * Cut and paste the material from your file onto the page. Please make sure that all key statements have a reference. (If you are unsure about the style or formatting of references please see Help:References).


 * Step 4. Save. Scroll down to the bottom of the window. In the "summary" space add "stub in progress" then click the "Save page" button. (As a precaution against an "edit conflict" - where two users are editing the same page at the same time -- it may be best to save material reasonably frequently.)


 * Step 5. If you did save the page at an early stage, the article will be displayed on your screen. If you want to add more material, re-open the editing window by clicking on the "Edit this page" tab on the top of the article. Then add your further information, post a note in the summary bar and click save.

Creating A New Page

 * Step 1. If you are starting a new page, we first add a page for the climate change portal of SourceWatch.


 * Then start the text by adding the name of the individual or the organization in bold by adding three single quote marks at the before and after the name like this Fred Nurk (Once saved, the name will be displayed like this - Fred Nurk.)


 * Step 2. Copy and paste the text you have prepared in your word processing or email program into the editing window after the name.


 * Step 3. Add the reference tag immediately at the end of the copied material


 * For individuals the reference to some biographical information the Heartland Institute published on the speakers at their 1008 conference would look like this


 * For co-sponsorsing organizations the reference would look like this


 * Step 4. Underneath this copy and paste the following text on the page.

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Global warming
 * Global warming skeptics
 * The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change
 * International Conference on Climate Change (2009)


 * Now you will need to add line breaks after each of the "Articles and Resources==", "Sources==" and "The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change]]" commands. This will make the formatting look much tidier than it appears above).


 * Step 5. Preview your work. Click the "Show preview" button underneath the edit window, and check to make sure your changes look good.


 * Step 6. Save the profile. Click the "Save page" button underneath the window.
 * There, you have created a new SourceWatch page. You are more than welcome to keep adding to these pages to make them as comprehensive as possible. You can also track the rise of the page(s) you created by including the name of the individual or organization in a Google search and watching how highly it ranks in the search results. (Most pages are picked up by the search engines within a week of being created and most should be up in the top ten results).

Help Is At Hand
If for any reason you have a problem and need help you can
 * check the Help pages here;
 * if you still need help, have a look at which editors are online by reviewing the most recent posts as Special:Recentchanges. Pick one of the other users, click on the "Talk" link and post a query and hopefully they will be able to promptly help you while you are online.
 * if no one is online, post a note to the talk page of SourceWatch Managing Editor, Bob Burton, and he'll get back to you as soon as possible (though note that there may be a time lage as he is based in Australia).

Thanks for your assistance.

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Global warming skeptics