This small guide is intended for readers who have no prior knowledge of GitHub or Git.
You do not need to be tech-savvy to participate.
If it is not already the case, you need to create a GitHub account for yourself.
An easy way to report simple errors (e.g. typos, missing references or mistake in an existing entry) is to open the live Web version of the dictionary.
Then just click on an entry at the apppropriate place (i.e. where you think the error should best be reported), so as to select it.
A popup window opens at the bottom of the page, showing an “entry identifier” and the selected word… and an “Open issue” link. Yay, that’s it! Click it.
You will automatically be redirected to a pre-filled issue template.
Leave the title and references unchanged, type any appropriate information below them regarding the topic you want to discuss.
Messages can be styled with Markdown syntax, which is very similar to the things you might be used to in wikis or forums. Don’t feel obliged to do it.
Finally, click “Submit new issue”.
That wasn’t hard, was it?
Go to the Issues.
Do not be afraid, you don’t even need to read the code or whatever. I am sure you already know a few forums or blogs, and this should not be much different. These are just threads of discussion.
You can browse the existing issues and discussions, post your own “new issue” or post comments to existing topics.
It’s then the same as above, but when creating a new issue, you will have to provide a title and some clear and helpful description.
That wasn’t much harder, was it?
If you are not afraid by XML…
We’d then suggest you to go to the code and to
click on the “Code” green button there. If you do not know what Git is, just “Download ZIP”
and extract it somewhere on your computer. The lexicon is in the src folder.
Browse it in your favorite text editor, and check Data model for details on the structure. Don’t hesitate posting blurbs of XML in issues.
Fork the project. Make changes. Commit. Make Pull Requests. Aye, here at last you need to know some Git and Github processes.