Making a
BB page is very helpful! So helpful that often apples and
pie are thrown at the people who make them
Here's a tutorial on how to do it. Even if you only get it 1/2 perfect, it's a great help and we can massage it to perfection later.
Generally each BB that is listed under a badge needs its own BB page.
1. Find a BB listed in a badge that isn't linked to a page. Create a new
thread in the appropriate subforum for that badge (ie
PEP Gardening).
2. The title of the thread follows a new naming convention. It's pretty easy to figure out after looking at a few BB titles. For example -
Picnic table - dimentional.straw.table PEP BB. The only part that takes creativity is coming up with a one or maybe two word phrase to put after the word
straw. The phrase needs to be original enough that it won't be confused with another BB in that badge. If it's two words,
skip the space so it is one long string of characters. For example the "backtire" in this one -
Repair a Flat on the Rear Tire of a Bicycle - tool.sand.backtire PEP BB. If it's part of a subset for a badge, use another .xxxxx in the title. For instance,
Clean an Oily Dish Without Soap - PEP BB nest.sand.jeeves.oilydish is for a BBs in the Jeeves list within the Nest badge.
3. In the body of the BB we start with a standard introduction paragraph, then a fun sentence or two about the task at hand, then some photos and/or videos and/or links to related content and finish with the requirements and documentation. Let's go into more detail:
3a. I start by finding a BB in the same badge to copy. I hit the "quote" button to get the text and links and copy/paste it over to my new post. Then I erase all the stuff that doesn't apply to my new BB thread. I search youtube for videos that show the BB in action or do image searches to find pictures of the final product. Tasks as the Sand level are probably more suited for videos and tasks at higher levels may be more appropriate for pictures. But it's up to you. Media from Permies.com is especially good to include.
3b. Our goal is to tell people what they need to do and how they need to prove it. We aren't telling them HOW to do a task. They can do all the learning and research on their own, we don't need to do that work for them. The same thing goes for safety. It's assumed that you can hurt yourself doing nearly anything so there's no need to mention every risk and watch-out for a task. If we did start to discuss safety things, we'd be forever adjusting BBs to include the new and creative ways people have found to hurt themselves.
3c. Near the bottom we have the Requirements and the Documentation. See
This One for an example. The Requirements are how we make sure the project is good enough. The Documentation is how they need to prove they did the job. Requirements sometimes are partially listed in the badge page but often you have to make them up. Just try to figure out what is reasonable. Making a ladder? Maybe it
should be at least 4' tall.
3d. For the Requirements we like to ask for photo
or video proof if possible. List the steps in the project they need to document to ensure they are likely to have actually done the job. Often we ask for a before, during and after photo but each task may be different. The smoothest way to phrase it is:
To document your completion of the BB, provide proof of the following as pics or video (less than two minutes):
before
during
after
4. Now it's time to make it a wiki. This is what allows us to edit it easily over time. Just below the main window are the tabs for Options, Attachments, Wiki. Click on the Wiki one. Then click the radio button for "This is a wiki page that accepts comments". If you have staff powers, you can also hit the "Edit Permissions button for Staff Only". And submit!!!
5. Now a friendly staff person will hopefully see it and link it to the badge page. And fling apples at you
To make sure we see it, post about it in the
Peppers in Action thread. You may want to do one or two and see what changes staff does before you crank out a hundred of them.
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