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 - PEP BB dimensional.straw.table. 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 - PEP BB tool.sand.backtire. If it's part of a subset for a badge, use another .xxxxx in the title. For instance,
Knit a Jayne Cobb Cunning Hat - PEP BB textile.straw.stick.cunning is for a BB in the stickwork list within the Textile 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 at 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 Minimum Requirements and the Documentation. See
This One for an example. The Minimum Requirements are how we make sure the
project is good enough. The Documentation is how they need to prove they did the job. The minimum requirements sometimes are partially listed on 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 Documentation 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 completion of the BB, provide proof of the following as pics or video (< 2min):
- 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. Sometimes a badge page is editable by anyone, other times only staff can edit them. So try to update the badge page with a link to your new BB. If you can't, hopefully, a friendly staff person will 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 suggests before you crank out a hundred of them.
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