About Knowledge Bases

What is a knowledge base?

A knowledge base (also called a tribal knowledge base) is a collection of articles that captures and organizes helpful community information. Knowledge bases are great community resources for several reasons:

• You can search for knowledge base articles or use special navigation links that let you browse through the community's knowledge bases.
• After you find an article, you can add your comments and maybe even edit the article (if you have the right permission). If the article's publisher incorporates your comment into a later version of the article, you'll get credit as a contributor.
• Articles can contain some of the same rich media as other posts, including images and attachments.
• Each article contains lists of contributors and related links.

Contributors could be community members whose posts or comments are used in the article, authors who put the article together, or editors who reviewed or refined it. Related links take you to posts that were used in the article or other posts that the authors thought you might find helpful or interesting, including forum messages, blog articles, and ideas.

 

How do I nominate content for a knowledge base?

If you find great community material (helpful questions and answers or just plain useful information), you can nominate it as a knowledge base article. The people responsible for your community's knowledge base evaluate your nomination, and if it's accepted, knowledge base authors can use it as the basis for a knowledge base article.

To nominate content:

1. Go to the topic you want to nominate.
2. Click Topic Options > Nominate to Knowledge Base.

 

How can I contribute to a knowledge base?

You can contribute to knowledge bases by:

• Writing good answers to questions posted in the community.
• Accepting good solutions to your questions (this automatically nominates the post to the knowledge base).
• Nominating good posts you find in the community.
• Reviewing or editing articles (if you have the right permission)
• Commenting on published articles. Every time you contribute to an article (by adding more information, providing clarification, or just helping to keep published articles up to date), you receive credit for your contributions.

 How do I edit a knowledge base article?

To edit a knowledge base article:

1. Click Edit on the article page.
   
   Note: You only see the Edit button if you have permission to edit the article.
2. Click in the section you want to edit and make your changes.
   You can edit text, add text, or drag content from the clipping area on the right side of the Editor.
3. To search for additional material, enter a search term and click Search.
4. To find tagged material, click the Tags tab and click a related tag.
5. Format text, spell check the content, and add contributors or related links as needed.
6. Add a revision note that explains your changes.
7. Click a save option: Save, Save & Request Review, or Save & Request Publication.