Approving articles and edits

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Approving new articles

When an article is created by a contributor, it is first placed in the Staging Area category. Contributors can't place articles directly into the "Knowledge Base" category (which is the category for articles visible to end users),

Articles in the Staging Area category are only visible to logged in users. The article should be reviewed to make sure the information is correct and properly presented. Once the article is deemed ready for the general public, an "Approver" moves the article to the "Knowledge Base" category.

To move an article from the Staging Area to the Knowledge Base, click on "Edit this page". If you have "Approvers" permissions, "Knowledge Base" will be one of the categories available. You don't need to make any edits to the article content. Just change the category from "Staging Area" to "Knowledge Base", indicate the change in your edit summary, and save the edit.



Approving edits to Knowledge Base articles

In order to keep the Knowledge Base from having any incorrect data, all edits to an article must go through a staging copy. Only contributors with "Approvers" permissions can approve an edit. When an edit is approved, the contents of the staging copy is copied over to the Knowledge Base version, and the contributor's name is added to the credits of the Knowledge Base version.

The names of staging copies are the same as their Knowledge Base counterparts, prefixed with an asterisk (*). For instance:
Knowledge Base version: Profiles
Staging copy: *Profiles

When a staging copy is out of sync with its Knowledge Base counterpart, it will be automatically added to a list of articles "waiting for review". There is a link to the "Edited articles waiting for review" list in the Contributor Tools sidebar.

You can view the items per locale by going here. Set the language and click Find.

Click on the article in need of review. Above the article title, there are tools for reviewing the article.

  • the approved version of this page: Clicking on this link will take you to the knowledge base version of the article.
  • View changes since last approval: Clicking on this link will take you to a unified diff between the staging copy and the knowledge base version.
  • Approve changes: Select this to approve the edit. An additional checkbox and text area will appear.
    • Mark other translations as out of date: Check marking this will add a notice at the top of all translations of the article, saying "Content may be out of date". If the edit being approved is meant to update out of date incorrect information, check mark this box.
    • Feedback to the author (optional): When an edit is approved, a notification will be sent to the person who made the edit. In this box, you can add whatever message you want to send the author. You can explain whatever tweaks you plan to make, invite them to the Contributors forum, or just say thank you.
  • Reject changes: Select this to reject the edit. An additional text area will appear.
    • Reason for rejecting (will be e-mailed to editor): When an edit is rejected, a notification will be sent to the person who made the edit. In this box, you can state why the edit was rejected, give the author some guidance on how to create good edits, as well as invite him/her to discuss any disagreements about the edit.
  • Submit: With all the information filled in, click on Submit to submit your review.

How to become an approver

To become an approver, send your support.mozilla.com username to cilias [at] mozilla.com.
We need assurance that you:

  • Have experience editing knowledge base articles
  • Will not publish incorrect information

If your edits are not significant enough, include the name of a support.mozilla.com member with approver rights that will vouch for you.