Cookbook:FAQ

What is the Cookbook?

For a detailed description of the cookbook, see its introduction chapter.

How can I add a page?

There are multiple ways to contribute a page to the cookbook. One way to do so is by visiting the page creation tool, entering your desired page title in the provided form, and following the directions there. Be sure to add the "Cookbook:" namespace to the beginning of the title, and consult the policy page for an explanation of how pages are formatted.

How can I find recipes to adapt?

You can find recipes to add to the Cookbook in a couple ways. Historical cookbooks that have passed into the public domain are one good option—The Household Encyclopedia, The Cook's Decameron, Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, and Modern Cookery are a few examples, and more are available at Wikicommons, Wikisource, and The Internet Archive. Other good sources are old family recipes or recipes you yourself have developed. Do not add recipes that are copyrighted or for which you do not own the rights.

How do I keep track of recent changes to the Cookbook?

First, select the recent changes module in the left-hand navigation. By default, the module displays changes made to all of the Wikibooks. You can then filter the listing by namespace, such as Cookbook or Cookbook talk, using the drop-down list and then clicking on the Go button.

Alternatively, you can use the watchlist to keep track of a particular entry. On the top of the page, when you are logged in, there is a tab that says "watch". When you click that button, the page will go onto your personal watch list. (In the mobile view, this is the outline of a 5-pointed star, ☆. When you click it, it becomes a solid green star, ★.) Then, to see your watchlist, you can click the "My Watchlist" link in the upper right-hand corner (near your user name). Alternatively, when you edit a page, there is a check box labelled "Watch this page", which has the same effect. If you want to automatically watch every page you edit, you could click on the "preferences" link (right next to "my watchlist"), and under the "editing" button, click the checkbox labeled "Add pages and files I edit to my watchlist". Then, every time you edit any page in Wikibooks, it will add that page to your watchlist.

Why was my page deleted?

Pages can be deleted for a variety of reasons. One of the most common reasons is copyright violation, especially copying and pasting recipes from other sources incompatible with the Wikibooks copyright policy. Another common reason is redundancy with another existing page in the cookbook, in which case your material will be transferred to the existing page, if applicable, before deletion.

What if I have a question not answered here?

For general cookbook questions, feel free to ask on the table of contents talk page. For cookbook policy-related questions, you can ask on the policy talk page.