# Contribute

Democratic Mediums is a participatory effort that depends on community contributions. Please share your expertise by helping to make this resource more useful for others.

## How to use the platform

To add or edit content, fork [the project on GitLab](https://gitlab.com/medlabboulder/democraticmediums) and submit a merge request once you have made your changes. Follow these instructions to take advantage of the website's integration with the GitLab online editor:

* Navigate to the page you want to edit on the Democratic Mediums website and click the edit button (a small pencil icon)
* Sign into GitLab with an existing account or create a new one
* GitLab will offer to create a "fork" for you, which is a copy of the site in your GitLab account—do so!
* Edit the page as you wish; to edit multiple pages, it may be easier to use GitLab's "Web IDE"
* Add a "commit message" summarizing your suggested change and click "Commit changes"
* Fill out any additional information you want in the merge request form and submit it
* Your merge will be approved, if appropriate, as soon as possible

The website is built with [MkDocs](https://www.mkdocs.org/), a simple but powerful static site generator for Markdown files. All site content is located in the [docs/ directory](https://gitlab.com/medlabboulder/democraticmediums/tree/master/docs), which in turn is organized roughly as it appears on the site itself.

Please send any questions to [medlab@colorado.edu](mailto:medlab@colorado.edu). If you prefer not to use GitLab, you can also simply email your suggestions there.

## Contribution guidelines

### Standards for inclusion

The "mediums" included in this directory should aim to capture the most discrete, modular elements of democratic practice. That is, *Westminster system* would not be a good entry because it is a historical phenomenon that combines many elements. Some of those elements, such as *proportional representation* and *parliamentarianism*, however, would be useful to include.

### Style

Democratic Mediums is not meant to be exhaustive or encyclopedic. Entries should strive above all for brevity, clarity, and practicality. The model for an entry should be not a Wikipedia article but a technical manual, like [API documentation](https://www.mulesoft.com/resources/api/guidelines-api-documentation).