I'll be happy to write something up on all this and, given a few more comments, I might even understand what I'm talking about.

Incidently, I checked the "Writeup Formatting Tips" and they suggested I use <br> tag to break up the lines but elsewhere, I don't remember where, it said don't use <br>, use <br/> instead and then only sparingly. Preferably use <p>

nedals, Monk with reputation:0 (What's that about?) :-(

1. The cross out is achieved by the proper html tags. I believe the one in question is <STRIKE> Like this Perlmonks allows certain HTML tags in posts (indeed requires a minimum knowledge, which you seem to have :) )
2. As an unwritten custom, Monks don't like to delete info. A post you made may already have comments from others. Rather than leave bad info out, it's customary to correct any bad info, and leave an indication that you did so. Sometimes through strikethrough, sometimes just with an brief note labeled "Update" at the bottom.
3. Note that you can (in general, I believe each section has it's own rules), edit a comment in a thread, but not the node that begins one. Thus, you can edit your question that I'm replying to.
4. Reputation comes in two parts: A node gets voted up or down by other users on Perlmonks. (When to vote up or down is the subject of much debate, but in generic terms up is good and down is bad. The sum of plus and minues is the nodes repuation. The other half is a user's reputation. As you write nodes that gain or lose reputation, some of that reputation is associated with you. (Generally this is referred to as Experience). As you gain experience, you will increase in level, until you achieve Sainthood. There are a few Level Powers associated with making levels, but in general it's just an indication of how much a given monk supports perlmonks. (At your next level, which doesn't take long, you will gain the ability to vote on nodes, for example)

Hope that helps!

Update: Here are some links that might be useful:

What is reputation?
Voting/Experience System
Number of Monks by Level

The site relies on [X]HTML to present content, so you can use a subset of HTML tags to format your post. Please note that we've tried to provide flexibility while restricting the possibility for abuse. While we don't have a lot of trouble, we ocassionally get invaded by a troll or two and then have to regrettably lock things down a little tighter.

So, to answer your first question, VSarkiss edited his reply, added <strike> tags to the text he felt was no longer needed, added the additional text, and then used <STRONG> tags¹ to highlight the word Update.

(By the way, that's a local convention we use to indicate that we've edited our posts, either by adding additional information or by removing stuff that's no longer relevant. The idea being to let people know that's things have changed and that it might be worth re-reading the node.)

We appreciate any contributions that folks are willing to make. There are a few of us trying to keep the site up to date. We would rather folks slouch about for a time, get their sea legs so to speak, and then think about the contributions they can bring to the table. We're a varied and talented bunch and we fully appreciate the unique contributions that people are willing to offer. It's part of the ethic of the place, one I've personally found very rewarding.

As far as the inconsistent formatting tips go, well, that's part of the evolutionary process. You may have noticed that more than 200,000 nodes have been posted since the Gates were first flung wide. That's a lot of content to keep clean. Again, we're trying to get the job done, but it's mostly a volunteer effort, so things get done when they get done.

Some of the material predates the current suggestions from the W3C. That's why you'll see different suggestions. Personally, I prefer to see people use <P>...</P> tags to mark their paragraphs, but it's a question of style in some respect.

We are working to make the site more XML compliant, so we've asked people to begin being more aware of XML strictness in their markup, e.g. <BR /> instead of <BR>. While it's not fully clear what (if any) impact this will have on future site changes, it seems prudent to reduce the possibility of time-consuming changes should the data need to be converted at some point.

Finally, a Reputation of zero means you haven't earned any experience yet. That'll change as you participate and the basics are covered here.

I would recommend checking out the Tutorial section VSarkiss struck through, as well as this most excellent home node. There's a wealth of material covering the local culture and preferred operating style. It will also provide insight into the mindset and history of the site. It may even answer some of your questions in more detail.

--f

¹ - Update: Replaced reference to <B> tags with more accurate reference to <STRONG> tags, after VSarkiss gently corrected my mistake via /msg. Thanks!

What the others missed, I think, is how you get to the place to edit your node, although demerphq mentioned the procedure: click on a reply's title. This is called reparenting, since the page you get lists displays reply as the parent and shows the attached subthread below it. If the new parent was a post of yours, you also get a form to edit it.

Makeshifts last the longest.

Um, not quite. Reparenting is the process janitors (and a few others) use to move nodes between different threads. Since this has the effect of changing history, we try not to do it very often.

I believe you're thinking of the term editing ;-) and here's what the book of Turnstep has to say on the subject:

Why can't I edit some of my nodes anymore?

A: Most top-level nodes are not editable once you submit them. That's why there is a "Preview" button. Go over your post very well, for you will not be able to change it once you select "Submit".

What is a "top-level" node?

A: A top-level node is any node that is not a reply to someone else's node. This is usually starting a new discussion, asking a new question, posting a new piece of code, etc.

Which top-level nodes *are* editable?

A: First, here is everything that is not editable. Once you create these, you cannot change them:

• Seekers of Perl Wisdom
• Perl Monks Discussion
• Categorized Questions and Answers (both questions and answers)

Here is a list of things that can be changed once you create them:

• All notes (i.e. anything that is replying to a top-level node)
• Your home node
• Obfuscated Code
• Snippets Section
• Perl Poetry
• Craft
• Meditations
• Cool Uses for Perl
• Code Catacombs
• Tutorials
• Book reviews
• Module reviews

Note: Material quoted because it's awfully far down on the node and it's far to easy to become distracted while reading the rest of the information turnstep thoughtfully collected.

(Mind you, I know you already know this, but I figured it was worth highlighting for the sake of our new initiate.)

--f

As swiftone mentioned the appropriate links above, I will mention something else about the experience system. As you gain experience points, the experience node will also tell you how many points you require to achieve the next level. When you *finally* achieve the vaunted level of Saint, you then are told how many experience points you need to reach that of vroom, who is mostly responsible for this site. As of this post, I need another 997,586 experience points to get there :)

TStanley
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It is God's job to forgive Osama Bin Laden. It is our job to arrange the meeting -- General Norman Schwartzkopf