SodaApp in an interface built on top of WikiLens to use users' ratings about Soda. This is done by each user

1. giving their opinions on Soda on scale of 0 to 5 smileys (rating the soda)
2. declaring how many cans of Soda they drink, in general (declaring soda consumption)

Each of these is described in a section below.

How to Rate Soda

1) Go to WikiLens (http://www.wikilens.org) and sign in. Chances are if you are viewing this page, then you are already at WikiLens.

2) Click on the "Soda" link on the HomePage, or type in "Soda" in the search box at the top of any WikiLens page, and hit enter.

2a) If you choose to type in "Soda" and hit enter, then you are now at the search results page. You now need to click on the link labeled "Soda" to go to the Soda page.

3) You are now at the Soda page, which represents a category, specifically the category of Soda. To view all the items in the Soda category, click on the button labeled "Show all pages in the Soda category".

4) You are now viewing a list of all things in the database that are in the Soda category. (NOTE: You can only see the rating widgets if you're logged in. See questions below for how to sign in.) You can rate one of these things by simply clicking the part of the smiley face which represents your rating. By clicking on the left or right side of the smiley you can define "half-smileys" which are analogous to "half-stars". However, do not be deceived, rating something a 1-smiley does not mean you are very smiley about it. To see exactly what the "scale" for smileys represents click this: RateThisPage.

How to declare my Soda consumption

1) If you are not already signed in at WikiLens then please sign in now using the "Sign in" box at the lower right corner of the page at WikiLens. Remember, your login name must be a WikiWord!

2) To declare your personal Soda consumption in a month you must a) Create your user home page if it does not exist. You can type your login in this box, and hit the button:

b) Go to the page you created by clicking on your name in the lower right hand corner of the page. If you signed in with the name FooBar then you would click the FooBar link in the lower right hand corner of the page.

3) You are now at the page that describes the user you are signed in as. To edit this personal page, click the "Edit" button located at the lower left hand corner of the page.

4) You now have the ability to edit the page. To declare your Soda consumption (total amount of soda you drink) in one month type:

TotalSoda: 16

where 16 should be changed to the total number of cans you drink in one month. If there is already text in the edit box, please add this line to a new line in the edit box. If you created your personal page with the CreatePage box on this page, it might already have "TotalSoda" on it.

5) Click Save to save the changes

You are now done, you have declared the amount of Soda you drink in one month. Now get out there are rate some @Soda!

Questions you may have:

1. How do I sign in?

   You sign in by typing in a WikiWord in the lower-right hand corner of any page at WikiLens.

2. What is a WikiWord?

   Click on this to find out: WikiWord.

3. I want to rate a Soda, but that Soda is not in the database!

   If you want to rate a type of Soda and it does not appear to be in the database then you have to power to easily add it yourself.

   First, you want to search the database and make sure the item is not already in the database. This is easily done by following the "To put a page in the Soda category" instructions on the Soda page. Remember, to get to the Soda page type "Soda" in the text box at the top of the page and click enter, then click on the link labeled "Soda".

4. What if I want juice, water, motor oil?

   Juice and water are fine. Really it should be something that DanCo (Dan Cosley) could get at Sam's Club for no more than a quarter per unit if he felt friendly. Motor oil, probably not tasty.

5. What if DanCo doesn't buy my favorite soda? Does he suck?

   No, he doesn't. We're doing this app for fun, not to put further demands on DanCo. Don't sweat it. We can talk it out at our Monday meetings.