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#247019 - 20/01/2005 14:13 Do Wikis suck?
jimhogan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Example: http://nibiru.borg.metux.de:7000/wiki.mpm/

So, is it the implementation of Wikis, or the nature of Wikis?

Or is Jim just dumb/obtuse?

Discuss.

(edit: Jim calms down and spells Wiki correctly. Maybe. Oh, and i was trying to find out about Metux MPM for Apache.)


Edited by jimhogan (20/01/2005 14:20)
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Jim


'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.

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#247020 - 20/01/2005 14:39 Re: Do Wikis suck? [Re: jimhogan]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
As an example of unsuck, check out Wikipedia. It's phenomenal.

Now, whether it's the exception or not I don't know. All I can say is that that shows that they don't have to suck.

Also, I'm not sure what your example is supposed to show other than a complete lack of information. Oh, I see. Some idiot vandalized it. I reverted it for you.
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Bitt Faulk

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#247021 - 20/01/2005 17:45 Re: Do Wikis suck? [Re: wfaulk]
Roger
carpal tunnel

Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5680
Loc: London, UK
Quote:
All I can say is that that shows that they don't have to suck.


The original wiki at c2.com rocks. There are several others that rock. Where people/projects sometimes screw up is by having a wiki when their user base isn't large enough to keep it dynamic, and to keep it cleaned up. In short, you need plenty of WikiGnomes, but most wikis don't have them.

The IvTv wiki is an example of this type of wiki -- it's ramshackle and the content's spread all over the place. It needs some decent editorial effort.
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-- roger

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#247022 - 20/01/2005 20:14 Re: Do Wikis suck? [Re: jimhogan]
hybrid8
carpal tunnel

Registered: 12/11/2001
Posts: 7738
Loc: Toronto, CANADA
I was hoping someone would consolidate all these new geeky pass-times (blogs, wikis, etc..) as "WOFTs" - Waste of Time.

Maybe I just don't like the term blog... And wiki just conjures up memories of when the Brady family went to Hawaii. Or maybe I'm tired of seeing sites devoted mindless rambling and people so desperate for attention.

Bruno
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Bruno
Twisted Melon : Fine Mac OS Software

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#247023 - 27/01/2005 02:37 Re: Do Wikis suck? [Re: wfaulk]
jimhogan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Quote:
Also, I'm not sure what your example is supposed to show other than a complete lack of information. Oh, I see. Some idiot vandalized it. I reverted it for you.

Meant to reply earlier. I guess this could be used to argue that it isn't wikis, per se, but the implementation.

If I put myself in the shoes of the average Internet consumer, I would have to say that I would not want to know anything about the internal workings of Wikis. In fact that is true for me. I know nothing of Wikis and really don't want to. You reverted it for me? That is great, but what if I did not have you and the BBS to turn to? I don't know how to revert jack.

My sense is that the owners enthusiasm for a particular tech (Wikis) has caused them to pick the wrong tool for the job....if in fact all they wanted to do was to deliver information to dopes like me!
_________________________
Jim


'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.

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#247024 - 27/01/2005 14:51 Re: Do Wikis suck? [Re: jimhogan]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
Agreed. Wikis require editors. If you have enough users that the users can do it themselves, great. If not, you need someone specific looking at it all the time.

In this case, the page you linked to was just a redirect to the real info, which had not been vandalized, but no one was probably looking at the link. In the real world, if you came across a vandalized thing that you needed, you'd call the cops. It'd help if there was a contact listed on the Wiki that would have been equivalent to the cops -- well, repair crew, really.

But, for future reference, there's a link on every Wiki page that will show you the history of the page. Find the latest one that isn't vandalized, load it, click edit, don't change anything, and click submit, hopefully including a description of what you did (revert) in the comments field. I know that that's not intuitive knowledge, but there you go.
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Bitt Faulk

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#247025 - 27/01/2005 15:35 Re: Do Wikis suck? [Re: hybrid8]
g_attrill
old hand

Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
Here's a good "blog" started recently. The writer is a magistrate who posts a lot on the newsgroups, all anon of course:

http://thelawwestofealingbroadway.blogspot.com/

edit: Also interesting is the "The Policeman's Blog":
http://coppersblog.blogspot.com/

See the links down the right for many similar ones, I've only just seen this one and will do lots of reading later. These job-specific ones are very interesting.

Gareth


Edited by g_attrill (27/01/2005 15:39)

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