Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 15:03:50 -0700
Reply-To: Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Vanagon Wiki [WAS: Curious incident of the fuel pump ...]
In-Reply-To: <001601c7d54d$0f21f430$6401a8c0@TOSHIBALAP>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Hi Scott,
I subscribe to Yahoo groups and they are less useful, IMO, than a good
wiki. With a wiki, articles (topics) about any Vanagon-related subject,
like troubleshooting a fuel pump, could be started by anyone. Others are
allowed to edit it, add clarifications, sub topics, etc. Those who don't
know what they are talking about but insist on changing the article can
be blacklisted from editing (I'll top the list).
This started several days ago when someone with a no-op fuel pump was
asking for help. Several suggestions for troubleshooting were posted by
different people. A clever technique to unjam the pump was posted. I
asked "where is the wiki where this can be made part of the permanent
record for later guys to quickly find?" John Meeks put it onto his site
at http://www.vanagonauts.com/Fuel-Pump208.htm, so it's been saved, but
John's site -- as very useful as it is -- has a "gatekeeper" who decides
what stuff gets added. Yahoo Groups have lots and lots of posts, and if
there are articles, they have gatekeepers, too. To the best of my
knowledge if I write an article about solar panels on a Yahoo group and
there is something I've gotten wrong, someone who knows more than I
can't edit my post - my post lives forever and you have to read down to
some later post to find someone's corrections. They are static posts
while wikis are condensed, dynamic knowledge.
To the user, the difference between a wiki and the groups is the
difference between a constantly updated online encyclopedia and a big
stack of magazines.
Here in the Vanagon community we have a lot of real experienced and
smart folk, some of whom can actually write, too(!) and IMO if they were
allowed to contribute to online, dynamic articles, we'd have all the
good answers to the common questions and problems up for viewing within
a year, and the more obscure stuff would be added in as time went along.
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
KG6RCR
Scott Daniel - Shazam typed:
> I'm curious what this thread is about actually.
> As Jim says it is super easy to start a yahoo group.
> Really, you just go to yahoogroups.com and click in 'start a group'....
> That's all there is to it.
> About the only real ongoing requirement is there is some use and traffic on
> the group.
>
> I already have one if you want to join and use some of the features.
> http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/turbovans/
>
> 'course you'd have to put up with my input now and then and we all know what
> a PIA that can be at times - lol ! :)
>
> scott
> www.turbovans.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Jim Akiba
> Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 2:03 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Vanagon Wiki [WAS: Curious incident of the fuel pump ...]
>
> If anyone is interested it is easy to setup a google group just to receive,
> archive, and make searchable all the posts from a mailing list like this
> list... but it wouldn't help pull all the old material over to it...
>
> Jim Akiba
>
> On 8/2/07, Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@gmail.com> wrote:
>> John Meeks typed:
>>
>>> Until that Magical Wiki appears the post is preserved at:
>>> http://www.vanagonauts.com/Fuel-Pump208.htm
>> Thanks, John.
>>
>> --
>> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
>> 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
>> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
>> 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
>> KG6RCR
>>
>
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