Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 11:12:41 -0500
Reply-To: Mike South <msouth@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mike South <msouth@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Vanagon Wiki
In-Reply-To: <2B5B38E5-8645-4C7D-B3E3-0179977EC9F5@shaw.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
On Tue, May 4, 2010 at 9:52 AM, Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca> wrote:
> This is said not to pooh-pooh the wiki suggestion, but rather to
> point out that there is a UK vanagon enthusiast's wiki here;
> http://wiki.club8090.co.uk/index.php/Main_Page
That's great. One good policy for our wiki would be to not duplicate
anything on any other wiki anywhere, as long as that wiki is open for
improvements. No point in wasting time repeating the information when
all we have to contribute is a little extra piece. Better to
contribute that little extra piece to the wiki that has it most of the
way there, and link.
>
> and also that Ron's site, with the easily recalled URL of
> www.vanagon.com, is a good place for new owners to look for basic info.
>
> and John Meek's (am I right that its his?) site http://
> www.vanagonauts.com/ has collected some of this mailing list's
> "wisdom" into a searchable site.
>
>
> Ok I will pooh-pooh the wiki idea a little.... it only works if
> people do contribute (mea culpa on a submission), otherwise it stalls
> and languishes.
Absolutely true.
>
> I'd like to suggest that one of the first entries in a new wiki would
> be a list of vanagon links. Pretty well all you need is out there in
> vacuumland, its just finding it that is the pain.
I'll pooh-pooh your idea that it's all out there--I agree, there is a
tremendous amount out there. But most of it is not editable, and thus
not improvable. A wiki is. That's a huge difference. One person may
have only one sentence to contribute, but that sentence could save
someone hours of time, or hundreds of dollars. In a forum you might
have to read six or sixty posts down to get that one sentence, make
sure you notice the "next page" link, etc. On a wiki it can be added
inline.
In the short time I've been on this list I've seen the same or similar
questions asked and answered multiple times. Every time someone comes
up with a new little tidbit. This, in my opinion, just screams for a
wiki.
Having said that--yes, it might fail. Most small businesses do.
Won't know unless we try. Maybe the only thing we get out of it is
your page of links :).
mike
>
> alistair
>
>
>
> On 4-May-10, at 7:14 AM, Mike Rocket J Squirrel wrote:
>
> BTW, Guido's question yesterday about the silver socket is the perfect
> reason why a wiki would be nice to have again: a place to put
> frequently-asked questions. AND, anyone can write or edit an article,
> it's an open project.
>
> --
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> 74 Westrailia: (Ladybug Trailer company, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
> Bend, OR
> KG6RCR
>
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