[e-lang] Wiki?

[Mark S. Miller]

James Graves wrote:
> I've never been impressed with C2.  They are using ancient, crufty wiki 
> software.  And worse yet, the community standards weren't very strong at 
> the start.  As a result, you have people in the habit of scribbling 
> whatever they think, anywhere, without much consideration of the overall 
> system.  It is the broken windows theory, all over again.

<amusing-but-off-topic-note>
I followed you there until the end. "Broken windows theory"? I thought, "What 
does this have to do with Hazlett's "Economics in One Lesson"? A bit of web 
searching led me to realize that I had not known about "broken windows 
theory". That it is interesting. And that I never knew I didn't known it, 
because till now, I always assumed people were talking about (what I now see 
is properly called) the "parable of the broken window".
</amusing-but-off-topic-note>


> For an example of an well-run wiki for a programming language, visit:
> 
> 	http://www.haskell.org

Yes. Many parts of C2 are good, but many aren't. The Haskell wiki is 
impressive. I notice that a login is required to edit.


> I've probably talked about this before...   At any rate, here are my 
> recommendations on running a wiki:
> 
> 1. Good software.  MediaWiki (used by Wikipedia), TWiki, or something 
> comparable.  Must haves:

I like MediaWiki. TWiki looks good but less familiar. Due to Wikipedia, 
MediaWiki's look and feel is now associated with authoritative content. So, by 
broken windows theory, perhaps we should adopt MediaWiki in order to signal 
the right message?

What wiki does www.haskell.org use?


> 	Sensible article title support (none of the EeLanguage crap).
> 	History of edits.  Easily revert changes.
> 	Ability to easily ban users and IP addresses (for persistent
> 	                                              vandals).
> 	Talk pages (optional but strongly recommended).

Good list. Agreed.


> 2. Good starting point.  Setting up a blank wiki isn't very effective. 
> It is necessary to 'seed' the wiki with a decent chunk of good content. 
>     You have this already; large chunks of erights.org can be wikified 
> and imported.

How much of this can be automated?


> I could potentially host a wiki, but it would be at the far end of a 
> puny ADSL line.

I think that would be adequate for now, so I'd like to take you up on that.
Thank you very much!


> There are some papers that discuss how and why wikis work.  I can 
> provide pointers if needed.

Yes, I'd be interested. Thanks.

-- 
Text by me above is hereby placed in the public domain

     Cheers,
     --MarkM