prisoner
11-03-2007, 01:02 PM
Recently there have been a lot of changes that I would consider "big". Some have gotten a little discussion on the wiki, while others "just happened". (And yes, I'm a culprit too.) Some have gone off well, others could have gone better, and others caused major problems.
Regardless - I think there are lessons for all of us editors from these changes. We put a lot of trust in the editors to keep DOW a quality resource, and here are some guidelines I think you should keep in mind when doing your editing. They're not rules - but things you should think about before you make changes.
We work as a team. This isn't my wiki. It isn't your wiki. It is our wiki.
If you are thinking about making changes that can impact how other editors use the wiki, you should discuss them here on the forums. In particular - this means any changes that involve new templates or changing old templates.
We have a few high-profile pages (the home page, the VMK top level page, the timeline page are just a few examples, but not the only ones). If you're thinking about making a change on one of them - perhaps you should talk to someone else first and see what they think.
Fixing pages or information is good. But if you're changing something that has been unchanged for months or years - perhaps you should ask why first. Maybe it is just because nobody has fixed it - but maybe it is because it is correct and doesn't need changing.
It is ok to try things out - but if it doesn't work, please revert it back to the way it was before. We have sandboxes where you can experiment, and these are great places to try things out before they go live.
Ask questions. Talk. Share your knowledge. Most of us are learning new things about the wiki all the time - so feel free to see if anyone has a better way of doing something or may know the answer to a problem you're having.
At the same time - there is always new information for the wiki. Don't hesitate to be the one to enter it.
Your thoughts on these guidelines? Any questions? Am I off base on anything?
Regardless - I think there are lessons for all of us editors from these changes. We put a lot of trust in the editors to keep DOW a quality resource, and here are some guidelines I think you should keep in mind when doing your editing. They're not rules - but things you should think about before you make changes.
We work as a team. This isn't my wiki. It isn't your wiki. It is our wiki.
If you are thinking about making changes that can impact how other editors use the wiki, you should discuss them here on the forums. In particular - this means any changes that involve new templates or changing old templates.
We have a few high-profile pages (the home page, the VMK top level page, the timeline page are just a few examples, but not the only ones). If you're thinking about making a change on one of them - perhaps you should talk to someone else first and see what they think.
Fixing pages or information is good. But if you're changing something that has been unchanged for months or years - perhaps you should ask why first. Maybe it is just because nobody has fixed it - but maybe it is because it is correct and doesn't need changing.
It is ok to try things out - but if it doesn't work, please revert it back to the way it was before. We have sandboxes where you can experiment, and these are great places to try things out before they go live.
Ask questions. Talk. Share your knowledge. Most of us are learning new things about the wiki all the time - so feel free to see if anyone has a better way of doing something or may know the answer to a problem you're having.
At the same time - there is always new information for the wiki. Don't hesitate to be the one to enter it.
Your thoughts on these guidelines? Any questions? Am I off base on anything?