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Site Faq Wiki?

Started by Ratspants , Oct 14 2005 10:46 AM

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#1 Ratspants

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Posted 14 October 2005 - 10:46 AM

It's come up a few times before but is it possible to run a Wiki on the site for the FAQ? For reference, a Wiki is defined as:

a web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows others (often completely unrestricted) to edit the content. The term wiki also refers to the collaborative software (wiki engine) used to create such a website (see wiki software). In essence, the wiki is a vast simplification of the process of creating HTML pages, and thus is a very effective way to exchange information through collaborative effort. wiki is often interpreted as the abbreviation for 'what I know, is', which describes the knowledge contribution, storage and exchange up to some point.

...from >wikipedia<. I was just reading a guide on >how to start a Wiki< and the requirements are pretty light - should run on the existing VX server?

There are lots of free wiki hosting sites too.

Any thoughts? I don't know much about them but I know enough to say that it would make maintaining a FAQ a thousand times easier, more accurate and it would always be up to date if anyone could chip in. Thorney, do your techy bods know how to so this/want to do this/is it even possible?

:grouphug:

Ben

#2 mattcave

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Posted 14 October 2005 - 01:01 PM

I run an owners club for another popular car marque, and we run a wiki on our site for various technical reference material, HowTo guides, etc etc. We find it really really valuable and it sets us apart from other similar sites by allowing us to upload new content and stay up to date very easily. I'd be happy to help implement/test/maintain something similar on this site. I spotted a couple of posts on here earlier about airbox Mods that would make a wicked FAQ/HowTo so I dumped them into a Word doc for my own site. If there was a Wiki on here it would have been a 5 minute job for someone (a member rather than Thorney or his web guy) to create a re-useable document that would be useful to many people. I know Thorney's short on web design resource at the moment though, and I guess that's the limiting factor here. If there's anything I can do to help I'm very happy to. For free obviously.

#3 jules_s

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Posted 14 October 2005 - 01:02 PM

a web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows others (often completely unrestricted) to edit the content.


Trolls would have a field day though wouldnt they?

#4 Ratspants

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Posted 14 October 2005 - 01:11 PM

a web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows others (often completely unrestricted) to edit the content.

Trolls would have a field day though wouldnt they?

It's risk you run, but I think you can restrict access - perhaps getting the nod from a moderator? Backups would need to be taken every now and again in case of vandalism - i think wikis allow anyone to download a backup so everyone could join in to restore a vandalised wiki? Some wikis allow editors to validate any change but I like the idea of a free and open wiki.

The benefits far outweigh the risk.

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#5 mattcave

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Posted 14 October 2005 - 03:01 PM

There are various ways you can deal with this. One is to only allow a certain subset of people to edit it. That does remove SOME of the benefit, but makes it a fair bit safer. Another is to require moderator approval for changes although many wiki's don't support this. The other way round it is to have one page for suggested changes/additions which moderators then sanity-check, proof-read and upload. The key point is that it can be edited by lots of people with no specialist web skills, and the only tool they need as a web browser.

#6 jules_s

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Posted 14 October 2005 - 03:09 PM

We (sort of) have this with the 'useful threads' sticky though dont we? The problem as I see it with the 'useful threads' sticky is that it doesnt get enough exposure :(

#7 Ratspants

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Posted 14 October 2005 - 03:29 PM

We (sort of) have this with the 'useful threads' sticky though dont we?

The problem as I see it with the 'useful threads' sticky is that it doesnt get enough exposure  :(

...and it's not organised and gets out of date if information is revised :(

There was a FAQ that got nearly formalised a while back, i'd like to get this on a wiki and get everyone adding to it in little bits as new information comes to light. Could be a hub for ALL reference info: tyre size, pressure, paint codes, service schedule, countless other bits of handy trivia. Then include the guides to clam removal, brake pads etc... But the key is the public access, the buyers guide on here is wildly out of date and lacking in a "what to look out for" section.

Ben

Edited by Ratspants, 14 October 2005 - 03:32 PM.

#8 MonkeY_1972

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Posted 14 October 2005 - 06:14 PM

have to say the wiki is a good idea.. thumbsup it should be fairly easy to control, and would make sense to try and organise some of the information already on here.. although search can work, unless you choose the right keywords you won't find what you're looking for.. can the site mods/admins be persuaded tho :drink: ;)

#9 caleebra

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Posted 14 October 2005 - 09:55 PM

the wiki is a good idea, and we need some kinda formal FAQ section IMO... The idea of the useful thread collection was as a temporary stop-gap (and for an easy reference for compiling the actual FAQs at some juncture), but it could kind of serve the purpose to an extent in the long run? It might be handy to retain it as part of the forum infrastructure? Maybe a seperate sub-fora? if a member was to discover new and important information he could just post a thread, add it to the "collection" and ask a mod to delete the outdated info? I dunno, just food for thought. I'm a bit :drink: If it could be done via the forum I'd volunteer my services to the cause...

#10 Thorney

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Posted 15 October 2005 - 08:24 AM

Sounds like a good idea. JaseMK and Rez are now helping out on the site so the plan was actually to take the content of the FAQ threads and turn them into proper content pages but this would be a sueful add on.

#11 Jase_MK

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Posted 15 October 2005 - 09:02 AM

thumbsup All sounds good to me... It's a balance between a nicely formatted FAQ section with proper contents which looks better but involves more work to maintain or the Wiki appraoch which looks a bit more scruffy but is relatively labour free. My pref would be the former but I'll have a good look at the wiki stuff too

#12 Ratspants

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Posted 09 May 2006 - 03:09 PM

thumbsup All sounds good to me... It's a balance between a nicely formatted FAQ section with proper contents which looks better but involves more work to maintain or the Wiki appraoch which looks a bit more scruffy but is relatively labour free. My pref would be the former but I'll have a good look at the wiki stuff too

http://vx220.wikispaces.com/?

Start by cut and pasting the Buyer's Guide in?

Wasn't there another attempt at a FAQ somewhere, perhaps with some section headings?

Ben

#13 urbanmac

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Posted 09 May 2006 - 03:38 PM

why not host it here add in a subdomain e.g. wiki.vx220.org.uk

#14 Ratspants

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Posted 09 May 2006 - 03:46 PM

why not host it here add in a subdomain e.g.

wiki.vx220.org.uk

That's definitely the best idea but I'm not sure there's anyone around to do it :(

Thought I'd get the ball rolling anyway, if anyone wants to join in then just go ahead and edit away :)

Ben

#15 urbanmac

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Posted 09 May 2006 - 03:51 PM

why not host it here add in a subdomain e.g.

wiki.vx220.org.uk

That's definitely the best idea but I'm not sure there's anyone around to do it :(

Thought I'd get the ball rolling anyway, if anyone wants to join in then just go ahead and edit away :)

Ben

Only takes a few minutes, sites hosting company should be able to do it or there should be some sort of web based admin for the domain.

mediawiki is free and can be downloaded here:
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Download

this site uses php so running it should not be a problem

#16 mark_b

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Posted 09 May 2006 - 04:07 PM

Sounds like a good idea to me thumbsup

#17 luna_s

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Posted 09 May 2006 - 04:13 PM

common parts to elise s2 and a list of common used vauxhall part numbers would be really handy, so yeah thumbsup great idea

#18 pcmanning

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Posted 09 May 2006 - 04:16 PM

Cool - if we get enough info compiled, then the big cheese might get the idea! I've added some (albeit out dated stuff) wot I wrote about VX Sounds. Paul

#19 Ratspants

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Posted 09 May 2006 - 04:26 PM

Obviously there's a lot that need to go in so it needs to be broken down into sections. I've gone broadly with the section headings from the TIS but it isn't very intuitive. It's like there are useful facts e.g. tyre sizes, colour codes, and the useful questions e.g. it leaks around the roof and that's a funny combination to mash together. Ben

#20 jneill

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Posted 09 May 2006 - 11:03 PM

Ok, I'm in. I wanted to include a link back to vx220.org.uk from the wiki home page but I can't edit that page? I though with a wiki you could edit anything? edit to say: ah ha... ratspants needs to let me in first :) this could be a slight problem as ideally the wiki should be part of the registration system on vx220.org.uk but I guess it's fine as a stop gap...

Edited by jneill, 09 May 2006 - 11:09 PM.

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