Wiki Zen

From Collaboratory

A Wiki (from the Hawaiian word meaning "quick") is a web site that anybody can edit from his or her web browser using a simple set of text formatting rules. You can think of them as a giant, blank notebook that several people can use simultaneously.

Wikis are widely used as group authoring tools and also as forums for online communities. Perhaps the best known Wiki is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia with thousands of entries in multiple languages. Anyone can contribute to it -- and thousands have -- by simply clicking the "Edit" button on one's browser. More people access Wikipedia than the online edition of the venerable Encyclopedia Brittanica.

The simplicity of Wikis make them powerful, but also disorienting, even intimidating. Where do you write down your thoughts? Is it okay to edit or even remove other people's text?

There is no single answer to any of these questions. The rule of thumb is, there's no wrong way to use a Wiki. Don't be afraid to play and experiment! If there's a better way to say something or a better place to put it, you or somebody else can easily change it later. Social norms will evolve with use and time.

Other suggestions:

• If you're writing something down, write it in the Wiki. Or, if you prefer, write it in your own text editor, and copy or link it into the Wiki later.
• Don't fret over where to put things. When in doubt, put it anywhere. Somebody -- maybe you -- can move it to a better place later. A good candidate for "anywhere" is your personal Wiki page, which you can create yourself by adding your full name somewhere and surrounding it by double square brackets (e.g.

[[Matt Taylor]] ). (See Text Formatting Rules for more on writing and editing pages.)

• The etiquette for changing other people's text depends on context. In general, if you see a typo or grammatical error, fix it. If you have a comment, add it to the text and sign it. You can also make more significant changes or comments on a separate page and add it as a link.
• Check Special:RecentChanges often.
• Garden the Wiki. Wikis are powerful because they are easy to change and restructure. They work because people actually do these things. Do your part, not only by contributing new content, but by cleaning up and reorganizing existing content.
• Link As You Think. If you are writing about something that might merit its own page, link to it by using double brackets, even if you don't plan on adding content immediately. You might even be surprised; somebody else might have already created that page.