On Fri, 18 Dec 2009, Amitai Schlair wrote:
On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 4:30 PM, matthew sporleder <msporleder%gmail.com@localhost> wrote:It's somewhat misleading to call something a 'wiki' if it's not user/community-editable.It's somewhat misleading to make this distinction in a thread whose very first post linked to <URL:http://wiki.netbsd.org/wiki/todo/let_non-developers_contribute_content/>.In fact, let me generalize: anyone still reading this, before forming further opinions, please first familiarize yourself with the tasks that have been completed:
It is somewhat misleading ... no, it is outright dishonest to suggest that what is outlined there is anything near "community editing". If anything, it reminds me of what was said at the beginning of the first wiki discussion ("We don't need a wiki, just submit patches to the guide."); only this time with a thin coat of ikiwiki paint reluctantly applied.
Yes, that's probably a bit harsh. But I did read all the pages you linked to in your mail, and it seems that you (i.e. some of "you developers") don't really get, or want, the wiki model.
You'll notice we have pretty good reasons for going about this the way we are.
Those reasons are not obvious to me. But what I did notice is that you don't seem to know what it is that you are trying to accomplish. The wiki project has apparently gone from "a different way for developers to write documentation" (my impression), to "perhaps letting regular users contribute as well, but with adult supervision of course", to "a replacement for wiki.netbsd.se" (you, admittedly after this latest email exchange).
They're all reasonable goals. But different goals, and it seems that the kind of solution you end up with is going to depend on what they are. So just what are the goals, and does everyone involved agree? What do potential contributors -- including us regular users -- think they should be?
Please, all, let's table this discussion until such time as the wiki is ready for general use, at which point you can expect an announcement to that effect.
If you want the wiki to succeed, I'd suggest doing the exact opposite. Ask what the people involved want, and then build it.
Then again, wiki.netbsd.se already exists, so there's plenty of room to experiment (and even fail).
MAgnus