Genii Weblog

Isn't it about time for a Notes Net Wikipedia?

Fri 4 Nov 2005, 09:47 AM



by Ben Langhinrichs
As one of several very active responders on the Gold Forums (Stan Rogers is probably the most active) for a number of years, it seems that we are missing an opportunity.  If we had a Notes Net Wikipedia, it could grow as those of us tired of answering the same questions over and over again could fill in topics, then refer to them in answers on the forums.  While it is fine to "search the forum", as we like to tell people, it requires wading through the various questions and answers, sometimes incorrect answers, trying to figure out which solutions are correct, complete and vetted.  In some ways, this would be similar to, or compete with, Ken Yee's Notes/Domino FAQ, but it would be more self correcting.  With a bit of cooperation from IBM, we could even have a Wiki link that would work from the Gold forums themselves, so you could write {{Hide-when formulas}} and have it link automatically to that post, or something along those lines.  Just as Wikipedia has become a great collaborative repository, the Notes Net Wikipedia could harness the energy and knowledge of the many, many participants.  OpenNTF has a DominoWiki available, although I don't know whether it is scalable enough, so if we needed to use some other Wiki software, I think that would be OK.

So what do you think?  And if IBM doesn't listen, should we do it anyway and get OpenNTF or Penumbra or some other third party to host it?  (I'd host it here at Genii's site, but I have a feeling that letting any single commercial entity host it would be a bad idea)  While that wouldn't provide the automatic Wiki links, it could still be a single, searchable repository.

Copyright © 2005 Genii Software Ltd.

What has been said:


389.1. Jens Bruntt
(04-11-2005 07:56)

Sounds like a great idea to me.


389.2. Gerco Wolfswinkel
(11/04/2005 08:05 AM)

Sounds great indeed. Isn't there an OpenNTF wiki? I don't know how good it is but it could be a starting point.


389.3. Bruce Elgort
(11/04/2005 11:59 AM)

I started this system modeled after Alan Lepofsky's blog. It can easily be adapted to include NotesApedia type of stuff.

http://resource.openntf.org/

Let me know how I can help. I want to help. :-)

Bruce


389.4. Anonyman
(11/04/2005 12:04 PM)

I think that it would be an awesome idea and to get the best information about a miriad of different topics and parts of domino, especially some that most of us have never been to before, it would really be a boon to the developer community!


389.5. Ben Langhinrichs
(11/04/2005 12:10 PM)

Bruce - Talk about service. I suggest an idea, and not only do you instantly come up with a solution, you had already come up with it before I suggested it. Brilliant!

Now, a few questions remain:

1) Can we get the heavy hitters on the Gold Forums (and elsewhere) to use it?

2) Can we (or should we) get IBM to cooperate with a Wiki link system?

3) Will that site and that template stand up to a fair amount of beating? Is it scalable? I know there were problems with the Lotusphere Wiki last year, and this will only work if it is solid. Also, is this hosted on the OpenNTF server, and does that have additional bandwidth?


389.6. Ben Langhinrichs
(11/04/2005 12:51 PM)

An example I just created on the OpenNTF resource page:

Link


389.14. Bruce Elgort
(11/07/2005 08:37 AM)

@Ben,

That link doesn't work. Let me create a brand new Wiki specifically for this project.


389.15. Ben Langhinrichs
(11/07/2005 08:44 AM)

I agree. A completely separate Wiki is probably a good idea. Then we can skip the category issue as well.

What should we call this? NotesWiki? WikiFAQ? Notes Wikipedia? It will be easier if it has a catchy name.


389.16. Jake
(07/11/2005 08:46)

I setup a codestore wiki with all the best intentions. Nobody uses it though. People might well read it (although I rarely check the stats, so I don't actually know), but very few have ever edited/added to it.

http://www.jakehowlett.com/codestore/wiki/

Mine's based on the same package as Wikipedia and it's a great tool. It's a shame people don't seem interesting in helping it grow. I think the trouble is people might not know how easy it is to add to them or have the confidence to do so.

The other negative aspect of wikis is spam. Mine gets spammed all over the place and I spend a lot of time reverting edits.

Jake


389.17. Ben Langhinrichs
(11/07/2005 09:31 AM)

Bruce has put it up now at WikiFAQ I wonder if there is any way to keep the spam out. Guess we'll find out soon enough. I guess we could violate the Wiki ethos and require a sign in to OpenNTF to edit.


389.18. Bruce Elgort
(11/07/2005 11:36 AM)

@Ben, @Jake,

We could also consider MediaWiki as well. We have lots of options. We simply need to market it. :-) I think I can help with that as can you popular guys .

Bruce


389.19. Chris Linfoot
(11/08/2005 07:04 AM)

Love the idea. I may start posting some of my own stuff. Just one issue:

I just pulled the RSS feed on that Wiki and some of the entries in the RSS feed have permalinks like http://localhost/...


389.20. Bruce Elgort
(11/08/2005 01:08 PM)

@Chris,

Try the RSS now :-)