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How to Think in Wiki: Difference between revisions
→Wiki Thinking
(Created page with "== Getting Started == * Make an account! - Editing is limited to those people with accounts. == Wiki Thinking == Wikis work differently than other types of communicative/collaborative media! * '''No Mistakes''' - Nothing is a mistake in a wiki! You cannot break it! You should feel empowered to play around with the wiki, try anything you want to, because any change can always be reverted! There is never any notion of "completeness" or what a...") |
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* '''Dense Linking''' - The power of the wiki comes from wikilinks! By organizing heterogeneous content in the same space, it becomes possible to, for example, reference a [[Projects|Project]] from within [[Minutes|Meeting Minutes]], which can in turn link to some [[Guides|Guide]], [[Python|Programming Language]], [[Autopilot|Package]], and so on. If you find you are frequently referring to some concept, make a page for it and start gathering links to it! You should be making liberal use of the [[Special:WhatLinksHere/How_To_Wiki|Special:WhatLinksHere]] page (in the left bar) to see when a concept is referenced. You should also feel free to make [[Speculative Links]] to pages that don't exist yet but probably should, which then will show up on the [[Special:LonelyPages]] tool as indicative of what needs to be written. | * '''Dense Linking''' - The power of the wiki comes from wikilinks! By organizing heterogeneous content in the same space, it becomes possible to, for example, reference a [[Projects|Project]] from within [[Minutes|Meeting Minutes]], which can in turn link to some [[Guides|Guide]], [[Python|Programming Language]], [[Autopilot|Package]], and so on. If you find you are frequently referring to some concept, make a page for it and start gathering links to it! You should be making liberal use of the [[Special:WhatLinksHere/How_To_Wiki|Special:WhatLinksHere]] page (in the left bar) to see when a concept is referenced. You should also feel free to make [[Speculative Links]] to pages that don't exist yet but probably should, which then will show up on the [[Special:LonelyPages]] tool as indicative of what needs to be written. | ||
* '''Broad variation in tone and content''' - We're used to seeing wikis as being equivalent to wikipedia, and therefore as authoritative documents, but wikis at large can and should have a broad range of writing: conversational, professional, guiding, questioning, etc. Everything belongs on the wiki, and it can be written in any way. | * '''Broad variation in tone and content''' - We're used to seeing wikis as being equivalent to wikipedia, and therefore as authoritative documents, but wikis at large can and should have a broad range of writing: conversational, professional, guiding, questioning, etc. Everything belongs on the wiki, and it can be written in any way. | ||
* '''[[meatball:ExpandSpace]]''' - If there isn't a place for something, make it! Everyone is free to organize and re-organize! Don't forego writing something just because there isn't a clean place to put it - the needed organization often only becomes apparent when there are several examples of a thing to organize! | |||
* '''Document confusion and resolution''' - Write directly on the wiki about things you're confused about, and when you've figured them out, write about that too so others might find it! | |||
* '''Use Search!''' - Use the search bar in the top liberally, and make use of [[Special:Categories]], [[Special:Properties]] and the like. Organization can be automatic (eg. with [[Semantic Mediawiki]] <code>#ask</code> queries), but it is also largely manual! Search for whatever you're looking for, and if it's not easy to find by the browsing path that you expected, then add a link where you think it should be! | * '''Use Search!''' - Use the search bar in the top liberally, and make use of [[Special:Categories]], [[Special:Properties]] and the like. Organization can be automatic (eg. with [[Semantic Mediawiki]] <code>#ask</code> queries), but it is also largely manual! Search for whatever you're looking for, and if it's not easy to find by the browsing path that you expected, then add a link where you think it should be! | ||
* '''Links are (implicitly) Bidirectional!''' - Use the "what links here" button on any given page to see the other pages that refer to it! | * '''Links are (implicitly) Bidirectional!''' - Use the "what links here" button on any given page to see the other pages that refer to it! | ||