Front Page Discussion

I'm curious about the need for different pages, FrontPage and WelcomeVisitors.

Welcome Visitors is linked to if you access http://c2.com directly. Front Page is displayed if you access http://c2.com/cgi/wiki directly.

I'm of the opinion that WelcomeVisitors is a much better format for people's first page seen on the wiki. Google tells me that there's about 1220 pages directly linking to http://c2.com/cgi/wiki and about 420 linking to http://c2.com there are about the reverse numbers linking directly to FrontPage and WelcomeVisitors.

I was thinking that maybe it would be a good idea to change the pages so that they both reflect the content of WelcomeVisitors. Thoughts? Comments?

--DanielSheppard

It so happens I was just looking for a good introduction to general Wiki principles. I find that FrontPage contains a more general approach to Wiki (with little reference to content/topics), whereas WelcomeVisitors outlines things more specifically with regard to this Wiki in particular (defining clearly what the topics here are). I think it is beneficial to new users to be presented with both types of information.

I agree with Daniel that the format of WelcomeVisitors is better, and I also agree that both pages are too much alike to be different at all. I suggest we

What my suggestion or question was really about, is if there is a general introduction to Wiki designed for introducing people who know nothing about it to its concepts. If making substantial changes to FrontPage and/or WelcomeVisitors is not feasible, a third course of action could be to create a new page containing such a description? I'd like it best, of course, if someone were to point out the page that has all this, but which I overlooked.

I've given it a try with the text below. I've deliberately avoided putting WikiLinks into this text because I'd like it to be standalone. I am aware that this text violates OnceAndOnlyOnce on this wiki (heck, most of it is just plain copied from other pages), but this should of course be seen in view of it being standalone.

WikiDescription

A wiki is a collaborative web site which visitors can edit directly in their browsers. It is presented just like an "ordinary" web site, with hyperlinks connecting pages within the web, but also provides a mechanism for any visitor to change the contents of those same pages. Given this mechanism, a wiki can be and has been used as a composition system, a discussion medium, a repository, a mail system, a chat room...

In general, wiki visitors are encouraged to contribute in any way they can, because the wiki system works best if there are many people making small adjustments in an effort to have pages converge to an exact treatise on the subject, or to a consensus if the subject does not allow more. However, the nature of this medium, it being unknown to most people while allowing all people to participate, calls for a careful approach when contributing. The writing style on a wiki is casual, and it can be very difficult to recognize feelings and intent in writings. Therefore, contributors should try to assume good faith in others and themselves try to be polite and civil.

You don't need to know HTML to add or modify pages. You just string words together to make links. There are some simple formatting rules if you want to add some markup to text, but mostly you can do even without those.

Every wiki has its subject matter. Although there are notable exceptions such as WikiPedia, it is important to clearly define and limit the subject matter, so that the wiki remains manageable for its users.

<After this generic introduction, insert paragraph on specifics for given wiki here. For this wiki, that would probably be WelcomeVisitors>

-- OlivierAntonis

My initial plan, using the newspaper metaphor, was to write small stories on the FrontPage about what was happening in the rest of wiki. That lasted about two weeks. Months later when I realized that wiki was the PortlandPatternRepository I added WelcomeVisitors as a more static how to get started page thinking that FrontPage might still find some life as a summary for regular visitors who didn't have the energy for RecentChanges. Now I think wiki should try to be timeless everywhere and leave the news to bloggers. -- WardCunningham

I would love it if the FrontPage news practice was still alive today. "Recent contributions have mainly consisted of name calling, threats of legal actions, lies, distortions and deletions." The perfect way to welcome visitors.

Very droll, Daniel. But that is not representative. It's just that, as always in the media, and as always in life, bad news is much more newsworthy, dramatic, attention-getting, and memorable, than is good news. "Good news is no news", as they (accurately) say in journalism.

Same thing here. The very high profile negative activities here recently are not the main part of recent contributions, they are simply that: high profile.

One might even say that the positive substantive contributions in recent days aren't representative either, because, come to think of it, it's always the ongoing WikiGnome efforts that are most representative. The anti-termites rebuilding and strengthening the foundations.

As you should know, as a WikiGnome yourself, even if you do have a bit of an attitude about it sometimes. ;-) -- DougMerritt

I just think that I'm funny sometimes, and have the unquenchable desire to inflict my humour on the world. It's good that the worst of that incident is behind us - it's nice to be back at a level where I can actually see some signal in RecentChanges without having to hunt for it.

Agreed on all counts. And humor of course is a GoodThing (TM).

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