Wiki Wiki Email List

There are two kinds of information that go into Wiki: content and conversation. Some conversation is necessary in order to effectively collaborate on the content. Some conversation is inspired by the content but doesn't end up adding a whole lot to it. Some conversation even turns out to be content. That is, it contains information that is useful beyond the confines of the conversation itself. Much effort has been spent trying to figure out how to separate conversational noise from useful content on Wiki. If we delete all the conversations we'll end up removing useful information and context. If we leave it we'll have so much useless drivel lying around that we'll hardly be able to extract the information that we really want when we come back to read.

Therefore:

Create an email list just for Wiki-centric conversation. People who want a way to chat about what they've seen on Wiki will have a place to do it without creating garbage that will have to be cleaned up later. Conversely, people who come up with enlightening insights via email will have a place to preserve them for later use.

But:

The barrier to entry goes up a notch. Also, this adds an air of a "backroom" to Wiki, which is public space. Of course, the cleaning crew, unsung heroes that they are, is meant to be in the background anyway.

Also, this makes people even more personally involved in the PortlandPatternRepository than they probably ought to be. Identities are incidental. E-mail is all about identity.

If we create such a list I'd like to ensure that it serves Wiki rather than the other way around. I would definitely prefer that the list be publicized only through Wiki. There are a couple of alternatives of course: we could have a newsgroup as Fridemar suggested or one of those web based chat rooms like I understand slash-dot has. I think that the former is too public and that the latter is too ephemeral. We also have the option, of course, of doing nothing at all.

I happen to like the ThereforeBut form, although I don't think that it's mandatory for every idea. I don't see why the barrier to entry goes up. Is it because you have to have email as well as web access? I'm not suggesting that only a few WikiDenizen?s be allowed to participate, only that people who don't know about Wiki not be introduced to it through its email list. Let 'em come in through the front door. -- PhilGoodwin