Wiki Volunteers Wanted

Dusty · 2006-10-30 04:37:55

With Judd's permission, I'm posting for volunteers to edit the wiki. This is a position where anyone wanting to pay back the Arch community is welcome to join; wiki registration is free! Also, there may be a chance at a more formal position as a wiki maintainer if you would like to take on this task. A wiki maintainer would have access to the restricted pages, and may also have access to the backend to change the look, feel, and style of the wiki. There has also been talk of porting the wiki to another framework again. While I think this is unlikely and unwise, someone with enough gumption may want to do this as well.

But before applying to do any of this, lets attempt to clean up what we have with the privleges we have. If you are interested in a wiki maintainer position, do some of the edits suggested below to show your interest and ability. If you're interested in helping out a bit right now, but not a long term position... do some of the edits suggested below to show your support! :-)

There are several things that need to be done to make the wiki more navigable and browseable. Feel free to make suggested additions to this list by posting to this thread.

1) Reduce the number of categories. Scan the wiki for similar categories that should be combined into one to make it easier to navigate.

2) Update translations. Ensure that all translations in languages you know are in sync with each other. Also feel free to add translations of pages that don't have any.

3) Properly categorize translations. I'm not personally certain how the wiki works in this regard, but when I'm browsing the "HowTo's" category in English, its confusing to see foreign pages listed. Probably the best way to fix this is to have a main category for each language, and to have subcategories in each for the specific pages.

4) Reduce and combine duplicate pages. There are old revisions of pages, pages with similar contents by different authors, and so on. These should be combined into single pages for each language.

5) Create an Arch Guide in the wiki. This can be a combination of some of the existing pages (install guide, post install guide), as well as links into some of the others.

6) Rewrite the main page to make wiki navigation more obvious. TBH, I'm not even sure how the wiki should be navigated; categories, howtos, search, maybe something else. Also link to some of the most important pages from the main page.

7) Update the FAQ with relevant questions from the forum, and remove old questions. This should be an ongoing process; if someone volunteered to maintain it, that would be awesome.

8) Fix and update page styles. The wiki looks kind of unpadded. This will, of course, require additional privleges. If you find a solution, post to the bugtracker.

9) Make sure all the pages have a similar style and layout -- similar use of headings, emphasis, code, and so on.

10) Correct spelling, Grammar, and language use.

11) Remove extraneous links and content. Make the text concise, tight, and readable. Remove personal reference; a lot of pages are written by authors in the first person "I like to..." "My machine...". Try to make it more professional sounding.

12) Suggest other changes as you're browsing the wiki and come across them. Especially post those changes that you think need doing but you won't get to yourself.

In the long run, I want wiki documentation to be so professional and easy to navigate that people will no longer be calling for extra install docs, documentors, or "ubuntuguide"-like documents. This is a community effort, but one of the problems with wiki maintenance is that it doesn't get much recognition. If you take on the task seriously, I think we can arrange to give you a formal position as wiki maintainer. This gives the job purpose and recognition. Its still a community effort, but some people will have responsibility that helps the wiki reflect well on this community.

Dusty

twiistedkaos · 2006-10-30 05:13:44

I'll see what I can do tomarrow . I already edit / fix pages I see things wrong with. Like, the first person comment you mentioned. I'll start putting more effort into it , thanks for the nice list of suggestions Dusty

Mr Green · 2006-10-30 07:35:45

It would be a massive task for one person to take on ....

Could we not do what we did when wiki moved let user have ten/twenty pages to sort/delete/edit

Get it cleaned up first

Would not mind helping out ....

This install guide thing are docs on main page not good enough any more?

/me looks round Forum could do with a clean up too

my2c

iphitus · 2006-10-30 07:56:34

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arc … or_newbies

another suggestion: find any new acronyms or terms to add to that jargon file. some of the ones in it now are out of date too, so it needs a tidy up and to be linked in to the main page somewhere.

James

benplaut · 2006-10-30 09:01:51

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Last edited by benplaut (2021-06-25 12:36:01)

Romashka · 2006-10-30 10:31:32

Dusty wrote:

4) Reduce and combine duplicate pages. There are old revisions of pages, pages with similar contents by different authors, and so on. These should be combined into single pages for each language.

This should be done carefully to not delete some useful info during duplicate removal/merging. For example, IIRC there are 4 or 5 ways to make a package cache for local network. None of them should be removed during merging, because they are just alternatives (I'm a bit scare to do this by myself because my English is not so good).

Dusty wrote:

8 ) Fix and update page styles. The wiki looks kind of unpadded. This will, of course, require additional privleges. If you find a solution, post to the bugtracker.

I will provide fixes ASAP.

Dusty wrote:

9) Make sure all the pages have a similar style and layout -- similar use of headings, emphasis, code, and so on.

IMHO Arch Linux Wiki Documenting Guide is needed.

harlekin · 2006-10-30 12:00:24

Well... I really like the arch wiki because it helped me a lot of times.

But my english is too poor to write english entries. Short: I'll register today and help with some translations into german which obviously is my mother tounge.

VuLTuRe · 2006-10-30 14:41:29

Hey, my english is too poor either but is it possible to write in Turkish. I can translate the documents to Turkish if you want

murkus · 2006-10-30 14:58:25

I would say that it really doesn't matter if your English is far from perfect if the facts are right. Other people can correct the grammar and/or vocabulary later if needed. That's why wiki is editable!

tardo · 2006-10-30 15:57:51

A long shot but I'd still like to ask.

What are the chances of adopting docuwiki instead and putting it on another temp server, migrating all "useful" documents to the new wiki then killing this old wiki. I just browsed through the wiki and I think it's really in a mess.
If a new wiki was adapted it would be easier to create categories/subcategories and just drop the edited documents in their respective categories.

again... just a long shot, but I wanted to ask.

Dusty · 2006-10-30 16:38:06

tardo wrote:

What are the chances of adopting docuwiki instead and putting it on another temp server, migrating all "useful" documents to the new wiki then killing this old wiki.

I personally don't think there's anything wrong with mediawiki as a medium; its the content that is disorganized. Now, I know from the past that part of the reason the content is disorganized is that last time we did a wiki migration (from phpwiki), a lot of stuff just never really got organized afterwards. Since migration is a HUGE job, especially migrating documents in foreign languages, it takes a lot more than one person to do it. This makes it hard to keep organized.

Having said that, if you think its worthwhile, it would not hurt to explain exactly why docuwiki would serve our purposes better than mediawiki, and to set up a temp server showing how it works.

As for being careful deleting pages, I'm advocating that people be careful with all changes they do. ;-) Coordinate, no sense in two people doing the same thing. Also bear in mind that all changes are stored, they can be reverted if you make a mistake (not certain if this applies to deleting pages though.) For now, maybe it would be wise to make a wiki page listing candidates for deletion.

Thanks for setting up the wikitodo. As you edit, post new suggestions, and specific page suggestions to the todo. Also, of course, check off those things you completed, and its probably a good idea to "adopt" tasks that you are working on to reduce conflict or duplicate effort.

Happy editing!

Dusty

tardo · 2006-10-30 16:45:17

Hmm, while the only reason I can think of wanting to use docuwiki is because... well it's simple. I think I'll install docuwiki on my server, drop some edited documents on to it and show it to you as an example... if it turns to be more feasible.

That being said, give me a week or so :x

cactus · 2006-10-30 17:37:49

Let's move the talk about alternative wikis to HERE, so we can keep this topic focused on cleanup.

Thanks.

toofishes · 2006-10-30 22:36:48

I have a draft version of the install guide ported to the wiki here: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Use … tall_Guide. I think everyone should be able to touch it up. I am trying to keep the flow similar to the original Install Guide, but thought being here we can go back through and add some helpful wiki links to other articles that are nice to refer to during installation.

toofishes · 2006-10-30 23:54:12

When editing the install guide I mentioned above, I noticed that decision lists don't seem to be formatted in any specific way. Perhaps someone that knows more about MediaWiki and its formatting can look into this 'bug'?

; Definition list : list of definitions
; item : the item's definition

It is just formatted like this:
Word
blah blah blah
Word 2
blah blah blah

Here is a good example: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Use … py_Install

byte · 2006-10-31 01:37:23

Is there any consent on the naming of localized articles? I've seen everything from pure Chinese characters to "English Article (czech)" or "les Article du (francais)" and similar. Pretty chaotic.

foxbunny · 2006-10-31 20:08:48

May I suggest that we make some sort of templates for typical wiki pages.

For example, if you are going to write about administrative task, then you pick up system administration template, copy the underlying code (text) to your new page and then insert appropriate text. This template should be fairly comprehensive, offering guidance and examples. I'm sure most people are completely unaware of the full potential graphic queing has (how to effectively use lists and bullets, etc).

I would also suggest we decide on number of these templates and identify different types of wiki pages (e.g, dictionaries, guides, background info, guestbook, etc, to name just a few).

I would be glad to participate in identification of template types, as well as in formatting individual templates.

Also, I'm currently translating pages to Serbian, but I think the wiki needs some bits translated to Serbian as well (like, link names, button labels, etc...). I have called for more volunteers from Serbia to help out.

EDIT:

If I may also point you to a comment I posted on a Talk page:

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Tal … i_Tutorial

Dusty · 2006-10-31 21:07:05

foxbunny wrote:

May I suggest that we make some sort of templates for typical wiki pages.

Its a good idea, feel free to add it to the todo page, and also add a "templates" category with a few example template pages. At this point, the templates should be edited by the community before they are considered "complete". Later, they can be used both for new pages, and also to revise existing pages to make them more consistent with the templates.

Dusty

foxbunny · 2006-10-31 23:15:50

I will do so as soon as I get to reviewing at least some of the wiki pages.

erosa · 2006-11-01 01:53:14

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the Wiki needs to be re-organized. I would like to mention some ideas/comments if you don't mind.

I also agree with me aforementioned templates. Having templates would help maintain consistancy among the Wiki.

In regards to the caterogies, I noticed several categories have already been discussed. Before creating or modifying categories, I recommend the use of a guideline for category naming and nesting. I know this can be a difficult task, since a topic may fall within several categories. But a consice category tree will help users find content quickly and Wiki contributors find a home for their content. I believe category nesting should be given some thought. For example, limit the number of sub-categories to... 5.

About the Arch Guide, why not have a category for it and break the guide into smaller articles? I think the guide will be easier to maintain if it's segmented.

Just some thoughts.

cheer · 2006-11-01 05:11:49

What to do with translatiosn categories? Maybe there is a sense making en.wiki.archlinux.org, etc?
And naming categories. It should be, for example, "boot process (language)" or translation to other language?

gradgrind · 2006-11-01 07:51:14

I like the idea of separating out the various translations, it reduces clutter.

foxbunny · 2006-11-01 10:43:35

I've just been to the Wiki, and I can't find an obvious way of creating new categories. How do I create new categories?

Of course, I do not intend to create new categories right away. Not before we reach some consensus as to what categories we need and what categories we don't need.

For starters, I'd like to create a new "Page Templates" category under "Help" and also create a Serbian language versions category called "Српски" in the 'root' of the Wiki.

I would also like to suggest that all translators create a translation guideline for their target languages. This would help keep the terminology consistent.

EDIT:

One more note. For Serbian translations, I've adopted the practice of translating entire titles. I add "(српски)" only if the title is untranslatable (like GNOME, KDE, etc).

cheer · 2006-11-01 11:03:38

To create directory simply add its name. As I can understand categories without any articles sutomatically delete.

foxbunny · 2006-11-01 11:51:42

Okay, I've got it. Maybe it would ba a bit more ellegant if we had some GUI command center or something for administrative tasks like creating new pages and categories... but I can live with how it works at the moment.

Here's what I've done so far:

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pag … ates_Guide

I would like you all to discuss this page and determin if it has merit before I continue to write templates.

Here, I've posted some notes in the:

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Tal … ates_Guide

EDIT:

Please note that a Sample Template was created. It's at:

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Sample_Template

Arch Linux

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Wiki Volunteers Wanted

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