tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post2983600221356553091..comments2024-03-21T19:08:05.737-07:00Comments on Genealogy's Star: Why does a wiki work?James Tannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-778303391450645822011-03-15T08:58:43.395-07:002011-03-15T08:58:43.395-07:00Hi James,
Wikis don't have to be encyclopedia...Hi James,<br /><br />Wikis don't have to be encyclopedias.<br /><br />Most of them are these days because they're standing on the shoulders of the highly-successful Wikipedia. Jimmy Wales and the group at Wikipedia took the wiki model to new heights and most people would never have heard the term "wiki" if it wasn't for them.<br /><br />The inventor of wikis, Ward Cunningham, didn't envision a wiki encyclopedia. The software was just designed as a quick and easy way for multiple people to edit the same web page.<br /><br />The only two essential aspects of a wiki: 1.) pages are editable through a web browser, and 2.) changes to pages are tracked so you can see who edited what and when. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki_software for a better description.<br /><br />The FamilySearch Research Wiki and WeRelate are basically wiki encyclopedias on genealogical topics. Our site, WikiTree, is a wiki family tree. Changes to ancestor profiles and their relationships can be edited by anyone who's trusted, and their changes are tracked so you can see who did what and change things back if you disagree.<br /><br />Chris Whitten<br />Webmaster of WikiTree<br />http://www.WikiTree.comChris Whittenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06681015715409399643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-65166892148116992082011-03-09T20:48:58.586-07:002011-03-09T20:48:58.586-07:00I would be glad to contribute to the research wiki...I would be glad to contribute to the research wiki if:<br /><br />--the site were not the slowest-loading of any website I visit. 3 to 8 minutes for a page is very discouraging.<br /><br />--there were a text explanation of how to add to and edit sections plus how to add sub-category (such as "Dunmore's War"). Videos are not searchable, so if one were to forget how to do something the how-to video is not a handy guide. Given how slow the site overall is, I fear to start the video lest it freeze up my computer completely. This is one example of how more-tech is not better-functionality.Geoloverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12050268303916428230noreply@blogger.com