Wiki organization

DMS General
#1

Hey guys - I wanted to suggest some basic organization on the wiki. The key thing is a short list of categories, and tagging pages appropriately. I know on Wikipedia, there are people that just ensure things are tagged appropriately. Maybe we could add that task or categorization to the Help Us page. If we do this, the whole wiki becomes a lot more organized with no additional effort.

I think we should have categories like this:

  1. Getting started (with links to various pages with some guidance on when/what to read)
  2. Groups (category)
  3. Projects (category)
  4. Class curriculum (category - a place for people to share their curriculum so we don’t all have to reinvent the wheel)
  5. Event planning (category)
  6. Major initiatives (category)
  7. Systems and infrastructure (category)

I think each page can be part of multiple categories, so an example page may Look like this:

= Dallas MakerFaire 2017 =

{{Category:Event_Planning}}
{{Category:Major_Initiatives}}

We’re going to do some awesome stuff, and are trying to organize some cool stuff like a crazy herd of cats!

== Projects ==

  • [[MakerFaire_autonomous_goat]]

Or:

= MakerFaire autonomous goat =

{{Category:Projects}}
{{Category:Electronics_Group}}

We’re building something that eats grass - automagically!

2 Likes
#2

Sorry, should’ve mentioned that I will do the work - just didn’t want to confuse anyone. I’m also going to make sure I address concerns from the previous Wiki Structure is Lacking.

3 Likes
#3

as far as I know, have at it. (Don’t mistake that for my having any authority, but cleaning up the wiki is yearning for “do-ocracy”, as long as it doesn’t meddle with the Rules or Bylaws pages)
And yes, each page can be a member of any number of categories (no limit that I know).
Most of the “meetings” pages are a member of at least 2 categories: “Meetings” and “201* Meetings”, so that certainly can be done, if it’s appropriate.
Like anything with a wiki, it can always be reverted if it’s just not working…

1 Like
#4

Cool. I wonder how many pages are outdated just because notifications don’t appear on the talk page (where I imagine most people spend their time, rather than the wiki)

#5

At the very least, those which have been tagged as {{outdated}} .
:smiley:

Also, to the point of multiple categories, there’s a special page for viewing that:
https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Special:MostCategories

#6

Who can edit the homepage? I think all the info on the left could be replaced with “For general information, see dallasmakerspace.org”. Then we could have more room for navigation items.

#7

Andrew LeCody ( @AndrewLeCody) I’m reasonably sure can. I don’t know about the process for that to happen, though. I think that might be a help desk ticket type item, if Andrew doesn’t chime in here. That way, it should get routed to anyone with admin access to the wiki (which I assume one needs to edit that page). Also, could be one of those “let’s discuss this” type things…

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#8

I can make edits to the homepage. If you want to work on a new one, I think you can copy the code for the page and edit that, then let me know and I’ll push those changes to the homepage. Or just PM me some suggested links/text and I’ll edit it directly.

I like the simplified top-level categories you mentioned, but we’ll also need one for meetings, since we use the wiki to record all our of official business stuff.

2 Likes
#9

Ah, good idea! I’ll do that.

I’ll be sure to incorporate the existing navigation items at top, right of current homepage. Thanks guys!

3 Likes
#10

The new page I’m working on: https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Main_Page_Revised.

4 Likes
#11

Awesome, let me know when you think it’s ready to go live and I’ll copy the content over.

1 Like
#12

@johntron ~ I think this is a great project and it’s looking pretty good!

A couple of suggestions:

  • Please do not include Inactive or Proposed Committees under the “Committees / Groups” section. It makes it appear that they are active; and, does not accurately present what we actually currently do.
  • Along the same lines, please use the current “names” of the committees / groups - not what they ‘used to be called’ (Example: “Craft Room Committee” is now known as: “Creative Arts Committee”).

I would have made the change myself (“do-ocracy”); however, I wanted to take a moment to explain why - instead of just blindly changing things on page - especially since you are actively working on it.

Thanks again for taking this on!
Lisa
:slight_smile:

#13

Thanks for the instruction @LisaSelk - where do I find such a list? I copied those from one of the Meetings pages.

1 Like
#14

Oh, nevermind. I just used a very old Meeting I guess.

1 Like
#15

From the Committees page ( https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Category:Committees ) there are subcategories, one of which lists our currently active committees ( https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Category:Active_Committees )

There is also the Interest Group page: https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Category:Interest_Groups - I see that the Photography Committee needs to be renamed to reflect that it’s now an Interest Group. I’ll change that - unless you beat me to it… :wink:

#16

@AndrewLeCody

̶d̶a̶n̶g̶i̶t̶ ̶g̶r̶u̶m̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶g̶r̶r̶r̶r̶r̶r̶.̶.̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶r̶e̶s̶h̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶p̶e̶r̶l̶y̶ ̶a̶f̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶I̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶d̶i̶r̶e̶c̶t̶;̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶,̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶e̶d̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶b̶l̶a̶n̶k̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶L̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶r̶y̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶r̶t̶ ̶-̶ ̶I̶ ̶e̶n̶d̶e̶d̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶c̶r̶e̶a̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶ ̶n̶e̶w̶ ̶p̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶d̶d̶i̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶d̶i̶r̶e̶c̶t̶ ̶p̶a̶g̶e̶.̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶I̶’̶l̶l̶ ̶t̶a̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶n̶e̶w̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶l̶e̶t̶e̶d̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶B̶U̶T̶,̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶w̶o̶n̶d̶e̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶l̶e̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶"̶o̶o̶o̶p̶s̶"̶,̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶p̶l̶e̶a̶s̶e̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶u̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶n̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶r̶i̶g̶i̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶p̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶U̶R̶L̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶u̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶"̶I̶n̶t̶e̶r̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶G̶r̶o̶u̶p̶"̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶"̶C̶o̶m̶m̶i̶t̶t̶e̶e̶"̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶(̶P̶l̶e̶a̶s̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶T̶h̶a̶n̶k̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶!̶!̶!̶)̶
̶
̶T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶’̶e̶x̶t̶r̶a̶’̶ ̶p̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶l̶e̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶(̶I̶’̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶l̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ ̶a̶d̶d̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶e̶m̶p̶l̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶a̶g̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶d̶e̶l̶e̶t̶i̶o̶n̶)̶:̶ ̶h̶t̶t̶p̶s̶:̶/̶/̶d̶a̶l̶l̶a̶s̶m̶a̶k̶e̶r̶s̶p̶a̶c̶e̶.̶o̶r̶g̶/̶w̶i̶k̶i̶/̶P̶h̶o̶t̶o̶g̶r̶a̶p̶h̶y̶_̶I̶n̶t̶e̶r̶e̶s̶t̶_̶G̶r̶o̶u̶p̶
̶
̶T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶/̶ ̶o̶r̶i̶g̶i̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶p̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶r̶y̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶’̶r̶e̶d̶i̶r̶e̶c̶t̶’̶;̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶,̶ ̶h̶o̶n̶e̶s̶t̶l̶y̶,̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶d̶ ̶"̶P̶h̶o̶t̶o̶g̶r̶a̶p̶h̶y̶ ̶I̶n̶t̶e̶r̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶G̶r̶o̶u̶p̶"̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶U̶R̶L̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶l̶e̶c̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶a̶m̶e̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶m̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶w̶e̶s̶o̶m̶e̶!̶
̶h̶t̶t̶p̶s̶:̶/̶/̶d̶a̶l̶l̶a̶s̶m̶a̶k̶e̶r̶s̶p̶a̶c̶e̶.̶o̶r̶g̶/̶w̶i̶k̶i̶/̶P̶h̶o̶t̶o̶g̶r̶a̶p̶h̶y̶_̶C̶o̶m̶m̶i̶t̶t̶e̶e̶
̶(̶.̶.̶.̶a̶n̶d̶,̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶r̶s̶e̶ ̶-̶ ̶s̶i̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶’̶s̶ ̶r̶e̶d̶i̶r̶e̶c̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶-̶ ̶i̶t̶’̶s̶ ̶g̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶’̶s̶ ̶m̶a̶r̶k̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶l̶e̶t̶e̶d̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶b̶l̶e̶e̶p̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶b̶l̶e̶e̶p̶ ̶b̶l̶e̶e̶p̶ ̶b̶l̶e̶e̶p̶.̶ ̶g̶r̶u̶m̶b̶l̶e̶.̶ ̶S̶o̶r̶r̶y̶.̶ ̶:̶c̶r̶y̶:̶ ̶)̶ ̶

I’ve reverted both the pages…
Please delete the “extra” one that is tagged to be deleted, and then please rename the current one so the URL and the page name will both reflect it as our “Photography Interest Group” (instead of still being titled a committee).

Oh 'n while it’s on my mind… Would you mind please changing the logo to a red logo. Thanks Bunches! :slight_smile:

#17

Under important contacts, I suggest adding a link to the ticket system for reporting problems.

http://dallas.ms/helpdesk

3 Likes
#18

I am probably being a pedantic ass again, but I am going to call attention to a convention which might prove useful but is often ignored. By convention wiki page content is discussed on the “Discussion” page which accompanies every content page. It is easily accessible via the “Discussion” tab, just to the right of the “Page” tab. This convention helps keep the conversation pertinent, especially for historical value, so the next editor can better understand why it is the way it is.
As a corollary, when editing a wiki page, it is good form to check the “Discussion” tab for agreed-upon content.
Not that I have any issue with you doing what you’re doing, and I understand why, but now all this historical discussion is lost from the wiki’s record and the next editor will have to come here and search for this thread to see what was going on…

2 Likes
#19

:thumbsup:

Just before I called it a night, I sent @johntron a PM about that… Much more wordy in my own special way too sleepy way ~ LOL.

Subject: Note to self… don’t try
i shall not try to wiki edit while sleepy… /blush

anyway… one more minor thing - that i was considering just doing; but, meh - you are doing a good job, so might as well let ya handle it while you are on a roll! hehe… :wink:

on the bottom where you have the Important Contacts information, could you please add a link to the Help Desk ticket system ( https://dallasmakerspace.org/helpdesk ) - and try to word it in a way to make it as clear as mud that “Billing and Account” issues (credit card issues, fob not activated, etc…) are opened via either accounts@dms… or via the whmcs billing system directly ( https://accounts.dallasmakerspace.org/accounts/clientarea.php ) … and that the Help Desk (iTop) ticket system is for opening a ticket for any other types of “requests” (access to various resources), “problems” (the soap dispenser is empty), etc…

Thank you so much for doing all this!!! :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

I like the cutesy way he is wording the section, but yeah - it definitely would be helpful to have the iTop / Help Desk ticket system link included… :slight_smile:

I suspect that he had already called it a night well before I sent that though… :wink:

#20

I would imagine that @AndrewLeCody will copy the information (code) from the page that @johntron is using to set up the new design, and paste it into the actual edit section of the actual home page (replacing the current code on the page; while not actually losing the history of edits, etc…).

As for using the “discussion” tab… I’ve often wondered why it doesn’t get used more on our wiki. There are a couple of pages that it is used on, but not many. Definitely a good point to bring up to remind members that it’s a useful tool! Thanks! :slight_smile:

1 Like