[mythtv-users] Wiki reorganization (was re: MythArchive Guide - Burning TV Programs to DVD)

[Rod Smith]

On Tuesday 13 March 2007 20:20, Steven Adeff wrote:
> On 3/13/07, Rod Smith <mythtv at rodsbooks.com> wrote:
> >
> > Sorry to hijack this thread, but this comment does bring up an important
> > point: The wiki really is confusingly organized. There's lots of overlap
> > between different high-level categories and between individual entries,
> > making it hard to find things sometimes. This is understandable given the
> > organic way in which a wiki grows, but IMHO, it may be time to "trim the
> > tree," as it were, and do some high-level editorial maintenance on the
> > wiki.
>
> I agree, both that some sort of organizing needs to take place and
> that it would be a relatively big undertaking.
> What do you propose?  perhaps working it out before going through with
> it will help minimize the pain and confusion.

I think that a three-step process might work:

1) Evaluate what's there now. Perhaps there's a tool that could spider
   through the wiki, showing its overall organization. This would help
   the editors understand what's there. Whether or not there's a tool
   to help summarize the structure, the editors will have to read, or
   at least skim, most of the existing material.

2) Plan a new structure. Using knowledge gained from step #1, a new
   structure could be planned. An outline might work, or perhaps
   a flowchart. Editorial rules and guidelines could also be developed,
   both for the reorganization and (perhaps) for future entries to
   help maintain the structure.

3) Implement the changes. This is the part that would take the most
   work, I expect.

IMHO, the bulk of step #2 would be best done by one person, although of course 
feedback from others would be desirable. Step #3 would almost certainly 
require several peoples' contributions if this were to be done in any 
reasonable period of time. Ideally, the wiki could be locked down for a 
couple of days while the editors make their changes; however, if there aren't 
enough editors this might be impractical and a plan to implement the changes 
in stages might need to be developed.

FWIW, I've written quite a few books on Linux, so I've got a good idea of how 
to organize technical documents, and I'm willing to take the lead on step #2. 
OTOH, a wiki's hyperlinks offers opportunities for more complex structures 
than a printed book can support, so somebody with more wiki or Web page 
design experience than I've got might be a good choice to take the lead on 
step #2.

-- 
Rod Smith
http://www.rodsbooks.com