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[wiki] Proposal for improved TxB collaboration...by example
Although the To Do page was a created for the right reason — to help organize how TextBook contributors can work more collaboratively — I think it’s not as effective as the situation calls for. People are just not using this page, myself included. We need a method that is more inherent of MediaWiki functionality and which keeps discussion of a given issue attached to the page it reflects.
I would propose that we become more aware of the Talk pages in TextBook and make use of them. I’m going to describe these and give you a wonderful example of their use.
TALK PAGE PRIMER
Each page that is created in MediaWiki (hence TextBook) has a sister page called “Talk”, and this page is always immediately accessible in the tabs at the top of the given page you may be on. Let’s use the Main Page as an example. When you are on the Main Page, you see this at the top of the content area…
<img src=“http://textpattern.net/txpForumImages/articleview.gif” title=“Wiki article tab view.” />
The first tab, “article”, is highlighted with a yellow border and indicates that you are looking at the normal page view.
The sister “Talk” page is accessed via the “discussion” tab. (This is a rather dumb thing MediaWiki has done, using both “Talk” and “Discussion” labels to signify the same thing, but there you go.)…
<img src=“http://textpattern.net/txpForumImages/talkview.gif” title=“Wiki “discussion” tab view.” />
Note when in the discussion view the page title changes to read “Talk:Main Page” (“talk” = “discussion”).
The purpose of a Talk page (as MediaWiki had it in mind) is for wiki authors and editors to make notes to each other about what needs added, edited, changed…etc on a given page. To make a note on a Talk page, you click the “edit” tab…
<img src=“http://textpattern.net/txpForumImages/talkview-edit.gif” title=“Wiki talk “edit” tab view.” />
GOOD EXAMPLE OF USE
With the new changes to TextBook’s Main Page, it may be hard for contributing authors to know where to insert a new article. Rather than an author taking a blind stab at it themselves, it is appropriate for that author to make a note in the Main Page talk to bring the matter to an editor’s attention.
Sencer has done this and it’s a good example of Talk page use. See his notes on the Main Page Talk:Main_Page. By using the RSS feeds for the Recent Changes and New Pages locations, I was easily able to see that Sencer made a comment on the Main Page Talk page, and therefore I was quickly able to address it, as you can see I have done.
I would recommend to everyone that you do the exact same thing that Sencer has done. Let me further point out that not only is this an effective move on Sencer’s part with respect to collaboration and timeliness, but Sencer’s article is addressing an important issue that all TxP users will be interested in, Combatting Comment Spam, and therefore his approach to adding the TextBook information was an effecient win-win situation all around, for everybody.
OTHER SCENARIOS OF USE
We have been in the habit of making inline comments on a live page to bring attention to a given problem. Ideally, these comments would be made in a given page’s Talk page for the same reasons. This has the added benefit of keeping pages free of personal notes, as well as grouping comments all together where they may be more easily addressed.
Surely there are other good uses of the Talk page too. You get the idea.
THE KEY
The key to all of this, the method by which it will really work well, is for people to start making use of the RSS feeds to monitor TextBook changes. If you use the RSS feeds, and keep an eye out for changes on pages noted as Talk pages (e.g., Talk:Main_Page), then you know that there is a new comment added that needs attention for that given page. It’s quite easy, really, and a perfect example of syndication can be used effectively.
Now, before I axe the To Do page, or find another use for it (like maybe it becomes the Administrators To Do List, or something), I would like hear a few words about all of this.
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