I think the whole idea of wiki-as-discussion board is getting way too much attention. If that's will be the only purpose of a tech writing wiki, then everyone's assessment is valid - it will add nothing to the community as a whole, except to be just another place to discuss technical writing. And that's the last thing I want.
The only pro to having a wiki is to use it *AS A REPOSITORY FOR KNOWLEDGE*. Techwr-l, HATT, and other groups have an accumulated wisdom hidden in their archives that is extremely difficult to find, and all of that accumulated wisdom can be centralized in one place. Also, there are also a large number of "tips and tricks" websites for our various tools, grammar sites, etc, and the wiki could act as a hub to connect all these sites. The Rays attempted to create that hub at their website, but it just never coalesced. I'm not sure that a wiki would work any better, but it certainly would be worth the attempt. JWH -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: "Jones, Donna" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > - People could be referred to a wiki for FAQs regarding tech writing, > where the topics could be kept updated easily by anyone who is a part of > the forum. This would replace newbies getting blasted for not searching > archives for topics that were nearly impossible to find. On the rare > occasions that I tried to search the archives on the other list, I > rarely found what I was looking for, even when I knew exactly what the > subject line was. > > - If a topic on the list goes wildly out of control on a tangent as they > frequently did on techwr-l, people can be referred to a wiki to continue > the discussion. There, people can get their thoughts out without > cluttering the list with a lot of off-topic banter. At that point, the > wiki would function as a blog where people could chatter to their > hearts' content. > > Anything else that you can think of that would make a wiki something > that supplements the list rather than replacing it? _______________________________________________ Are you a Help Authoring Trainer or Consultant? Let clients find you at www.HAT.Matrix.com, the searchable HAT database based on Char James-Tanny's HAT Comparison Matrix. Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] for details. Interested in Interactive 3D Documentation? Get the scoop at http://www.doc-u-motion.com -- your 3D documentation community. _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals To post a message to the list, send an email to [email protected] To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com or, via email, send a blank message [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit the TCP site at http://www.techcommpros.com To find out more about the list, including archives and your account options, visit http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com If you need assistance with the list, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
