discuss: Linuxquestions.org wiki
Subject:
Re: Linuxquestions.org wiki
From:
Stein Gjoen ####@####.####
Date:
13 Sep 2004 20:44:05 -0000
Message-Id: <41460787.4080309@mail.nyx.net>
David Lawyer wrote:
> On Fri, Sep 03, 2004 at 06:50:53PM +0000, ####@####.#### wrote:
>
>>Hi, I'm a moderator for the linuxquestions.org Wiki
>>(wiki.linuxquestions.org), a collaboratively-edited repository for all
>>things Linux. Our work is licensed under the Creative Commons
>>(attribution and share-alike variant) license. We'd like to
>>incorporate documents from the LDP, but most of the documents, as
>>licensed, can't be released under the Creative Commons without the
>>copyright holder's consent. I'm writing this email in attempt to get
>>that consent. I'm aware that the LDP is not the copyright holder of
>>the documents it hosts, but I thought that this mailing list would be
>>a good place to start.
>
> What you are doing, if it succeeds, is to make a fork in the LDP. Then
> there would be one version of a doc at the LDP and another on the wiki.
> This is just plain wrong. Someone looking up info at LDP should be able
> to also view the wiki doc from LDP. But even this has serious problems.
> If one goes to an LDP site and finds 2 different docs with the same
> title (one a wiki) which one do they look at? Thus there should only
> be one document.
While I do see the point on making a fork I feel there is a
solution to this that both parts can find agreeable. Wikis
tend to edit the current document and replace the old, though
diffs with past versions are possible. Some years ago I was
part of a standardising process that used a Wiki-like system
like this:
- the document was split into sections
- each section had two columns
- left column with the latest official version
- right column with comments and additions by anyone
- when appropriate the document was rebased by
o merging comments into main document
o clearing corresponding right column
o putting up the new baseline document in the left column
- start from top
The right column here is easily implemented using a Wiki.
Will this be more acceptable?
> So I think that a wiki system like you are doing should be a part of LDP
> and integrated into LDP. It takes about the same amount of time to edit
> a wiki as it does to propose the same changes to the document author.
> Thus in such as case there's not much need for a wiki. But there's
> another common case where the author is not adequately maintaining the
> doc, or where there is a needed doc, but no author. In such cases a
> wiki may be a good idea.
With a comments field anyone, including the author, can use it as
a memo field, comments or blocks of new text. Everyone can then
easily differentiate between original text and unofficial amendments.
> As to format, I think that LinuxDoc is about as easy to learn as the
> wiki markup. Can the wiki markup be converted into all the formats
> distributed by LDP? (I'm not asking this as a rhetorical question.)
> LinuxDoc can.
Personally I find plain text sufficient.
[snip]
> So if someone changes a doc, the author needs to be sent an easy-to-read
> diff of the changes. Can you do this?
>
> So in summary, this wiki system for Linux needs to be integrated into
> LDP. The database system that David Merrill was creating for LDP was
> going to include wiki but never was finished. It was also going to
> let people edit on-line in LinuxDoc.
I agree some integration Wiki - TLDP would be useful. And while
David Merrill's idea of a TLDP tool was very interesting I think
a simpler set of smaller tools can be employed meanwhile.
> Also needed is reform in LDP by making it easy for new (and old) authors
> by not referring them to a long "Author Guide" and pointing them to the
> complex DocBook format. I'm partly to blame for this by not following
> thru on my proposals for change.
We have templates, generators and the possibility of first submission
in any format; I am not sure what issue you have in mind here, editing
Wiki in LinuxDoc?
Regards,
Stein Gjoen
