Re: Wiki qualms

Peter F. Patel-Schneider wrote:

> My concerns with doing so much in the Wiki setting is that we are in danger of
> "jumping on [our] horse and riding off in all directions".  I think that the
> Wiki might (now) be good for collecting use cases, particularly with the
> post-facto requirements on the use cases.  However, I am less sanguine
> concerning the use of a Wiki for even enumerating compatability methods,
> particularly with the very small amount of initial control on the compatability
> part of the Wiki.

FWIW, I'm with Bijan and Peter on this.
Using the Wiki to "publish" (working, editor's) drafts is great.
Using the Wiki to collect "expert contributions" is fine, as long as they are 
clearly labelled "contributions" (and from whom).
Using the Wiki to markup or edit the contributions of others is not usually a 
good idea.  Sometimes assembling comments from several experts in the margin 
of a document or contribution is the right way, WHEN the editor recommends 
that.  More often, a separate document (or fragment) that is extensively 
marked up is a good "related contribution".
Using the Wiki to discuss drafts and contributions is not very workable; email 
and telecon work much better for that.

In all cases, we will need to decide, during telecons:
- what is an "issue"
- whether an issue that is discussed in the emails and the telecons is 
"resolved" or still "open".
The issues editor needs to capture the "issues" and their states and that 
document, of course, also needs to be accessible via the Wiki.

I think this is pretty much what ChrisW has in mind, and I don't think we have 
yet done anything to take us "in all directions".  But we all have to 
recognize that a bag of contributions is just that, and their relationship to 
draft documents is undefined until the editor proposes, and/or the group 
instructs, the inclusion of (specific parts of) one of them.

-Ed

-- 
Edward J. Barkmeyer                        Email: edbark@nist.gov
National Institute of Standards & Technology
Manufacturing Systems Integration Division
100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8263                Tel: +1 301-975-3528
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8263                FAX: +1 301-975-4482

"The opinions expressed above do not reflect consensus of NIST,
  and have not been reviewed by any Government authority."

Received on Tuesday, 20 December 2005 20:41:50 UTC