Website Usage

The intent of this topic is to describe the usage guidelines for the Blue Collar Objects WIKI based website.

It is expected that all first time users of this website will read and absorb this topic before editing content found in the site.

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Flexibility with responsibility!

• What can be editted?
  • Most website topics are read only topics. However, there a few topics that are designed for collaborative writing. All users can edit those topics
• What if somebody doesn't like edits that are made?
  • All edits are accepted unless the page owner deems it inappropriate. In those instances, the edits will be removed from the site
• Can links to other web sites be made?
  • Links to other web sites are discouraged though not forbidden. Certainly, links to web sites which hold radical views, are pornographic in nature or has material that could be deemed objectionable, are strictly forbidden. Would be simplest to have no links to other web sites.
• Pages on the website are (usually) in one of three "modes"
  • DocumentMode
  • ThreadMode
  • StructuredMode
    

TWiki doesn't automatically distinguish between these modes; they are purely semantic. Past experience indicates that effective use is enhanced with some (minimal) standardization and guidelines. Specifically, for this website, lets adhere to the following:

DocumentMode Topic standard & format:

• A page in DocumentMode usually comprises of information which is written in the third person.
• The piece of text is intended to communicate a fact or statement, not contain a discussion.
• It should only be changed by the topic owner unless stated otherwise in the topic overview.

ThreadMode Topic standard & format:

• Thread mode is a form of discussion where the community holds a conversation
• The discussion usually starts out with a statement, at the top of the page, that is subsequently discussed
• The page may be periodically "refactored" (edited) to remove some of the comments
  • As long as the comment is accurately reflected in what replaces it, noone usually minds.
  • Remember to always maintain a complete list of contributors.
• ThreadMode is rather like an e-mail thread
  • New comments are usually added to the top
• ThreadMode pages often get refactored into DocumentMode

StructuredMode Topic standard & format:

• A page in StructuredMode follows some predefined structure
• Pages in StructuredMode will usually have rules governing how they are edited.

Website Topic Guidelines:

• Every topic has a page owner (person) who is responsible for the content of the page.
• The topic name should be the first line in any topic (so that the file will be be easy to examine offline, eventually with some tools.) (Objective: Have a standard that makes it easier to find, search, & move topics as the amount of topics increase).
• Do not reproduce existing documents as topic pages.
• All contributors to a discussion should include their name & date (paste from the provided edit "name&date" field). (No unattributed comments.) This is for ease of reading; the log identifies all changes by userid but it is harder to examine.
• Use for business purposes only. Any user ( employee, participating customer, team mate) is welcome to add a comment or topic.
• Objectionable material: this web site is for business purposes only. Hopefully, no objectionable material will work its way into this site, but if it does: take advantage of the flexiblility of the Wiki, be self-policing, & immediately delete the objectional material. Also, notify the topic owner or author so that it can be avoided in future, or, if you prefer, notify the project manager who will follow up on the situation.
• Do not Rename/Move topics owned by other individuals or base topics (like Sandbox or Main WebHome or TWiki Web Home).
• Use text, can be with HTML but with no scripts, xml, or special tags.
• Avoid duplication, refer to (link to) other topics instead of duplicating info. Also, do not have duplicate topics for the same subject.
• Find the right topic for your comment. Do not put your comments in an out of place subject and assume the community will figure it out.
• Don't include copyrighted material or restricted property of others anywhere in this Wiki.

Page Ownership Guidelines

see WebSitePageOwnerRules

For help with the wiki in general

See TWiki for all of the gory details. Keep in mind that some information in the manual does not apply to us.