Site Guidelines

Tips on wiki management and use from the Software Sustainability Institute:

• Assign an editor within the project who "owns" the wiki, manages its structure and regularly reviews/ polices the wiki (for conformance to the tips that follow).
• At the outset, draw up an outline of the key areas of the wiki (e.g. Project Management, Dissemination, Design, Development etc.) and what they will contain, and put this on the wiki.
• Don't accidentally create WikiWords (e.g. "GitHub"). Ensure that you mark these up so they aren't treated as WikiWords unless you explicitly want them to.
• Don't create a WikiWord links for child pages without also creating the child page there and then.
• Don't have empty pages or sections with "To be added" or, even worse "Under construction" as these are never finished! Don't create a page or a section unless you have content for it. It is a waste of others' time if they have to navigate through a desert of empty pages looking for information that has not been added.
• Ensure that references to software, tools, languages, operating systems include version numbers e.g. don't just say "Linux" or "Python" specify what version of Linux or Python. This information can save others' both time and frustrations.
• Make sure it is easy to tell the difference between: ideas and possible designs, designs that have been implemented, and designs that will not be implemented.
• If you are unsure of where to create a new page or put some information, ask your editor.
• If you're considering adding something, first look at what you're going to remove for clarity.
• If content is no longer needed or no longer relevant, then delete it or (if the content should be preserved) highlight at the top of the page that it is 'retired'.
• Before creating a new page, check to see if something similar/ suitable already exists.

See also PBWorks Tip of the Week #1: Five Ways to Manage Your Wiki Better (http://blog.pbworks.com/2007/01/12/tip-of-the-week-1-five-ways-to-manage-your-wiki-better/)