TSHW:FAQs
From The Scout History Wiki
Below is a list of frequently asked questions.
Contents |
[edit] What is a Wiki?
According to Wikipedia—the free encyclopedia anyone can edit
A wiki (<WICK-ee> or <WEE-kee> according to Don Perrin) is a type of website that allows the visitors themselves to easily add, remove, and otherwise edit and change some available content, sometimes without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative authoring. The term wiki also can refer to the collaborative software itself (wiki engine) that facilitates the operation of such a Web site, or to certain specific wiki sites, including the computer science site (an original wiki), WikiWikiWeb, and online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia.
[edit] How does a wiki work?
A wiki utilizes the power of society's collective knowledge. Of all the things one man may know, undoubtedly there are more he doesn't. Therefore, a reference written by one man, or a small group of men is limited in its ability to be comprehensive. By opening the project to everyone a wiki's 'comprehensive ability' is unlimited.
Again quoting Wikipedia:
Unlike with other encyclopedias, the volunteer authors of Wikipedia articles don't have to be experts or scholars, although some certainly are. They can be anyone, including you! Volunteers do not need any formal training before creating a new article or editing an existing article. Many people have created or edited articles in Wikipedia. They come from countries all around the world, from all ages and backgrounds. Anyone who contributes to this encyclopedia is called a "Wikipedian" or "Wiki." It is Wikipedia policy to add to the encyclopedia only statements that are verifiable, and not to add original research. The Wikipedia style guide encourages editors to cite sources. Sometimes Wikipedians do not follow these policies because they forget or because they are not aware of the policy. Then readers of the article cannot be sure that a statement is verifiable.
[edit] Why should I help?
Because you know things we don't. That's the short answer. The longer one is: Because we can all learn from one another. You undoubtedly know a lot about many things that would be of interest to us but that we do not have any way of learning about. Unless you share what you know with us, no-one but you might ever know it.
[edit] What is The Scout History Project?
The Scout History Project's goal is to document the history of Scouting in a way that has never been done before. Currently the project supports a bi-weekly podcast called ClothTalk as well as this wiki. We are also planning for ways of accomplishing our goal in new and different ways through future projects. For more information on The Scout History Project, see the main article below.
- Main article: The Scout History Project
[edit] What if people disagree about something?
Again quoting Wikipedia:
When a number of people are working to compile information on a given topic, disputes will inevitably arise from time to time. A useful feature of Wikipedia is the ability to tag an article or a section of an article as being the subject of a dispute about a neutral point of view. This feature is especially popular for controversial topics, topics subject to changing current events or other topics where divergent opinions are possible. To resolve the dispute, the interested editors will share their points of view on the article's talk page. They will attempt to reach consensus about how to edit so that both their perspectives are fairly represented. This allows Wikipedia to be a place not only of information but of collaboration. Many users of Wikipedia consult the page history of an article in order to assess the number of people who have contributed to the article. An article can be considered more likely to be accurate when it has been edited by many different people (since most edits are constructive changes rather than destructive ones). You may also consult the talk page of any article to see what other readers and editors have to say about it.
