StyleGuide

Because wiki pages are editable by everyone, some basic style conventions are useful. This page is an evolving list. Additions are welcome at the bottom of the page.

Tips

• Use a clear but informal voice. Expect others to elaborate or complete your writing. (This is easiest if you write in third person.)

• Notes and comments need not be in chronological order on the page. Add them where they seem to fit best, possibly set apart or as separate page with a link inserted in the original text.

• First person accounts are suitable when reporting experience not easily reduced to facts or advice, e.g. anecdotal, personal opinion or added comments. Sign these. They can often form dialogue threads.

• Structure pages using TextFormattingRules
  • heads (==)
  • sub-heads (===)
  • lists
    • sublists
  • indents (:)

• Sign pages and entries you make on evolving pages with your WikiName?: I think wikiwiki servers are interesting. -- WikiName?
  • This signature points to a page where we would expect a presentation of who "WikiName?" is.

• One useful wiki-convention when commenting is to create a WikiWord in someone's text to create an ''open link" ("?"-suffixed) when you feel some further clarification or explanation is needed.
  • You can also do this in your own text to invite comment or elaboration from others. A later reader will then (hopefully) be prompted to provide this content. This can be a new page, or by editing and adding to the original text (possibly removing the open link).

• Horizontal lines (also called rules) can be used to set apart different voices, subtopics or context breaks, but use horizontal lines meaningfully, consistently, and sparingly.

• Page Summaries It really really helps co-writers to post a page summary at the top of the page, laying out what the page will cover or do. Change the summary as the page evolves. You might also use this summary area to list what needs to be done on the page.
  • Start the summary lines with a : to indent them. Separate the summary from the main page using a horizontal line (four dashes at the beginning of the line.)

Page Evolution

• A page can be re-edited or broken up into several pages if the threads seem to become to convoluted and need clarification
• You might summarize the main points of a page to provide a fresh start.
• Edit pages to emphasize the flow of ideas, not the chronology of contribution. Complete rewrites that condense the essentials of many different contributions are one of the charcteristics of wiki life.

Additions

• Don't write things designed to make others mad. Practice civility and understatement.
• All the conventions of citation and quotation apply on a wiki. When you borrow or quote, cite and - if the source is online - link to the source.
• At the same time, expect to have your words folded into revisions as the page moves towards DocumentMode?.