[wiki-standards] Comments on Dirk's "simplest process..."

[Filippo A. Salustri]

Ward,

I certainly didn't mean to give that impression.

It is my impression (which may be wrong) that the group that will lead 
the charge on 'standards' will likely be those like me, with a bit of 
computer savvy.  It would be perfectly natural for such a group to tend 
to include 'features' that wouldn't necessarily appeal to those without 
such training or experience.

All I'm suggesting is that by maintaining a certain breadth of appeal of 
the standards themselves, one increases the odds of attracting more 
input, opinion, and idea of how wikis can be 'standardised' without 
limiting their flexibility for growth.

Indeed, the most important feature of wikis, I think, is their 
flexibility, and the opportunities that that flexibility gives to 
authors to create new forms of content.

Cheers.
Fil

Ward Cunningham wrote:
> 
> On Dec 28, 2005, at 8:25 AM, Filippo A. Salustri wrote:
> 
>>
>> I also think it would be important to proactively seek out the  
>> opinions, wishes, and needs of wiki users who are not programmers  or 
>> involved with the administration and upkeep of their wikis.
>>
>> I would also suggest that specs should include a "lay person's"  
>> summary that can be shown to the user community to get their  feedback 
>> as well.
> 
> 
> Filippo -- I encourage you do to this on our behalf. But, please  don't 
> suggest a process that squashes the creativity of the wiki  community 
> under a pile of righteous "oughts". Wiki has flourished at  the hands of 
> users who could figure out how to exploit capabilities  that they never 
> dreamed they could have. We recognize them by the  quality of the pages 
> they write. Best regards. -- Ward
> 
> 
> 

-- 
Prof. Filippo A. Salustri, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Ryerson University                         Tel: 416/979-5000 x7749
350 Victoria St.                           Fax: 416/979-5265
Toronto, ON                                email: salustri at ryerson.ca
M5B 2K3  Canada                            http://deseng.ryerson.ca/~fil/