Etiquette

Most young people think that "etiquette" is a concept that only applies when they see a dinner table set in front of them. In truth it is any of a host of societal norms that have evolved over time in order to make interactions between individuals easier. In terms of the wiki concept, "etiquette" speaks to the agreed upon norms that allow everyone to benefit from a common knowledge pool.

Specialized Etiquette

Many of the rules of interaction for a wiki are the same as in our daily lives, including but not limited to be nice to others, don't spread lies and don't disparage anyone needlessly. Because the wiki is a written medium, it shares many of the same principals of etiquette that other written media follow. A few of these are to write in a clear way (without local slang), define acronyms before using them, and, from Sensei's Library, "A conscientious writer spends time to reduce the readers' efforts instead of avoiding writer's work."

Wiki Etiquette

Finally, We come to a level of etiquette that is specialized to the wiki. These guidelines include signing your contributions to the wiki, don't delete other people's contributions (unless you know what you are doing) and make sure that your new articles are well linked to the rest of the wiki to avoid their becoming orphaned.

A concept that I have recently become acquainted with is that of "CulturalCompetency." The basic idea is that, no matter a person's knowledge or ability, if he doesn't understand the etiquette in a given situation, his message will be lost in the delivery and he will be misunderstood. A person that takes a few minutes to familiarize himself with the conventions of a wiki community will be a much better received and respected member of said community.

Other Guidelines

• According to The Open Guide to London, the main principal that operates in a wiki is "just do it."
• Please be aware that many people that may read this wiki speak a language other than English as their primary language.
• Wikis are an informational resource, not a billboard or a free advertisement. Please do not attempt to use them as one.

-- TerranceJones - 2 Jul 2005