GetMeta:Policy

welcome, getwiker!

Depending on what you know about Wikis or the history of the GetWiki site, you may be frustrated on how to create new pages, or edit the ones we have here. As of August 2008, the software has been completely replaced (along with all built-in assumptions about wikis) with a whole new platform (and replaced a couple times since). There are remaining details to work out on the site, but read on for a few words about making new pages and editing on the new GetWiki.

To start new pages or upload images, click on “start_new”, to the left. Another way to create a page is to follow a green link and extend the site by importing (or creating new pages where there is nothing to import, or where the import is inappropriate). GetWiki currently imports from Pseudopedia, Wikinfo, and SourceWatch (and we could easily add others). Following such links will try to import and show you the results, which you can edit/create if you’re “networked in”.

Example: My_Page

Mainly, though, the basic policy has changed on creating new pages and editing, because the “wiki way” does not work. No matter how you access a new title to start editing, you cannot create a new page, edit a page, or upload an image until you have made a friend here. Once you have a friend, you can create pages and edit them, upload images, and edit your friend’s pages, but you cannot edit other people’s pages (as defined by who started the page). This is how the new social networking aspect of the site helps us to make friends and manage the content, a bit like how a blog works.

With or without friends, you can post in the forums, and use private messaging, of course. In fact, posting in the forums is a great way to show off your intentions, let us know about you, and make friends.

general policies

1. Academic Freedom: GetWiki is a limited range “Encyclopedia-Primer” along with original works, and is not limited by the “community” concerns of other wiki encyclopedias. GetWiki should primarily be used for discussing and developing documents on intellectual and technical topics, including peer-reviewing them when desired. Discussions on article pages can lead to better articles, arguments or software. Discussions elsewhere should be cordial, but free.
2. Choosing Articles: Look for opportunities to extend GetWiki by creating new theoretical and intellectual articles, ebooks, papers, and discussions in the Humanities, Arts, Sciences and Technology and by only importing articles in these fields which you plan to “fork”, adapt, or tightly integrate into GetWiki. Simply importing pages from another wiki, especially the disorganized Pseudopedia, isn’t useful here - we do not want to be another Wikinfo. We want unique, well-maintained subject matter no other wiki can, or is unlikely to, have, with original works presented alongside.
3. Point of View: Make sure the main subject in a given article (eg. Article) “posits” something useful and true. Articles should be written with a Positive Point of View, and differing views are welcome either in sections of the article, on the article’s counterpart “critical” page (eg. Against Article) or even in disussions in the forums.
4. Titling Articles and Headings: Title acronyms are acceptable and encouraged, as GetWiki is a “metawiki” on the Humanities and Sciences, generally intellectual and technical issues, and our limited encylopedia-primer pages can use short titles. Our readers may already be familiar with terms like “PHP” or “QED”. Pseudopedia-style disambiguation is not strictly necessary, and commonly accepted lingo from the various subjects is welcome, even in using “C” instead of “C Programming Language”. Titles should also follow “academic” or “Chicago” style and usage (ie. “Book Title in Philosophy”, or “New Theory of Logic”), while CamelCase, or a stylized usage (such as Proteus’ tendency to small caps in headings) are fine. Bad Wiki habits (ie. “Book title in philosophy”, or “New theoryof logic”, or “C programming language”) must be avoided, and pages will be moved or merged with others to reflect easier to read titles and to avoid confusing messes of repetitive articles. GetWiki does not automatically capitalize links, either, and will allow articles such as “rimric” and “ibiblio”.
5. Multiple Wikis: GetWiki imports articles via XML from Wikipedia, Wikinfo and others, but editors are encouraged to manually import available articles from any other wiki where appropriate. Generally, imports should be used as raw material for GetWiki papers, ebooks and discussions, rather than merely to increase the GetWiki database (we’re going for quality here, not just a higher article count than some other wiki). What good are thousands of out of date (and quite possibly inaccurate) imported articles?
6. Don’t Get Personal: Respect other contributors. By treating others with respect we are able to coöperate effectively in building a Wiki. Observe general Netiquette. Repeated trolling, flaming and vandalism will not be tolerated, and will result in immediate reverts and long term bans.
7. Don’t Plagiarize Work: Do not infringe anyone’s copyrights. Submitting work without the copyright holder’s permission could lead to legal liability for the project or for you. See Copyrights for more information.
8. Added Protection: GetWiki offers built-in protection for your texts, similar to Wikinfo’s “signed articles”. If you have a paper or short ebook on a relevant subject, or just a well-written article, you don’t want other people to mess with it. On GetWiki, casual editing (and indeed vandalism) is not allowed. Each article is more of a blog post than a public page.
9. Technical Lingo: Generally follow typical wiki and internet discussion forum convention, but for GetWiki, technical lingo and terms are welcome, and can even be helpful. Many contributors are familiar with how wikis work, and this is a metawiki after all.
10. Using Accounts: GetWiki requires you register an account with a unique email address and (Wiki:Login|login) to do anything. If you do not have a “friend” here, a fellow “GetWiker”, then you cannot edit any of the wiki pages, the articles. Once you have a friend, you can edit each others’ articles. If you have “editor” status, you can edit anything. If you’re blocked, you cannot edit or upload anything, and if you are blocked, that information is not made public.

kudos and peeves

• It truly doesn’t matter how they do it on Pseudopedia (or Wikinfo, Wordpress, Facebook, or...)
• Use “view” before saving multiple minor changes in a row
• Go ahead and update pages, either by section or by reimporting
• Integrate changes instead of just talking or complaining about them...really
• Keep Category and Facet titles short, to one or two words
• Follow the formatting given on a page
• Allow that your text or formatting may, and can, be edited by an “editor” or “friend”
• Beware of flames and libel, personal attacks, or trolling
• Avoid inappropriate usernames, as they may be edited or removed
• Jargon is welcome, but establish context where necesary
• Put your real thoughts into the articles, not the edit summaries
• Use clear citations of your sources, where applicable
• Avoid excessive links to non-existent, or similar, articles
• Check your links, because GetWiki does not force capitalize them
• Observe generally accepted academic/journalistic style and editing guidelines
• Build the wiki and make articles useful to experts as well as laypeople

area needs

topics and major subjects

A	B	C
Aesthetics Agriculture Analysis Anthropology Archaeology Architecture Art Astronomy Astrophysics	Behaviour Biography Biology Biotechnology Blog Buddhism	Chemistry Climate Communication Computing Critical Theory
D	E	F
Dance Design Drama Drawing Dynamism	Ecology Economics Education Electronics Engineering Epistemology Equation Ethics	Fiction Film Fine Art
G	H	I
Geography Geometry GetWiki Government	Hinduism Historiography History Human Humanities	Intellectual Internet
J	K	L
Java Jurisprudence	Knowledge	Language Law Library and Information Science Linguistics Literature Logic Logistics
M	N	O
Mathematics Metaphysics Modernity Music Mythology	Negation Novel Null	Ontology Order
P	Q	R
Painting Performing Arts Philosophy Photography Physics Physiology Politics Programming Psychology Psychotherapy	Quantum Mechanics Quark	Religion
S	T	U
Science Sculpture Set Theory Statistics Sociology Systems Theory	Technology Telology Theatre Truth Theory	UNIX Usenet
V	W	X Y Z, 1-9
Value Theory Visual Art	Wiki WikiDemocracy WikiSphere	Zoology

groups and categorizations

A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H	I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P	Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z
Ethicists	Philosophers	Scientists

getwikers and editors

We are all contributors, and thus, editors, but in context, “editor” refers to someone who can override things around the site.

• GetWikers jump into discussions and make copyedits and corrections to the content and format problems they see on their friends’ pages.
• Editors, Ombudsmen (and the Editor-in-Chief) can moderate discussions, and can step in and ban/block anyone who has vandalized or spammed, and can delete or move pages and images.
• The Founder and/or Editor-in-Chief can monitor private information and promote/demote other Editors (based on work/discussion here, not based on whatever happened outside this website).

All of us should work together in an honest, supportive way toward the goals above, but free speech is a hallmark of this wiki. a GetWiker may become an Editor or Ombudsman, perhaps even Editor-in-Chief, through consistent and fair discussions and useful contributions, and there is no posting threshold or particular benchmark for promotion. Editors may also be relieved of their Administration designations if they clearly disregard Policy, and there is no particular test for such demotion. Editors can discuss, even to challenge, any action taken by any other Administrator, and the Administrator must consider the views expressed and whether or not to reverse it.

issue resolution

All matters should be addressed to an Administrator, preferably through private messaging. Make your best efforts to explain the issue and allow time for its resolution. Policies on GetWiki have been adapted from online experiences on many internet forums, wikis, and good ole’ common sense. The policies here are also an attempt to improve bad habits found elsewhere, but mainly to avoid domineering practices (knee-jerk bans, “Thought Police” bullying, Groupthink, and other evils). The idea is to have a more welcoming and useful environment for everyone. Still, please note that free speech is to be preserved here: We don’t ban, demote, lecture or moralize GetWikers for expressing opinions, unless they become personal, vandalistic, spam-like, or violent, and only if they do so on this website.

GetWiki uses accounts and high security standards for its open content, rather than rely on the measures taken by some wikis to revert articles and discover “sock puppet” accounts. Because of the security and privacy problems involved with allowing non-registered users to edit, GetWiki blocks non-account editing and uploads without exception, as well as requiring that you use unique, validated email addresses, and that you “have a friend” here to do anything other than post on the boards. GetWiki also uses a “blacklist” to prevent “link spam” inserted into articles.

wiki resources

GetWiki is not affiliated with any of the sites below, but they’re cool.

• Pseudopedia Review, (Community:FrontPage|CommunityWiki), (WardsWiki:FrontPage|WardsWiki)
• see also: WikiSphere, Wiki

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Some content adapted from the Wikinfo article “Wikinfo:Policies and guidelines” under the GNU Free Documentation License.