Dec 17, 2015, 7:50 am
Last edit by: JDiver
Wikipost FAQ
Wikipost / wikipost questions, issues, discussion
Wikipost / wikipost questions, issues, discussion
Q. What is a Wikipost?
A Wikipost contains content that appears at the top of a thread, usually used to summarize important information in multi-page threads: "This is a community-maintained wikipost containing the most important information from this thread. You may start orb edit a Wikipost once you have been on FT for 90 days and have made 90 posts." (Written at the top of every Wikipost.)
Q. Why are Wikiposts here? What is their purpose?
Threads that have high interest can grow very quickly, making it tiresome to sort through sometimes hundreds of posts to find information. A Wikipost is designed to contain a summary of relevant information, and may contain links to especially relevant posts, related threads and off-site resources. Any member with "90/90" can update obsolete information or update Wikipost information, and of course there's plenty of space to discuss or ask about more specific details.
Q. What display modes are offered for Wikiposts?
There are three modes of wiki post display: (c/o IBobi)
1. "Summary view" (default) -- this shows the top of the wikipost only.
2. Full display (when you click "Click here to display full Wiki") -- this shows the whole Wikipost.
3. Hidden (when you click the "-" sign at the top right) -- reduces this and ALL Wikiposts on FT to a narrow blue bar that says "Wikipost", until you click the "+" on one of them again, which will return them to default view.
(see more below)
2. Full display (when you click "Click here to display full Wiki") -- this shows the whole Wikipost.
3. Hidden (when you click the "-" sign at the top right) -- reduces this and ALL Wikiposts on FT to a narrow blue bar that says "Wikipost", until you click the "+" on one of them again, which will return them to default view.
(see more below)
Q. Why are so many threads with Wikiposts concentrated on the front pages of some fora?
The most popular / used threads are often those with complicated content - frequent flyer or guest program changes, securing awards, etc. These are the threads most likely to have Wikiposts summarizing key points.
Q. How / why did Wikiposts come about on FT?
Wikiposts came about after requests from members to Internet Brands and a lot of forethought, followed by Beta testing. They are considered a valuable asset to FlyerTalk, and a viable and "closer" alternative to maintaining an off site, separate wiki.
Q. What do "wiki" and "Wikipost" mean?
The word "wiki" (wee-kee) is Hawaiian Polynisian for "fast" or "quick". Here, a Wikipost offers a quick look at the topic covered by a thread.
Q. Can I see a listing of Wikiposts?
Yes. Up in the dark blue navigation bar, a little below the FlyerTalk logo, it says "Flyertalk [sic, should be a capital T] Wiki." Click that and then "Show all Wiki [sic, should be plural]" from the sub-menu.
(Thanks to jackal)
Q. What do I do if I just don't want to read the Wikiposts?
Just continue browsing normally. Only minimized Wikiposts (a few lines) will be revealed until you click on / touch the blue "Click here to display Full Wiki" line. The full Wikipost will only be displayed if you click the link to read it. Ignore the Wikipost if you don't want to read the information therein.
Q. What do I do if I feel there are too darn many Wikiposts?
You can go to the "Wikipost" blue menu bar at the top of a thread page and click on the "-" sign at the right end of the bar, which will minimize all wikis; you never have to see a Wikipost again. That information never has to intrude on your reading of FlyerTalk. And, of course you can turn wiki posts "on" by clicking the "+" in the same menu bar when you wish.)
Alternatively, you can go to your FT Profile, look at Your Control Panel, Edit Options. Toward the bottom of the page you'll see
Wikipost Hide All
Hide all Wiki Posts in Threads
[] Hide all wikiposts
Hide all Wiki Posts in Threads
[] Hide all wikiposts
Q. What are the alternatives to wikiposts in a large forum?
1) Multiple (dozens or even more) threads with members having to search them all for answers, or start a new one out of frustration, assuring information fragmentation and dispersion.
2) Mega threads with hundreds of posts to sort through for answers.
Thanks to wetrat0
2) Mega threads with hundreds of posts to sort through for answers.
Thanks to wetrat0
Q. I can't open and edit a particular Wikipost! Why?
A few wiki posts may be locked by moderators to prevent making changes; these preferably should be clearly marked with an explanation.
Q. I can't even see Wikiposts! Why?
If you can not see the wiki posts:
Assuming you are signed in, have been on FT 90 or more days and have made 90 or more posts:
In your FT Profile, look at Your Control Panel, Edit Options. Toward the bottom of the page you'll see
Wikipost Hide All
Hide all Wiki Posts in Threads
[] Hide all wikiposts
Hide all Wiki Posts in Threads
[] Hide all wikiposts
Q. How do I open and start a wikipost myself?
To create a wiki, go to the Thread Tools menu on the right of the thread menu bar, click / touch Create a Wikipost
Q. I've got "90/90"; how do I edit a wikipost?
To edit a wiki, expand by clicking / touching the "Click here to display full wiki" message, then see the Edit button in the lower right of the wiki.
Q. What formatting can I use to make a wikipost more "eye-tractive" and readable?
Wikis accepts a lot of common BBCode formatting, some of which is shown below - but not all.
Bold and colors work!
Sizes work as well, from larger than this to this.
However, names of threads like http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/techn...-problems.html are not being normalized. (URL links to FlyerTalk in posts will render such: "Wikipost" / wiki post questions, issues, discussion.
In Wikiposts, they will render as full URL: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/techn...olidated.html; look at the above URL to see how you can adjust that.
See Calchas' post #122 to read about the wiki history rendering.
Q. Can I embed or add illustrations or photos in Wikiposts?
Links to photographs and graphic images can be embedded in wikiposts; framed video links can not be, nor can images be attached as in posts.
Revised 9 June 2016 - JDiver
FAQ: Wiki post / wikipost questions, discussion, issues (consolidated)
May 27, 2016, 2:53 pm
#31
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Juneau, Alaska.
Programs: AS 75K;BA Silver;AA G;HH Dia;HY Glob
Posts: 15,822
Is there some way all the Wiki's can be cleaned up. The titles are also long and for me , and maybe it is just me, I find the message board not very useful. At least not as useful as it was some time back before all the wiki's and long titles to the treads.
I would like to make a suggestion on what would improve it for me but not fully understanding what created the extensive use of the wiki's do not have a suggestion at this time.
I find many of the other message boards for other airlines that do not have the extensive wiki usage more helpful.
Thank you for any consideration of my comment.
I would like to make a suggestion on what would improve it for me but not fully understanding what created the extensive use of the wiki's do not have a suggestion at this time.
I find many of the other message boards for other airlines that do not have the extensive wiki usage more helpful.
Thank you for any consideration of my comment.
May 27, 2016, 2:56 pm
#32
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Wikiposts were added after many requests to Internet Brands so important information could be summarized for members and readers. The wikipost only takes up a small space until you expand them.
The reason there appear to be so many threads with Wikiposts is that Wikiposts have been crafted for the busiest, more popular threads - particularly those that receive high numbers of (often repeated) questions. As these get a lot of use, they are bumped up to the top, taking up some and next couple of pages of the forum thread display.
The ability is offered to "turn off" Wikiposts in your "My FlyerTalk", or merely by using the +/- function in the wikipost title line.
Please read above to see how you don't have to see Wikiposts at all.
The reason there appear to be so many threads with Wikiposts is that Wikiposts have been crafted for the busiest, more popular threads - particularly those that receive high numbers of (often repeated) questions. As these get a lot of use, they are bumped up to the top, taking up some and next couple of pages of the forum thread display.
The ability is offered to "turn off" Wikiposts in your "My FlyerTalk", or merely by using the +/- function in the wikipost title line.
Please read above to see how you don't have to see Wikiposts at all.
Last edited by JDiver; May 27, 2016 at 3:08 pm
May 29, 2016, 6:43 am
#33
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges and Environmentally Friendly Travel
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 22,213
Is there some way all the Wiki's can be cleaned up. The titles are also long and for me , and maybe it is just me, I find the message board not very useful. At least not as useful as it was some time back before all the wiki's and long titles to the treads.
I would like to make a suggestion on what would improve it for me but not fully understanding what created the extensive use of the wiki's do not have a suggestion at this time.
I find many of the other message boards for other airlines that do not have the extensive wiki usage more helpful.
Thank you for any consideration of my comment.
I would like to make a suggestion on what would improve it for me but not fully understanding what created the extensive use of the wiki's do not have a suggestion at this time.
I find many of the other message boards for other airlines that do not have the extensive wiki usage more helpful.
Thank you for any consideration of my comment.
That said, the AA forum stands alone in this regard and while not to dismiss the good efforts made by the mod team in assisting members find the stuff they are looking for, members do seem to be able to locate specific threads very effectively on other forums which leads me to question do the long thread titles actually make a meaningful difference?
To test this out, I ran a search in this forum entering the keyword “entree”. FT’s search engine returned all of the topical threads, ranking them towards the top of the list, noting that two of the three sample threads do not actually contain the word “entree” in their title, yet the search engine still managed to captured the threads.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ghlight=entree
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ghlight=entree
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ghlight=entree
There is a lot to be said for brevity and the use of plain English - ultimately optimised for the planet’s most powerful search engine - the human brain.
May 29, 2016, 7:20 am
#34
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,850
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...er-thread.html
All it needs to be is, in clean English, whilst maintaining a smidgen of click bait humour:
Just made Executive Platinum! Resources and bragging thread 2016
[After all, you will be tidying them at some stage surely?] All the extra characters detract more than they add.
May 29, 2016, 8:48 am
#35
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Without resorting to my notes, my own occasionally feeble brain does seem to recall a portion of our last Moderator training (Dublin, October 2015) was dedicated to our site's owner instructing us on optimizing threads for search engine use.
I'm sure we will take a look at some of the lengthier titles with an eye toward shortening them.
As to abbreviations or jargon, those are frequently placed in titles by posters themselves. Often, these are left as is, and sometimes the full name (often airline or airport) is used because of search limitations here. E.g. it's demonstrated time and again many members do not know how to search for common search terms ("changes") or those containing three or fewer characters ("EY", "CDG") by enclosing such terms within quotation marks.
The frequent use of abbreviations and acronyms perhaps go hand in hand with some attempting to demonstrate their insider knowledge or asking questions about the meaning of such. The FT response is the extensive FlyerTalk Glossary.
I and the Moderator team are always appreciative of constructive feedback; thank you. You an be assured we take it into consideration.
Now, back to Wikiposts, some are started by members, others by Moderators. They are intended to be there, but there is the facility of "turning Wikiposts off" as posted upthread - both in "My FlyerTalk" or in the Wikipost title bar. For those of us who would prefer not to see the inch or so of Wikipost displayed at the top of the page, they are quite easily switched on or off.
I'm sure we will take a look at some of the lengthier titles with an eye toward shortening them.
As to abbreviations or jargon, those are frequently placed in titles by posters themselves. Often, these are left as is, and sometimes the full name (often airline or airport) is used because of search limitations here. E.g. it's demonstrated time and again many members do not know how to search for common search terms ("changes") or those containing three or fewer characters ("EY", "CDG") by enclosing such terms within quotation marks.
The frequent use of abbreviations and acronyms perhaps go hand in hand with some attempting to demonstrate their insider knowledge or asking questions about the meaning of such. The FT response is the extensive FlyerTalk Glossary.
I and the Moderator team are always appreciative of constructive feedback; thank you. You an be assured we take it into consideration.
Now, back to Wikiposts, some are started by members, others by Moderators. They are intended to be there, but there is the facility of "turning Wikiposts off" as posted upthread - both in "My FlyerTalk" or in the Wikipost title bar. For those of us who would prefer not to see the inch or so of Wikipost displayed at the top of the page, they are quite easily switched on or off.
May 29, 2016, 9:13 am
#36
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,814
I've seen a post or two decrying wikis on the grounds that this should be a venue for member interaction instead. This strikes me as an unfounded view and somewhat backwards. As far as I can see, threads with wikis have just as much interaction as the others, probably more; in fact, I get the impression that in many cases a wiki was added because a critical mass of useful information -- and/or the need to organize and present certain information -- emerged from interaction.
May 29, 2016, 9:31 am
#37
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
I've seen a post or two decrying wikis on the grounds that this should be a venue for member interaction instead. This strikes me as an unfounded view and somewhat backwards. As far as I can see, threads with wikis have just as much interaction as the others, probably more; in fact, I get the impression that in many cases a wiki was added because a critical mass of useful information -- and/or the need to organize and present certain information -- emerged from interaction.
And if Wikiposts were so encompassing they impede or detract from interaction, I've not seen it. If I did see any evidence of that. I'd certainly discuss any hint of that with my colleagues - we are volunteers so have no vested interest in increasing FT activity other than to broaden knowledge, diversity of experience and make FT inviting to new members and lurkers - as I think we all want to increase readership to keep FT thriving and free.
(Yes, we check the numbers regularly - on a very slow Memorial Day weekend on Sunday, our slowest day of the week, we have 234 reading the AA forum at this moment (27 members & 207 guests). We'd like more of those guests to sign up and become members.)
For the knowledgeable user or those who don't want to see Wikiposts, they are very easily eliminated from the thread display. And just as easily and temporarily restored, if one's fancy is piqued.
Jun 17, 2016, 7:53 am
#38
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: TPA, FL
Programs: United Gold, Hilton Diamond,Marriott Gold
Posts: 482
WIKIS OMG
I know this will get moved to a WIKI in 3 nanoseconds. But I just wanted to let you know I do not frequent this FORUM because I find it not very user friendly. The WIKIs prevent me from a normal forum experience. Please consider stop putting 90% of new threads in a WIKI.
Last edited by PcolaPaul; Jun 17, 2016 at 7:58 am
Jun 17, 2016, 7:54 am
#39
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: MCO
Programs: AA, B6, DL, EK, EY, QR, SQ, UA, Amex Plat, Marriott Tit, HHonors Gold
Posts: 12,809
I know this will get moved to a WIKI in 3 nanoseconds. But I just wanted to let you know I do not frequent this thread because I find it not very user friendly. The WIKIs prevent me from a normal forum experience. Please consider stop putting 90% of new threads in a WIKI.
Jun 17, 2016, 8:01 am
#41
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: AA
Posts: 14,743
Why would a WIKI stop you from reading a thread? The info is still in the posts just like any other threads, the WIKI just consolidates the information if you don't want to, or have the time to, read through all the posts in a thread to find what you need. And you can close the WIKI so you don't see it.
Jun 17, 2016, 8:04 am
#42
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2001
Location: MSY; 2-time FT Fantasy Football Champ, now in recovery.
Programs: AA lifetime GLD; UA Silver; Marriott LTTE; IHG Plat,
Posts: 14,518
I know this will get moved to a WIKI in 3 nanoseconds. But I just wanted to let you know I do not frequent this FORUM because I find it not very user friendly. The WIKIs prevent me from a normal forum experience. Please consider stop putting 90% of new threads in a WIKI.
Jun 17, 2016, 8:15 am
#44
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
I know this will get moved to a WIKI in 3 nanoseconds. But I just wanted to let you know I do not frequent this FORUM because I find it not very user friendly. The WIKIs prevent me from a normal forum experience. Please consider stop putting 90% of new threads in a WIKI.
You can also read why it appears "90%" of threads have wikis (they don't, it's that the most popular / commonly used threads are those with wikis summarizing information that can be complex, with resource links and much more information in posts below are generally on the first forum page because they get bumped up so often). And how and why Wikiposts came about.
Here's an example of a Wikipost: the http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...un-2016-a.html to date has 1081 posts reacting or discussing the recent changes AA has announced for AAdvantage, including new rules about earning award miles as of August, a minimum spend requirement for status and change in upgrade criteria next year. A summary of these changes in the wikipost makes the information easily available to those unfamiliar with the coming changes so they can better and more effectively state their informed perspectives.
And: we can't move threads to wikis; we can merge threads into a thread with a Wikipost.
Enjoy your wikiless browsing, now that you know how to avoid seeing them.
/Moderator
Last edited by JDiver; Jun 17, 2016 at 8:44 am
Jun 17, 2016, 8:15 am
#45
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2001
Programs: DL 1 million, AA 1 mil, HH lapsed Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 28,190
The Mods use (and this is a compliment) of wikis and master threads in the AA forum forces more discipline. It helps reduce clutter from new threads bringing up the same material over and over again. It leads to more intelligent dialog on any topic because incomplete (or just flat wrong) answers get updated with later posts.
For people thinking 'It's all about me. I just want to ask a question (without searching or browsing) and have people answer it,' they will need to change behaviors and expectations.
For people thinking 'It's all about me. I just want to ask a question (without searching or browsing) and have people answer it,' they will need to change behaviors and expectations.