jackal

I knew there was a reason kokonutz liked this proposal.

kokonutz

Like it? I LOVE it!

As I keep saying, it has the potential to make FlyerTalk THE go-to place when doing trip research...far surpassing TA in terms of the elite experience! ^

That alone ought to get IB on the ball to get the technology behind it sorted.

chrisdeaner

Thanks to lin821 for pointing me to this thread. I think this would be extremely beneficial, especially in the miles/points forums when discussing things like promos/new benefits or specifics about a property. It would be so much easier to find a quick answer to a simple question like "What are the promotion dates" or "How far of a walk from the train station is hotel XXX" if key information was posted in a wiki at the beginning of the thread. I love how the slickdeals community uses them for exactly this purpose as it saves me/another user from having to skim through a potentially long thread for a quick answer (or post it for the umpteenth time and add to the clutter). I very much support this and hope it's something that can be implemented soon!

SkiAdcock

jackal & I received an email from an FTer (I have permission to post):

"I'm not sure what if anything is happening with the wiki type feature, but this post is a great example of how one person went thru the thread and summarized. It will get pushed down and lost as more people add to the thread, even if that member continues to edit the post to reflect updates. A wiki would solve that problem, and not put the burden on one person to keep up to date.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/19232135-post24.html

Just a data point."

I'm supportive of a wiki, but think it's dependent technologywise on IB & I don't know where it stands in the queue of things to do.

Cheers.

Kagehitokiri

in response to the content of SkiAdcock's post, i would say that dont most if not all forums have 'main master stickies' ? that kind of single post can be linked in such a thread

i personally have a lot of experience doing that kind of thing, organizing, etc

no idea where i posted my thoughts on this, but - basically there is no downside IMHO to having a wiki post (in a thread) that can be "collapsed" so that people who dont want to use it (like me in most circumstances) can bypass it really easily

jackal

Yes, but:

• Few FlyerTalkers would bother (or even know) to look for the index leading to that post in the sticky. I would even dare to say that very few FlyerTalkers even see the stickies--the eye naturally skips them.
• It is dependent on the user who created the post being willing and able to continually update his or her post with new, updated information. All of us have seen old threads around the forum where a user started to try to keep the first post up-to-date but gave up (or is no longer active on FlyerTalk), and since no one else can update the post, it becomes useless and out-of-date. Some moderators have shouldered the responsibility of keeping these kinds of posts updated (since moderators can edit posts in the forums they moderate), but not moderators all have the time, knowledge, or desire to take on these projects.

A wikipost would enable anyone to keep the post updated with the latest information, regardless of the status of the original poster.

Kagehitokiri

in response >
i as a member update my stuff and keep it organized
i know another member that does this for a thread of theirs
(tracking additions by others on forum or via PM)
moderators can edit posts

this is not about wiki, its about there being organizational options

also not commenting on mods here, and im not active on many or any big forums here on FT
(so small frame of reference) but when ive moderated in the past ive done mainly organizational stuff, including moving single posts and editing posts that are compilations of links etc, or formatting

if people ignore stickies, how does wiki help at all? kind of like if people dont search. maybe im missing something, but these factors can only be taken into account so much.

bottom line, if wikis dont "get in the way" (collapsible, scrolling, etc) there is no downside IMHO

jackal

That's good that you do this. Not everyone does. Heck, I have started threads with the intent to keep them updated and organized (there are two consolidated info threads in one of the rental car forums), and I'll admit I've more or less given up on dealing with them. It's not uncommon for life to get in the way, despite all intentions to the contrary.

Well, actually, this thread is about wikiposts (look at the title), but I'm sure I speak for the TalkBoard when I say we'll consider any good idea. That said, what is your specific idea to help with organization, other than "some members are willing to help" (something that is already being done on FT and is not a reliable option, IMHO)?

The moderators on FlyerTalk can only wish that's all they had to deal with!

The eye naturally seems to skip the stickies at the top of each forum thread listing, since they almost never change. Wikiposts, on the other hand, show up in-thread (in most other implementations on other forums, they show up as the "second post" in any given thread, so they are more easily seen as part of the discussion.

As I just mentioned, it will most likely take the form of being displayed as the "second post" in any given thread, so it's easy to find and also easy to scroll past.

Kagehitokiri

i was just saying that in my opinion the point raised i was responding to is really not the wiki issue, my take on wiki issue is there arent people that organize it, its a free for all (and its EVERYONE adding or changing small bits of information at a time)

(also in case some had not thought about what i said, just a datapoint)

when i say scrolling, obviously there needs to be a limit on size of wiki post (otherwise endless in terms of space on screen) perhaps by adding a scroll bar to it, if it cant be made collapsible

or wait, maybe it could be in the form of an account? then it could be ignored - that might be the hardest of the options though, no idea

i cant speak to stickies being ignored, as i cant speak to taking people who dont search into account, but IMHO there is a certain line to saying, for example, which im not saying YOU are saying, that "stickies are worthless, only wikis are worth" (and i do recall some "wiki or nothing" posts)

i guess i will say, if there is a situation where there is not a "waitlist" to become moderator, and there is not a high level of "required" activity, i would be happy to be a moderator in any such forum, and maybe do/help with organizational stuff. i just wouldnt want to "take up" a slot from someone who knows the forum better or would be more active in forum etc. obviously i have no idea the status of any of those things.

FunkyMonkey

Yes, this should be done ASAP. If the software is the only limitation perhaps new software should be looked at. In the interim is there a way to open up a post to editing by more than one person? I.e. can the first post of a thread be made to be a de-facto wiki that people can edit as new information comes to light on page 194 of a random thread?

essxjay

My sense is it's not a hard limit of the software but a matter of development.

And lest it be said that mods are too resistant to change, I'm pushing for this development as hard as possible.

libralibra

This looks close. Maybe someone could install and test this out
http://www.qapla.com/mods/showthread...4-by-BOP5-BETA
(btw, it was the very first thing that showed up when I searched)

And this one looks like a more mature product https://www.vaultwiki.org/features/

jackal

Thanks for the links.

I can tell you that IB is far too cautious to just "install and test this out" on a massively busy forum like FlyerTalk, and they also prefer to develop things in-house rather than invest in plug-ins which can compromise the stability of the platform (especially on a site our size) and which can behave unpredictably in upgrades, but I have brought your information to the IB staff that are currently working on this project.

libralibra

you mean you don't have a staging core? Of course no one is suggesting you slap it into your prod env. c'mon!

jackal

Not "no one"--I've seen some people (out of a lack of knowledge about how these things work) suggest similar things many times before. Apologies for assuming you were among those with a lack of knowledge.

In any case, I have just confirmed that IB's technical folks are aware of the two products you suggested.