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Wiki somewhat infested by spam

PostPosted: Mon Dec 24, 2007 5:16 am
by Vector
I took a look at the wiki (the first time in a while) and I'm seeing there is a lot more spam activity than legitimate activity.

Without going into a long, somewhat philosophical rant, let me just say I don't believe in wikis most of the time. I think there may be a role for this tool, but its current disuse indicates a poor fit.

I'm considering some alternatives, one of which is switching to a different software package and locking out anonymous edits. Authenticated members of the forum could be granted edit privileges.

I think material in a wiki is inherently "authorless" in the sense that it is supposed to be the product of multiple authors collaborating to document a consensus view. It is perfectly appropriate for articles on physics or factual matters. For matters of opinion, such as the "right" way to handle a situation, or venue reviews, or bootcamp reviews, a critical piece of information is "according to whom?"

For things where author credibility matters, (which is most things when talking about pickup) a format that naturally records authorship makes more sense (which is basically everything except wikis).

I'm curious as to your thoughts. What would you like to see happen with the wiki?

PostPosted: Mon Dec 24, 2007 6:52 am
by Smirks
just like the private lounge, as long as you've verified its a real person, I don't see why that wouldnt work. Or, were you looking for wiki software suggestions??

Re: Wiki somewhat infested by spam

PostPosted: Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:54 pm
by Westfall
Vector wrote:I'm curious as to your thoughts. What would you like to see happen with the wiki?


Hmm. Im a fan of Wikis, but only with regard to matters of fact--e.g. Wikipedia, where articles evolve as a result of all "good" edits being saved whereas all "bad" edits get reverted.

Do any of the other lairs have a wiki that is already built up?

WF

PostPosted: Mon Dec 24, 2007 2:31 pm
by El Fenix
Edits should be password protected.
Now the question is, who should have the password?

PostPosted: Mon Dec 24, 2007 5:53 pm
by Vector
El Fenix wrote:Edits should be password protected.
Now the question is, who should have the password?

A password could be posted in the forum area, which would prevent "viagra" type spam. But "bad" information or biased reviews could still be a problem. Someone could join for the purpose of putting out marketing material in the guise of neutral information.

Posting the password in the Lounge would be an extra level of protection. Most likely all the people we want to have write privileges will be lounge members. So that's what I'm leaning toward.

PostPosted: Tue Dec 25, 2007 5:53 am
by Smirks
I agree, having it in the lounge, or having it where the only people who can actually add stuff to it are Moderators of this forum, and just have a forum for Wiki submissions or some thing.