Distributed wikis
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The document discusses ideas for distributed wikis based on Git-style version control technologies. It notes that wikis are more focused on prose than code, so diffs and merging would need to work at the word level rather than line level. It proposes that wikis could have multiple approved versions of articles rather than a single canonical version. Community and technical challenges of forking large collaborative projects like Wikipedia are discussed, such as maintaining critical mass to prevent vandalism. The document suggests using pending changes and wiki projects to help make forking wikis more practical.
![[[SPEAKER:IS]]
Wikipedian c. 2005-2010
[[TALK:IS]]
Strictly vaporware
Philosophising
[[TALK:ISNOT]]
A demo
Concerned with technical specs](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
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Distributed wikis
- 1. Distributed wikis Brianna Laugher Freedom in the Cloud miniconf LCA2011
- 2. [[SPEAKER:IS]] Wikipedian c. 2005-2010 [[TALK:IS]] Strictly vaporware Philosophising [[TALK:ISNOT]] A demo Concerned with technical specs
- 3. Distribute/decentralise what? Part Software Wiki Interface Already existed with Barely exists, centralised VCS. although possible. Vast majority of access via web UI. Repository/ =DVCS meh storage Access point Possible but not “marketplace of done, projects use ideas” model official releases. Community Kinda, like Linux? Not really
- 4. “Marketplace of ideas” model ● Multiple versions of articles ● Opposite of “One True Version” ● Some mechanism allows the best to “rise to the top” (like PageRank?) ● Isn't that like the internet before Wikipedia? … ● Similar to Knol? UrbanDictionary? StackOverflow? ● Problems: ● rewards older contributions ● evaluating is boring ● no canonical/reliable version ● does not force/reward collaboration
- 5. No more “One True Version”? “A new-generation Wikipedia based on Git-style technologies could allow there to be not just one Ocelot article per language, but an infinite number of them, each of which could be easily mixed and merged into your own preferred version.” – Anil Dash, “Forking is a Feature” http://dashes.com/anil/2010/09/forking-is-a-feature.html
- 6. Some ideas ● Wiki = VCS + prose text project + web UI. ● Copyleft license => “right to fork” => “keeps the bastards honest”. ● (Software) releases : (wiki) approved versions? ● English Wikipedia is 10. Can it survive to 20? ● Too big to fail? ● Too big to fork?
- 7. Wiki = web front-end for VCS for prose text content
- 8. What's missing from wiki VCS?
- 9. VCS for code vs prose ● Diffs need to be per-word, not per-line ●Code contributions generally expected to be self- contained, generally in larger chunks than w/prose ●Code needs to be machine readable, (optionally?) human readable. Onus is on contributor to check machine readability => higher technical barrier to contributing is widely accepted ●Drive-by vandalism virtually non-existent ● Prose projects rarely do “releases”
- 10. Merging for code vs prose Code for unrelated technical functions should be able to be merged Can we make the same promise for prose?
- 12. Can Wikipedia survive another 10? Sense of dissatisfaction in the community Unlike software, a certain critical mass is needed to stave off vandalism
- 13. Low barrier to entry (incl. anonymity) + high visibility + many pages => vandalism
- 14. Wikipedia the monopoly ● One destination – ● Practically, impossible convenient and simple to fork for users ● hardware/bandwidth ● Great SEO (=> project ● community growth) ● Widespread ● Potential for serendipity bureaucratese, in editor activities instruction creep ● Consistency (at least superficially) ● Impersonal
- 15. MediaWiki has a write API! # Init site object import mwclient site = mwclient.Site('commons.wikimedia.org') site.login(username, password) # Optional # Edit page page = site.Pages['Commons:Sandbox'] text = page.edit() print 'Text in sandbox:', text.encode('utf-8') page.save(text + u'nExtra data', summary = 'Test edit')
- 16. “Pending changes” aka “FlaggedRevs”
- 19. “Pending changes” separates “what change I want to make” (a commit) from “what I want users to receive” (tag as approved=”release”)
- 20. It's almost like having a release branch mixed in with trunk....
- 21. Free license + API – what's the hold-up? Parsing mark-up :( Templates :( :(
- 22. “WikiProjects” FTW ● Self-organised groups of editors dedicated to a particular topic (e.g. Australia) or, less commonly, focus (e.g. standardising dates) ● Very informal, light-weight ● Narrower focus => better opportunity for community
- 23. Fork the UI? (a la Twitter API)
- 24. “Why would anyone contribute to a feeder wiki?” Promise of Wikipedia visibility + Domain-specific and relevant interface + Community
- 25. What is community? People Intent/aims Social norms - for interacting - for contributing (eg. style guide) License Meta-planning for all of the above
- 26. In summary... If forking Wikipedia is too hard, what can we do to make it practical again?
- 27. Credits Screenshots and logos are © their respective owners Wikipedia 10: David Peters, CC-BY-SA http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_10mark_rev_k.svg Vandalism post-its: cdaltonrowe, CC-BY http://www.flickr.com/photos/30485180@N06/3490537301/ Coloured post-its: Michael Goodine, CC-BY http://www.flickr.com/photos/watchsmart/3227691975/ Branches: Piotrus, CC-BY-SA http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shaped_tree_branches_Tenerife.JPG Wikimania schedule editing: Kat Walsh, CC-BY-SA http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania2007_everythings_a_wiki.jpg WikiProject Council logo: Neurolysis, CC-BY-SA http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WikiProject_Council.svg flagged revs maybe: Neurolysis/Kotra, CC-BY-SA http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FlagRevsMaybe.png pending changes clock logo: Adam Miller/Anomie/Dodoïste, CC-BY-SA http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pending_changes_clock.svg
- 28. Thanks! brianna@modernthings.org identi.ca/pfctdayelise brianna.laugher.id.au This work is © Brianna Laugher and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license, except where otherwise noted.