Make the magic public - Merlin gathering is a go!

[briar_pipe]

The Merlin editing group is diving in Saturday, March 27, at noon EDT (4pm GMT) and will continue for 12 hours. We will open up again on Sunday as well. Details here.

Short version: We're gathering on Google to chat and use Googledocs to play with each others' work before posting to the Fanlore Wiki. This will reduce the spammage on "Recently updated pages" and make those unfamiliar with Wiki coding more comfortable.

All are welcome. Email theoldbriarpipe at gmail to be invited into the chat.

(Yes, Frogspace made the lovely suggestion that we use the Fanlore chat, and I was hoping to, but there's no Googledocs equivalent except the Sandbox, which really isn't equivalent at all. So we're doing it off-site. But again, everyone is welcome. It's a big job.)

Comments

[mrs_potatohead]

I second Doro/Frogspace's request to do it all up front, right there, live on Fanlore, rather than elsewhere first for both her reasons. I wouldn't worry about flooding "recent changes" with activity. That's what it's there for. It will entice others into participating and keeps the editing overlap to a minimum. Its transparency is also the wiki way.

If anyone is worried or anxious about wiki formatting and making mistakes or feeling foolish, don't be! Everything can be fixed, EVERYONE makes mistakes, and people will be more than willing to assist.

Also, like Doro said, it is important to use the talk pages as you go so that the process is recorded. It helps other folks down the line add info and make decisions.

With wikis, the process is often just as important as the resulting information.

I can hardly wait to see what you guys come up with. I've been following your planning and announcements, and think it's really, really neat! It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Every fandom should be so lucky.

Ready to help in any way she can,
MPH

[briar_pipe]

May I direct you to my reply to Frogspace? I will save the chatlogs and link them from the appropriate talk page(s), as well as providing a summary of them. We will also not be editing pages with significant content in this way, only extreme stubs or nonexistent pages.

It's not so much the feeling foolish, though we do have many people who've expressed that. It's a combination of speed issues, trying to overcome people's fears of Fanlore by providing access off-site (baby steps!), and allowing multiple editors to work all at once on rough, unfinished docs that normally wouldn't be of an appropriate quality to save.

I welcome you to come watch the process, even if you're not interested in Merlin fandom. We'll be on in about an hour, and I would love outside eyes to decide if this process a) works, and b) what can be done to improve it.