[Web4lib] wikis in libraries

[K.G. Schneider]

> The frequency of this argument is a sadness.  It's like mounting
> handrails 2 ft above the floor everywhere, because toddlers who
> are just learning to walk would find that helpful.  Well, the rest
> of us wouldn't, and we honestly hope (but perhaps in vain) that
> the toddlers will soon reach a higher level.

This is an interesting example, because it's a case where mounting handrails
wouldn't bother any of us who can already walk, and yet it might be useful
for toddlers-and for the rest of society. Since toddlers have far more free
time than most of us, perhaps we could enlist them to do more chores-buy
groceries, perhaps, or those walk-in banking tasks that are such a bother.

> So are wikis (apart from Wikipedia) ever going to grow beyond the
> toddler stage?  When can we finally start to discuss how to
> achieve efficient group communication?  Or will we for ever be
> held hostage by newcomers who are stumbling on their own feet?

Initially I made the point that wiki command language is usually not be
difficult to learn, but it's an obstacle. You still have to learn it, or
guess at it, or suss it out one way or the other, and to no real purpose.
It's as if the stop signs in the neighboring town were round and green
instead of octagonal and red. Would your life be better off for storing one
more useless bit of knowledge? 

I'd personally like more storage space in my brain for things that matter. 
There is no advantage to encumbering life with yet another list of pointless
command language. It was handy at the time to know which keys were the
shortcuts for Enable's pull-down menus, but it didn't enrich my life in any
meaningful way. Smart people design simple systems. 

Karen G. Schneider
kgs at bluehighways.com