Wiki Master Edit

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A Wiki master edit of a page is the act of editing a page which has received various contributions to it to make it more consistent and easier to read afterwards.

A Wiki master edit adds value by removing that without.
The WikiMaster's hand should be so subtle that the original author delights at how clearly and compactly he expressed himself.
(quotes from [ext] Ward's wiki)

Often, the subject of the page is discussed and different sides are presented. Sometimes the discussion converges, and what is left can be a long, and sometimes confusing, page.

A WikiMasterEditor (anyone who wants to, really) will then go through the page and edit it.

The resulting page should, in general, be more succinct.

Of course, the WikiMasterEditor should be 'impartial' to the discussion and attribute the contributors to the original page.

To indicate that the page has been edited, it makes sense to include an informative "This page was wikimasteredited by Your Name on date" (or shorter: "WME by Name, date")

There is a list of pages which are in need of master-editting. If you have too much spare time on your hands please consider making it shorter.

When does a page merit a WikiMasterEdit?

When the discussion has converged, the page can/should be edited. Often, it makes sense to leave the page as it is for a couple of days to see if anyone wants to contribute and to ensure that everyone included in the discussion has had a chance to catch up on the last entries.

I'd also suggest that discussion parties maybe leave a small mark at the bottom of their last contribution (e.g. :MasterEdit?) to indicate that they think the page can/should be edited.

If the discussion has been lively, it may also make sense to add something like 'The original discussion leading to this page was held at [currentpagename_unedited]', and then copy the old page to this location.

As a final note, just because the page has been WikiMasterEdited does not mean that it cannot be contributed to later :-))

-- MortenPahle

If you don't feel like a master, don't feel discouraged. Just Wiki Apprentice Edit a page. That's the same thing, except that you enter the name of the edited page on the page Wiki Apprentice Edit so that the real masters are aware of it and can fix any problems.

Thanks, ~Chad

Bill: There is no reason a WME cannot be a collaborative process. In fact, when people have expressed differing viewpoints, doing so is a good idea. That is especially so when the editor holds one of those views.

Morten I am not quite sure whether, under the 'new and improved' SLII, WME will still be as relevant - some of the 'domains' should, in theory, always be in a state of WME, whereas for others, the need to WME will be smaller...?

I will ponder a bit and add thoughts to the relevant 'domainrules'

Bill: Part of my thinking in my proposal in Wiki Master Edit /Discussion was providing for restricted editing (as suggested for some domains) without the need for administration, providing an impartial procedure "untouched by human hands." No need for more equal pigs.

Morten sure, agree, but the concept of WME would sort of disappear for those domains, would it not? I think that we can use some of the concepts you suggest directly on the ''rules' for the different domains, without necessarily calling it WME-ing, they will be part of 'normal' editing.

(Going off-topic: if you read Sci-Fi, Alastar Reynolds has also created a universe with 'super-pigs' which are 'more equal' than others by what is probably a pure coincidence....)


This is a copy of the living page "Wiki Master Edit" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2007 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
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