I think this is a big issue though. The BBC is well known for having
strict controls on content, linking to other sites etc, even so far as
message board posts having to be verified. The idea of a wiki is great
but before the backstage crew implements we should know the rules
first. What we dont want it an official one and user based one which
forks off because of the limitations on the official one.
Personally, I feel what the BBC is doing is excellent however I am
hestitant to see a resource catalogue become a BBC thing exclusively
when at the moment most of the prototypes are using multiple sources for
data and technology. IF the BBC host it will have to, in some way, be
accountable for the links and I dont think they will be able to link to
content they know breaks there own terms and conditions. Any resource
must be free of any issues about linking and content otherwise it is
already broken before is begins.
The questions for me are:
1) Is there an exisiting developers area (wiki, web whatever) which
this kind of thing can be tacked onto - would it be better to contribute
to an exsiting community rather than to start from nothing?
2) Is this type of developing, specifically XML resources and
resource binding something which deserves a wider, non BBC tag? I would
be willing to donate some dosh and programming time to setup a host etc
which a group of us could run.
I hope this isnt taken in a negative stance!
Jim.
Ben Metcalfe wrote:
-----Original Message-----
Such vandalism, as you can appreciate, is our biggest
concern on this
front. But will keep you all informed.
I'm not sure vandalism should be *too* much of a concern -
wikis are becoming the norm in developer communities. For
example, see the Java.net community wiki at:
Sorry, I should confirm: "our" as in 'the BBC'. I personally don't have
any problem with hooking up a wiki - I'd love to get a bit of mediawiki
action on the backstage server!
My two cents is that the benefits of wikis in community building
outweight the disadvantages.
Totally agree -- which is why I'm doing everything I can to get this
agreed.
Ben Metcalfe :: backstage.bbc.co.uk
