WikiDocs: Difference between revisions

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Most of MusicBrainz's documentation is located at https://wiki.musicbrainz.org/ and transcluded at https://musicbrainz.org/doc/.
=Basing the Documentation on the Wiki=


This WikiDocs system works because:
[[Image:Alert.png]] ''The pages on WikiDocs are slowly getting up to date again.''
# It leaves the wiki (and by extension, the documentation) open for mass collaboration.
# It lets [[Transclusion Editor|transclusion editors]] control what can be seen on the main site.


== WikiDocs Structure ==
This is [[Current Work|CurrentWork]].
[[Image:WikiDocs_System_v1.png|right|350px|WikiDocs components]]


The structure of the WikiDocs system looks like this:
==WikiDocs Concept==
# The content resides in the wiki, and anyone can edit and maintain it.
# [[Transclusion Editor|Transclusion editor]]s add and update entries in the [[mb:admin/wikidoc|transclusion table]] for official documentation pages.
# Users visiting a page on the wiki see no difference; they always see the most recent revision of every page.
# Users visiting that same page on the main website will be shown, via transclusion, only the latest reviewed revision of that page.


Pages served via transclusion cannot be edited on the website.
The goal of WikiDocs is to base more of the main site's content on the very good documentation that has evolved in this wiki.


==How To Transclude a WikiDocs Page==
The main concept of WikiDocs is therefore that there will be ''no separate documentation''. ''All'' docs will be in the [[MusicBrainz Wiki|MusicBrainzWiki]]. Think of it like an open source project with a development and a stable release: The wiki markup text and the versions stored in the wiki are like the source code in CVS. The wiki as rendered by the wiki engine is like the development release, it contains the bleeding edge ideas, docs, discussions etc. This is good but confusing for new users. Thus we make something like a stable release of the wiki which consists of a structured portal to a moderated mirror of the wiki. See [[WikiDocs Concept|WikiDocsConcept]] for more details.


'''Only transclusion editors can do this.'''
==The Components of the WikiDocs==


: [[Image:Attention.png]] ''Please be very careful to enter the correct page name and revision number, because they are '''not''' checked for correctness.''
The structure of the WikiDocs system will be as follows:
* All content resides in the [[MusicBrainz Wiki|MusicBrainzWiki]] (The [[Wiki Migration|WikiMigration]] to [[Moin Moin|MoinMoin]] was an essential precondition for this).
* [http://musicbrainz.org/edit/wikitransclusion/transclusion.html Wiki Transclusion Table]: [[WikiDocs Moderator|WikiDocsModerator]]<code><nowiki></nowiki></code>s select important wiki pages that should become [[WikiDocs Page|WikiDocsPage]]<code><nowiki></nowiki></code>s. They enter the last stable revision of that page into the [[Wiki Transclusion Table|WikiTransclusionTable]] (see [[WikiDocs Moderator|WikiDocsModerator]] for usage description).
* Users visiting the [[MusicBrainz Wiki|MusicBrainzWiki]] will see no difference.
* Users visiting the [[MusicBrainz Web Site|MusicBrainzWebSite]] will be served content from the wiki via a [[Wiki Web Service|WikiWebService]], which will check in the [[Wiki Transclusion Table|WikiTransclusionTable]] whether there is a moderated revision of the requested page.
** If it is, it will fetch that revision, do some [[WikiDocs Conversion|WikiDocsConversion]], and serve that content on the website.
** If it is not, the webservice serves the content of the normal wiki page, but with a warning that this is unmoderated content. The pages served by the webservice will not be editable.


Go to the [[mb:admin/wikidoc|wiki transclusion table]]. Each page has its own row, which can be edited or removed. New rows can also be added. When a [[WikiDocs]] page has been edited, and the change conforms with the style guidelines and other social aspects — and most importantly, makes the documentation better — the change should be reflected on the main server. To do this, find the latest revision number using the page history and update it in the transclusion table.
==The Wiki and WikiDocs==


When adding a new page to the table, make sure to add it to the [[:Category:WikiDocs Page|WikiDocs page]] category.
In the future the [[MusicBrainz Wiki|MusicBrainzWiki]] will be the source for ''all'' content of [[MusicBrainz]]. There will only be very few exceptions (about 20 pages that form the [[Main Site Structure|MainSiteStructure]]).


[[Category:Wiki]] [[Category:WikiDocs Page]]
In the [[WikiDocs Concept|WikiDocsConcept]] the [[MusicBrainz Wiki|MusicBrainzWiki]] is seen as a ''community''. This community uses, changes and develops the content of docs, help pages, discussions, guidelines etc. The wiki community has been very efficient in doing this because both the experts (the solution providers) ''and'' the non-experts (the question posers) collaborate in the same space.

Thus, most of the wiki will be open for everyone to edit. We will not control the content in the wiki. We will, however, exercise some control over that part of the wiki's content which is integrated into the [[Main Site|MainSite]]. This happens via the [[Wiki Transclusion Table|WikiTransclusionTable]].

===Accessing the Wiki===

The [[MusicBrainz Wiki|MusicBrainzWiki]] will be accessible in two ways:
# as a wiki, via <code><nowiki>wiki.musicbrainz.org/SomePage</nowiki></code> and
# through a [[Wiki Web Service|WikiWebService]] via <code><nowiki>www.musicbrainz.org/doc/SomePage</nowiki></code>

====Accessing the Wiki as a Wiki (via MoinMoin)====

If you access the wiki through the [[Moin Moin|MoinMoin]] interface, you will be able to edit (nearly) all pages. This interface (I think they are called "themes" in [[Moin Moin|MoinMoin]]) has a look and feel that is ''similar to but still distinct from'' the [[Main Site|MainSite]]. The main distinguishing factor is the black dotted border around the page's content.

====Accessing the Wiki via the Wiki Web Service====

A visitor of [[MusicBrainz]] will first see the [[Main Site Stucture|MainSiteStucture]]'s content. Then he will seamlessly move onto [[WikiDocs Page|WikiDocsPage]]<code><nowiki></nowiki></code>s which will be served to him via the [[Wiki Web Service|WikiWebService]]. If a page is not listed in the [[Wiki Transclusion Table|WikiTransclusionTable]], the web service will serve the resepective page from the [[MusicBrainz Wiki|MusicBrainzWiki]]. None of these pages are editable.

The page a user sees is directly taken from the wiki. It has the same look and feel like the [[Main Site|MainSite]]. If the content has not been moderated, it will be shown within the same black dotted border that signals "this is work in progress". There should probably also be a note that says that this page is maintained by the wiki community and a link to the same page in the [[Moin Moin|MoinMoin]] wiki interface so that it can be edited there.

===Changes in Wiki Culture===

The wiki community will have to be very aware that they create the content for the home page. Then [[Wiki Needsa New Center|WikiNeedsaNewCenter]]. We have therefore moved the center from [[Wiki Home|HomePage]] to [[Wiki Home|WikiHome]]. [[Wiki Home|WikiHome]] should become the homepage for the wiki as a wiki. While the "homepage" for the moderated wiki content will of course be the [[Main Site|MainSite]].

Also, I suppose that the wiki itself should be opened up some more. The transclusion mechanism keeps people who do not want to deal with wiki nature effectively out of the wiki. Our current [[Anti Spam Feature|AntiSpamFeature]] (http auth) is a second barrier that I would really like to remove. I have searched for some alternative [[Anti Spam Feature|AntiSpamFeature]]<code><nowiki></nowiki></code>s and listed them on that page.

==Related Implementations==

Related projects and ideas on other wikis:
* The general idea we are trying to realize is described as [http://wikifeatures.wiki.taoriver.net/moin.cgi/StagedCommits StagedCommits] on the [http://wikifeatures.wiki.taoriver.net/ WikiFeaturesWiki].
* [[Rhizome Wiki|RhizomeWiki]] is written in python and has a label attribute that can be set to "draft" or "released". The Wiki engine will display the latest released version. Search for "Label" on [http://rhizome.liminalzone.org/RhizomeManual#id1099155628 this page].
* There is some discussion on [http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?MeatballWiki MeatBall] on this: [http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?LayeredWikiInterface LayeredWikiInterface] and [http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?StableCopy StableCopy].
* There is a [http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~cjp39/Peri/StableCopy StableCopy] (also called [http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~cjp39/Peri/StableView StableView]) mechanism implemented on [http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~cjp39/Peri/PeriPeri PeriPeri]. This is not identical to the WikiDocs concept but it might be an alternative. Periperi is written in perl; see the [http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~cjp39/Peri/Source/peri.cgi source]. Captain solo tried to install Periperi and encountered some [http://captsolo.net/info/blog_a.php/2004/05/04/p497 problems]. Perhaps his experience helps.
** [http://wikifeatures.wiki.taoriver.net/ WikiFeaturesWiki] calls this [http://wikifeatures.wiki.taoriver.net/moin.cgi/DelayedCommits DelayedCommits].

* [http://wwnew.linux-ha.org/WikiTransclusion WikiTransclusion] used by the High Availability Linux project for their documentation.

==History of this Project==

WikiDocs is now live on the main server. The remainder of this page provides some historical information about the progress of the project.

There has been a first attempt to do this in a separate wiki, but this has been stopped because of some concerns for this wiki.
<ul><li style="list-style-type:none">Some of these pages still exist. They are viewable via <code><nowiki>musicbrainz.org/wd/PageName</nowiki></code>, and editable (to some) via [http://wikidocs.musicbrainz.org/write/ http://wikidocs.musicbrainz.org/write/]. All these pages will eventually be replaced by real [[WikiDocs Page|WikiDocsPage]]<code><nowiki></nowiki></code>s.
</ul>

[[User:DonRedman|DonRedman]] has then written [[Don's WikiDocs Concept|DonsWikiDocsConcept]] to describe his concerns and offer a solution. This is of historical interest only. There is also a [http://lists.musicbrainz.org/pipermail/musicbrainz-advisors/2005-April/000049.html full discussion] (mostly between [[User:Dupuy|Dupuy]] and [[User:DonRedman|DonRedman]]).

Then [[User:RobertKaye|RobertKaye]] and [[User:DonRedman|DonRedman]] have met in Hamburg, drank some beer and thought of this [[WikiDocs Concept|WikiDocsConcept]].

[[User:JohnCarter|JohnCarter]] has taken up the job of the actual [[Wiki Migration|WikiMigration]], in which this wiki has been moved from [[Use Mod|UseMod]] ([http://oldwiki.musicbrainz.org former]) to [[Moin Moin|MoinMoin]] (current).

====Initial idea====

''This is the original WikiDocs concept which is now superceded by the one described above''
* the [[MusicBrainz Wiki|MusicBrainzWiki]] (which will be [[Wiki Migration|ported]] to [[Moin Moin|MoinMoin]]),
* a [[Moderated Wiki Mirror|ModeratedWikiMirror]] (probably realized through a [[Shadow Wiki|ShadowWiki]]),
* a [[Wiki Doc Converter|WikiDocConverter]] (now [[WikiDocs Conversion|WikiDocsConversion]]) by which [[WikiDocs Moderator|WikiDocsModerator]]s can copy a specific version of a wiki page to the [[Moderated Wiki Mirror|ModeratedWikiMirror]],
* a [[Wiki Web Service|WikiWebService]] that serves the content of the [[Moderated Wiki Mirror|ModeratedWikiMirror]] or the real [[MusicBrainz Wiki|MusicBrainzWiki]] where appropriate
* a new and reduced [[Main Site Structure|MainSiteStructure]] that serves as a portal to the [[Moderated Wiki Mirror|ModeratedWikiMirror]].

[[Category:To Be Reviewed]] [[Category:Wiki]]

Latest revision as of 13:36, 23 January 2021

Most of MusicBrainz's documentation is located at https://wiki.musicbrainz.org/ and transcluded at https://musicbrainz.org/doc/.

This WikiDocs system works because:

  1. It leaves the wiki (and by extension, the documentation) open for mass collaboration.
  2. It lets transclusion editors control what can be seen on the main site.

WikiDocs Structure

WikiDocs components

The structure of the WikiDocs system looks like this:

  1. The content resides in the wiki, and anyone can edit and maintain it.
  2. Transclusion editors add and update entries in the transclusion table for official documentation pages.
  3. Users visiting a page on the wiki see no difference; they always see the most recent revision of every page.
  4. Users visiting that same page on the main website will be shown, via transclusion, only the latest reviewed revision of that page.

Pages served via transclusion cannot be edited on the website.

How To Transclude a WikiDocs Page

Only transclusion editors can do this.

Attention.png Please be very careful to enter the correct page name and revision number, because they are not checked for correctness.

Go to the wiki transclusion table. Each page has its own row, which can be edited or removed. New rows can also be added. When a WikiDocs page has been edited, and the change conforms with the style guidelines and other social aspects — and most importantly, makes the documentation better — the change should be reflected on the main server. To do this, find the latest revision number using the page history and update it in the transclusion table.

When adding a new page to the table, make sure to add it to the WikiDocs page category.