The Big Wiki Talk

The Reading Room CJ Bernstein
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Originally published at: http://www.cjbernstein.com/2017/02/02/big-wiki-talk/

Hey Mounties,

So let’s have a big ol’ talk about wikis.

TOP SECRET INFO: Ackerly Green has an internal wiki that uses Tettra/Slack to manage all the information we sling at you. Tetra is working on a public version but it turns out that after speaking with their team it’s not going to work out for us. It wouldn’t be fully open for you guys to create/edit and I feel like a MAGIQ wiki will live and die by your accessibility to it.

So I’m thinking about other options and I’d like your opinion.

There are two current paths we can take:

Choice One: I work with a developer to help create a plugin for this forum that will mold a category to work like a wiki with things like:

  1. Automatic wiki-mode setting of new pages/topics.
  2. Default hiding of replies (just hiding them by default would be sufficient I think).
  3. Automatic page creation.
  4. Easy page linking.
  5. Sensible URLs
  6. Automatic table of contents.
OR

Choice Two: We take the wiki public to a place like Fandom and begin building an accessible wiki, like this, using their already existing infrastructure.

CHOICE ONE:

The pro of Choice One is that we keep it in-house on a site you guys are already familiar with.

My perceived con of Choice One is that since this wiki will look at the MAGIQ-verse from an “out-of-world” perspective, I fear we will really start scratching at the immersion of the forum, which I was reticent to do even with my own hidden category. Immersion is a top priority for me.

CHOICE TWO:

My perceived pro of Choose Two is that the infrastructure is already there and I won’t have to funnel AGP resources into bending/breaking this forum to work like a wiki. Also, the wiki being public might attract more of “you,” the REALLY specific and awesome people who are into what we’re doing here. ALSO, it’s ready now. Developing a plugin for the forum could take months.

My perceived con of Choice Two is that we’re adding another site to all of this and it will go unused because it isn’t part of the established “flow” of The Monarch Papers. Also, because I obsess over immersion it wouldn’t be obviously linkable from the in-world sites. I would never plaster an out-of-world link on the forum. Do you see that I am crazy?

Regardless, a wiki would be crazy useful for you, for me, for the future, and since I know where this is going over the next DECADE, starting it sooner than later is probably a really good idea.

I know this is super nuts-and-bolts and not crazy interesting to a lot of you, but I welcome your thoughts.

This is for you, and I go where you go.

P.S. Anybody have experience with fandom? Anybody like designing plugins?

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I think I’m a fan of choice two over choice one.

Choice two means faster development, less money and time investment, and, like you said, could potentially be a good way to attract more players. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the out-of-world crossover as much, if at all.

I have seen these fandom wikis many times before and have helped with one or two in the past, so I know they are really good resources and easy to learn and use. I personally don’t mind visiting other websites and it doesn’t take anything away from the story, for me at least. Also, I’d be willing to help with a fandom wiki if you needed!

I know you’re worried about immersion but you could share these out-of-world links once. For example: when someone creates a new account on the forum, you (CJB) could automatically send them a welcome message that would give a brief introduction to you and the story, as well as link to the wiki and any other out-of-world websites (like patreon). It would be a one-time message that would occur right before they start playing, so it wouldn’t mess with the immersion. Similarly, it could be a one-time pop up on the forum or basecamp main site that gives the same info. I don’t think this would really take anything away from the immersive experience and would inform the player about everything going on - it could actually potentially help players become more easily immersed in the story if they are provided this info from the get-go instead of having to search through the forum or ask out-of-world questions in the forum. Just an idea.

I’m not against choice one either, but I think choice two would be the easiest and I’m sure several of us would be willing to help you with the wiki, plugin design, etc.

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This is awesome insight @Kelsey, thank you!

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