Distributed wikis

Presented at Freedom in the cloud miniconf, Linux.conf.au 2011.

Transcript

1. Distributed wikis Brianna Laugher Freedom in the Cloud miniconf LCA2011
2. [[SPEAKER:IS]] Wikipedian c. 2005-2010 [[TALK:IS]] Strictly vaporware Philosophising [[TALK:ISNOT]] A demo Concerned with technical specs
3. Distribute/decentralise what? Part Software Wiki Interface Already existed with centralised VCS. Barely exists, although possible. Vast majority of access via web UI. Repository/ storage =DVCS meh Access point Possible but not done, projects use official releases. “marketplace of ideas” model Community Kinda, like Linux? Not really
4. • Multiple versions of articles • Opposite of “One True Version” • Some mechanism allows the best to “rise to the top” (like PageRank?) • Isn't that like the internet before Wikipedia? … • Similar to Knol? UrbanDictionary? StackOverflow? • Problems: • rewards older contributions • evaluating is boring • no canonical/reliable version • does not force/reward collaboration “Marketplace of ideas” model
5. No more “One True Version”? “A new-generation Wikipedia based on Git-style technologies could allow there to be not just one Ocelot article per language, but an infinite number of them, each of which could be easily mixed and merged into your own preferred version.” – Anil Dash, “Forking is a Feature” http://dashes.com/anil/2010/09/forking-is-a-feature.html
6. • Wiki = VCS + prose text project + web UI. • Copyleft license => “right to fork” => “keeps the bastards honest”. • (Software) releases : (wiki) approved versions? • English Wikipedia is 10. Can it survive to 20? • Too big to fail? • Too big to fork? Some ideas
7. Wiki = web front-end for VCS for prose text content
8. What's missing from wiki VCS?
9. • Diffs need to be per-word, not per-line • Code contributions generally expected to be self- contained, generally in larger chunks than w/prose • Code needs to be machine readable, (optionally?) human readable. Onus is on contributor to check machine readability => higher technical barrier to contributing is widely accepted • Drive-by vandalism virtually non-existent • Prose projects rarely do “releases” VCS for code vs prose
10. Merging for code vs prose Code for unrelated technical functions should be able to be merged Can we make the same promise for prose?
12. Can Wikipedia survive another 10? Sense of dissatisfaction in the community Unlike software, a certain critical mass is needed to stave off vandalism
13. Low barrier to entry (incl. anonymity) + high visibility + many pages => vandalism
14. Wikipedia the monopoly • One destination – convenient and simple for users • Great SEO (=> project growth) • Potential for serendipity in editor activities • Consistency (at least superficially) • Practically, impossible to fork • hardware/bandwidth • community • Widespread bureaucratese, instruction creep • Impersonal
15. MediaWiki has a write API! # Init site object import mwclient site = mwclient.Site('commons.wikimedia.org') site.login(username, password) # Optional # Edit page page = site.Pages['Commons:Sandbox'] text = page.edit() print 'Text in sandbox:', text.encode('utf-8') page.save(text + u'\nExtra data', summary = 'Test edit')
16. “Pending changes” aka “FlaggedRevs”
19. “Pending changes” separates “what change I want to make” (a commit) from “what I want users to receive” (tag as approved=”release”)
20. It's almost like having a release branch mixed in with trunk....
21. Parsing mark-up :( Templates :( :( Free license + API – what's the hold-up?
22. “WikiProjects” FTW • Self-organised groups of editors dedicated to a particular topic (e.g. Australia) or, less commonly, focus (e.g. standardising dates) • Very informal, light-weight • Narrower focus => better opportunity for community
23. Fork the UI? (a la Twitter API)
24. “Why would anyone contribute to a feeder wiki?” Promise of Wikipedia visibility + Domain-specific and relevant interface + Community
25. What is community? People Intent/aims Social norms - for interacting - for contributing (eg. style guide) License Meta-planning for all of the above
26. In summary... If forking Wikipedia is too hard, what can we do to make it practical again?
27. Credits Screenshots and logos are © their respective owners Wikipedia 10: David Peters, CC-BY-SA http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_10mark_rev_k.svg Vandalism post-its: cdaltonrowe, CC-BY http://www.flickr.com/photos/30485180@N06/3490537301/ Coloured post-its: Michael Goodine, CC-BY http://www.flickr.com/photos/watchsmart/3227691975/ Branches: Piotrus, CC-BY-SA http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shaped_tree_branches_Tenerife.JPG Wikimania schedule editing: Kat Walsh, CC-BY-SA http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania2007_everythings_a_wiki.jpg WikiProject Council logo: Neurolysis, CC-BY-SA http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WikiProject_Council.svg flagged revs maybe: Neurolysis/Kotra, CC-BY-SA http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FlagRevsMaybe.png pending changes clock logo: Adam Miller/Anomie/Dodoïste, CC-BY-SA http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pending_changes_clock.svg
28. brianna@modernthings.org identi.ca/pfctdayelise brianna.laugher.id.au This work is © Brianna Laugher and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license, except where otherwise noted. Thanks!