Someone needs to expand our WikiPedia article

[wreckedcarzz]

I noticed this about 2 weeks ago while at school, browsing for info on DC (school project). The DonationCoder page at WikiPedia is a mere two (you could argue three) paragraphs, we don't have any image (Cody or anything), and I really think it would be beneficial to have an elaborate set of information out on WP.

I would offer to do it (or just do it myself), but IMHO I don't believe I know that much about DC's background and whatnot (more of a job for mouser or someone else that has been here since "way back when"). There is a lot that goes on here that I don't pay enough attention to, to be honest. I don't want to look like an idiot posting incorrect information

Just pointing it out, hoping someone can find the time to fill in some more info.

URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donationcoder

[Deozaan]

Looks like it could use some info about NANY.

[gexecuter]

I would help but i suck at editing.

[cmpm]

I've given DC as a reference for a variety of software. Software that is here as well as discussed and reviewed.

I don't know if that would qualify as a DC wikipedia paragraph.
It would have to be in the third person or something.

And on that note, I'd like to see more software discussed and reviewed. Certainly can't cover them all but what one has experience with.
(I am telling myself also, as I would like to post a review of some software, but have not taken the time.....yet)

[justice]

Thing is if you're involved with the organisation isn't it bad practice to edit your own articles?

[tomos]

Thing is if you're involved with the organisation isn't it bad practice to edit your own articles?

I think they dont actually mind but they are a bit obsessive about giving third party references as sources of your info (I guess it's the only way they can "believe" info - but it is a bit of a messy situation at same time).
IIRC the article abut SQLNotes got removed because of a lack there.

I'm sure Donationcoder and events like NANY here are well linked to from other sites

[40hz]

Thing is if you're involved with the organisation isn't it bad practice to edit your own articles?

I think they dont actually mind but they are a bit obsessive about giving third party references as sources of your info (I guess it's the only way they can "believe" info - but it is a bit of a messy situation at same time).
IIRC the article abut SQLNotes got removed because of a lack there.

I'm sure Donationcoder and events like NANY here are well linked to from other sites

Perhaps it would be better if DC set up its own wiki and let Wikipedia point to it as an external link?

That way DC would have complete control over what was on its wiki, and also sidestep some of the nonsense Wikipedia feels it needs to put people through trying to keep everyone honest.

Just a thought.

[Paul Keith]

I sort of agree with 40hz but IMO outside of wikipedia, I rarely check another site's wiki mostly because you're never too sure how much content it has and by the time you do, you've already found that specific content you were looking for in that wiki and there's no point in browsing the other contents anymore.

I think in the long run it's better to just create a downloadable FAQ and have it linked to Wikipedia and the DC homepage. That way you at least have a formatted document rather than an unbrowsable history of random things you're not really sure you want to read.

Edit: This is also a good way of letting the actual dedicated wikipedians do all the work of working through the system. Just sprinkle the FAQ download into the Wikipedia reference and have them argue what's notable or non-notable in the discussion page and then sit back and relax in the thought of knowing that whatever content they argue on, the full details is still there for anyone to read.

[mahesh2k]

Thing is if you're involved with the organisation isn't it bad practice to edit your own articles?

I agree. But i don't mind editing it anyway.

[Ampa]

I am currently reading The World and Wikipedia: How We are Editing Reality and it has interested me in trying my hand at a little Wikipedia editing.

So, I have had a look at DCs wikipedia entry, and added a couple of notes to the discussion page.

Would be ideal if a few other DCers felt like collaborating and together we could start improving the page.

Update: DonationCoder's entry has been challenged and is proposed for deletion (in 7 days time!). The charge is "Web content with no indication of notability".

I'd like to think that the DC site, software and community are notable, but to be in the encyclopedia we need to demonstrate it by citing references from external sources.

Of course this is all my fault! By interacting with the existing page, it has been flagged to an admin, who has set the clock ticking! Ooops

Any volunteers? Head over to the discussion page and let's get going![/color]

[mouser]

Of course this is all my fault! By interacting with the existing page, it has been flagged to an admin, who has set the clock ticking!

Ironic isn't it? Ugh sometimes life is confusing.

[tomos]

I may be wrong but their referencing system is a bit dubious to say the least - I got involved in debate a while back about another page and just got totally frustrated & gave up.

Is there a way to search (bing google whoever) for "donationcoder" but to exclude this whole site?
That way we could throw in a few external links, might help

[KynloStephen66515]

I may be wrong but their referencing system is a bit dubious to say the least - I got involved in debate a while back about another page and just got totally frustrated & gave up.

Is there a way to search (bing google whoever) for "donationcoder" but to exclude this whole site?
That way we could throw in a few external links, might help

Ive just actually spent about 30 minutes searching for any decent 'backlinks' to DC, but couldn't find a reliable enough source to be honest, its unlikely that you can hit Google with a 'DC' search, whilst excluding any domains with donationcoder.com in them, seems like a good idea, but unsure its actually possible.

[housetier]

http://www.google.com/search?q=donationcoder+-site%3Adonationcoder.com might work. Maybe we'll find more references in our own DB though: there are numerous posts saying where DC has been mentioned in an article.

[wraith808]

I read a bit and found out that for the stage of deletion that the page was in, all that was needed was for someone to object and remove the tag.  I also added links to LifeHacker, since reference by a notable site is one way to become notable.  This was just a quick edit- adding references to some of the sites that cover NANY or DonationCoder in general (or the articles, like the interview with David Allen) would help if someone then tries to challenge it and take it through the whole deletion process.  I have a watch on the page also, so it will notify me if someone changes it to hopefully catch any attempts to change the status of the page.

[mouser]

Thanks!

I often link to this article i wrote when i want to explain DonationCoder in such cases:
http://www.donationcoder.com/Articles/One/index.html
I think this is already linked to on our wikipedia page, i just mention it in case it's useful to point out to someone.

[mouser]

I think it might also be worth thinking about the fact that anyone who is considering adding to the wikipedia page of a site they are part of, has to be really wary of posting something that might be viewed by others as self-promotion.

Because there is so much spamming and attempts to game the system and do underhanded marketing on the internet, sites like wikipedia are patroled by people with good intentions and hair triggers just looking for the slightest excuse to remove a page.