One reason I haven't as yet taken an active role in Wiki-ing is that I find Wikis not to be very usable. The only one that is, to me, intuitive is Wikipedia, but Matt's is pretty good too. My main problem with most of the Wikis I've looked at is that when I go to the main page, I just don't know what to do. Like this one: The organization doesn't really make sense to me. Is there a certain principle to follow when navigating Wikis that I don't know about?
Usability of Wikis
Submitted by Clancy on June 23, 2003 - 17:38.
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Re: Usability of Wikis
That's a great question. The example you hit on is an unfortunate one, though: It seems to be dedicated to a specialized topic shared among people who already know what they're doing and don't feel the need to explain it to YOU! I opened a wiki, just for fun, and am hoping that it is a little more inviting than that. But it seems that even wikis that mean to invite you in can grow a little diffuse at times, and need landscaping. My wiki software isn't as advanced as some, so I try to garden it from time to time by creating summary pages where needed (ListOfCurrentProjects, say) and referring to them at key points.
The Meatball folks have discussed online community up and down and sideways over time, by the way. It makes for interesting and instructive reading, and a good example of a wiki that works pretty well, and why.
I just bought a used copy of Leuf and Cunningham's The Wiki Way and am hoping it will give me some clues on how to keep my garden growing!