There needs to be only ***ONE*** Ubuntu Wiki

[manzdagratiano]

I am voicing here a concern that I am sure many have had before in various places, but I think it is high time to take action, considering the squashing of Bug #1.

The Ubuntu wiki documentation is confusing as hell. A new user will have no idea where to look for information, and will inevitably land up here on the forums and ask n00bish questions that could have been answered by the Wiki in the first place.

For starters, I would suggest the following two changes:

1> What is now called the "Ubuntu Wiki" really deserves to be part of the "Official Documentation", and should be renamed as such.

2> What is now called "Community Ubuntu Documentation" is really the "Ubuntu Wiki" by definition, and should be renamed as such.

In fact, doing a simple Google search for "Ubuntu Wiki" does not lead directly to any place that has useful "wiki"-like documentation to help new users find their way.

A "wiki" is traditionally what a community edits for the benefit of all that may follow, like Wikipedia. Calling the official documentation a "wiki" is misleading, and the problem is worsened by pointing the user to two different links there - the "official documentation", and the "community help pages". This, I believe is one of the primary reasons the Ubuntu wiki is in a state of disdain (I do not believe anybody here would disagree, for this has similarly been voiced unanimously in the thread regarding removing the Ubuntu Archives). Indeed, I do agree that a wiki is made by what the community makes it, but the community should have incentive to create a top notch wiki in the first place.

Take the (some people would say here "notorious") example of Arch Linux. It has probably the most excellent Wiki one could ask for; with Arch there's two things - there's Arch, and there's the ArchWiki. Most of the qualms a new user may have may be solved directly by reading the wiki - there's no five different places a user has to refer to to find what information is relevant and what is out of date.

I would like to propose going with the changes I described above. This would also provide more incentive for users, indeed such as myself, to go ahead and contribute to the central documentation that shall be a reference point for Ubuntu users.

By the way, I do notice a site called "ubuntuwiki.net" - if this is a new effort in this direction as was discussed earlier in the forums, please make me aware of the same. Also, I would suggest hogging the domain address "wiki.ubuntu.com" precisely for such a purpose.

EDIT: I have landed at the correct place to create some noise regarding the issue - the Ubuntu Documentation Team mailing list:

ubuntu-doc@lists.ubuntu.com

I have just opened a thread in the list summarizing much in this thread and in the corresponding Launchpad bug I opened:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-website/+bug/792979

(for which Thewhistlingwind has been my Wing Man) and it should be posted to the archives soon. I would like to urge the Mods, as well as the veterans of the forums, whose HOWTO's and help tweaks I have derived much benefit from - bodhi.zazen, cariboo907, drs305, K.Mandla, lisati (the list goes on) - to pray chime into the discussion there. This matter has long slid away, but it cannot be allowed to anymore. The wealth of information in the forum archives cannot be allowed to slip into the folds of posteriority!

[manzdagratiano]

I beseech that somebody pray tell me who to appeal to to do anything about such a thing.

[handy]

Good luck!

I'm starting to think that there are immoveable objects behind the scenes that are anchoring the Ubuntu wiki/documentation mess & causing it to remain static.

Trying to change it, seems to be as difficult as getting changes made in any large bureaucracy. Which is usually impossible.

[SecretCode]

You could post your suggestion at Popular ideas - Ubuntu brainstorm. No guarantee it will get a thorough consideration let alone implementation.

The only real way to promote something like this is to become the person who can do something about such a thing. The open source mantra ... "do it yourself".

Specifically, build the entire wiki / official documentation the way you see it should be, and then propose that your site is adopted as the official site.

[handy]

Which is a mammoth task requiring a coordinated team of like minded individuals sharing the same focus.

The aforementioned requirement is very likely why the Ubuntu wiki/documentation projects remain as fragmented as they are.

Some people can't accept that their idea(s) could do with a dramatic overhaul.

[manzdagratiano]

You could post your suggestion at Popular ideas - Ubuntu brainstorm. No guarantee it will get a thorough consideration let alone implementation.

The only real way to promote something like this is to become the person who can do something about such a thing. The open source mantra ... "do it yourself".

Specifically, build the entire wiki / official documentation the way you see it should be, and then propose that your site is adopted as the official site.

Yikes!!! This is that hard? There has got to be an easier way - like with Debian you just email debian-devel, and they tell you to either STFU or make some suggestions. Launchpad I know is the one way to reach people such that it matters if they listen. Maybe I should file a bug to this effect? Come to think of it, this is actually also important for Bug #1!!!

The implementation part is the easy part - the devs need not re-create the Wiki, they just need to
a) put it in an obvious place like I said
b) make it an actual wiki by allowing the community to edit it.

and it will take off! Like every other wiki!!!

[manzdagratiano]

By the way does anybody know who created this?:

http://ubuntuwiki.net/index.php/Main_Page

If there is *any* official backing to this, then the hardest part of rebuilding the entire wiki again is already done! - We can already start storming pages on there, and then request this be made the official wiki linking off from Ubuntu's home page!

[Thewhistlingwind]

You could post your suggestion at Popular ideas - Ubuntu brainstorm. No guarantee it will get a thorough consideration let alone implementation.

The only real way to promote something like this is to become the person who can do something about such a thing. The open source mantra ... "do it yourself".

Specifically, build the entire wiki / official documentation the way you see it should be, and then propose that your site is adopted as the official site.

Well sure, if you want to see how that task would play out, open up terminal, and do the following.

1. Press tab twice
2. hit Y

After scrolling through all that, each one of those commands would need a wiki page. It would take more then one.

[manzdagratiano]

That's probably overkill, but Community Documentation already exists as a huge body of knowledge. if it can be merely reorganized into the above Ubuntuwiki.net, we have a huge start!

[manzdagratiano]

Who runs ubuntuwiki.net?

Does it have any official backing?

The website is at the moment vacant, and it says it is intended to be a sister site to freebsdwiki.net.