Burning Man Wiki???

[mrawesome]

Hi all,

I'm continually trying to figure out ways to optimize my camp setup - looking for speed of setup and break down while still providing as many creature comforts as possible.

It takes forever to read all the ginormous threads on eplaya. I've searched, but haven't found anything discussed on leveraging a wiki for BM info. Has anyone considered using a wiki to consolidate and organize a lot of the information on eplaya?

I'm thinking a wiki could consolidate and organize some of the following:
- ideal / optimal camp setups
- hexayurt designs, building strategies, best practices, etc
- swamp cooler designs, building strategies, etc.
- monkey hut designs, strategies, etc.
- supply resources (for hexayurts, swamp coolers, monkey huts, lighting, solar systems, general camp gear, etc)
- tips & tricks
- faqs

I can setup a wiki for the community, but I wanted to get community input before committing the time. I'd definitely like to recruit some help in curating and organizing the information for the wiki.

Your thoughts? Pros? Cons? Concerns? Considerations? Recommendations? If I built it, would you come?

Jeremy

[BBadger]

Nothing is stopping you from setting one up. A wiki would be best for specific BM topics like monkey-huts, dealing with law enforcement, how to make specific popular crafts, etc. For everything else, there are many other resources on the net to cover car camping, basic survival at BM (e.g. the Survival Guide), etc.

Anyway, you have an entire year to search through those long threads -- no matter how terrible the search box is on this forum.

[AntiM]

Optimal camp set ups? You'd have thousands of entries on that subject alone.

Go for it.

[theCryptofishist]

Can you imagine the horrible obsessive re-editing of everything? The whole "water bottle v. camelbak" (for instance) re-hashed over and over... Not even going to think about tent v. rv...

[mrawesome]

For wiki articles that are based on debates, I'd imagine the debates would take place on eplaya and we could just use the wiki to consolidate the key points on both sides. I'm assuming most of the articles will be focused on infrastructure topics - shelters, shade, electrical, cooling, etc., - most everything else seems pretty well documented on the main BM site.

Personally, I'd love to see a lot articles on how people build and strike camps quickly. I camped solo this year and setup and breakdown was a beeeyatch because I have a tendency to build elaborate camps with everything - shade, shelter, uberevapcooler, electrical, lighting, bath, shower, blah blah...

There's tons of stuff all over the net. We could also just create a lot of pointers to articles and posts that are external to the wiki. At least all the key links would be consolidated so people could find what they're looking for easier.

Any recommendations for a wiki platform that you think would work best? I don't want to take anything away from the discussions on eplaya, so I don't think having strong discussion capability is essential. I'd like the wiki to be accessible to as many people as possible, so ease of use and a good editor are most essential in my opinion.

What do you think are the best ways to recruit help in curating the wiki? Should I just build it with some initial structure and then share with the community to see if it takes? What's the best category to even discuss this idea on eplaya?

[Savannah]

I moved this to the Q&A Tips & Tricks forum.

Lots of people condense Burner information on their favorite subjects on their own websites. Some are general virgin guides, others are very specific to shade, for example. It's a fantastic aim, since you probably have no plans to use Burning Man trademarks or use the site as a money-making venture. (Trademark must be protected, unfortunately, or big random marketers can hold up examples of occasions when it wasn't, and make a case for shilling playa pixie stix and energy drinks).

Using google to search for a keyword + eplaya will help you find plenty of long-buried information.

. . . And the regulars are generally interested in pointing out flaws when you're close to done.

[Sic Pup]

(Trademark must be protected, unfortunately, or big random marketers can hold up examples of occasions when it wasn't, and make a case for shilling playa pixie stix and energy drinks).

Which reminds me, did anyone else catch the new Mexican fast food "fire" tv ad campaign? I'm not sure anyone can make a claim on owning the rights to the images of beautiful people in outrageous costumes spinning fire in the middle of a temporary desert city (or that very many people would recognize what it was attempting to represent) but I thought it interesting*.

* then again it doesn't take much.

[Elderberry]

I think that would be a great idea. Maybe approach Trillobyte and see if BMORG would be willing to set one up under their URL http://wiki.burningman.com and you could help with the setup and administration.

[Savannah]

Good find, JKisha.

[Elderberry]

Good find, JKisha.

That's funny. I had no clue that URL was set up already. Maybe something is already in the works, or somebody was thinking ahead.

[lemur]

keeping the wiki out of the hands of the LLC seems to me to be a better option than hosting it with them.

[lemur]

for example, you could do a 'businesses to avoid' section on a wiki not hosted by the LLC.

...wont be seeing that on an 'official' LLC hosted wiki.


the list of dos and donts surely would go on and on!

[BBadger]

for example, you could do a 'businesses to avoid' section on a wiki not hosted by the LLC.

...wont be seeing that on an 'official' LLC hosted wiki.

But the jury is still out as to whether we can even link to sites with negative reviews! It could turn that wiki into a Pirate Bay-esque link-pariah as far as the forum is concerned.

[mrawesome]

Lemur's blog gave me a couple more ideas that would also be great on a wiki site...

- Meal plans
- Good playa food / bad playa food

I'm also of the opinion that the wiki should be external if that permits articles that might otherwise be limited.

Initial thoughts on overall objectives for wiki development are:
- serve the burning man community at large
- promote community participation in wiki development
- consolidate & organize tried and tested information in various categories: shelter, shade, power, lighting, shower, cooling systems, camp design, setup, breakdown, food, meal plans, general crafts, etc.
- where to buy all this stuff
- index burning man related sites

I suppose I'll start poking around at a good wiki solution and start building. If anyone wants to participate in curating the wiki, developing guidelines, developing structure, recommending categories, etc. speak up here.

[Elderberry]

If you're going to go independent, be careful what you name it; and certainly don't call it official.

For the record, my preference would be for it to be under the BMORG umbrella.

[Canoe]

Similar functionality can probably be handled by appropriate stickies providing a list of "recommended" threads, or even posts within threads.
Somewhat more cluttered, but you're not maintaining information in two places and nothing to build.
Need a designated person to maintain the stickies, and receive PMs of recommended threads to add/delete/update, etc..
Works well on many forums.

[DrYes]

Similar functionality can probably be handled by appropriate stickies providing a list of "recommended" threads, or even posts within threads.
Somewhat more cluttered, but you're not maintaining information in two places and nothing to build.
Need a designated person to maintain the stickies, and receive PMs of recommended threads to add/delete/update, etc..
Works well on many forums.

Except that the forum rules prohibit posting certain kinds of info that is practical for BM attendees. Leaving it on the forums necessarily makes it less comprehensive, if potentially easier to maintain.