The Wiki is a powerful tool and there are few strict rules, but over time the community has developed a strong sense of how one should behave. If you are completely new to the Wiki, a light primer of common mistakes is located at Welcome to Ithaca Wiki.
Some loose guidelines
- Respect the opinions of others. On the other hand, make it clear whether you are expressing a fact or an opinion.
- If you don't agree with something, promote dialogue by including all sides of the argument.
- Use the wiki for good and not evil.
- Avoid Wiki Edit Wars by respecting others content in your edits. When your edits cause disagreement, it is best to discuss them either on the original page, the talk page for the page your editing, just click the talk tab at the top, next to the edit tab. If the talk page does not exist yet, create it!
- Don't be afraid to summarize or re-organize past entries for the sake of readability.
- Do not fear disagreement and debate. It is the most important part of the process.
- Always be civil to all, and be especially nice to those who are new to our community.
- There's a consensus that ["Users/FirstnameLastname"] pages are the property of that user. Edit them if you'd like, but respect the owner's wishes.
- Use a single user-account, and refrain from creating sock-puppets, i.e. a user that mimics thoughts expressed by your primary account, but in no way reveals the two speakers to be one and the same.
- The wiki is about the Ithaca community. If you find yourself in a tangential debate or edit war, balance things by frequently editing other pages as well, even if it's just some minor grammatical or spelling edits.
- It's better to convince someone of something through argument than to delete their edits.
It likely remains true that Wikis sort themselves out. Certainly in the case of Ithaca Wiki, we are blessed with intelligent and respectful people. That is why any talk of ethics wouldn't be rules but mere guidelines that people might like to follow.
We would all hate to see the wiki turn into a great place to post porn and flame your professors, but this isn't likely to happen as long as we are all respectful and cooperative. Confrontational statements, for the sole purpose of being confrontational, should be ignored or removed.
Should anything be taboo? If so, what?
Things that are frowned upon on Ithaca Wiki (add what you want, even if it's just a bud of an idea):
- Threats of any kind. Threatening other users is totally inappropriate.
- Libel (spreading lies via print)
- Creating pages that intentionally mislead users. This is not to say that dramatic or humorous wording is disallowed; just that it should be clear to an average reader when something is true versus when something is a joke or tongue in cheek.
- Confrontational speech is usually edited or removed. Controversial statements should be attributed to those who say them.
- Anything that might be construed as "Hate". Basically any derisive commentary motivated by gender, race, orientation, religion, ethnicity, or class.
- Personal information regarding an individual without their permission. Some leeway might be acceptable for public figures. When in doubt though, get permission.
- Do not post pornography. However, links to pornographic images may be acceptible in unusual circumstances. For example if a user is a photogropher and links his portfolio to his user page. There should always be warning though posted next to the link.
Some Famous Quotes that Sum Up Wiki Philosophy
- Back in 1994, the Web was a pretty wonderful place, with lots of people putting up stuff just because they thought someone else would find it interesting or useful. Wiki preserves that feeling in a place that has become too much of a shopping mall. It reminds people that sometimes to work together you have to trust each other more than you have any reason to. —Ward Cunningham
- "We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature add to ours." — John of Salisbury (11th century monk)
(have a good one, add it, by clicking edit)
Helpful Websites For Wiki Ethics
- c2.com — Cunningham & Cunningham, Inc.'s Wiki is an early Wiki, but certainly not the last word on Ethics - each Wiki builds its own set of beliefs and choices.
