Editing Newsletter/Winter 2006 (section)

=== Q2 ===
'''''Why is it that more people on Star Trek Freedom do not access the STF Wikipedia?'''''

Time is a factor and their connection as well, if you have dial up internet, you don't want to waste too much time waiting for the pages to load when you want to be getting on checking your mail and going to the main site to check something out. This gets worse if you are paying as you go or have a limited account. Also, does everyone know how to use the wiki and do they all know what it can do? Send a NRPG to your ship and let them all know how to use the wiki... do it now! - [[User:sysop|Anthony]]

I think part of the problem is that the Wiki tends to be redundant to some of our folk. For example, the ‘News from the Front’ section here might also be covered the Forum boards, under their ship’s thread. The main site has a place for both character and player bios… perhaps many have already said all they care to about themselves and their characters there, and thus see no need to repeat themselves on the Wiki. Indeed, the Wiki allows us to include much greater detail… but perhaps the majority don’t want to go into greater detail than they already have on the site bios, the Forum already provides us with a place to share our art, interesting links, jokes, and in general, each other’s online company. 

Articles on races, technologies, and other Star Trek-related issues of that kind might suffer from the same difficulty. We already have a database on the site… perhaps it could indeed use some updating, but it’s there. And websites like Memory Alpha, etc, already exist with extensive, well-written articles on all manner of Trek stuff. 

Thus, I would say that if we want more of our folk to visit the Wiki, then it needs a good ‘hook’ or two… cool stuff that can’t be found somewhere else in a shorter, easier-to-find form. Any ideas? -[[GrannyGM]]

I agree. There is a lot of time that is consumed in doing the wiki articles. It took me a few months to do my first article completely. -- [[User:VulcanTrekkie45|VulcanTrekkie45]]

* I think I was the one of the first users (if not the first) to really dig my teeth into the wiki. I think Spencer from the Paladin had started one article and Anthony had made a few placeholder pages. In those early days, I tried to promote the Wiki everywhere I could, specially the Star Trek Freedom chat room, and no body really seemed to care as much has I did. Everybody seems to be pressed for time these days, and I think, like it was said above, a lot of the information on the Wiki is redundant. Plus, back then, the Wiki syntax was really confusing to mostly everybody. I think it'll get more and more popular. I even suggested to a few people that we should even make placeholder pages for important characters where the player is too busy to make a page for them. -- [[User:KevinSchram|Kevin Schram]]