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Additional writing habits have formed beyond those mentioned in
GoodStyle [1]. Here are some more suggestions, some of which are
subsequently debated.
* At the top, establish a context: Tell the reader what the page is
about.
* Tell important information first, go into details later. Think of
the wiki page as newspaper article. Readers are impatient: they start
at the top and read down. If they care enough about the page to edit
it, they scroll to the bottom (because the EditText [2] button is
there).
* Link to other relevant wiki pages wherever possible. Links
increase the value of the WikiWikiWeb [3].
* Use categories for automatic indexing. See WikiCategories [4].
* Unless you prefer anonymity, sign and date your comment. --
LarsAronsson [5] (18 May 2001)
* Readers love enumerated lists, (of 5 entries +/-2 i.e. 3-7
entries).
These probably deserve to be considered, pondered, cherished and
grokked for a while before eventual inclusion in GoodStyle [6].
On the other hand ...
* See also PleasePleaseDontCategorizeEveryPageOnWiki [7]
* Anonymity and non-dated comments are preferred if we want to "Edit
pages to emphasize the flow of ideas, not the chronology of
contribution." Besides anonymity, not signing invites refactoring.
* Some readers don't love enumerated lists. Remember: use of a
numbered list implies that either there is a chronological ordering,
or you will refer back to it at some point in the following text.
Otherwise, a bulleted list works just as well.
Links:
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[1] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?GoodStyle
[2] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?EditText
[3] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?WikiWikiWeb
[4] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?WikiCategories
[5] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?LarsAronsson
[6] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?GoodStyle
[7]
http://melbournewireless.org.au/?PleasePleaseDontCategorizeEveryPageOnWiki
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