(2003-08-05) Echo Wiki Backlash

There are many pieces on a current thread about a backlash against the use of the Wiki by the Echo Standards group. Some thoughts:

• I think when there's vast amount of uncoordinated (Emergence) activity it's hard to mesh in, regardless of the medium.

• the "ahistoricity" issue can often be handled by writing archive pages: you document a decision going one way, then later you move in a different direction, so you archive the "old" page to something like 'Data Model Archive Apr2003'. It's harder to do this when the change in direction "emerges" rather than being recognized in advance, but that change history of the WikiEngine could let someone go back and grab an old version to copy to a brand new page.

• another approach is what I generally recommend: use an Email List for the detailed discussion, document the converged results in the wiki (Email Discussion Beside Wiki). I think a WebLog is the worst medium for including in the process, except maybe for big-vision my-view rants.

• a snapshot/pause can be applied to a wiki, or at least many WikiEngine-s - or worst case just remove some edit code temporarily!