President's Report
You may not know it.You can't feel it.
And if somebody didn't tell you about it, you might still not know it.
What is this "it" you ask?
It's all about some very Big Changes within the club.
Let's start out with the biggest and brightest star of our future -It's the WIKI!
"The wiki? I've never heard of a wiki..."
What is a wiki you ask?
Well, it's not some sort of Island Party - nice try.
- It's a way for the collective masses (our membership) to share technical information.
- It's a way for the collective masses to add technical information.
- It's a way for the collective masses to also access quality, up to date technical information.
It's really easy to find.
- Just go to the 912bbs.org and log in,
- Go to your "Control Panel" and "edit your profile"
- Add your membership number to your profile.
- Now click on the button on the upper right labeled wiki.
- Now you'll need to enter your login and password for the wiki (they are the same as your bbs login and password)
- Now your in!
Let's look at what the wiki can do from 3 examples.
Example #1: (the User)
Let's say your working on your 67 912.
It's late Friday night and you are getting ready for the club drive tomorrow.
You happen to be adjusting the float level on your solex carbs for the first time.
You started out thinking you had all the right tools, the workshop manual and so on.
Suddenly you realize your having problems.
The level doesn't stay where you set it.
You keep trying and trying.
It's too late to ask anyone on the bbs. It's too late to call your buddy in Kansas.
You really need to make it to the drive tomorrow.
What do you do?
Go to the wiki!
The wiki has the exact answer you need.
Example #2: (the Contributor)
"If the level deviates, first check the float, float adjustment swivel, and the float needle valves to be sure they are working correctly. If those items are working correctly, adjust the float level by resetting the the externally located float level adjustment screw."
Being technically minded as you are, you go to the wiki and search for the proper way to adjust your generator. You may have done this procedure 100 times. You know how to do it and have developed a systematic approach that ensures the correct tension on the belt.
Doing a simple search on the wiki turns up that the article is not there!
No problem.
You detail your procedure and upload it to the wiki.
You can add pictures, diagrams, and links to other wiki pages or external links.
Now, every member can benefit from your expertise.
You've helped the club and the 912 community to be a better place.
Kudos to you!
Example #3: (the Editor)
You happen to be searching the wiki for a technical procedure.
You find the article you were looking for and in reading it you find a couple of grammatical errors, spelling errors, and a reference to a tool that doesn't exist anymore.
As a matter of fact, the tool has been replaced by an even better tool that does a much better job.
Every page on the wiki can be edited by every member regardless of who created that page.
Read that again.
That means an obsolete article can be "fixed" and updated at any time, by anybody, to provide constant up to the minute correct content.
How cool is that?
That's what we think too!
Here's another cool fact for you.
The wiki starts as nothing. It's an empty shell.
As more and more content is added to it, the wiki grows.
There is virtually no limit to how big the wiki can grow.
There is virtually no limit to what the wiki can do for you.
Paula wrote an excellent here: http://www.912registry.org/enews/2007/03/912-registry-wiki.htm
If it all doesn't make sense yet - don't worry - it will very soon.
Read her article and then go play on the wiki.
Labels: President
