DV Info Wiki Reference

Ron Pfister · April 1st, 2006, 01:31 PM

Hello all!

Having had the privilege to be a member of this forum for over four years, I have come to rely on the DVInfo community as a very valuable and reliable source of information. The quality of content on DVI is usually very high, and the members of the community are very helpful. Kudos to Chris and all frequent contributors for building, shaping and maintaining this invaluable platform!!

Over the years, however, I have frequently thought to myself: as great as the interactive nature of a bulletin board system may be for this purpose, it often takes a whole lot of time to find the information you're looking for. How great would it be if there was a structured on-line reference for all the aspects discussed on this forum?

Just today, it occurred to me that there may just be a way to accomplish this: establishing a DVInfo Wiki...

If you're unfamiliar with what exactly a Wiki is and how it works, you can get it straight from the horse's mouth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki

Wouldn't it be great to start something like this? A collection of reference material that everyone can contribute to - containing detailed info e.g. on a particular camcorder that isn't written in any user manual? I think it would be excellent!

What are your opinions?

Curiously,

Ron

Boyd Ostroff · April 1st, 2006, 01:39 PM

Hey Ron! This topic comes up from time to time...

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=8692
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=19769
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=44451
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=44976
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=52576

Aaron Koolen · April 1st, 2006, 03:18 PM

I agree. I vote for this sort of resource too.

Matthew Delong · April 2nd, 2006, 12:24 AM

With the new intergration of Web 2.0 and using AJAX it should be a lot easier. I agree some sort of reference abiltity would be great.

Glenn Chan · April 2nd, 2006, 04:29 PM

If it's not too much work, I think a Wiki should be given a trial run.

It would be useful to put some guides up there, i.e. how to light, how to use your camera, etc.

Having links allows people to explore certain topics further. In the lighting section, you could have links on how to construct certain types of lights (i.e. nanolights, DIY reflectors, etc.) and have lighting diagrams. This kind of information is not easily conveyed in a forum.

For specific queries, this message board is the best.
For broad queries (i.e. the basics on how to make a film), I think some sort of Wiki would work the best.

2- Chris mentions that he is afraid that just anyone can edit pages. However, this isn't a problem for the wikipedia. When those particular pages get defaced, they get resored pretty quickly (apparently in a few minutes).

If you just do a trial run, it'll become apparent whether or not this is a problem that can be solved.

Chris Hurd · April 2nd, 2006, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenn Chan

Chris mentions that he is afraid that just anyone can edit pages.

Probably better stated that my concern is with the trolls that are occasionally drawn to the light here... I've seen too many brand-oriented hidden agendas (and not so hidden). One way around this would be to give permissions only to those established folks here that we all know and trust (not just the forum moderators). Will look into the available wiki solutions that will integrate with our forum software. I'd want to maintain the one account / one log-in per person thing, so much easier that way.

Glenn Chan · April 4th, 2006, 12:27 AM

What about making it a point not to mention a particular product unless it is absolutely necessary? For things like how to light, how to get sound, product names don't have to be in there.

It's probably better to seperate out the product names, since "which product is better?" type discussions are probably better left for the forums. Things change over time.

Ron Pfister · April 10th, 2006, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Will look into the available wiki solutions that will integrate with our forum software.

Chris, you may want to check out MediaWiki. That's what WikiPedia runs on...

http://www.mediawiki.org/

Chris Hurd · April 10th, 2006, 07:51 PM

Thanks Ron, I've got that site bookmarked!

Glenn Chan · July 6th, 2006, 08:43 PM

Hmm there's a Wikibook project this is a very similar idea to what's being proposed here.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Filmmaking

Paul Leung · July 7th, 2006, 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenn Chan

What about making it a point not to mention a particular product unless it is absolutely necessary? For things like how to light, how to get sound, product names don't have to be in there.

It's probably better to seperate out the product names, since "which product is better?" type discussions are probably better left for the forums. Things change over time.

Yeah, I agree. Get it start first and we can fine tune and work out the details. I also agree with Chris's view about allowing only trusted members to edit the contents.

Enrique Galvis · July 7th, 2006, 07:58 AM

This is simply a great idea and the movie making example is the way to go.
I'm sure that 15 or 20 trustees can be recruited to help maintain the pages so they remain accurate and troll free.
I truly hope you go for it Chris since it also brings higher exposure to an already informative site and allow more idea exchanges from an international source. After all I'm sure that's why we all are here.

Frank Hool · July 9th, 2006, 07:43 AM

Without offering any additional solution here, i just say it's terrible useful thing. For instance look at my favorite place here - Alternative Imaging Methods. It's full of keywords which have very fuzzy explanations. Let's take bokeh, hotspot, vignetting. We got there constantly new links outside which are very often reactional. And people very often forget that those are given from pov of photography not from pov of video imaging. And other people just constantly try correct this noise thread by thread and doing zero job in someway.

Yi Fong Yu · September 7th, 2006, 10:17 PM

doesn't it already exist in the form of dvinfo.net (and its related sites hdvinfo.net, etc.)?

wiki sounds like a great idea at first... but i want my encyclopedias to be from authoritative people that know what they're talking about. having the possibilities of a random anyone or a few people editing pages just because democracy is king isn't what education should be. learning is great if the resource knowledge has been tested through fire... but learning plain out lies is a waste of my time =). that's why i never bought into the idea of wiki, nothing against it wholistically as it gets people interested in sharing knowledge... but so did the world wide web. why build ANOTHER tool on top of an existing tool?

Ron Pfister · September 8th, 2006, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yi Fong Yu

learning is great if the resource knowledge has been tested through fire... but learning plain out lies is a waste of my time =).

Hmm... as far as I'm concerned, most people here on DVinfo are exactly the ones that are testing the issues at hand through fire. Forget marketing speech - real experience is what counts. And a book isn't more error-proof than a wiki just because it's printed on paper. I still think a DVinfo-wiki is a splendid idea, and I hope something will come of it someday...

April 1st, 2006, 01:31 PM	#1
Ron Pfister Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Basel area, Switzerland Posts: 285	DV Info Wiki Reference - How About That? Hello all! Having had the privilege to be a member of this forum for over four years, I have come to rely on the DVInfo community as a very valuable and reliable source of information. The quality of content on DVI is usually very high, and the members of the community are very helpful. Kudos to Chris and all frequent contributors for building, shaping and maintaining this invaluable platform!! Over the years, however, I have frequently thought to myself: as great as the interactive nature of a bulletin board system may be for this purpose, it often takes a whole lot of time to find the information you're looking for. How great would it be if there was a structured on-line reference for all the aspects discussed on this forum? Just today, it occurred to me that there may just be a way to accomplish this: establishing a DVInfo Wiki... If you're unfamiliar with what exactly a Wiki is and how it works, you can get it straight from the horse's mouth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wouldn't it be great to start something like this? A collection of reference material that everyone can contribute to - containing detailed info e.g. on a particular camcorder that isn't written in any user manual? I think it would be excellent! What are your opinions? Curiously, Ron __________________ Ronald P. Pfister halimedia - digital solutions and services www.halimedia.com

April 1st, 2006, 03:18 PM	#3
Aaron Koolen Trustee Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 1,727	I agree. I vote for this sort of resource too. __________________ My Website Meat Free Media

April 10th, 2006, 07:51 PM	#9
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Thanks Ron, I've got that site bookmarked! __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

September 7th, 2006, 10:17 PM	#14
Yi Fong Yu Trustee Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vulcan Posts: 1,564	doesn't it already exist in the form of dvinfo.net (and its related sites hdvinfo.net, etc.)? wiki sounds like a great idea at first... but i want my encyclopedias to be from authoritative people that know what they're talking about. having the possibilities of a random anyone or a few people editing pages just because democracy is king isn't what education should be. learning is great if the resource knowledge has been tested through fire... but learning plain out lies is a waste of my time =). that's why i never bought into the idea of wiki, nothing against it wholistically as it gets people interested in sharing knowledge... but so did the world wide web. why build ANOTHER tool on top of an existing tool? __________________ bow wow wow

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April 1st, 2006, 01:39 PM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,794	Hey Ron! This topic comes up from time to time... http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=8692 http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=19769 http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=44451 http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=44976 http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=52576

April 2nd, 2006, 12:24 AM	#4
Matthew Delong Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ironton, Ohio Posts: 34	With the new intergration of Web 2.0 and using AJAX it should be a lot easier. I agree some sort of reference abiltity would be great.

April 2nd, 2006, 04:29 PM	#5
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	If it's not too much work, I think a Wiki should be given a trial run. It would be useful to put some guides up there, i.e. how to light, how to use your camera, etc. Having links allows people to explore certain topics further. In the lighting section, you could have links on how to construct certain types of lights (i.e. nanolights, DIY reflectors, etc.) and have lighting diagrams. This kind of information is not easily conveyed in a forum. For specific queries, this message board is the best. For broad queries (i.e. the basics on how to make a film), I think some sort of Wiki would work the best. 2- Chris mentions that he is afraid that just anyone can edit pages. However, this isn't a problem for the wikipedia. When those particular pages get defaced, they get resored pretty quickly (apparently in a few minutes). If you just do a trial run, it'll become apparent whether or not this is a problem that can be solved.

April 4th, 2006, 12:27 AM	#7
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	What about making it a point not to mention a particular product unless it is absolutely necessary? For things like how to light, how to get sound, product names don't have to be in there. It's probably better to seperate out the product names, since "which product is better?" type discussions are probably better left for the forums. Things change over time.

July 6th, 2006, 08:43 PM	#10
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Hmm there's a Wikibook project this is a very similar idea to what's being proposed here. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Filmmaking

July 7th, 2006, 07:58 AM	#12
Enrique Galvis Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Vernon, NJ Posts: 44	This is simply a great idea and the movie making example is the way to go. I'm sure that 15 or 20 trustees can be recruited to help maintain the pages so they remain accurate and troll free. I truly hope you go for it Chris since it also brings higher exposure to an already informative site and allow more idea exchanges from an international source. After all I'm sure that's why we all are here.

July 9th, 2006, 07:43 AM	#13
Frank Hool Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Barca Spain Posts: 384	Without offering any additional solution here, i just say it's terrible useful thing. For instance look at my favorite place here - Alternative Imaging Methods. It's full of keywords which have very fuzzy explanations. Let's take bokeh, hotspot, vignetting. We got there constantly new links outside which are very often reactional. And people very often forget that those are given from pov of photography not from pov of video imaging. And other people just constantly try correct this noise thread by thread and doing zero job in someway.