Fanfic and wiki - internet publishing

**Divissima** · 22nd-June-2005, 01:10 PM

A comment I made on another thread has started me thinking...

I've been aware of the existence of fanfic for a long time now, but have only read very very little of it. I was wondering if anyone on here writes or has written fanfic or has any recommendations for good sites for quality or amusement value.

This is one of several internet phenomena which really fascinate me - another being wiki. There was an article in today's Guardian about the Los Angeles Times - apparently last week they started a 'wikitorial' but have temporarily withdrawn it due to the posting of 'inappropriate material'. Do many forumites refer to wikipedia or contribute to it, or other wiki?

I guess with internet publishing, there's always going to be the problem of quality control, even before you get to offensive content - including porn, spam, and viruses amongst others - but I can happily spend a few hours surfing interesting sites and find that there is a lot of interesting content out there.

So this thread kind of belongs in the book club - anyone read any interesting web content recently?

**Divissima** · 22nd-June-2005, 01:14 PM

Thanks to David Franklin, I have myself some evening entertainment

Can't wait to have a look at the sites mentioned here

**Dreadful Scathe** · 22nd-June-2005, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divissima

A comment I made on another thread has started me thinking...

Dont stop again then, its healthy

I have written a few things on wikipedia, look up 'Falkirk' for instance i added to that. I also complained about 'Cleartype' which is a microsoft trademark containing a definition of sub-pixel rendering as if it was a Microsoft invention, which it isnt. Gits. Wiki is great though, as are a lot of the sites and forums on about.com which I occasional contribute to too. We could have a dance wiki but Mikey would get his description changed all the time i imagine, as would Andy McGregor and several other people who court controversy...which is most of the regular posters.

**Sparkles** · 22nd-June-2005, 01:19 PM

OK, for the less literate amongst us (like me!) please can you explain what fanfic and wiki are?
Thanks

S. x

**Divissima** · 22nd-June-2005, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkles

OK, for the less literate amongst us (like me!) please can you explain what fanfic and wiki are?
Thanks

S. x

This is a helpful extract from the Guardian article mentioned above:

Quote:

On Friday the Los Angeles Times - an unwieldy broadsheet newspaper - launched its "wikitorial", an interactive device allowing readers to contribute to and rewrite its editorial column...
The wikitorial took its lead from the website wikipedia.org, an encyclopaedia on the internet written by volunteers. The name comes from the Hawaiian term "wiki wiki", meaning quick or informal.

There's also a cerocwiki on the CMJ website. A wiki is a site which allows users to create content and edit existing content written by other people.

'Fanfic' is a contraction of fan fiction - basically where fans of particular films, TV programmes and even books write and publish on the internet their own stories using the characters from the film, TV programme, etc.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I haven't quite got it right

spindr · 22nd-June-2005, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divissima

There's also a cerocwiki on the CMJ website. A wiki is a site which allows users to create content and edit existing content written by other people.

Yep, there's been a wiki on the www.afterfive.co.uk website since January -- it's mostly there for comments on the guide, but anyone can add content.

SpinDr.

**Sparkles** · 22nd-June-2005, 02:08 PM

Thank you.
I knew I had heard the terms before but couldn't remember what they meant.
I'll go and hide back in my little corner now...

**David Bailey** · 22nd-June-2005, 03:11 PM

Yay for Wikis!

Our company intranet's a Wiki system. As the saying goes: "I liked it so much I bought it for the company"

(OK, except it's free...)

Gary · 22nd-June-2005, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divissima

...
There's also a cerocwiki on the CMJ website. ...

Actually it got moved from the CMJ website to its own website, www.cerocwiki.com

You do still have to get a (free) membership to the Ceroc and Modern Jive Forum if you want to edit on that wiki (there were too many strangers adding advertisements for sex sites).

Clive Long · 23rd-June-2005, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divissima

<< snip >>
A wiki is a site which allows users to create content and edit existing content written by other people.
<< snip >>

I have been vaguely aware of wiki - but as I spend too long here , I thought best to steer clear, otherwise I would get nothing done all day.

However, what has vaguely intrigued me about this publishing technique ....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divissima

I guess with internet publishing, there's always going to be the problem of quality control, even before you get to offensive content - including porn, spam, and viruses amongst others

... and ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Blue One

We could have a dance wiki but Mikey would get his description changed all the time i imagine, as would Andy McGregor and several other people who court controversy...which is most of the regular posters.

How is the content of a wiki "controlled" or at least verified for being legal, decent, honest and truthful? I guess it isn't. And how do I decide if a non-offensive post is accurate or authoritative?

Can anyone explain? Or at least offer an opinion ....

At least with the Encyclopedia Brittanica it looked impressive and was at least heavy to give the impression of being the "last word".

David ... your company having a public wiki seems very brave. Isn't the wiki target for all sorts of weirdos and disgruntled employees? What benefit does the company feel it derives from offering this?

Don't get me wrong, I think removing economic and technical barriers to communication is all to the good. I also feel some kind of editorial control can improve the quality of what is published - although the message will also be strongly controlled.

Clive

P.S. Just looked up DS's wiki entry on Falkirk. Informative. and blimey it loads fast. Does wiki automatically index and Harperlink to other wiki entries? Clever stuff ...

The interweb thingy - full of things you could never imagine, and then never imagine how you did without them

P.P.S. Anyone a good recipe for dropped scones?

**David Bailey** · 23rd-June-2005, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clive Long

How is the content of a wiki "controlled" or at least verified for being legal, decent, honest and truthful? I guess it isn't. And how do I decide if a non-offensive post is accurate or authoritative?

Yep, totally correct. No checking, no authority, no control. And it's one of the most authoritative sources of information on the Web... Makes you think, really. Although it's a fair bet that the most authoritative articles are the ones which have been most-edited, even the occasional ones are usually reliable.

Think of it as open-source information....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clive Long

David ... your company having a public wiki seems very brave. Isn't the wiki target for all sorts of weirdos and disgruntled employees? What benefit does the company feel it derives from offering this?

I said intranet, not internet! Access is firewall-controlled, of course.
But we won the world's most prestigious Intranet award this year, so we must be doing something right. ( :smug icon: )

Also, there's built-in version control, so you can always revert changes out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clive Long

I also feel some kind of editorial control can improve the quality of what is published - although the message will also be strongly controlled.

Swings and roundabouts. For our purposes, we found the extra layer of control meant that people wouldn't create or edit content, it's just too much hassle. On the other hand, if you see something wrong in Wikipedia, you can just click the button to change it...

I'm a big fan of Wiki, but perhaps you gathered that

**Divissima** · 23rd-June-2005, 12:30 PM

Following on from the LA Times wikitorial experiement I mentioned above, there's another article on it in the Guardian today if anyone is interested.

I mention it because it has some comments on reliability germane to CRL's post above - here's the relevant excerpt:

Quote:

"Wikis", based on the Hawaiian word "wiki wiki" for "quick", are online communities that encourage users to collectively write and edit articles, and even override and delete other contributors' work. The end product can be thought of as a community's shared knowledge.

There are wiki cookbooks, collections of quotations and an encyclopedia.

The best-known wiki, Wikipedia, is an online encyclopedia where any visitor can add, change and erase someone else's entry.

Some contributors have attempted to impose their personal viewpoints - for instance, by replacing an article on abortion with the word "murder" written 143 times.

The description of a wiki is vastly superior to my attempt earlier in this thread, notwithstanding the split infinitive *shudder*

**Dreadful Scathe** · 24th-June-2005, 05:39 PM

The best thing about Wiki is its unbiased view of its topics. take religion, a slightly controversial topic but Wiki covers the hilarious IPU with great aplomb. Well worth a read. I espcially lke how the IPUs rapture of socks is an explanation of their occasional disssapearance

You need to read this just to find out what an IPU is

**Divissima** · 24th-June-2005, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreadful Scathe

You need to read this just to find out what an IPU is

How cool! I love it

Blessed be her holy hooves!

**David Bailey** · 25th-June-2005, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreadful Scathe

The best thing about Wiki is its unbiased view of its topics. take religion, a slightly controversial topic but Wiki covers the hilarious IPU with great aplomb. Well worth a read. I espcially lke how the IPUs rapture of socks is an explanation of their occasional disssapearance

You need to read this just to find out what an IPU is

Wikipedia is the second most addictive internet activity...

No, the most addictive is this Forum, you dirty-minded readers

**Dreadful Scathe** · 25th-June-2005, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidJames

Wikipedia is the second most addictive internet activity...

No, the most addictive is this Forum, you dirty-minded readers

Yeah right, everyone knows this is your 1st favourite web site, you perv.

**Dreadful Scathe** · 26th-June-2005, 10:41 PM

what ? no comments on that link? I thought it was funny anyway

**David Bailey** · 26th-June-2005, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreadful Scathe

what ? no comments on that link? I thought it was funny anyway

Sorry, was too distracted by

ing over it

OK, 3rd most addictive then...

22nd-June-2005, 01:10 PM	#1 (permalink)
Divissima Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 1,461 Rep Power: 3 Reputation Total: 244	Fanfic and wiki - internet publishing A comment I made on another thread has started me thinking... I've been aware of the existence of fanfic for a long time now, but have only read very very little of it. I was wondering if anyone on here writes or has written fanfic or has any recommendations for good sites for quality or amusement value. This is one of several internet phenomena which really fascinate me - another being wiki. There was an article in today's Guardian about the Los Angeles Times - apparently last week they started a 'wikitorial' but have temporarily withdrawn it due to the posting of 'inappropriate material'. Do many forumites refer to wikipedia or contribute to it, or other wiki? I guess with internet publishing, there's always going to be the problem of quality control, even before you get to offensive content - including porn, spam, and viruses amongst others - but I can happily spend a few hours surfing interesting sites and find that there is a lot of interesting content out there. So this thread kind of belongs in the book club - anyone read any interesting web content recently?

22nd-June-2005, 01:14 PM	#2 (permalink)
Divissima Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 1,461 Rep Power: 3 Reputation Total: 244	Re: Fanfic and wiki - internet publishing Thanks to David Franklin, I have myself some evening entertainment Can't wait to have a look at the sites mentioned here

22nd-June-2005, 01:19 PM	#4 (permalink)
Sparkles Glitter Queen Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Camberwell, London Posts: 2,939 Rep Power: 4 Reputation Total: 1724	Re: Fanfic and wiki - internet publishing OK, for the less literate amongst us (like me!) please can you explain what fanfic and wiki are? Thanks S. x __________________ "Some people hope for a miracle cure, Some people just accept the world as it is" -Billy Joel "I'm going to miss you when you're gone" - Dan Hudson

22nd-June-2005, 02:08 PM	#7 (permalink)
Sparkles Glitter Queen Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Camberwell, London Posts: 2,939 Rep Power: 4 Reputation Total: 1724	Re: Fanfic and wiki - internet publishing Thank you. I knew I had heard the terms before but couldn't remember what they meant. I'll go and hide back in my little corner now... __________________ "Some people hope for a miracle cure, Some people just accept the world as it is" -Billy Joel "I'm going to miss you when you're gone" - Dan Hudson

22nd-June-2005, 03:11 PM	#8 (permalink)
David Bailey Formerly known as DavidJames Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Norf Lundin Posts: 13,964 Rep Power: 8 Reputation Total: 3756	Re: Fanfic and wiki - internet publishing Yay for Wikis! Our company intranet's a Wiki system. As the saying goes: "I liked it so much I bought it for the company" (OK, except it's free...) __________________ Jivetango Godfather Inventor of the Masterclass Baboon-worrier extraordinaire

24th-June-2005, 05:39 PM	#13 (permalink)
Dreadful Scathe Papa Smurf Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Planet Scathe Posts: 9,789 Rep Power: 7 Reputation Total: 2273	Re: Fanfic and wiki - internet publishing The best thing about Wiki is its unbiased view of its topics. take religion, a slightly controversial topic but Wiki covers the hilarious IPU with great aplomb. Well worth a read. I espcially lke how the IPUs rapture of socks is an explanation of their occasional disssapearance You need to read this just to find out what an IPU is __________________ "defiantly a pork soared" -fletch "This is a discussion forum, not some sort of hippy poetry-reading commune" - TAFKADJ

26th-June-2005, 10:41 PM	#17 (permalink)
Dreadful Scathe Papa Smurf Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Planet Scathe Posts: 9,789 Rep Power: 7 Reputation Total: 2273	Re: Fanfic and wiki - internet publishing what ? no comments on that link? I thought it was funny anyway __________________ "defiantly a pork soared" -fletch "This is a discussion forum, not some sort of hippy poetry-reading commune" - TAFKADJ