User:Chriswaterguy/Community starter

An idea for a page to include or link to in new installations of MediaWiki.

Rough first draft. Feel free to edit.

You've installed the software. Now, what does it take to make a successful wiki?

Collaborate
Do you want to start a wiki, or join an existing effort? Perhaps someone is already doing a wiki on the subject you want.

Or perhaps others have tried but are struggling. If you have a vision and lots of energy, think about getting in touch with like-minded people. Perhaps they've moved on from their wiki project, or perhaps they're still interested. Places to look:
 * WikiIndex
 * Wikipedia's List of wikis (note this only lists wikis that are "notable" by Wikipedia standards)

That won't find every wiki, so use a search engine as well, and search for different terms to describe your

Be aware that making a successful new wiki is hard. But it is possible - so be aware of the challenges and plan for them.

Build your community
"Build it and they will come" - right? Not so easy. Learn something about building and supporting a community.
 * http://www.communitywiki.org/
 * See the links at http://www.appropedia.org/Online_communities

To make a thriving wiki, you probably need about 5 people who are enthusiastic about the project and who edit most days. It's possible to create good content by yourself, but it's more rewarding to find others who want to work with you. Spend time to engage with people. Keep in mind - what are you offering? What's in it for the person who visits your site and joins your community?

Protect!
Install key anti-spam measures before the spammers, vandals and bots hit. E.g.
 * Nuke
 * Simple CAPTCHA (math captcha mostly works) - this needs to be on all anon edits, even those which don't add urls.