Thread:Project:WikiProject SysAdmins/Ideas/MediaWiki Workshops/reply (2)

Resource loader is listed as a possible topic for an WP:Extensions Workshop. I know that as an admin wanting to tune my site and speed up page loads, I find the loader to be completely opaque.

Another idea, perhaps better than my last one would be the idea of combining a Workshop with a "documentation sprint." I'm thinking of something where wiki project members get together via IRC for about an hour and fifteen minutes. For the first half, an expert presents and it is more like a workshop. For the second half, the expert either helps out or chills in IRC while the WP members work on documentation. Initial drafts could be worked on in Etherpad ( http://etherpad.wikimedia.org/ ), which I've found incredibly useful for collaboration.

For the wiki I'm affiliated with, I think a lot about what motivates people to contribute. I find that unless you are in love with/proud of your mastery of the subject matter (and no one is in love with software documentation), editing a wiki can be quite lonely. You effectively don't even get credit for your work, which diminishes incentives to contribute. Hence, at the TMS Wiki, I often build up the social aspect, which I think is a core factor in the success of the aforementioned drop-in chats. Among Admins, collegial networking (i.e. finding people who will read your email if you get stuck and need help) and exchange of information may be a key factor which "gives the project legs" (which is what it's all about).