The DJBWiki Memo

Dark Brotherhood Wiki Memo

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The DJBWiki Memo was a decision paper created for the Grand Master and Deputy Grand Master by Aristan Dantes and Kromtal Stormfyld. The DJBWiki Memo offered courses of action on how to proceed with the creation of a Dark Brotherhood Wiki and how to set policy. The Grand Master and Deputy Grand Master agreed with the findings of the DJBWiki Memo and the DJBWiki was born.

1. Problem. To determine a policy on how content will be added to the Dark Brotherhood Wiki

2. Recommendation. Registered users will have access to add and edit Wiki Content with Dark Council members serving as subject matter experts and final approving authorities on entries that pertain to their realm of control within the Dark Brotherhood. Registered users will be required to use their Dark Brotherhood name and enter their PIN number on their registration form when signing up. All users will be held accountable to the Chamber of Justice under Article VII of the Dark Covenant and to the Dark Brotherhood Wiki Etiquette page.

3. Background. A wiki (IPA: [ˈ?wiː?.kiː?] <wee-kee> or [ˈ?wɪ?.kiː?] <wick-ey>[1]) is a type of website that allows anyone visiting the site to add, to remove, or otherwise to edit all content, very quickly and easily, sometimes without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative writing. A wiki system may also include various tools, designed to provide users with an easy way to monitor the constantly changing state of the wiki as well as a place to discuss and resolve the many inevitable issues, namely, the inherent disagreement over wiki content. Wiki content can also be misleading, as users are bound to add incorrect information to the wiki page.

In an effort to limit misleading and inflammatory content, the Dark Brotherhood is developing a Code of Conduct for Wiki Authors and Registered Users.

4. Facts. The Dark Brotherhood must establish a Code of Conduct for Wiki submissions that will hold members accountable for the material they publish. Due to the nature of the Wiki, flames and disagreement over content will happen. It is the duty of the Wiki leadership to establish a policy that will minimize these situations.

5. Assumptions. Wiki Vandalism will occur. Wiki vandalism is generally defined as editing a wiki in a way that is intentionally disruptive or destructive. There are four generally acknowledged types of vandalism: deletion of legitimate information, insertion of nonsense or irrelevant content, addition of unwanted commercial links (spam), and policy violations specific to that wiki.

6. Courses of Action. Possible suitable, feasible, acceptable, distinguishable, and complete courses of actions (COA).

• a. COA 1 Tiered Control. The Dark Brotherhood Wiki will have a system of Controls based off of the registered users positions within the Dark Brotherhood. The Wiki Staff will serve as the highest Tier level of administration with the ability to remove and edit questionable content within the Wiki. The Wiki Staff will also have the ability to remove users who consistently publish questionable material. The Dark Council will serve as the second Tier of administration with the ability to remove and edit any content that falls under their realm of authority within the Dark Brotherhood. The Dark Council will also serve as a secondary watch group and submit users for removal who repeatedly post questionable content. The Dark Council will also request the use of the "page lock" feature when they believe material under their realm of authority has reached the proper level of detail. The third Tier of control will be the registered users. These members will have the ability to add and correct content and will have the added responsibility of policing fellow users who post questionable content.
• b. COA Community Police. All registered users are responsible for editing and adjusting questionable content. Content and Structure would be at the members discretion. Members must follow all Dark Brotherhood guidelines established in the Dark Covenant and will be held accountable for behavior that is not consistent with it.
• c. COA Structure-based control. The best way to control and guide the efforts on a wiki is to provide users with a well-thought-out set of templates and namespaces to work in. This structural framework including relevant sample pages (i.e. a few instances of actual content for each template / category) is to be created by the tiers 1 and 2 mentioned above in COA a). Only after this is done will the wiki be released for general write access.

7. Criteria. The Yard Stick used to judge a successful Wiki is the community's ability to publish informative material with minimal time and effort spent policing vandalism. Any system of controls established for the Dark Brotherhood Wiki must hold users accountable to Section VII Justice of the Dark Covenant. In addition there must be an identifiable final authority on policy within the Dark Brotherhood Wiki. Policy will be established by setting up templates, correct categories, and information on what can and cannot be submitted.

8. Analysis.

• a. COA 1 Tiered Control
  • • 1. Advantages. Creates an easily identifiable chain of control within the Wiki and has an inherent system of regulations built in. Allows Dark Council members final say over their particular areas of interest.
    • 2. Disadvantages. The possibility exists for members of the Dark Council or Wiki Staff to abuse their position of authority (this should be easily taken care of by a slap on the wrist from the GM).
• b. COA 2 Community Police
  • • 1. Advantages: Allows the largest area of freedom for users to post material.
    • 2. Disadvantages: The possibility for large disputes over content is highly likely
• c. COA 3 Structure-based control
  • • 1. Advantages: Allows a large degree of freedom while providing users with guidance and providing an easily understood framework of rules for the management tiers of the wiki to edit, improve or discard content by. Content dispute is less likely than in an uncontrolled framework.
    • 2. Disadvantages: The building of the control structures and templates delays the public introduction of the wiki.

9. Compare the COAs. COA 1 Tiered Control in Combination with COA 3 appears to be the system that will serve as the easiest control method over the Dark Brotherhood Wiki. It allows the Wiki staff the ability to police the community based on feedback from the Dark Council and the general membership. In addition it allows the Dark Council the ability to serve as the final authority for material posted under their realm of authority. Through the visible control structure in the wiki pages themselves and judicious use of "page lock", the membership has an easy time providing the content in the right and desired way, reducing both vandalism and error.

10. Conclusion. The Dark Brotherhood Wiki will serve as an outstanding informational tool that will improve the experience of our members. A Tiered system of Control combined with a pre-created structure of categories and templates will allow the Wiki Staff, Dark Council, and general membership the ability to focus on creating a great source of information while understanding their individual responsibilities to the DB Wiki community.