User group meeting agenda & minutes 18 June 2008

= Proposing ideas for this agenda =

To propose or discuss ideas for this agenda, please use the Discussion tab above. As the meeting draws near, we will review the items proposed on the Discussions page and decide which ones should get highest priority on the agenda.

= Agenda =

Administrative items

 * 1) Assignment of time keeper and note taker
 * 2) Introduction of new members: 10 seconds for name and desired takeaways.
 * 3) Prayer --
 * 4) Review of Minutes
 * 5) Today's agenda preview

Information items
What is the intent of FamilySearch Wiki? -- Michael Ritchey [Manager, Community & Virtual Reference (was: Research Support), FamilySearch]

Report on Status of Project -- Kip Enger

Report on training modules -- Anne Roach

Where to add agenda item suggestions -- Jimmy Parker

Carryover from Last Week
Action Items from last week -- Responsible parties


 * Add information items to share in upcoming user group meetings -- all of us
 * Update the backlog list -- who?
 * Create a moderator page so the community can begin adding content that will help all moderators -- who?
 * Eventually the wiki will have moderators for all countries, counties, etc. How will anyone know if the country has a moderator and which countries still need moderators?

New Items
Events Page -- James Anderson

Increasing Traffic to the Wiki (see the Discussion tab for a suggested website to review) -- Stephen Bobowski

= Minutes =

Facilitator was Jimmy B. Parker, Note taker was David Dilts.

Attendees
Partial list: Jimmy Parker, Michael Ritchey, Kip Enger, Mollie Forbes, Anne Roach, David Dilts, Geoff Morris, Lise Embley (Williamsburg, VA), Mark

Information Items
What is the intent of FamilySearch Wiki? -- Michael Ritchey [Manager, Community Virtual Reference (was: Research Support), FamilySearch]

Michael showed and reviewed the entire Purpose and Appropriate Topics page. This page is subject to change as circumstances and thinking about the Wiki changes. Each section of the page was discussed—highlights include:


 * FamilySearch Wiki is . . .
 * FamilySearch Wiki is not . . .
 * Not a repository of FamilySearch product information—Michael showed where to link from the Wiki to FS Product Support at http://productsupport.familysearch.org/supportroot/eng/frameset_products.asp. Michael suggested that this Product Support area may soon open up to more editing by Wiki users.
 * Not the place for LDS doctrinal discussions (which must be Correlated). Michael suggested such discussions on the Wiki be limited to a brief explanation of links to sites such as www.Lds.org.
 * No holiday descriptions or traditions which do not help readers locate, read, or use family history records.
 * No data sets because the Wiki search engine is not very good for searching large databases. Instead use links from the Wiki to those data sets.
 * No lists of LDS Family History Centers because the link to the official list is better.
 * Limited Topics
 * Limit discussion of history, geography, and military history to items that help someone find, use, or analyze genealogy records. If it fails that test leave it out to avoid bloating our Wiki and spamming the search engine.
 * Don't go overboard with case studies, citations, power usage of a computer program, or computer hardware.
 * Items for Discussion
 * Historical definitions are useful, but we do not want Black's Law Dictionary downloaded into our Wiki.
 * We are still trying to figure out how to deal with "registers" (lengthy better iterations of the FHL Catalog)
 * If a long lists of websites (e.g. FHL Internet Favorites) grows too big it is not as helpful to a beginner. Work is going on to perhaps to integrate the FHL Internet Favorites piece by piece into appropriate pages of the Wiki.

There was a brief discussion asking editors to make changes to inappropriate material (contrary to what this document states) in ways that are least offensive to contributors, and that guide readers to more appropriate venues for that information.

Report on Status of Project -- Kip Enger


 * Use of Wiki jumped from 500 to 3,600 per day yesterday because of email to all FHC directors registered on New FamilySearch.
 * Image acceptance procedure needs a little work.
 * Jim Greene is working on "Five Pillars" (Guiding Principles) for the Wiki.
 * Main page on the Wiki is too busy. Hoping to redesign it so a first-timer will know exactly what it is about.
 * Mark ?? discussed the value and power of the Semantic MediaWiki, a software tool which will greatly enhance the Wiki's information architecture. This will help Wiki users move beyond "categories." It will help users better classify, better search, and better connect Wiki pages.
 * Jimmy Parker asked us to be patient, eventually we will have an excellent product. Usually LDS Church products are better than anywhere else.

Report on training modules -- Anne Roach

One of the challenges has been to get people to contribute to the Wiki. Anne has worked with the Training Team to develop and install "Guided Practice" training modules to encourage new Wiki users how to contribute. The modules are on Wiki pages for:


 * Edit a page
 * How to work with the FCK Editor
 * Create a page not linked from an existing page
 * How to Categorize and Article

Where to add agenda item suggestions -- Jimmy Parker

Please add suggestions for Wiki User's Group agenda items under the Discussion tab as follows


 * Open the User group page by clicking User group on the navigation bar.
 * Scroll down to the Agenda &amp; minutes section. Select and click on the agenda and minutes for the date for which you wish to suggest agenda items.
 * Click the Discussion tab near the top of the page.
 * Click the Edit tab near the top of the page.
 * Compose your suggested agenda item.
 * Always sign your name after your suggestions. Use the four tildas ' ~ ' wiki syntax.
 * Click the Save page button.

On Monday afternoons Jimmy will prioritize suggestions in the Discussion page for the date of the next User Group meeting, and then pull them into the agenda for that date. Please do not add agenda items directly to the agenda--but just to the Discussion page. If you want to request an information item (such as the ones today), anyone can suggest that on the Discussion page.

Jimmy is not trying to block any agenda items. If something gets overlook for more than two weeks, send Jimmy an email.