Technical Wiki Writing

"On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog"

The heading says it all and it was probably written by a cat (but if you google you'll know it was not). Not only do people not know you are a dog, they also don't know if you are a two-stoke tuning wizard or someone that has just bought a new PX yesterday and just worked out what the smell is.  Lesson one: the only way people perceive you and your ideas is the way you write and what you write, so always write like no one knows who you are. Two-stroke tuning wizard might state "X is shit", but newbie PX rider might say "X is great because of Y and Z". Newbie PX rider adds value (even if they are wrong) because the information they used can be traced, whereas 2S tuning wizard doesn't (even if they are right) because without backing information it is just an opinion. So give enough information so that people can make up their own mind and let the facts speak for themselves.

Be selfish

The internet is fickle. The only reason to put something up on the internet is for your own selfish reasons. Put your ideas up on the internet to have them torn apart or to make sure that they are solid enough that they stand for themselves. Use this wiki as a way to note your ideas down and have random people test your ideas and prove them wrong or right.   Don't be fooled into thinking there is some kind of glory in putting stuff up on the web, think 1)... here is an opportunity to test my understanding by writing it down. Think 2)... if my understanding is wrong, or poorly explained, here is an opportunity for me to known a) my understanding is wrong or b) the way I explain things needs adjustment.

There is no better way to learn than to try and teach someone else!

Uses References

There is a section Reference Material which has lots of info that you can reuse. You don't need to explain in detail everything in every page. If you state where to find more information you can stick to the topic at hand and make concise, easy to read articles.

If you have gathered knowledge from some forum, also reference that, people need to know where the information has come from to be able to judge it's value. The bad thing about forums is that no one goes back and fixes up bad advice... in a wiki you or someone else does!

Don't be afraid to be vague

If you don't know something that is ok, let readers know and encourage them to fill in the gaps. Use hints to let people know something might need refining and maybe use a red colour to indicate something is incomplete...