Bob Palin Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 I'm fan of Wikipedia and have added some motorcycle pages there, I just discovered WikiHow which is an editable How To manual - the link takes you to the Motorcycle main page. Anybody interested in filling it out with BMW info? We get a lot of How questions here and it might be an interesting experiment in collaborative writing to answer the common questions in a wiki. Link to comment
Mike O Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 Bob, Looks interesting (I'm a fan as well). Do you know how to (pun intended) better organize the information here? There is a 'hot to' on changing oil, but clearly not for the BMW bikes. Is it possible to create a hierachical 'how to' and put all BMW releated under a single category? Regards, Mike O Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted November 28, 2005 Author Share Posted November 28, 2005 It looks like it uses the same method as the WikiMedia wikis, i.e. you put an article in a category and that will create the category if it doesn't exist. I'll put the current single BMW article into a category "BMW motorcycles" and see if that works. Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted November 28, 2005 Author Share Posted November 28, 2005 It worked, if you go to the link in my original post there is now a sub category for BMW motorcycles. Let the fun begin. Link to comment
Mike O Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 ...Let the fun begin. Is there any objection to 'copying' stuff from this sites FAQ to Wiki? I haven't looked but are there any copyrighted materials here on BMWST? Regards, Mike O Link to comment
KMG_365 Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 Pretty cool, Killer! It looks like someone just saved you a lot of time! Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted November 30, 2005 Author Share Posted November 30, 2005 Pretty cool, Killer! It looks like someone just saved you a lot of time! How do you mean? Link to comment
David Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 ...Let the fun begin. Is there any objection to 'copying' stuff from this sites FAQ to Wiki? I haven't looked but are there any copyrighted materials here on BMWST? As long as there's appropriate attribution and a link back to the site, feel free to use it. You'd have to get separate permission if it's an authored piece (vs. FAQ). Link to comment
KMG_365 Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 Pretty cool, Killer! It looks like someone just saved you a lot of time! How do you mean? Weren't you talking about setting up somthing like this on your own website awhile back? It looks like this will have all the same functionality that yours was going to have, but now you don't have to manage it. Seems perfect to me. If we're slow at work this winter, I hope to start crafting a few of these How-to's. Like compiling all the great feedback and lessons learned from posting those old Brake Bleed walkthrough's I posted three years ago! It'd be great to just go sequentially down the BMW Servicing check list and do a comprehensive 6K, 12K and annual service How-to for the R11xxRT! I'm going to start small and am already working on my first Wiki-how (in my head still): "How to: Grease the Sidestand Pivot"! Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted November 30, 2005 Author Share Posted November 30, 2005 I see what you mean Jamie, I had pretty much given up on that, it's really hard to get people interested in such things. Actually all the wiki stuff is on my site and ready to go, the only useful thing is the list of Torrey Lodging options which nobody but me has edited. I have been doing some more poking around on wikiHow, it's very immature compared to WikiPedia, the categories are sometimes bizarrely set up, for instance all motorcycle articles are currently also in the "Boat" category. I moved the existing BMW article to my newly created BMW Motorcycles category and somebody actually moved it back to Boats! I'm taking care of that right now, I have also proposed a re-arrangement of the top level Automotive category since it contains planes, trains and boats as well. The owner of the site seems to be in favour of my suggestion. Anyone can make category changes but unlike WikiPedia they seem to have a discussion first at the Village Pump. Link to comment
KMG_365 Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 I really like the idea of the How-to wiki as we were discussing it before. There's SO MUCH good info contributed to the tech threads on this site, but they frequently auto-delete (if nobody thinks to have a mod "archive" them) and then they're gone after two years. The original MC/FAQ pages here are now pretty dated and folks were already confusing stuff for the R1100RT with stuff for the R1150RT and it's a big PITA for the Admins to edit all those pages. Most of that stuff is still in the same form it was when David "bought" the site from Carey! It just seems like a dynamic, living always updated "How-to" would be a great resource to refer newbies to who post an innocent question that has been beaten into the ground so much that the old-timers with the really good info don't bother to speak out anymore. The old-timers usually chime it to correct mis-information offered here, but Wiki-how-to seems much more efficient. I've seen some really great treatises posted in response to a simple question that some gurus have spent a LOT of time and thought on--it would be great to be able to keep this stuff forever! I've been trying to "find" all those great old wrenching threads and "keep" them to preserve them for furture newbie-wrenchers to learn from, but there's so much really good stuff that slips through our fingers, it'd be great to start to tackle just a few issues at a time, gather all the best input from the HUGE wealth of knowledge available here and post it in a Wiki How-to that would enshrine it permanently for others to use. The old IBMWR.org was a similar place, but they were not editable (by anyone with good info to contribute) and not only was it too pretty dated, it didn't seem to make the transition to the R1150RT very well. And of course now we've got the R1200RT to deal with. The R11xxRT series of bikes will be on the road for many years to come and will be more and more in the hands of home wrenchers now that the factory warranties have expired. It'd be really nice to have a comprehensive compendium of wrenching knowledge for everyone to draw upon when needed. Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted November 30, 2005 Author Share Posted November 30, 2005 I agree with you and I'm glad you're so enthusiastic, I know what you can accomplish in that mood I think by tomorrow I will have agreement on the Transportation category but the BMW Motorcycles cat is already there and will have the right parents when I sort out the whole subcategory structure. Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted December 4, 2005 Author Share Posted December 4, 2005 I finally finished hassling over the structure of the "Automotive" category on wikiHow, it will be changed to "Cars & Other Vehicles" very soon. There is a subcategory "Motorcycles" and it has a subcategory "BMW Motorcycles". I had to fight to get the latter, they don't like unpopulated categories but I promised I (we) would put at least 10 items in there fairly quickly (ahem). The structure really doesn't matter to people making entries, I just wanted it to be logical before I started to contribute, Motorcycles used to be a subcategory of Boats! I have already added an article on changing the oil and filter on an oilhead, it is here, please review it. You do not have to have a user name on the wiki to edit or create pages but I think it is always better to create one, it lets people assess your contributions and make decisions on their probable accuracy. I am bmwbob, I didn't use killer as I wanted to create the proper impression while trying to change the structure. Once you have an id just go for it, be bold, edit "my" article to hell! Once you've posted you've lost control on a wiki and delicate egos are soon shattered. I used the "easy" method to enter this article, it sets up the various fields for you, I prefer the "expert" editor for subsequent editing but I am an experienced wiki editor so don't know what the general feeling will be. When you start a new article you are given options for which category to place it in - do not select one! BMW Motorcycles is a 3rd level category and will never appear in the list - do not choose Cars & Other Vehicles:Motorcycles - that is the parent of the BMW category and article should not appear in a child and parent. To place an article in the BMW category you have to enter the category by hand, in last entry field after all the other text and on its own line enter [[Category:BMW Motorcycles]] If you then preview your entry you will see the category listed at the top, however the [[Category:BMW Motorcycles]] line will have disappeared, don't worry about it, it is there for good. This all sounds a bit complicated but in fact it is just harder to explain than do. On the main wikiHow home page there is a section on getting started and a link to a page where you can practice editing - do not start dummy articles in the main wiki, you will not be able to delete them. It is not necessary to use the indexed, numbered style, free form text is fine and photographs can be both hosted and used on wikiHow, you'll have to read up on how. Everything on the site is released under the Creative Commons copyright rules which means you cannot use copyrighted material. Remember that wikiHow is only for How To articles, not discussions (e.g. oil types, change frequencies etc.) I'll be happy to help out if you get in a mess or have questions. I cannot delete articles either but I do know how to get it done. How about: How To Remove the 1150 RT Fairing (and 1100) How To Remove the 11xx Mirrors How to Remove and Fit the Rear Wheel Front Wheel Brake Pads Transmission Fluid Final Drive Fluid Brake Fluid Throttle Cable Adjust the Valves Sync the TBs Canisterectomy Speakerectomy Replace the headlamp/fog lamps/indicators Throttle cable Spline lube Clutch etc etc etc - we must have 50 or 100 of these on this site. Link to comment
Tank Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Thanks Bob on the heads up on this tool. As i am not computer litter-it and i use a sloooooooooow dial up, i miss many things available, As Jamie pointed out, I have learned that all information does not work for my 04', so i must be very careful, in not only what i use, but also in what i offer. Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted December 4, 2005 Author Share Posted December 4, 2005 Thanks Bob on the heads up on this tool. As i am not computer litter-it and i use a sloooooooooow dial up, i miss many things available, As Jamie pointed out, I have learned that all information does not work for my 04', so i must be very careful, in not only what i use, but also in what i offer. Knowing what is different for the 04 is vital information and should be on the wikiHow! If you are unable to edit the articles please let me know and I will do it. If anybody needs help with this project I would prefer email over PMs - killer at bobpalin.com Link to comment
Bill_Walker Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Good choice of user name for enhancing your credibility, Bob! Everybody's going to think you own a BMW dealership in Maryland. Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted December 5, 2005 Author Share Posted December 5, 2005 Good choice of user name for enhancing your credibility, Bob! Everybody's going to think you own a BMW dealership in Maryland. Oops, it wasn't my credibility with the BMW crowd I was after, it was the wiki crowd. Link to comment
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