daniweb as a definition source

[Nichito]

hi guys... long time no see...

not so long ago, i came with this idea, about creating a space in daniweb than would define it concepts not common to everyone, like DHCP, or, blog, stuff like that (these were actually the first concepts that came to my mind), so that some people that are nt so familiar with the it world, can research too...

maybe these definitions can be given by forum members, and checked by mods...

dunno, what do you think?

[zandiago]

Makes sense to me.

[cscgal]

I'm not quite sure I understand. It seems to me like it would just be an inferior version of the wikipedia.

[Nichito]

sort of... only, daniweb would be focused to it specific answers...

there are some answers that are just too superficial, and, since daniweb is integrated by an exclusive group of geeks found nowhere else... i thought we could use that intelligence and knowledge...

[Jishnu]

Good idea. But I'm not aware of how much additional work that means for the moderators..

maybe these definitions can be given by forum members, and checked by mods...

True. But, we cannot just build an encyclopedia. We can instead maintain a database of links for specific topics. It is similiar to the 'Read Me: ' threads at the beginning of C, C++ and Java (I'm not much aware about the other forums)forums. The only desirable modification is the in-depth topicwise classification of the links.

[Ancient Dragon]

If someone doesn't know the meaning of a term such as "DHCP" then just use google to look it up. Of course that implies the person knows enough about computers to use google. I didn't know what DHCP was either until just a few minutes ago when I googled for it -- there are lots of good references to it.

[Nichito]

actually i don't know either what DHCP means... i'll look for it right now...

i just thought it would be a good idea... though there are good arguments... specially about the one about mods having more work...

though i like the idea of linking terms to outer sources...

[Jishnu]

actually i don't know either what DHCP means

Neither do I ;). But classifying the links (and keeping them updated too) seems the right way to me..

[Nichito]

what do you say dani?

[cscgal]

I still feel like it would just be recreating an inferior version of the wikipedia. There are already so many free, online encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc. out there where it doesn't take longer than 10 seconds to look up the definition of something. If you want to know what DHCP means, you can already very easily find out in 5 minutes.

I don't see the point in recreating the wheel unless there is a specific disadvantage / problem with what's already out there that a new version could rectify.

[Jishnu]

What do you think about categorizing the links to good articles, references, tutorials etc.?

[Serunson]

I mean the tutorials section is a bit thin on things tbh. It all focuses on Software based applications and coding. There are no tutorials on doing a RAM upgrade or installing a new HDD for example. But making a localised version of Wikipedia is a bit strange, why not make a section on Wikipedia itself and have a link to it?

[~s.o.s~]

> why not make a section on Wikipedia itself and have a link to it?
Sounds like a good idea.

But allowing everyone to contribute would be like making a big mess out of it, not to mention it would stain the name of Daniweb in general, and choosing you would have the right to contribute would not be a trivial task.

[Jishnu]

I mean the tutorials section is a bit thin on things

Exactly.why not make a section on Wikipedia itself and have a link to it?
Great.choosing you would have the right to contribute would not be a trivial task
The links posted by users would require that the mods accept it only if it is good. This would keep it more organized. Also they should be categorized, so that for example if the users want to access the links related to one particular topic in C, they can look up in the different folders and keep on narrowing the search until they've found what they intended to.

[~s.o.s~]

Sounds good in theory, right? But let me explain.

Ever wondered why the 'Tutorial Section' of Daniweb is so thin as compared to the 'Code Snippets Section'? This is because submitting a tutorial requires Davey's approval. That's right, that's not something even a moderator or super moderator can approve.

Plus approval takes effort and expertise. Ever seen the articles submitted at professional sites? The subject matter of such articles is approved only after being read and re-read by professionals in that field. In short, it takes a certain amount of money and time to get such things done.

Now compare this with Daniweb. Here every moderator / super-moderator (I can't say the same about Admins and Staff Writers) is doing a free service to the community by doing his moderation duties. Asking them to proof read the articles submitted by Daniweb members / non-members and judging their credibility would be a bit too much to ask.

Of course Dani can employ people to make sure that the articles confirm with the standard but that takes money. Professionals are not cheap to hire and when I say that I really mean they are *expensive*.

Also consider a situation in which a C article has to approved. The C forum has around 6-7 moderators. So wouldn't it make sense to get the approval of the majority to avoid conflict? But then again it brings us to the problem of getting a *majority* of moderators to read and measure the quality of the article / links which in itself would be a daunting task.

So now you must be thinking, why not just make a quick poll and assign just one of the moderators to do this work? Then again, the problem here is that moderator would feel bogged down by this *extra* duties along with the site moderation and there would come a time when he would lose interest in this or even quit. Again a question of money, but as far as I remember, Daniweb moderators didn't accept Dani's offer to get paid for moderation.

And when you say "good", you are speaking of a highly relative term. What might be good for WaltP might not look so good to Narue. That again brings us to the point of moderator majority approval thing which I was talking about.

Please do keep in mind I didn't write this post to put this idea down or something like that, it was just to make you aware of all the implications which one would have to handle if this job has to be done seriously and thoroughly. If you still think you can come up with a win-win situation, you people are most welcome to do so and bring it up with Dani if she agrees to it.

[Serunson]

Davey Rejected one of my tutorials a while ago, and i haven't tried making one since. I might try and make one though if there was like a guide to making good tutorials by Davey himself posted in the coffee house or even in the tech area.

[Jishnu]

Oh, a good enough peep into the reality, ~s.o.s~. There were a lot of things in your post that I didn't know earlier. I appreciate your post because that gave me a clearer view of the situation. Let me go over the options. I might come up with something. :)

I might try and make one though if there was like a guide to making good tutorials by Davey himself posted in the coffee house or even in the tech area.

Well said. I don't know him. Should I understand that he is an admin/staff writer?

[Narue]

>Should I understand that he is an admin/staff writer?
Davey is happygeek, the second admin aside from Dani.

[Jishnu]

Oh yes. I remember seeing the posts of 'happygeek'. I didn't know that Davey was his real name.

[Narue]

>I didn't know that Davey was his real name.
If you're interested, you can find the real name of some of the higher ups here .