GIST Support WikiThe Wiki Digest is like a newsletter about the wiki that is sent out regularly by the Chief Wiki Digest Editor to the community email list. For active communities this may be once a week. For less active communities this may be every other week or once a month. Below is a sample Wiki Digest to give the editors ideas on what types of content may be included. It is written for the fictitious ABC Support Group with fictitious participant names and wiki pages. The formatting has been removed so it looks more like a plain text email message.
[edit] Sample Wiki Digest Content
Subject: Wiki Digest #1
Body:
ABC Community members,
Thanks to all of you who have continued to help improve our community wiki! If you haven't yet visited the site, there is already a number of great resources on the wiki found at http://abcsupport.medshelf.org that you'll want to check out.
WIKI CONTRIBUTOR RECOGNITION
Derek is our wiki contributor this month. You can see all of his contributions at [1]. We especially liked his additions to the *Questions_for_Your_Doctor* page [2]. Derek has not only added a great deal of content to existing pages, he has also referenced specific wiki pages in our email list discussion to help others find relevant information. Great work Derek!
WHAT'S NEW
Several notable new pages have been created this month that you'll want to check out and add to including...
1. *Acronyms* - a page that lists common ABC disease related acronyms and their explanations.
2. *ABC_Orientation* - a guide for patients newly diagnosed with ABC disease. This page has a great start, but there are likely other web resources that should be included so if you know of good ones make sure and add them in.
3. *Stories_of_Strength* - 2 new stories were added to the Stories of Strength section, so there are now a total of 6. One of the new pages (Dans Story [3]) is our first story told from the perspective of a spouse. As always, make sure if you post a story that you don't use your real name unless you are comfortable with everyone (including non-community members) knowing that it is about you. You may also want to make the edits as an anonymous user so your username doesn't show up.
PAGE OF THE MONTH
We want to draw your attention to an exceptional page, thanks in part to the hard work of Derek. The page, *Questions_for_Your_Doctor* [2] gives some great ideas on what you should ask your doctor about ABC disease. Although we discuss this topic frequently in the email list, until now there has not been a resource that compiles all of the ideas in a single place. Thanks to all of you who have contributed to the page in the past, and remember, there is always room for improvement.
HELP REQUESTED
The Main Page has grown a bit too long lately. In particular, the section on "Coping with ABC" is a bit chaotic and overgrown. Some help in organizing the content in that section into a more coherent whole would be great. It may require creating some new summary pages that can be linked to from the Main Page.
Several people have mentioned the need for a page discussing all of the organizations that might be of interest to those of us with ABC disease. I have created a new page *Related_Organizations* [4] that can serve as a pointer to organizations of interest with a brief description of each of them. Unfortunately, I don't really know too many of them and would love to get all of your input. You can either email me with suggestions or (even better) edit the page yourself.
We have a page called *Living_in_a_Hospital* [5] that discusses a topic that is often raised on the email list. There are some good ideas on the page, but many of the best ideas that have been raised in the email list are not on the page. It would be great if some brave souls would look in the email archive (and their own experience) and summarize some of the best ideas on the page.
WIKI POLICIES
The Wiki Team wants to remind everyone that it is appropriate to discuss wiki pages and edits on the email list at any time. Even if not every member is interested in the specific comments being made, it is a good way to keep up-to-date on what is happening on the Wiki and often leads to fruitful discussions in the email list. We do ask that members include the word "wiki" in the subject line of the email if the question is solely about the wiki.
WIKI TIP
A page is created for each person that has logged in (i.e., has a username). The page does not have any content on it to begin with. Some of you may want to add a brief description of yourself on your personal page. As always, make sure you do not include any details that you do not want shared with the whole world. You can see a list of all Users at the *Special:Listusers* page [6]. Just click on your username and it will take you to a page that you can edit. From then on, when your username shows up on other pages (e.g., *Special:Recentchanges*) it will link to your user page.
FINAL NOTE
If anyone has ideas on content for the next Wiki Digest, feel free to email any of the Wiki Digest Editors. Many of our ideas come from members.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Chief Editor - Joe Smith
Assistant Editor - Sarah Jones
REFERENCES
[1] http://abcsupport.medshelf.org/User:DerekHansen
[2] http://abcsupport.medshelf.org/Questions_for_Your_Doctor
[3] http://abcsupport.medshelf.org/Dans_Story
[4] http://abcsupport.medshelf.org/Related_Organizations
[5] http://abcsupport.medshelf.org/Living_in_a_Hospital
[6] http://abcsupport.medshelf.org/Special:Listusers