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Prius Gen 3 Wiki - can we set up one?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by pakitt, May 8, 2011.

  1. pakitt

    pakitt Senior Member

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    (this is a repost with an appropriate title - I don't know how to change titles to posts I have made - it read Wiki for Prius 2011... it is wrong - I meant a Wiki for the Prius Gen 3 (2010 onwards...))

    I would like to set up a Wiki for the Prius Gen 3 (2010).
    There is a lot of information here in the forums, but it is spread among hundreds of threads and thousands of posts.
    I personally find the search function not providing me the right results (I might be not that good in inserting the right search parameters).

    A Wiki can receive contributions from everybody, I haven't found one yet on the internet, and it is a self-regulating document. It could be used on PC to redirect Newbies in search of answers to FAQ and offer insight and nitty-gritty details to the "pro" users.

    Does anybody know how to set up a wiki? does anybody have any experience with Wikis? which tool/platform offers the easiest user interface for max cooperation from different Prius owners?
    What do you think? any suggestions/ideas?
     
  2. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

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    This reminds me of those standardized reading comprehension test questions:

    If you wanted to learn more about a specific detail of the Prius, which resource would be the best to use?
    a. a Prius forum
    b. Encyclopedia
    c. Owners manual
    d. The dealership


    I could see the utility in a wiki, but PriusChat is the best way to get real-time information on exactly what you want to know. If the search isn't working for you, then go ahead and start a new thread.

    The answer is a. :)
     
  3. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Not to go too far OT, but I wanted to start a wiki of refutations of Prius myths along w/links to sources for each of them.
     
  4. pakitt

    pakitt Senior Member

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    @macmaster05: a. is not really a long term solution - it works only because there are nice PC forum members, ready to answer - but if you put a new thread each time to ask always the same questions, as it has happened, then you might not get a reply or a link to another forum thread. What is the problem? the forum is "clogged" by several hundreds of threads talking all about the same thing with little variations, when it could all be elegantly handled in a single wiki entry where everybody can add details whenever necessary.
    Not to mention that I have a hard time searching for things. Once I was looking for a post where a picture was showing the difference between the normal headlights and the LED ones - it took more than 20mins to find it. In the Wiki it would be simply under the section "headlights"...
     
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    We had one in design (it's hidden from you guys) but it hasn't really gotten to far so it was never made public. It was more of a "book" design than a wiki though...

    A wiki would be great. It could replace the "Knowledge Base" section.
     
  6. joemiata

    joemiata New Member

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    Pakitt I think thats a great idea. Although I am not versed in the workings of wiki. I too sometimes have trouble finding an answer. I recently sold my 2001 Miata and purcahase a 2011 Prius, love it and miss driving that Miata everyday but not paying for the gas. As an owner I used the Miata.net board and they had a similiar section The Garage Miata. Check it out.
    Joe
     
  7. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    I'd love to see a well-maintained MediaWiki based site. Basic structure enforcement would be key so that folks could only create new nodes under specific sections rather than at random. If on PriusChat, linking w/ the PC login would make things simpler.

    Biggest thing, however, is to ensure you don't get spammers posting "crap" into existing or new pages.
     
  8. pakitt

    pakitt Senior Member

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    OK - I have taken the plunge. I have started a Wiki on the Prius, here:
    Prius Wiki

    Main objective is to gather information from users of the Prius, all versions (1st generation up to the current one, and why not, the upcoming v/+ versions, etc.), in a centralised fashion. It is not meant to be a user's manual - people have one in their cars already. This wiki should be the place to look to for newbies asking questions (recurrently) about how things work, fuel consumption, how the HSD works, tire pressure, sounds, operating modes, etc.

    With the wiki, it is all there and not spread among several thousand of threads and posts. There is so much valuable information here that it is a pity to have it distributed in a somewhat chaotic manner. I personally have a hard time finding information I have read maybe a few months back.

    I ask all PC users that want to contribute to participate. As far as I can see from the setting, the wiki is currently open for editing from anybody. I have setup a structure, which obviously can change according to needs. The best thing about Wikia, from the founder of Wikipedia, if I understood correctly, is that the editing is very user friendly - no need of a programming master's... ;)

    I will add information in due time, for now an initial structure is there.

    If it works out fine, it will grow and prosper, otherwise in a couple of months I will delete it (with the OK of the registered users that contribute, obviously!) and simply forget about it... :)

    I am still not sure whether I will simply copy and paste (with reference to the post in PC!!!) information from here or not. One example - the excellent overview of Ken about the warm-up stages of the Gen 3. I will likely ask for permission, each time I will want to transfer/copy the information to the wiki.

    The major doubt I have is whether wikis made on Wikia, can be backed up, or exported to be transferred to other wiki platforms or for backup purposes...
    Hope to see contributions soon! and that this will not turn out to be a complete crap.... :(
     
  9. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

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    Are you trying to put Danny out of business? ;)
     
  10. jjm2

    jjm2 New Member

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    I think that it should be done.... I suggest calling it "Prii School"...
     
  11. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Thanks for setting this up. I'll have to play with it more when I get a chance.

    The section I'd really like to see is a compilation of Prius myths and rebuttals, including links to both. In the past, I've had to dig through posts here on PC (some of the my own), just to find links to the rebuttals.

    I hope there's some good way to control access or lock down certain sections (when needed) to prevent crap from showing up. I know Wikipedia has had trouble w/vandalism on certain pages and has locked some of them down. I just found out about the various levels of protection they have at [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:protection_policy"]Wikipedia:protection policy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame].

    I also still wonder who decided at [ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius[/ame] to label the generations as XW10, XW20, XW30. :confused: Toyota AFAIK NEVER called it these. I'm hesitant fix/change the designations there because there are numerous changes needed, some ripple effects and it could be undone (and thus a waste of my time).

    I too would hope there's some facility to export or backup. I'd hate for a lot of hard work to go down the tubes. :(
     
  12. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    NWH10, NWH11, and NWH20 were used internally for the original JP version, the export 1st gen release (MY 2001-3), and the 2nd gen Prius (MY2004-9), respectively. Bob Wilson referred to them extensively.
     
  13. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    I think you meant NHW10, NHW11 and NHW20. And yeah, he did like referring to them that way. It's not just internal, it should be on the sticker near the driver's door pillar. On my sticker, it says NHW20L-AHEEBA.

    It seems that Toyota even uses ZVW30 in their Japanese marketing (e.g. toyota.jp ???? ? ???? ? ??? which I can't read.)

    I guess it's sort of like BMW 3-series enthusiasts referring to the E36, E46, E90, etc. of going by model year ranges. I found it odd as it wasn't done too much on other car boards I was on. People didn't call their 5th gen Maximas (00-03) the A33 very much. :confused:

    I'm still trying to figure out who decided to use XW10, XW20, etc. when that isn't a Toyota designation. It irks me to see some folks here use that when it seems they picked it up from the screwed up Wikipedia entry.
     
  14. pakitt

    pakitt Senior Member

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    Prius Wiki now available on Wikia.com

    I have started a Prius Wiki on Wikia.com.
    Main objective is the gather in one location the information that is generated on this excellent forum to make it easier for Prius users to find more quickly the information they are looking for.
    The Prius Wiki, not limited to the Gen 3 (older Prius versions' owners are welcome to contribute!), can be found here:

    Prius Wiki

    This Wiki is in no way a substitute of these Forums, rather it complements them. As information gets generated, discussed, confronted and finally agreed upon (whenever possible) on this forum, it can be added to the Wiki for easy retrieval.
    The information should be referenced whenever possible/reasonable.

    All are invited to contribute to this Wiki!

    PS: I am adding information whenever I can - I tried to give it a logical structure so far, but things can and will change. For those who are concerned of possible attacks and changes that destroy the content, I can activate several levels of control. For now, I will assume that everybody is "good" and that the Wiki will self-heal, and therefore it is open, for the time being, for edits to all.
     
  15. pakitt

    pakitt Senior Member

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    Actually I hope to bring him even more users, since the Wiki will feed on information also generated on this forum, while those going to the Wiki will come here to start new threads and generate more information as well.