(This is a discussion, which started on http://docs.moodle.org/en/Talk:Main_Page#No_Sandbox.21. Moved here for a bigger audience.)
No Sandbox!
At first sight, a sandbox seems to be a good idea for encouraging new contributors, but after reading http://www.wikipatterns.com/display/wikipatterns/Sandbox I can understand the reasoning why they consider it a Wiki Adoption Anti-Pattern: First they tell you it's "easy" and then you have to play in the sandbox before they let you touch the real stuff... Therefore I would suggest dropping the sandbox. --Frank Ralf 17:46, 30 March 2009 (UTC)
I disagree. Where do we tell people they 'have to play in the sandbox'? Some people are nervous about this sort of thing, and like a safe place to experiment. That is the original rationale for sandboxes, and it still seems valid to me.--Tim Hunt 00:28, 31 March 2009 (UTC)
Thanks for the feedback, Tim. Perhaps we can have the cake and eat it? We could insert a statement like this: "Feel free to edit these pages if you can make the instructions more clear (or post your ideas on the discussion pages.) Changes are easily reverted on a wiki, so don't worry about getting something wrong. - If you would like to practice first, you can use our Sandbox." - Remember the Wikipedia motto "Be bold!" --Frank Ralf 07:39, 31 March 2009 (UTC)
Yes, but that is massively longer than what we have already, which is elegantly brief, without being overly brusque.--Tim Hunt 08:37, 31 March 2009 (UTC)
I did some quick empirical research. If you follow the "contribute" links in the Sandbox History you will see that nearly none of the people who used the sandbox contributed anywhere else (I only checked the first page's 50). IMO that proves two things:
1. People who use the sandbox contribute seldom to other pages
2. People who contribute don't need the sandbox
So the question remains, whether the sandbox prevents people from contributing to Moodle Docs? (I will move this discussion to the forum: ) --Frank Ralf 09:20, 31 March 2009 (UTC)
In reply to Frank Ralf
Re: Moodle documentation: Sandbox: Wiki Anti-Adoption Pattern?
by Chris Collman -
Hi Frank,
Are we having an rash of inappropriate postings in MoodleDocs?
Maybe?:
I like the idea of Sandbox and use it more than my own subpages because it is easy to find. Being a data kind of person myself, I note that for better or worse, Sandbox encouraged me to explore MoodleDocs seriously after my first entry there in April 2006
MoodleDocs has recorded 49 of my Sandbox edits but not the ones I did when I only previewed a look to see what impact it would have. This is usually done when I have another MoodleDoc window open. Sandbox is easy to find in the search.
I did play around with concept for a default user page that used a template. But that also seemed to be too official sounding and beyond my tweaking. Sort of the opposite of where you were suggesting to go.
Just some ideas, glad you moved the discussion to the forum. Best Chris
Are we having an rash of inappropriate postings in MoodleDocs?
Maybe?:
I like the idea of Sandbox and use it more than my own subpages because it is easy to find. Being a data kind of person myself, I note that for better or worse, Sandbox encouraged me to explore MoodleDocs seriously after my first entry there in April 2006
I did play around with concept for a default user page that used a template. But that also seemed to be too official sounding and beyond my tweaking. Sort of the opposite of where you were suggesting to go.
Just some ideas, glad you moved the discussion to the forum. Best Chris
In reply to Chris Collman
Re: Moodle documentation: Sandbox: Wiki Anti-Adoption Pattern?
by Frank Ralf -
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your feedback. I'd say you are the exception that proves the rule
But the general question remains: What's the best way to encourage people to contribute, not only to Moodle Docs? I admit that having or not having a sandbox is only a small part of the problem but should be taken into consideration.
Some more input:
"90-9-1 Theory"
* 90% of users are "lurkers" (i.e. they read or browse but don't contribute)
* 9% of users contribute from time to time, but other priorities dominate their time
* 1% of users participate very often and account for most of the contributions
(Source: http://www.wikipatterns.com/display/wikipatterns/90-9-1+Theory)
Originally taken from Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, October 9, 2006:
"Participation Inequality: Encouraging More Users to Contribute"
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/participation_inequality.html
Cheers,
Frank
Thanks for your feedback. I'd say you are the exception that proves the rule
But the general question remains: What's the best way to encourage people to contribute, not only to Moodle Docs? I admit that having or not having a sandbox is only a small part of the problem but should be taken into consideration.
Some more input:
"90-9-1 Theory"
* 90% of users are "lurkers" (i.e. they read or browse but don't contribute)
* 9% of users contribute from time to time, but other priorities dominate their time
* 1% of users participate very often and account for most of the contributions
(Source: http://www.wikipatterns.com/display/wikipatterns/90-9-1+Theory)
Originally taken from Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, October 9, 2006:
"Participation Inequality: Encouraging More Users to Contribute"
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/participation_inequality.html
Cheers,
Frank