P:Documentation/Naming Conventions

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Revision as of 19:18, 17 October 2018 by Alexau (talk | contribs) (→‎Intro)
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Intro

Clarify how topics in the wiki relate to each other, especially for:

  • Newcomers - see how things relate to each other
  • Contributors - know how to add new topics to existing ones
  • Upkeep - manage complexity by prioritizing upkeep of some parts of the wiki over others and manage team energy

The idea is to use naming conventions based on BEMIT, a CSS naming convention.

As applied to this wiki, I recommend these naming conventions:

  • 5 types of topics: process, object, narrative-folk, narrative-map, and narrative-view
  • abbreviate these types so that the first word is just a letter: P, O, Nfolk, Nmap, Nview
  • 3 types of relationships within naming conventions: parent&child, topicXtopic, and topic=>modifier
  • Titlecase topics, such as: "Documentation Standards" or "Global Village Construction Set"
  • Pre-pend topics with the topic type, such as "P: Documentation Standards" or "Nmap: Global Village Construction Set"
  • Nest child topics using the url / convention, such as "3D Printer/Frame"
  • String neighboring topics using the X convention, such as "Nmap: Disciplined Entrepreneurship X Priorities X Critical Path X Traction"
  • Always nest views as a child of a topic, such as "Nview: Disciplined Entrepreneurship X Priorities X Critical Path X Traction/Pro-inquiry"
  • Only ever include 1 topic type, which always refers to the most nested child topic, so compare these two: "Nview: Disciplined Entrepreneurship X Priorities X Critical Path X Traction/Pro-inquiry" and "Nmap: Disciplined Entrepreneurship X Priorities X Critical Path X Traction"
  • Add modifiers using colons, such as "O: 3D Printer/Frame: PVC Pipe"
  • For objects with multiple modifiers, use the topic X topic convention, such as "O: 3D Printer/Frame: PVC Pipe X 18.10" and "O: 3D Printer/Frame: PVC Pipe X 18.11"
  • When given the option between making something a modifier or a child, lean towards making it a modifier, such as "O: 3D Printer/Frame: PVC Pipe X Off-the-shelf" and "O: 3D Printer/Frame: PVC Pipe X 3D-Printed" In this case. it's still a type of frame and it's better to nest as little as possible.

Additionally, I recommend these content conventions:

  • For any topic with children, provide a glossary of children on that topic page
  • For any topic with modifiers, provide a glossary of modifiers on that topic page
  • For any topic with parents, provide a glossary of parents and "grandparents" on that topic page
  • For any topic that exists on a Nmap or Nview, provide a glossary of related narratives on that topic page
  • Automate the creation of these glossaries if possible. If needed, add it as a child that is a Nmap itself, like "3D Printer/Nmap: Glossary

Priorities

To put this in action, I recommend first to start creating any new information using these conventions, then re-categorizing any information needed to onboard folks sufficiently to becoming true fans.

I think this includes creating the following pages:

  • Nmap: Core Processes
  • Nmap: Active Objects: 2018
  • P: Onboarding/Email Sequence: 2018

After that, re-name and connect the relevant pages of anything that's connected to Onboarding, Core Processes, and Active Objects.

When we reach 10 active contributors or more to the wiki, create a chrome pluggin to manage new page creation and significantly reduce overhead.

References

How To

Examples