March 25, 1995: First Wiki Makes Fast Work of Collaboration | This Day In Tech | Wired.com: "But the wiki’s beginnings were humble: Like many things internet-related, the first was a practical application by one person trying to solve his own work-related problem. In this case, that person was Ward Cunningham, and the problem was how to better collaborate with a bunch of other programmers.
On this day in 1995, Cunningham installed the WikiWikiWeb on a $300 computer someone gave him and connected it to the mostly barren landscape that was then the internet, using a 14.4-baud dial-up modem.
While the rules to live by are obvious, Cunningham himself has a few, which he still maintains on his WikiWikiWeb pages. They include:
- Write only factual information.
- Give concrete advice, rather than abstract.
- Respect the freedom you have been given.
- Be concise and stay on topic for the page.
- Use language you’d be comfortable reading out loud — “use” versus “utilize” — and keep it simple. Simple language often communicates better.
- Check for spelling and grammar errors — errors detract from the content.<
- Edit only when you think a page is lacking -- don't just sign your name at the bottom of every page.
- Delete only if doing so adds value.<
- Don't say things that are likely to make others mad. Practice civility and understatement.
- Above all, be good, and play nice!
Funny how these principles apply to so many things.
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