Welcome+to+the+Science+and+Society+Wiki!

In these pages sits the work of students interested in sharing what they have come to know! All the pages have similar ambitions: to help web readers see what scientists are studying, and what has been found out, what's missing, and what may still be investigated.

Think of this as what Ward Cunningham, the creator of the first wiki, said when asked to tell what his new creation was: //it is the simplest online database that could possibly work.// Put another way, a wiki is a place in which is deposited a massive amount of information on a massive amount of subjects, all of which can be monitored and updated as needed. Wikis support hyperlinks and a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly.

Best of all, a wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it allows "open editing"-- all //invited// users can freely create and edit page content using any web browser. That has some profound and subtle effects on wiki usage. Some commentators have said allowing users to create and edit any page encourages democratic use of the web, and promotes content composition by nontechnical users. Others have said open editing diminishes wikis' authority as reliable sources of information.

Potential members of WRTG 3030's "wiki world" should familiarize themselves with certain protocols: Wikis in Plain English. And then, memorize the Wiki Tenet: //Please grant me the serenity to accept the pages I cannot edit, the courage to edit the pages I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.//

Best,

Dr. C