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Post by murgyc46 on Sept 18, 2019 7:06:22 GMT
Forgive me coming late to the discussion and if already mooted in a different sphere but has AB considered publishing files such as these as a Wiki? That way members can provide updates, expand the detail, peer review them and an audit trail is automatically maintained of all activity. There are examples all around us of this approach such as Wikipaedia and the Aviation Safety Network. I suggest it would fit neatly with the aims of the charitable trust. It could cost from virtualy zero to an awful lot depending on if you use established tools, host the Wiki software yourself or outsource it.
I was going to offer the suggestion at the forthcoming AGM but seeing this thread pose it here first.
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Post by Admin on Sept 18, 2019 7:47:26 GMT
There are positives and negatives to using a pure Wiki process for sharing information. The positives are that it does allow a number of people to add their knowledge and grow the information pool. The negatives are that each update needs to be verified to ensure it is correct and, just as importantly, not reinforcing errors that are in the wider web and have gained traction through repetition. As always volunteer resource is a limiting factor.
If we can get gatekeepers to perform this checking function, then there is no reason not to share more information. When we set up the original files on the AB-IX website we failed to put into place a mechanism to keep those files live and up-to-date. We are looking to avoid that as we publish further information.
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Post by murgyc46 on Sept 19, 2019 9:04:43 GMT
Dear Admin Thank you for your reply, not totally out of the question then? I agree that you need to verify updates, but that is true of whatever "collaboration" tool you use. A wiki at least gives you the functionality to enforce recording of sources and references plus maintain the audit trail. I therefore suggest it to the AB controlling fathers that it might be worth consideration at least as a "proof of concept" trial? I would humbly suggest that one such project could be the Tiger Moth histories - the compiler of those impressive files has a reputation as a fastidious historian and seeker of the truth - they would fit the bill of a gatekeeper true enough! Run a trial for 6-12 months and have an idea of the outcomes you would like to see as a result to be able to measure the success (or not).
Whatever the outcome I look forward with interest to learn of the avoidance methods being looked into that is mentioned in your last paragraph.
kind regards
Brian Matthews AB 21637
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Post by Admin on Sept 19, 2019 15:18:56 GMT
Brian
Do you have any thoughts on suitable software for a repository (I avoid using the term wiki to maybe widen the search).
As to avoidance of "dead" files we need to have somebody responsible for each file - presumably the author in the first instance. We will also need another person to ensure that those responsible are keeping up to date.
Steve
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Post by Pete Webber on Sept 20, 2019 8:10:12 GMT
Steve
have put my hand up already for helping here on the board?
Pete
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Post by murgyc46 on Sept 20, 2019 11:14:46 GMT
Brian Do you have any thoughts on suitable software for a repository (I avoid using the term wiki to maybe widen the search). As to avoidance of "dead" files we need to have somebody responsible for each file - presumably the author in the first instance. We will also need another person to ensure that those responsible are keeping up to date. Steve Steve
I have been mulling this question over, I guess the answer would depend on a number of factors - mostly what functionality you want and how much infrastructure and expertise you have to manage such a project. I agree that the wiki route is not the only one in town. Having said that there is a useful comparison tool at www.wikimatrix.org/ which I am sure you may have heard about? You can feed in your preferences and it will suggest possible solutions. Most of the better functioning ones require a reasonable technical knowledge and backend server capacity - I have no idea what exists in Air Britain already. I have asked the good people at ASN what they use for their accident database, I suspect it is the Wikibase extension linked to a MediaWiki backend. Unless you know already I will let you know what they say.
Otherwise, there are a number of enterprise sharing tools available that allow teams to work on common files and track changes, share projects and publish them. Sadly they usually require significant investment. In my professional life we use Microsoft Teams as part of Office Enterprise 365 - but you license it monthly per user and therefore not applicable.
At a basic level, we could do worse than investigate the tools offered with Google Drive and Dropbox that permit personal users to share and edit files (documents or spreadsheets), track changes, publish to the web as view only (or editable) and have it hosted - all for free! I have an early test file of information relating to Flintshire Aviation loaded as a Google Sheets file, I can share that with you if yiou wish to experience the editing it in action - you would need a Google account to access it of course and tell me what you email address is so I can send an invitation to become an editor. Anyone could have the view only link to the file to see the current content and would not need the account. The rather unpromisingly named link is shown below, but you could hide this behind a better shortcut title on a website.
I have me set as the owner and if anyone makes a change then I get an email informing me. It has built in edit history so if you hover over a cell it will tell you the revision history via a right-click option.
I certainly don't have the monopoly on these thoughts but hope they are of some use. I won't comment too much on the need for people to monitor and keep things updated - I tend to find with these sort of communities that key individuals come to the foreground, but I agree that sourcing those people can be a challenge. Like me, I am sure there are several of us amateur historians that keep personal files on subjects - supporting a platform that allows them to be shared with other like minded individuals in as straightforward a way as possible will benefit our hobby and the ideals of the charity.
kind regards
Brian Matthews AB 21637
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Post by dragontech on Nov 1, 2019 8:33:56 GMT
tagging on here, i am looking for the full serial list for single seat gloster meteors, are these uploaded to the members site
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