Cleanups that destroy information

[David Tangye]

I just looked at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/LocalNet
On line 320

> Surprisingly, my netboot installation of the Feisty server release set did
> not install openssh-server by default. After all this work setting up
> netboot, it was back to the console again for a couple of minutes.
>
was changed at revision 88 to -

> Surprisingly, my netboot installation of the Intrepid server release set
> did not install openssh-server by default. After all this work setting up
> netboot, it was back to the console again for a couple of minutes.
>
and all references to ubuntu versions prior to 8.10 were updated to 8.10.

In version 90 the page was removed from "CategoryCleanup" with the comment:

> ##page was taken out of CategoryCleanup and _not_ assigned any tags as
> everything is ok
>

Be aware: If people are arbitrarily changing the pages to "look better" by
doing this, they are actually rendering the information inaccurate and
therefore worthless. Where all references to earlier versions are updated to
later versions, the information needs to be tested to ensure it is still
accurate. Often these sort of notes are very version-specific, and relate to
temporary workarounds to shortcomings and bugs.

This is not a task that can be handled by just changing version references
without thought and testing. Arbitrary changes, eg in the way done in
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/LocalNet, devalue the wiki.

In the meantime for the example I mentioned above, I have just reversed the
sentence to its pre-revision 88 state.

I think you need to define a strategy of principles for how to edit and also
to highlight to people how to handle 'cleanups' better, as the approach
taken here is clearly detrimental to the value of the wiki. For instance

   1. People need to be aware of the need to think carefully about the
   context whereby information was originally presented, and decide what is
   still version-specific and what is not.
   2. You need to have guidelines for whether and how to remove personal
   anecdotes, or whether to preserve historical information and link it better
   to the specific software version it related to. (*Generally, if I confirm
   by testing, and update (and expand etc) a personal anecdote, I reword it in
   more formal and non-anecdotal grammar at the same time, and I think this
   would be a good general guideline.*)
   3. You need to resolve whether the wiki is to support old versions at
   all, and if so, how far back, and also how to change stuff( eg at paragraph
   level?) to flag information as version-specific.

Right now the wiki is a mess of -

   - current info (including old info that is still correct currently),
   - old info that was correct for a previous version(s) only but not for
   later versions, and does not state what the version was that it was correct
   for. Readers will assume that it is correct for the latest version when it
   is not. *This info needs to have the version it relates to added, or the
   info rewritten (or if its for really old versions - removed completely?)*
   - info that states a version that it pertains to, which is  -
   - still correct for later (including the latest?) versions. *This info
      needs to have the additional versions it relates to added (or version
      references removed entirely?)*
      - not relevant for later versions. *This info needs to have the range
      of versions it is relevant for added, so it is clear that it is
not relevant
      to later/current versions.
      *

-- 
Cheers
David Tangye
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