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[edit] What is a DCCWiki?

DCCWiki is an encyclopedia for DCC written collaboratively by many of its readers, meaning articles can be added or changed by nearly anyone. Lots of people are constantly improving DCCWiki, all of which are recorded. Nonsense and vandalism are usually removed quickly, and their creators banned.

The DCCWiki project began on October 28, 2005 is now operated by Mitch Schwenk using Wikimedia Foundation software. DCCWiki currently has 181 articles.

Almost all visitors may create new articles or edit DCCWiki's articles and have their changes instantly displayed. DCCWiki is built on the belief that collaboration among users will improve articles over time, in much the same way that Open source software develops. Further, this real-time, collaborative model allows rapid updating of existing topics and introduction of new topics. Its authors need not have any expertise or formal qualifications in the subjects which they edit, and users are warned that their contributions may be "edited mercilessly and redistributed at will" by anyone who so wishes. Its articles are not controlled by any particular user or editorial group, and decision-making on the content and editorial policies of DCCWiki is instead done by consensus and occasionally vote. In the event an article, topic, etc, cannot be agreed upon, Mitch Schwenk will make the final call after reviewing material from multiple sources and considering users suggestions.

[edit] How can I help?

Don't be afraid to edit pages on DCCWiki. Anyone can edit, and we encourage users to be bold...but don't be reckless! Find something that can be improved, either in content, grammar or formatting, then fix it. Worried about breaking Wiki? Don't be: it can always be fixed or improved later. So go ahead, edit an article and help make DCCWiki the best source of information for DCC related topics on the Internet! Please note that DCCWiki has no specific spelling: American English and Commonwealth English are both used. Editing is very easy:

1. Click "edit" this page at the top of the page.
2. Type a message.
3. Click "Submit" at the bottom of the page to save your writing... or "Preview" to test your changes.

[edit] Why was this created?

Originally, when Mitch was just learning about DCC he added whatever information he learned to his personal wiki (a general knowledge Wiki he keeps to himself). After growning in size, he decided to make them public after noticing a lack of a strong DCC community to share information about all manufacturers and DCC topics. Also, he wanted the community to be able to add topic, modify content, and contribute on-the-fly.

[edit] Policies

DCCWiki requires that contributors observe a "neutral point of view" when writing, and not include original research. Neutral point of view, itself a "non-negotiable" policy, articulates the encyclopedia's goal as "representing" disputes, "characterizing" them, rather than engaging in them." If achieved, DCCWiki would not be written from a single "objective" point-of-view, but would fairly present all views on an issue, attributed to their adherents in a neutral way. The policy states that views should be given weight equal to their popularity. This policy has been criticized as having an unattainable goal, being unnecessary with widely discredited material, and allowing the representation of "morally offensive" views.