I just can't get into this whole Wikipedia assignment. Last night, when I was uploading and making minor edits to my article, someone else jumped onto it and started changing it on me. To me, that is the height of rudeness to go in and change someone else's work because you THINK what you have to say is better. I can understand if it were a regular Wikipedia article and incorrect information was posted; but to rearrange my sentence structure because you think ending sentences with prepositions sounds better than using proper grammar? I have two words for that Bozo, and one of them is "off". Seriously, if we are to write for audiences that may not have a full grasp of the English language, improper grammar is not going to make the article any easier for them to comprehend.
Anyhow, I believe that all clouds have silver linings, and for me Wikitravel's glimmer of argentum is its Manual of Style. As someone who is new to writing for the Wiki sites, there were a few helpful sections. The first would have to be the Structural Style Guide, which offers helpful writing tips to writers on where exactly their article will fit into the scheme of Wikitravel; as well as advice on when to start a new article or simply edit an existing one. I am not sure how many people actually read these instructions, but they are pretty darn comprehensive. The importance of this concept should be obvious: it eliminates redundancy, something which there is already way too much of on the web.
The other section of the Manual of Style that I found helpful is the section on Writing Style. This portion of the manual offers over a dozen links to elaborate on simple instructional phrases, such as "Don't tout"; Words to avoid"; and my personal favorite, "No advice from Captain Obvious".
I found "Don't tout" to be interesting, because I did not know what professional touting was, even though I frequently see it on the Internet and the inherent dishonesty of it has always upset me. I think it is important for contributors in general to remember this rule lest their articles be marked as SPAM and deleted from the site. Sometimes, you have to curb your enthusiasm in order to be heard.
"Words to avoid" made me laugh because there is nothing I hate more than pretense. It is one thing to drop a fancy sounding word here or there if it comes naturally to you. As a Science major, my brain is filled with both the English and Latin names for so many things. Combine this fact with the fact that I also speak French and you can see that I have three different languages spinning through my brain at the speed of thought. Is it any wonder that words like "argentum" spill out of my mind and into this process blog? However, this process blog has a limited audience, one that is presumed to be college educated. The same cannot be assumed of WikiTravel, so to fill an article with "50-cent words" would be foolish - unless your goal is to sound like a pretentious snot; then, by all means, write like you are submitting a court brief instead of a travel article.
The guideline "No advice from Captain Obvious" was by far my personal favorite for its simplicity, which is something people often forget about in their attempts to sound knowledgeable. I think it is important to keep the obvious out of the article for a few reasons. The first and most obvious is that including such information insults the intelligence of the reader. The second and less obvious is that it also bores the reader. When writing for the Internet, you need to keep your readers focused on what you are writing while maintaining their interest in your topic. If you lose the reader's interest, they will click on a link that will take them elsewhere and - eventually - lead them far from your article.
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My one problem with WikiTravel is that it is so broad that it seems difficult to be useful in planning a trip. I would be more likely to use it for local or regional travel than to plan a longer, more expansive trip. For example, if I were to take a day-trip to New Hampshire and wanted to know about restaurants in the area where I would be going, I might search the region or district on Wikitravel. Most likely, though, I would just CitySearch it.
P.S. Does anyone outside of science and/or academia know what argentum is?
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