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Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2005 10:20:57 -0400
From: Ernest Christley <echristley@nc.rr.com>
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To: Rotary motors in aircraft <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Subject: Re: [FlyRotary] Re: fuel pump mounting
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jesse farr wrote:

> I thought that was sort of what this list is. Just sort of, of course.
> jofarr, soddy tn
>
>> It's a collaborative knowledge storage mechanism.  Let's get away 
>> from a 'best practice' list and call it what it is.  A 'known 
>> solutions' list.
>
>

Your thinking is quite correct, Jesse.  In fact, most of the current 
data that is in our wiki comes from postings made here.  The only 
problem with this list is with off topic discussions, protracted 
discussions before reaching a consensus, searching and indexing, ie. all 
the 'volume'.   The list archives are a step in the right direction, but 
an archive search for 'fuel system design' will leave you with many a 
nights worth of bedtime reading.  On the other hand, the wiki is a "Just 
the facts, ma'am" medium where we cut the fluff, friendly banter, and 
general discussion, and then INDEX it so that it is easy to find. 

This could be done with a FAQ or someone's 'Best Practices' website.  
The two problems with that solution both lie with the single maintainer 
nature.  First, what happens when the maintainer gets tired of 
maintaining?  This is a job that will span years if not decades, after 
all.  And second, what happens when the maintainer doesn't agree with a 
piece of information?  Will it get included in the FAQ/website, or will 
the maintainer find a way to push it away?  The Wiki maintainance is 
very low as the maintainer isn't required to be an editor, and the 
second problem is wiped away by the wiki's decentralized nature. But we 
still have all the information we find valuable condensed into one place 
and instead of RTF (read the faq), we'll tell newbies to RTW (read the 
wiki).

There will be disagreements to approach and solutions.  No problem.  
Proponents of both sides simply post their views. Done.  No fuss. No 
muss.  The neophyte is left to make his own decision from the 
discussion, or, even better, we've given them a place to start their 
investigations from so they can understand the give and takes of the 
issues involved.

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