Couldn't it be cool to have the product section as/with a wiki layout.

That way we could all contribute to the procuct articles.

What do you think?

/MikaelB

If anybody at all wants to add to product descriptions - please - email me!!!

I would be delighted to put the reviews of BeoWorld members on the site.

Lee

I agree though the last attempt to do this by another site was an unqualified failure! There are two issues. The first is that very few will contribute and the second is accuracy. However if this was a popular idea, I think it would definitely be worth doing. We would need a critical mass of people willing to make a start - I would say about 50. If we get 50 people saying yes to this thread, I say we go for it! Up to you lot then!!

why not just use wikipedia?

mention Beoworld too if you like. 

wikipedia Bang & Olufsen link 

I have already campaigned for the wiki, so count me in.

I am on this site very often, it is great, I always find answers to my questions, but I find that knowledge gets buried as soon as it passes the 1st page of the forum. So some questions get asked and answered several times.

I find difficult to find some of my own posts when I search for them.

I find it is a shame that this sum of knowledge is somehow lost - or not easily accessible.

If all the answers to the questions were compiled in the product pages, that would be fantastic.

I do not know why the other wiki failed, but my intuition is that we are all here and are not necessarily looking at other sites... 

Obviously there are some precautions to take for the wiki.

First it needs to be moderated, then it needs to be structured (or the other way round!).

Lee, Peter, if you wanted me to think about it and propose a structure, let me know.

  philippe. 

complete agreement w/ philippe!

it is amazing how often i see similar questions and the same answers!
compiling all this info into a wiki would be great! unify the faq's, product manuals, product images... yahoo!

i also agree w/ the moderation, and controlled access for editing!

it needs to be as accurate as possible, not opinions.

...and that is my opinion! ;-)

++++edit++++

let me rephrase quickly re: opinions... i meant that info regarding technical matters should be as accurate as possible. i like to hear people's opinions re: the daily use of the products.

++++edit++++

I find this a little frustrating if i'm honest..

We are all bleating about the same answers getting asked time and again, and it's either because people can't be bothered to look at the FAQ section, or can't be bothered to search the site for previous questions using the search function.

If people are too lazy or not tech-savvy enough to look for the info, i doubt they would look for it on a BeoWiki style section.

Peter is also correct. People very often talk the talk, and when it comes down to putting in the hundreds of hours needed to maintain, build, edit and update the information they simply don't have the time or inclination. I do not mean this disrespectfully to the people that have put themselves forward already.

However, i will always bow to pressure, and if enough people are happy to put the huge amount of time and effort into it - i will look into hosting this.

Finally, please bear in mind it has been tried before, and failed miserably.  Also bear in mind that if people feel the need for answers so strongly, why not update the FAQ section in our existing site?

I await a lambasting..

Lee

burantek:

it needs to be as accurate as possible, not opinions.

That is where the Forum and Wiki would complement nicely.

Knowledge base= Wiki

Discussion, Opinion = Forum

It does not mean that people could not discuss technology in the forum. But when a question seems to be answered in the forum with a good consensus, it would be good that someone updates the wiki.

p.

no lambasting here -because i agree w/ you too!

the search is key!

i generally find 90% of my answers by just searching or reading the faq's!

i think that the idea of the wiki makes it easier for people to contribute though, but in practice that may not be the case -as you mentioned -it had been attempted before...

maybe more emphasis should be placed on the faq's and the search engine!

it is a tough balance!

I'm sorry gentlemen but I beg to differ. I find the wiki format totally confusing. I have tried several wiki's and they all seem to be the same. As a consequence, I never look at wiki's even when they appear in a google search!

I too get frustrated when I find myself answering the same question over and over again and doubly frustrated when I know that the answer, in vast majority of cases, is in the product pages! The questioner only has to look for him/her self. How would the wiki format help these people who appear to be too idle (other words spring to mind here) to look for themselves and while doing so, build up their knowledge on the subject and answer their question at the same time?

What are the other advantages of the wiki format? BeoWorld has a vast amount of knowledge contained within it's product/user and service manual pages and the forum is searchable with a little forethought and common sense.

I say leave BeoWorld as it is, a developing resource for B&O enthusiasts worldwide.

We do not suggest to replace the Forum by a wiki. The forum is a great place to discuss. It is the Product/FAQ/Article pages so that they can evolve a bit more.

The Format would remain similar, it is just that volunteer could contribute. The navigation could also be improved from the current one.

p. 

wtlc2zpx:

We do not suggest to replace the Forum by a wiki. The forum is a great place to discuss. It is the Product/FAQ/Article pages so that they can evolve a bit more.

The Format would remain similar, it is just that volunteer could contribute. The navigation could also be improved from the current one.

p. 

Lee is crying out for volunteers to contribute to BeoWorld. The problem is that not many people seem willing or able or both!!

What is wrong with the current navigation?

The only problem I have with the current system is the forum search. It desperately needs an "advanced search" mode with a couple more options, and it definitely should collapse the hits from a single thread to one link (optionally?). As it is now, you can search for "beogadget 2300" and you get twelve pages of hits from a couple of threads in random order, and the one lone hit (which you're possibly looking for) gets buried in there.

The FAQs pretty much are there in the forums already, we just need better ways to find them. Just like the one that's pinned at the top of the Beogram forum.

And if I may say so, reading the product descriptions both in here and at Beocentral is stylistically and grammatically pure bliss compared to the incomprehensible babbling in many Wikis. I'd rather have the volunteer contributions to go through the skilled staff that we have here

Just as a thought.. let's see what the search facility on CS2008 is like.

I've not had a play with the new program, but i hear it's superior in absolutely every respect.

Lee

 

I would prefer a uniformly presented product/faq section rather than something structured in a haphazard manner. I also appreciate fact sorted from opinion. If CS2008 improves the search facilities (and it does need improving) then I would encourage anyone who would like to contribute to the site do what they could do already and forward their submission to a moderator who could then check (or have it checked by the most suitable person(s)) for content/fact/truth etc. before adding to the product/faq area.

As I understand it there has been an open invitation since the new Beoworld began for anyone to write a review of a product they own or to propose/update items in the faq section. If they have merit they can be added to the site.

Perhaps we should officially re-issue a request for submissions and see what contributions are generated before we worry too much about how to host them.

Puncher:

As I understand it there has been an open invitation since the new Beoworld began for anyone to write a review of a product they own or to propose/update items in the faq section. If they have merit they can be added to the site.

Perhaps we should officially re-issue a request for submissions and see what contributions are generated before we worry too much about how to host them.

i think that is a great idea!

i nominate myself to provide the first one on the piece that i am most technically proficient with! -the bottle opener!

seriously though, i wouldn't mind putting something together and submitting it for redlining -gotta' start somewhere! the problem, as i am sure w/ most of us is time. family and kids have put a real dent in my social life.

I did the write up for the Beolit 800 last year when the site was relaunched. Not sure how many others contributed. I wanted to do more, but felt like a lemon without others joining in as well.

Allow me to elaborate around the reason for my initial post.

I was looking up info on my fellow countryman Tom Kristensen, and there by came across wikipedia. Then by only one click I was in the Audi section and found all sorts of info (mainly technical) on different models, bot current and discontinued.

I am not sure how this translates to B&O products, but I think it would be cool to have info right at my fingertips, the way I felt I had it there.

This is of course closely related to my experience on the wikipedia site.

I guess what I miss is a better structure on the technical details of the products. And differences between software versions. And other tecnical stuf.

And lastly I would be happy to contribute, but I am not an article writing kind of guy. I am more of a fact guy. Therefore I find it difficult to contribute as it is now.

Like the idea of just doing it on wikipedia and then link to BeoWorld. Is it possible to deep link to pages on BeoWorld from e.g. wikipedia?

/MikaelB

MikaelB:

Like the idea of just doing it on wikipedia and then link to BeoWorld. Is it possible to deep link to pages on BeoWorld from e.g. wikipedia?

The problem with doing it on Wikipedia, is that all content must be free of rights. Beoworld has a lot of valuable articles, duplicating/rewriting this information on Wikipedia would be both fastidious and unfair to Beoworld.

p. 

joeyboygolf:

Lee is crying out for volunteers to contribute to BeoWorld. The problem is that not many people seem willing or able or both!!

What is wrong with the current navigation?

Is this just for the products section or is there anything else volunteers are needed for? As I visit this site almost every day it would be great to be able to help the site out if I can.

 

Craig