Random Wiki is set up to be open. Basically everyone and anyone who feels inspired to do so can monitor and police the integrity of the site, and more importantly, can improve the quality of the material submitted by updating and editing what's already there, as well as adding stuff. With the wiki code I use, anyone with an RSS aggregator can keep an eye on the wiki from anywhere on the net.

On the other hand, the Wiki is not a conversation board. It is a summary and a glossary. If you wish to make a point about a topic or sound out disagreement, then you should create a thread on The Forge (or elsewhere) on it. You may then add a link for that thread under the References list. You may also add to the Wiki entry by saying "Another definition of this topic is..." and include your view.

The rules of etiquette, particularly for the Theory Topics section, are:

1. Be nice - don't be rude or offensive.
2. Write in a way that is easy to understand.
3. Don't use too many acronyms (or at least, have a page explaining them).
4. Correcting typos is acceptable - in fact, it is encouraged, since it makes the web page more readable.
5. You are free to contribute anonymously, but it is preferred that you sign a name. Corrections and edits should only use the "Author" field. (The changes can be viewed using the "Page History" link.) Blocks of new text may also be signed with your name at the end. It is common to prepend the signature with like this: -- Doyce Testerman.
6. While you're at it, you are free to create your own wikipage under the "Profiles" group and tell us about yourself, but don't write your email addresses out in plain text.
7. If you add a new topic, you should put an entry for it in the appropriate alphabetical listing page.
8. For topic entries, external references such as The Forge threads and other links should generally be in a list at the bottom of the entry under a boldfaced header of "References:". The link text should be the title of the thread or web page. You may put in parentheses the site and date of the thread -- i.e. "(The Forge, Sep 2003)".
9. Links to other topics in the wiki can and should be included within the text. The link text should be the title of the other entry or close variant, not a "click here" phrase. i.e. Don't say: "See _here_" but use "See also _Bar_".

References:

• Forge Wiki? (The Forge, Dec 2004)
• Forge Wiki, Part 2 - Questions of Use (The Forge, Dec 2004)
• The New User Pages from a venerable wiki(approve sites) may also help with general wiki questions, or just check out our Documentation Index.