Talk:Demosphere.net launches new Wiki

Original Reporting Comments
Alrighty.

I've got a ton of emails I'm going to sift through and post here. Typically what is the format that notes are posted in? This is my first original reporting article, I'd like to stay consistent with the de facto practises of posting notes here.Torontonian 03:27, 28 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Several things; generally original reporting needs to support all factual statements in their notes, where possible. It is required to have permission from an e-mail's author before publishing a copy of it on Wikinews; presumably this has already been given. Before publishing the e-mail, please remove the e-mail addresses and other confidential information. - Amgine/talk 03:30, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Will do. I suspect that he wouldn't mind unsolicited emails about his project, but I guess I'll have to adhere to proper journalistic practises.Torontonian 03:39, 28 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Yes, but also, as per our Code of Ethics, minimize harm. - Amgine/talk 03:49, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Can we publish this now?


 * I've re-examined it a few times, and i'm comfortable for a publish. I'll add the tag later today if there are no objections.Torontonian 15:28, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
 * As you can see by the transcript I just added, there was a lot more to cover than just the wiki site itself. Do you guys think we can fill it in more? Or do you think I was correct in limiting the scope of the article? Again, I'd like to publish this ASAP.(And thanks again in advance for any edits you'd like to make to the article.Torontonian 16:53, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Interview Chat Transcript
TO being moi, the writer, JS being Jordan Schroder. <13:02:20>TO: Hey. <13:02:36>JS: Hi, thanks for having me Troy. <13:03:01>'''TO: Thanks for coming Jordan. So tell me about this new site you've launched.''' <13:03:30>JS: Well Troy, we've had discussion forums of one kind or another running for almost 3 years, but this is the first time we've incorporated wiki into the development process. <13:03:52>TO: Two questions, what kind of wiki are you using and why, and how does it differ in terms of it's role from the forum you have now? <13:05:23>JS: We were looking at a few different alternatives for our wiki solution. We started out with a TikiWIki website, which was full featured, almost to a fault. Then I actually managed to secure a sponsorship from the kind folks at Project Forum. They offered us a one year enterprise license for their project management wiki, which although powerful was a little difficult to install. Finally I came back around to MediaWIki, which was attractive from the outset as the wiki that most people are familiar with.

Since our project is still in it's infancy on the discussion forums, we're really hoping to use the wiki as a tool to help us move the project to the next level. With it we can actually start bringing in students and professionals to help us formulate and conceive of all the details of the software design and it's implementation. Whereas the forums are great for discussion of politics or other general topics, they don't have the same collaborative leveraging power that MediaWiki has. <13:07:49>TO: I guess I should have asked sooner, but what exactly is your software all about? <13:08:57>JS: Well, I should stress that we don't even have a beta yet or anything resembling one for Demosphere. We're aiming to have one ready by next Fall. We'll start out on college and university campuses, and test the software with student unions and other academic associations. <13:09:18>'''TO: What would they use it for? What will it do?''' <13:10:29>JS: I was just going to get to that. The software will essentially act as a community-media framework, allowing group managers from unions, associations, departments, conferences, faculties, et cetera, to manage their membership, and allow those members to connect and debate and vote on issues that affect the community. <13:11:00>'''TO: Sounds fairly complex. How do you plan on managing the development process?''' <13:12:06>JS: Not by myself. lol. With the wiki I hope to bring on board interested individuals who have experience in specific niches in specific areas. Wether they're students or professionals already working in their field, if they have an idea, the wiki will let them share it with us. <13:12:45>'''TO: Under what company or organization are you developing this project? ''' <13:13:07>JS: Under my company, Democratic Development Solutions Incorporated. <13:13:38>'''TO: So this is going to be propriety software? Will people have to pay for it?''' <13:15:02>JS: That's the tough one. I intend to have it developed in an open-sourced fashion while not entirely GNU licensed. I'd have to have a serious debate about options available under Creative Commons with the rest of the people involved in the project, but eventually we'd like it to be open-sourced. <13:15:16>TO: So it will be free? <13:16:11>JS: Maybe not. In mind I have a minimal membership fee which would cover overhead like marketing costs, and a referal incentive program i want to setup with the company. <13:16:48>'''TO: It sounds like, the kinds of people in the wiki movement may not be interested in getting involved. How do you plan to get them interested if it's not going to be free?''' <13:17:27>JS: Well, i was hoping we wouldn't get around to this topic, because i haven't fully developed the answer for you yet. Let's just say that as this software is developed I have an ambitious plan to legally morph the parent company DDSI, into a transparent-profit-profit sharing co-op style company. <13:17:45>TO: So you'll pay your developers a slice of the profit? <13:19:04>JS: No, not just that, I mean we may not ever have people on salary. I mean, everyone who has signed up for a membership to access the software online, will have a voting share in the company itself. They'll have a say in how the money is spent. They could use the software itself to vote, securely, with paper-trails and everything on the direction the company heads. Everyone who uses the software will in effect be on the board of directors. <13:19:36>'''TO: That seems rather ambitious. How do you plan on getting the legal hurdles?''' <13:21:49>JS: Well, honestly, I'm not too sure Troy. I know there are certain limitations, that vary from country to country on the maximum number of directors allowed on a co. board, as well as the maximum number of investors or share holders you can have before you have to make a public offering. I know where there's a will there's a way, and now that we've got our wiki, we can find legal students or lawyers to help us solve the problem. <13:22:01>TO: You don't want to take your company public if this project is a success? <13:23:07>JS: It's not that I don't want it to be a success, but I want to avoid taking this company public. If we can find a way to have millions of legal shares in the company which offer voting rights and all the rest, without ever letting people trade them away. It's like that's your one share that you get as long as you're paying your dues and using the software, you can't trade it away or sell it. <13:23:30>'''TO: Okay back to the new wiki. Do you think it will be hard for people to take you seriously?''' <13:24:53>JS: Sorry. Despite the youth of our new wiki, I think students and professionals interested in the project, will find it a great way to have an impact on the software we're developing, if they're interested of course in what we're trying to accomplish. <13:25:09>'''TO: That's okay. Do you think that the wiki might in fact turn away some people that might otherwise be interested?''' <13:27:16>JS: I think people will get more and more accustomed to it wether they like it or not. Wiki technology is incredibly powerful and is exactly the kind of filter the internet, as a medium, needs to play a more concrete role in long-term global democracy. Which is what this is really about. Near the top of my wishlist of features for the Demosphere software would have to be wiki. I'd love to see wiki tech. incorporated into the design of our voting software. <13:27:44>TO: On that note, how do you see wiki being used eventually in the software itself? <13:28:27>JS: I don't know. I think because the navigation of our software uses real-life community hiearchies, it lends itself to being tied in with media articles related to the issues that people are voting on in them. I'm not sure what's possible yet, but somehow tracking the history of documents and pages in the system... I'm not too sure. <13:29:11>TO: Do you think you have the skills to be able to see this through to beta? <13:32:00>JS: While I'm no Napolean Dynamite, i have this vision for something in the future. I know that in adopting this technology during our formative and foundation stages, we can hopfully attract individuals with an idea of how it might be best used in the finished product, and who are interested in leadership positions within the project. Because I know I can't go it alone. The end result is best served by sharing. And the wiki lets us do that. <13:32:26>'''TO: I guess that wraps it up. Thanks for your time Jordan, I know you've got to run. ''' <13:32:35>JS: Thanks Troy, it was my pleasure. Torontonian 17:32, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Mediawiki is developed by the wikimedia foundation...
Since mediawiki is developed by the wikimedia foundation do we put a  on top? Bawolff 06:56, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Yes, as it does mention MediaWiki. --Mrmiscellanious 10:43, 30 September 2005 (UTC)