Defra re-opens

After a lock-down to reassess the project, the Defra wiki has re-opened for business. On the front page is the following caveat:

The wiki is currently OPEN – we normally “lock” the wiki overnight – between about 6pm and 8am UK time – to prevent editing or registering for new accounts during this period.

To control the editing of the material on the wiki we’ve introduced a registration process – so that content can only be edited by people who’ve registered with us. See below for details.

We welcome all comment – provided it’s constructive, relevant and, not abusive – we ourselves will not delete material or comments that meet these requirements.

It is clear some other changes have been made, too. There appears to be a special administrator monitoring the environmental contract, which is the content serving as the focus of the site. There are also more explicit policies in place, enforced in a wiki way (by the community and not by system design). Two such policies are:

1. “We ask that users do not make changes to this homepage, as it is necessary to keep this page clear and simple, particularly for new users.”
2. “We ask users NOT to delete other users’ comments unless they are e.g. ‘spam’ or abusive in some way.”

So far, it looks like civility is reigning and the second run at the wiki has a better chance of success. However, pay attention to what Guido Fawkes does. His opposition efforts were what helped close down the wiki previously, after it had been opened for a few short weeks.

For backstory, read …