The WCHA KnowledgeBase: Coming Soon!

[Dan Miller]

Some of you may have noticed some strange activity on the Forums over the last couple days... nothing to fear! That is just us, installing the newest feature to the WCHA Website: the WCHA KnowledgeBase.

The KnowledgeBase is a wiki (think Wikipedia) add-on to our Forum software, that will allow us to collaboratively create articles about wooden canoe history, building, restoration, etc. It is not a substitute for our highly-respected forum, but is a means by which we can gather together our collective knowledge about wooden canoes. Think of it as your virtual bookshelf - all the books you wished have been written but haven't yet. And you get to participate!

For the short term, only Administrators can create or edit articles, but we expect to open it up to all Forum members in the next day or so as testing and configuration is finalized. In the meantime, you can preview the KnowledgeBase by going to http://forums.wcha.org/knowledgebase/ or clicking on the KnowledgeBase tab at the top of the page.

Feel free to post questions or comments to this thread.

Dan

 

[MGC]

Did notice and have been waiting quasi patiently.
Great idea and a very interesting departure from more "traditional" forum sites.

 

[pklonowski]

I noticed, but also saw that it was all from Dan... so figured it was something good. Great idea, indeed!

 

[Dan Miller]

Hi All,

I've opened the KnowledgeBase for all registered forum users to contribute. Have fun!

The learning curve for taking full advantage of the package is a bit steep if you've not used a wiki before. The manual is helpful, and you can view the source of what I have already added to see how I did some things. Tutorials will be forthcoming...

Feel free to contact me about any part of this regarding usage, content, formatting etc.

Dan

 

[Dan Miller]

Well Kathy has taken the bait and gotten a great start on a page for Morris canoes! (http://forums.wcha.org/knowledgebase/Manufacturers:B+N+Morris+Canoe+Company?redirect=no)

I hope more of you will step up and start contributing to the KnowledgeBase - I'll keep adding more myself, but what I know about wooden canoes can be written up on half a 3" post-it note! Remember, this is a community project, and my name should only be one among many!

Dan

 

[Paul Miller]

Hi Dan,

I don't see any pictures or mention of a place to attach any.

Is that something the KnowledgeBase will include?

Have pics, can post,

Paul

 

[Dan Miller]

I don't see any pictures or mention of a place to attach any. Is that something the KnowledgeBase will include?

Yes, that ability is already there. You can see an example here: http://forums.wcha.org/knowledgebase/Manufacturers:Penobscot+Canoe+Company

It is a two-step process - You first need to load your image into the Images section, then link to the image in the article.

I plan to write a better tutorial on how to do this, perhaps later today depending on how long my fingers last working on the shop in the cold.. In the meantime, if you want to try to get started, this might help: https://www.vaultwiki.org/books/Introduction-to-Images

I am still working out best ways to format pages as images are added, but that will evolve.

Dan

 

[Dan Miller]

As promised, a Tutorial for placing photos into the KnowledgeBase has been created: Posting Photos to the KnowledgeBase Tutorial

It is a two-step process, and the second step can be done one of two ways, depending on the desired outcome. Give it a try...and I am happy to answer questions.

Dan

 

[Treewater]

Thank you Dan Miller. I started the search for filler formulas and ...voila! ...a whole page of them under "Build Restore: cavas fillers" .
Great idea. thank you.