User talk:Haiqu

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:: OK, found the problem. It was <nowiki>[[HF_Radio|World Cruiser's Nets]]</nowiki>. I did the substitution for you. --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]]
:: OK, found the problem. It was <nowiki>[[HF_Radio|World Cruiser's Nets]]</nowiki>. I did the substitution for you. --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]]
::: I've shifted my list to the new page. It's arranged by UTC net time, so probably more useful. Try out the internet ham receivers, they're awesome. --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]] 10:55, 13 June 2011 (BST)
::: I've shifted my list to the new page. It's arranged by UTC net time, so probably more useful. Try out the internet ham receivers, they're awesome. --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]] 10:55, 13 June 2011 (BST)
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::::I found after the first batch there were still a lot of pages that didn't convert, marked <nowiki>[[HF_Radio|Cruiser's Nets]]</nowiki> so I went in and had a look at them. They all had unbalanced quotes for italics (front pair only). Doing a bulk change using the whole line, including the quotes, fixed them too. [[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]] 00:40, 14 June 2011 (BST)
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::::I found after the first batch there were still a lot of pages that didn't convert, marked <nowiki>[[HF_Radio|Cruiser's Nets]]</nowiki> so I went in and had a look at them. They all had unbalanced quotes for italics (front pair only), and that's probably what made your initial search hang up. Doing a bulk change using the whole line - <font color=red><nowiki>''Also see [[HF_Radio|Cruiser's Nets]]</nowiki></font> - fixed them too. --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]] 00:40, 14 June 2011 (BST)
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:::::I'm having further problems with this function, just tried three changes and none of them worked. Maybe Andy needs to look at it? --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]] 12:23, 15 June 2011 (BST)
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::::::Rob, give me both the Original text and the Replacement text to have a look at. [[User:Lighthouse|Lighthouse]] 12:59, 15 June 2011 (BST)
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:::::::Just do a search on the word Description, I get nothing. I left a message for Andy about it. --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]] 13:00, 15 June 2011 (BST)
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::::::::Do you mean Description as a heading, with two or three "equal" signs before and after? [[User:Lighthouse|Lighthouse]] 13:16, 15 June 2011 (BST)
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:::::::::Yep, but I can't get it either with or without the == either side. I _can_ get other headings. --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]] 13:20, 15 June 2011 (BST)
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A search for <nowiki>==Description==</nowiki> throws up two - "VHF Radio" and "Tuners" - try a hard page "refresh maybe? [[User:Lighthouse|Lighthouse]] 13:33, 15 June 2011 (BST)
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:Should be hundreds of hits. I don't know what you mean about page refresh. Rob
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:: Rob, can you give me just one other page with a "Description" heading please, so that I can see what it is not hitting on. [[User:Lighthouse|Lighthouse]] 14:25, 15 June 2011 (BST)
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::: http://www.cruiserswiki.org/wiki/Bristol_%28UK%29 --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]] 14:32, 15 June 2011 (BST)
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:::: Oops, sorry, that one says Background. Same problem. --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]] 14:34, 15 June 2011 (BST)
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:::::OK - same problem as I found above (HF Radio) - throws up a blank page. [[User:Lighthouse|Lighthouse]] 14:55, 15 June 2011 (BST)
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::::::Mention to Andy that perhaps Jeff (Techie) should check the database tables, etc., and do a general DB "cleanup". [[User:Lighthouse|Lighthouse]] 15:09, 15 June 2011 (BST)
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== Melbourne ==
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The Melbourne page is looking great! [[User:Lighthouse|Lighthouse]] 14:59, 14 June 2011 (BST)
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: Thanks!! Working on Aus/NZ a bit now that most of the backlogged stuff is done. I've also been on the streaming ham radio site trying to verify netwok operations, but so far nothing. :( --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]] 15:08, 14 June 2011 (BST)
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== Forum PM ==
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See the PM on the forums. [[User:Lighthouse|Lighthouse]] 16:23, 29 June 2011 (BST)
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== Wiki Upgrade ==
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Rob,
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I send the following msg to [[User:Andy_R|Andy]]:
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Dear Andy,
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We three together with Delatbabel seem to  the most active administrators of the Cruisers Wiki. Several months ago, Vasilis  asked for an update to the Wiki’s MediaWiki engine because we were running a very old version. For several reasons this did not happen. We think that it is vital that the Wiki gets upgraded.
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Currently none of the active administrators seems to have the access needed to install the upgrades or new extensions and remove the old ones after an update. We think that this, the most active administrator group, should be given the relevant credentials for SSH/FTP access to the host running the Wiki.
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Among us Vasilis has over 40 years’ professional software development experience and Vadim has by far the deepest knowledge of MediaWiki administration.
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Regards
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[[User:Atheneoflymington|Gordon Knight]], [[User:Vadim|Vadim Shlyakvok]], Vasilis Riginos --[[User:Istioploos|Istioploos]] 19:13, 18 February 2016 (GMT)
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Vasilis,
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Thanks for the info. I'm not quite sure if you're asking me for something here, but afaik I don't have admin rights to upgrade the wiki. In any case I'm in the middle of a dispute with Marine Safety Queensland right now, who are trying to have my yacht taken out of the Brisbane River under threat of a $22,700 fine so the timing is a bit off. :-)
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Rob Judd --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]]
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: No Rob, I did not ask you to do anything specific but I thought you would want to know what we were up to. Very sorry about your troubles with authorities. I hope you overcome them. By the way I am not sure if I had told you. My daughter is teaching and doing research at the U of Q in Brisbane. So we do come there every year or so. Next time we should try to get together.  Vasilis --[[User:Istioploos|Istioploos]] 03:33, 19 February 2016 (GMT)
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:: That would be awesome! --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]]
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== Future of the Wiki - a viewpoint ==
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TO THE WIKI ADMINS
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It is with no small regret that I have decided to relinquish my admin status on the World Cruising Wiki. I have given this decision quite a lot of thought over the past few days and I have concluded that it is the best decision for the future of the Wiki. While I am happy to continue as a contributor (at least, for Croatia, where I now cruise), I feel I can no longer take an active part in the Wiki's future development.
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I signed up for the Wiki in 2010, following which I undertook the reworking of the country and port pages for France, Spain and Portugal over 2010-11, with much early guidance from Lighthouse and Istioploos as I found the editing (and particularly page creation) process initially very complex. I addressed Corsica, Sardinia and all the Italian islands in 2012-13, creating or fleshing out most of the port pages, for which little or no content existed.  From 2013 I worked with Istioploos on Turkey and Greece, updating content and photography for many of the islands and ports for which data was lacking and revamping the Sea of Marmara section to add detailed entries on the harbours there.
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In 2014 while based in Ionian Greece I revamped all the islands and ports, with revised content and new photography, following which in 2015 I completed the major task of building the Italy, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania sections, for much of which there was again very little existing content, creating entirely new pages for the majority of the harbours. Lector, si monumentum requires, circumspice.
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I write this not out of self-satisfaction but to demonstrate that I have committed a great deal of time to the Wiki and, I believe, developed an acute sense of its strengths and weaknesses as a result.
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So, it may seem illogical that I have decided to reduce my involvement at this point. However, by resigning I feel able to offer my candid views on where the Wiki has failed and the challenges it must address if it is to survive and flourish.
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My thoughts were crystallised by a message I received from [http://www.cruiserswiki.org/wiki/User_talk:Fair_Game], a subscriber I signed up in 2014 and whom I had re-approached following the recent change of the Italy, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania pages to test a new approach to encouraging more contributions. His experience is by no means exceptional and is, I believe, why we have around 1,500 subscribers to the Wiki but almost no regular, active contributors if you exclude the admins.  His message is below (I've omitted his personal details as I haven't asked permission to reproduce it here):
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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HI Gordon,
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Thanks for your email.  How are you finding cruising north of Greece?
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I confess I stopped uploading to the Wiki some time ago.  A number of updates I made were reverted back to their original (out-of-date) content within a week or so of me making the amendments.  I sort of got the impression someone wasn’t happy about having their original postings modified - I could have got it wrong but that’s how it came over.
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Anyway,  it is without doubt that the Wiki is a very, very good idea.  Pilot books by their very nature are often out of date before they even hit the shops and the CA’s Captains Mate is held back because, for some reason, they don’t want to be seen competing with printed books.
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Personally, I am very grateful for the ‘accurate’ information you always leave in the wake of your visits and I am only too willing to pass on my findings too for others to benefit so will look forward to the new style submissions. Not sure I can remember my passwords etc., so a bit of digging is in order to get up and running again.
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Fair winds
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Best regards
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XXXX
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(sy FAIR GAME)
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Time and time again over the past five years I have witnessed subscribers sign up then wade in to edit the pages (after all, the Wiki does encourage them to 'Grab the page and build it!). They find, inevitably, that the formatting is quite complex and the templates not easy to manage without messing up. So, either they get immediately discouraged or they do their best and the result is exactly what one would expect from a pilot book if several people scribbled notes all over it. The admins then spend time patiently trying to restore order without de-motivating the new subscriber (not always an easy task and sometimes I wonder that I myself survived as a newbie!).
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It seems there is a general consensus that the Wiki should develop into an authoritative and credible alternative to the numerous pilot books that, because they are in print form, are invariably months or years out of date. To achieve that, however, the content needs to be well-written, accurate, up to date, consistent in presentation and credible. In my view this will prove impossible to achieve if every subscriber, regardless of experience, skills and even knowledge of English, is encouraged to edit at will. The result will be, and indeed already is in places, a 'dog's dinner' and the admins will continue to spend their valuable time restoring pages instead of filling the numerous gaps on the Wiki or mentoring new editors.
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You'll notice that I have made a distinction here between subscribers and editors and that is at the heart of the change that needs to take place in my view. I no longer believe that new subscribers should be encouraged to 'Grab a page and build it' because experience shows that all too often they lack the necessary skills. It's like turning a novice driver loose on the freeway without a single driving lesson. I believe that new subscribers should be encouraged to input their comments or updates on the new 'Comments' page but only be allowed to change the 'Last visited' section on the main page until they have earned their spurs. Once a subscriber demonstrates the necessary commitment and skills – and after a suitable period of mentoring by the admins - then and only then should they be given editor privileges and let loose on editing and creating new pages. To me, this is a win-win situation, since less committed or capable subscribers would still feel motivated by just submitting comments and updates while more competent and experienced ones would feel privileged to be invited to become editors. It wouldn't be difficult to implement at this point since there are virtually no regular contributors and it could be done in conjunction with announcing the new easy-to-use 'Comments' facility to existing subscribers.
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I know this 'three-tier' approach, with admins, editors and contributors, is controversial and it is unlikely to achieve much traction at present, but if the Wiki is to achieve the status and quality of content that I believe it can it will require a move in this direction.
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Meanwhile I wish the Wiki and its remaining admins every success for the future. I hope this note may help focus discussion on the measures needed to ensure that success.
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GORDON KNIGHT
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Athene of Lymington
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:Hi Gordon,
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:Your comments make a lot of sense. Although I haven't had a chance to contribute much recently I do remember the steep learning curve, and I came in as a skilled programmer with 35 years in the computer business. For the "average Joe" I have to agree that without guidance and mentoring they can only make extra work for those with the requisite skills.
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:At this juncture I'd like to personally add my thanks for your tireless contributions, and say that I'm very sorry to see you moving on. All the best, and fair winds friend.
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:Rob --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]]
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: Rob, thanks for your kind comments. I hope you don't mind, but I've used your reply to help further the debate about the future of the Wiki on the Home Page 'Comments' page [http://www.cruiserswiki.org/wiki/Talk:World_Cruising_and_Sailing_Wiki]. We've clearly both struggled with editing at the outset, even though we've come at it from opposite directions!
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:Best wishes.
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:GORDON --[[User:Atheneoflymington|Athene of Lymington]] 16:04, 28 February 2016 (GMT)
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== Discussion about the Wiki ==
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Rob please take a look at the on going [[Talk:World_Cruising_and_Sailing_Wiki|The Discussion]] about the future ''{{SITENAME}}''. You have been quoted there --[[User:Istioploos|Istioploos]] 22:05, 29 February 2016 (GMT)
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: Seen. Thanks. --[[User:Haiqu|Haiqu]]

Latest revision as of 09:37, 1 March 2016

Welcome to CruisersWiki!

We all look forward to your valued contributions to the Cruising Wiki. Help it grow as a useful, free resource for all cruisers around the world.

Spend a little time reading the help pages (link in L/H menu) to gain a better understanding of the Wiki formatting and how to edit articles. Please add what you can - even correcting grammar and spelling errors in articles is a great help. The more you use the Wiki the easier (and more addictive) it becomes.

Also, please read the Cruiserswiki Copyrights notice, as well as the General Disclaimers (links at bottom of pages).

Again, welcome and have fun! Bring out that hidden "Cruising Guide writer" in you. Lighthouse 21:51, 24 May 2011 (BST)

Contents

Contributions

Great contributions - well done! Lighthouse 09:35, 26 May 2011 (BST)

Whitsunday Passage

Hi, don't forget the Navbar links at the bottom of the (NEW) page. Add the links to parent and child pages. You can normally copy/paste the Navbar from the parent page and complete this. Great contributions! Lighthouse 14:04, 29 May 2011 (BST)

Thanks! Only just figured out how to add new pages, would like to know how to alter names of existing pages too ("North Australia" should be "Northern Territory"). --Haiqu 14:08, 29 May 2011 (BST)
Can be done quite easily by = "Move page" (ONLY) (top of page menu). You then have the option to change the name of the page and state reason for change. This creates a "redirect" from the "old" page (which has all the parent and child links) to the "moved" (renamed) page. To make it really neat and clean one should then ideally change all that page's parent and child links on it's parent and child linked pages to this newly named page. A bit laborious for some (widely linked) pages but it can easily be done. If the links are not changed to the newly linked pages, the redirect will still operate. Lighthouse 15:45, 29 May 2011 (BST)
Fixed the Whitsunday Passage. I also tagged a shipload of pages that didn't have categories attached, mostly ports on the Adriatic Coast and in the Caribbean.--Haiqu 18:52, 29 May 2011 (BST)

Countries in need of help

North Korea is missing from the countries list. Also, some you have listed aren't actually countries. e.g. Kerguelen Islands are in fact a French territory, and West Papua is actually part of Indonesia. Please fix, I can't edit the countries list (or at least I don't see a way to do that). --Haiqu 18:49, 29 May 2011 (BST)

There are a couple of "Territories" listed as countries and have their own flags, etc. It is probably best to keep these listed as countries for the sake of assisting with the Wiki layout and searches. However, West Papua is possibly a good case to leave under Indonesia. Territories should however be linked back (in fact both ways) to the "mother" country. Hope that makes sense. Much cruising in North Korea? Lighthouse 19:09, 29 May 2011 (BST)
No, I wouldn't think cruising anywhere near North Korea would be advisable, but it might be nice to warn people of that. :-) --Haiqu 19:17, 29 May 2011 (BST)
I added a link to North Korea on the Korea page. Lighthouse 19:26, 29 May 2011 (BST)
Thanks, I did a similar thing for North Vietnam.

Missing countries

We don't have Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Palestine, Uganda, Congo Republic (previously known as Zaire, not Democratic Republic of the Congo) or Laos listed as countries on the main page. --Haiqu 03:46, 30 May 2011 (BST)

All right, this is all fixed. Whew! --Haiqu 19:58, 31 May 2011 (BST)

El Salvador

The country of El Salvador links to the Brazilian city of Salvador. --Haiqu 03:39, 30 May 2011 (BST)

I've moved Salvador -> Salvador, Brazil but the main coutries page still needs to be fixed. I can't edit that. --Haiqu 01:39, 31 May 2011 (BST)

Fixed!! --Haiqu 20:01, 31 May 2011 (BST)

Cyprus

Note that there are already pages for North Cyprus and South Cyprus. In light of this, I will delete the new page for Cyprus. Lighthouse 19:31, 29 May 2011 (BST)

Didn't even realize they were two separate countries. ??? --Haiqu 19:37, 29 May 2011 (BST)
More, from wikipedia - "The international community, with the exception of Turkey, does not recognise Northern Cyprus as a sovereign state." If you're Turkish, I'll concede the point.
Been trouble there for many years. VERY separate there in terms of cruising. Lighthouse 20:58, 29 May 2011 (BST)
Been trouble with Customs in several Queensland ports too, but that doesn't make it another country. Although now that I think about it, maybe it is. We have a saying in Victoria: "Going to Qld? Don't forget to turn your watch back 10 years."
Perhaps you could explain your criteria and rationale for selecting different regions and treating them as countries, it might help. Not meaning to be difficult but if it's just a matter of someone making their own flag, minting their own currency and declaring themselves a country, we even have one of those here: Hutt River Province. Prince Leonard even has his own Navy, and some awards and international recognition.
This also seems inconsistent with the way Ireland is managed on one page, even where they are recognised as quite separate internationally. Edit: OK, I just found Northern Ireland, retracted! --Haiqu 22:28, 29 May 2011 (BST)

Africa

Note that the Africa regions already exist. For the Cruising Wiki, only coastal countries should be included - of interest to cruisers/sailors. Lighthouse 08:34, 30 May 2011 (BST)

Yep, noticed that. Obviously no point making a page for the Central African Republic, it doesn't have a river or lake in sight. Some others may be accessible however. You can go right through Europe on inland waterways, even into Russia if you can get permission. There are some inland seas too. --Haiqu 10:46, 30 May 2011 (BST)

Wiki Contributions

WOW! You have done an amazing amount of work on the Wiki. Well done indeed! Lighthouse 16:42, 31 May 2011 (BST)

Working like a man obsessed! I've seen comments from some people going back as far as 2005 and yet I kept seeing old templates, and missing flags and maps, so I decided to do something about it. Glad you're enjoying the progress. I started off thinking I'd just cover the SE Asia region (which I know a fair bit about) and then things just snowballed from there. I figure I needed a revision in geography anyhow before putting to sea. The world has changed a lot since I was at school. --Haiqu 17:05, 31 May 2011 (BST)
Would you by any chance be interested in a promotion? We need more Admins on the Wiki and you have sure learned the inner workings in a hurry. It would mean that you would need to watch (and correct formatting, etc.) others' contributions, etc. i.e. Keep checking "Recent Changes" and check formatting and assist to correct, and, check for (and delete) any spam (there is almost none), etc. As an Admin, you will have the ability to Revert edits, create categories, etc., etc. Also, accept new member applications, ban members, etc. Not difficult but spreading the load over a few "Admins" helps a great deal. Lighthouse 17:22, 31 May 2011 (BST)
Sure, sounds good to me. Do I get access to the "Countries (A-Z)" page as well? That's a bugbear at the moment. BTW I used to contribute to WikiPedia until the internal politics got me down, so already knew how to use this stuff. --Haiqu 17:28, 31 May 2011 (BST)
Yes, access to "protected" pages. I will arrange for Admin status - thanks for joining us. Lighthouse 17:58, 31 May 2011 (BST)
Done. Thanks for joining this great project. I will give you more info regarding new members, etc., shortly. Lighthouse 18:13, 31 May 2011 (BST)
List of co-admins - http://www.cruiserswiki.org/index.php?title=Special%3AListUsers&username=&group=sysop&limit=50 - Lighthouse 18:19, 31 May 2011 (BST)

Admin

Welcome aboard fellow Admin. Lighthouse 18:20, 31 May 2011 (BST)

Thank you very much! --Haiqu 18:27, 31 May 2011 (BST)


Haiqu - I just wanted to say thank you for contributing to the World Cruising Wiki. Lighthouse couldn't be happier to have someone like yourself helping out, he's emailed us a few times to point out your contributions. If you ever need technical help (ie. software or server issues) please don't hesitate to email me at andy [~at~] socialknowledge.com.

Thanks again for jumping in and helping out. We are trying to build a more active team so fostering any other editors you see passing by would be greatly appreciated. --Andy R 14:31, 4 June 2011 (BST)

Hi Andy, thanks for the welcome. No problems with the system yet, it seems to be working just great. --Haiqu 15:18, 4 June 2011 (BST)

Flag Icons

For flag icons use the extension: Country_icon.png . Flag icons here http://www.famfamfam.com/lab/icons/flags/ (use .png images). If you want me to download them let me know. Lighthouse 18:59, 31 May 2011 (BST)

I was in the middle of correcting that whe you rolled back, good thing a had the whole page in the buffer. Thanks for the link, I had been Photoshopping down to size so it should save some time. --Haiqu 19:01, 31 May 2011 (BST)
Damn, they're too small!
All done. --Haiqu 20:04, 31 May 2011 (BST)
Please let me know if you can see the Wiki Admin section on the Cruising forums. There is one topic to read. Lighthouse 20:33, 31 May 2011 (BST)
Checked and understood.

Free maps

http://www.maps4free.com/index.php - Lighthouse 17:43, 1 June 2011 (BST)

Awesome, thanks buddy! --Haiqu 17:44, 1 June 2011 (BST)
You have done a mountain of work - stuff that so badly needed doing. Well done! Lighthouse 08:04, 2 June 2011 (BST)
I've approved two new editors today, maybe I'll get some help! There was a third who owns a website called the Yucatan Cruising Guide but he mistyped his email address and couldn't get replies. I've emailed him privately asking him to apply again. Busy day all round. --Haiqu 08:10, 2 June 2011 (BST)

Replace text tool

Note the useful tool - http://www.cruiserswiki.org/wiki/Special:ReplaceText It is advisable to test on one change before selecting a whole string to do at once. Useful for changing links, etc., i.e. Find [[One Name]] and change to [[Another Name]]. Use with extreme care. Lighthouse 10:49, 3 June 2011 (BST)

Discovered it yesterday! Works really well. --Haiqu 10:52, 3 June 2011 (BST)

Always keeping Google in mind

Bear in mind that we must also always think about search engines crawling the pages and try to optimize as best as possible. Google will place the opening sentence/s (with it's search keywords) as the most important for listed search results. i.e. If someone searches for "cruising South Africa" it is best to have such search terms at the top of the page's content for best results. Others may search for "sailing South Africa" so best to have "sailing" at the top of the page as well. See the South Africa page to see what I mean. The search engines do crawl the entire page but most weight is placed on what is read at the top of the page. Clear as mud? Lighthouse 19:01, 4 June 2011 (BST)

There are a number of search keywords and phrases at the top of the SA page. Lighthouse 19:03, 4 June 2011 (BST)
Page names are of course the best for search terms. Lighthouse 22:40, 4 June 2011 (BST)
I think I can see where you're going with this - you'd rather I didn't "simplify" all the lengthy and inefficient (and hard to remember) page names like "Wakatutu Cruising Guide" down to simply "Wakatutu". Well I'm a newbie here so I'll leave those alone for now, but perhaps it's appropriate to point out a few things at this stage, as a kind of mini-cv: 1. I've been on the internet daily since 1995 and know how it works. 2. I've assisted in writing a web server, called Xitami. 3. I've been writing webpages since 1997 starting with raw html in Windows Notepad, and ran a server for several domains as early as 1999, long before Google even rated a mention. 4. I'm aware of how search engines categorize search strings, which may or may not agree with what you've stated above. (Clue: They only look for phrases if you specifically enclose the phrase in quotes, and most people don't. The Wiki search box doesn't know the difference.) 5. I'm also aware that no matter how clever you are, spammers and porno vendors are more persistent and pay very clever people lots of money to stay on top of the heap. Executive summary: I believe the best way to have a good rating is to have a great website that others refer their friends to, and worthwhile content that makes them come back for more. Now, I'm getting back to the coding. :^] --Haiqu 00:43, 5 June 2011 (BST)
Wow! You impress me daily and I certainly know you a whole lot better now. Where have you been all my life? Anyway, we should always be aware of SEO as you well know. Lighthouse 08:42, 5 June 2011 (BST)
Someone Else's Opinion? <grin, duck, run> --Haiqu 08:50, 5 June 2011 (BST)
LOL! Lighthouse 09:07, 5 June 2011 (BST)

Moved pages

Hi Rob. Deleting original pages after moving them to a new page name often creates a lot of broken internal links (no "reverted to" links). I take it you have it all under control? Cheers! Lighthouse 13:32, 7 June 2011 (BST)

Sure do!! Thanks for keeping an eye out though, it's nice to know someone is checking. How are things your end anyhow Bob? --Haiqu 13:35, 7 June 2011 (BST)
Fine here thanks. Also, the reason for extended page names is to properly identify common place names when visitors search the Wiki. Do the Wiki search for "Portsmouth" (an example) to see what I mean - there can be many Portsmouths around the world. Duplication of place name links could lead to chaos. Just keep this in mind. Cheers! Bob Lighthouse 13:44, 7 June 2011 (BST)
Yup, aware of that. I do a Google search first to ensure there's no conflict. If there is, but one town is significantly larger, I give it the shorterned name. None of the towns in Victoria had major conflicts - unlikely to be another "Mallacoota" anywhere in the world for instance. :-) --Haiqu 13:58, 7 June 2011 (BST)
Spot on! Lighthouse 14:19, 7 June 2011 (BST)

Navbar

Hi Rob, the last (current) "text replace" has lost the existing navbar links (and any possible categories). Do you have it in hand? Lighthouse 19:36, 7 June 2011 (BST)

I don't think so, show me an example. All links have been retained as far as I can see. --Haiqu 19:37, 7 June 2011 (BST)
Sorry Rob - seems just the viewed page's link in the Navbar. Lighthouse 19:47, 7 June 2011 (BST)
On which page(s)?? --Haiqu 19:49, 7 June 2011 (BST)
Quite a few Rob - e.g. Ireland Island. Lighthouse 20:00, 7 June 2011 (BST)
Check the changelog to see what it replaced!!

http://www.cruiserswiki.org/index.php?title=Ireland_Island&diff=44651&oldid=28646

Another - LaHave. I see what has happened though. It needed to be done and we will just have to clean up some current page links and some "trailing" unused links in some of these navbars. Lighthouse 20:14, 7 June 2011 (BST)
There's nothing lost, it still has a link back to Canada. Only now we can add the rest of the links as well. Certainly beats doing it manually. --Haiqu 20:16, 7 June 2011 (BST)
You have become an absolute whiz at this. Good night! Lighthouse 20:21, 7 June 2011 (BST)

Replacement text

Rob, can you get the following to run? It won't work for me.

Original text: [[HF_Radio|Cruiser's Nets]]
Replace with: [[World MM Nets|World Cruiser's Nets]]

Lighthouse 09:59, 13 June 2011 (BST)

Nope, I can get [[HF Radio|... but not [[HF_Radio|... . Weird. Oh yeah, and I guess that makes the big list I just put on the HF_Radio page redundant, didn't even know that table existed until now. Haiqu
OK, found the problem. It was [[HF_Radio|World Cruiser's Nets]]. I did the substitution for you. --Haiqu
I've shifted my list to the new page. It's arranged by UTC net time, so probably more useful. Try out the internet ham receivers, they're awesome. --Haiqu 10:55, 13 June 2011 (BST)
I found after the first batch there were still a lot of pages that didn't convert, marked [[HF_Radio|Cruiser's Nets]] so I went in and had a look at them. They all had unbalanced quotes for italics (front pair only), and that's probably what made your initial search hang up. Doing a bulk change using the whole line - ''Also see [[HF_Radio|Cruiser's Nets]] - fixed them too. --Haiqu 00:40, 14 June 2011 (BST)
I'm having further problems with this function, just tried three changes and none of them worked. Maybe Andy needs to look at it? --Haiqu 12:23, 15 June 2011 (BST)
Rob, give me both the Original text and the Replacement text to have a look at. Lighthouse 12:59, 15 June 2011 (BST)
Just do a search on the word Description, I get nothing. I left a message for Andy about it. --Haiqu 13:00, 15 June 2011 (BST)
Do you mean Description as a heading, with two or three "equal" signs before and after? Lighthouse 13:16, 15 June 2011 (BST)
Yep, but I can't get it either with or without the == either side. I _can_ get other headings. --Haiqu 13:20, 15 June 2011 (BST)

A search for ==Description== throws up two - "VHF Radio" and "Tuners" - try a hard page "refresh maybe? Lighthouse 13:33, 15 June 2011 (BST)

Should be hundreds of hits. I don't know what you mean about page refresh. Rob
Rob, can you give me just one other page with a "Description" heading please, so that I can see what it is not hitting on. Lighthouse 14:25, 15 June 2011 (BST)
http://www.cruiserswiki.org/wiki/Bristol_%28UK%29 --Haiqu 14:32, 15 June 2011 (BST)
Oops, sorry, that one says Background. Same problem. --Haiqu 14:34, 15 June 2011 (BST)
OK - same problem as I found above (HF Radio) - throws up a blank page. Lighthouse 14:55, 15 June 2011 (BST)
Mention to Andy that perhaps Jeff (Techie) should check the database tables, etc., and do a general DB "cleanup". Lighthouse 15:09, 15 June 2011 (BST)

Melbourne

The Melbourne page is looking great! Lighthouse 14:59, 14 June 2011 (BST)

Thanks!! Working on Aus/NZ a bit now that most of the backlogged stuff is done. I've also been on the streaming ham radio site trying to verify netwok operations, but so far nothing. :( --Haiqu 15:08, 14 June 2011 (BST)

Forum PM

See the PM on the forums. Lighthouse 16:23, 29 June 2011 (BST)

Wiki Upgrade

Rob,

I send the following msg to Andy:

Dear Andy,

We three together with Delatbabel seem to the most active administrators of the Cruisers Wiki. Several months ago, Vasilis asked for an update to the Wiki’s MediaWiki engine because we were running a very old version. For several reasons this did not happen. We think that it is vital that the Wiki gets upgraded.

Currently none of the active administrators seems to have the access needed to install the upgrades or new extensions and remove the old ones after an update. We think that this, the most active administrator group, should be given the relevant credentials for SSH/FTP access to the host running the Wiki.

Among us Vasilis has over 40 years’ professional software development experience and Vadim has by far the deepest knowledge of MediaWiki administration.

Regards

Gordon Knight, Vadim Shlyakvok, Vasilis Riginos --Istioploos 19:13, 18 February 2016 (GMT)

Vasilis,

Thanks for the info. I'm not quite sure if you're asking me for something here, but afaik I don't have admin rights to upgrade the wiki. In any case I'm in the middle of a dispute with Marine Safety Queensland right now, who are trying to have my yacht taken out of the Brisbane River under threat of a $22,700 fine so the timing is a bit off. :-)

Rob Judd --Haiqu

No Rob, I did not ask you to do anything specific but I thought you would want to know what we were up to. Very sorry about your troubles with authorities. I hope you overcome them. By the way I am not sure if I had told you. My daughter is teaching and doing research at the U of Q in Brisbane. So we do come there every year or so. Next time we should try to get together. Vasilis --Istioploos 03:33, 19 February 2016 (GMT)


That would be awesome! --Haiqu

Future of the Wiki - a viewpoint

TO THE WIKI ADMINS

It is with no small regret that I have decided to relinquish my admin status on the World Cruising Wiki. I have given this decision quite a lot of thought over the past few days and I have concluded that it is the best decision for the future of the Wiki. While I am happy to continue as a contributor (at least, for Croatia, where I now cruise), I feel I can no longer take an active part in the Wiki's future development.

I signed up for the Wiki in 2010, following which I undertook the reworking of the country and port pages for France, Spain and Portugal over 2010-11, with much early guidance from Lighthouse and Istioploos as I found the editing (and particularly page creation) process initially very complex. I addressed Corsica, Sardinia and all the Italian islands in 2012-13, creating or fleshing out most of the port pages, for which little or no content existed. From 2013 I worked with Istioploos on Turkey and Greece, updating content and photography for many of the islands and ports for which data was lacking and revamping the Sea of Marmara section to add detailed entries on the harbours there.

In 2014 while based in Ionian Greece I revamped all the islands and ports, with revised content and new photography, following which in 2015 I completed the major task of building the Italy, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania sections, for much of which there was again very little existing content, creating entirely new pages for the majority of the harbours. Lector, si monumentum requires, circumspice.

I write this not out of self-satisfaction but to demonstrate that I have committed a great deal of time to the Wiki and, I believe, developed an acute sense of its strengths and weaknesses as a result.

So, it may seem illogical that I have decided to reduce my involvement at this point. However, by resigning I feel able to offer my candid views on where the Wiki has failed and the challenges it must address if it is to survive and flourish.

My thoughts were crystallised by a message I received from [1], a subscriber I signed up in 2014 and whom I had re-approached following the recent change of the Italy, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania pages to test a new approach to encouraging more contributions. His experience is by no means exceptional and is, I believe, why we have around 1,500 subscribers to the Wiki but almost no regular, active contributors if you exclude the admins. His message is below (I've omitted his personal details as I haven't asked permission to reproduce it here):


HI Gordon,

Thanks for your email.  How are you finding cruising north of Greece?

I confess I stopped uploading to the Wiki some time ago.  A number of updates I made were reverted back to their original (out-of-date) content within a week or so of me making the amendments.  I sort of got the impression someone wasn’t happy about having their original postings modified - I could have got it wrong but that’s how it came over.

Anyway,  it is without doubt that the Wiki is a very, very good idea.  Pilot books by their very nature are often out of date before they even hit the shops and the CA’s Captains Mate is held back because, for some reason, they don’t want to be seen competing with printed books.

Personally, I am very grateful for the ‘accurate’ information you always leave in the wake of your visits and I am only too willing to pass on my findings too for others to benefit so will look forward to the new style submissions. Not sure I can remember my passwords etc., so a bit of digging is in order to get up and running again.

Fair winds

Best regards

XXXX (sy FAIR GAME)


Time and time again over the past five years I have witnessed subscribers sign up then wade in to edit the pages (after all, the Wiki does encourage them to 'Grab the page and build it!). They find, inevitably, that the formatting is quite complex and the templates not easy to manage without messing up. So, either they get immediately discouraged or they do their best and the result is exactly what one would expect from a pilot book if several people scribbled notes all over it. The admins then spend time patiently trying to restore order without de-motivating the new subscriber (not always an easy task and sometimes I wonder that I myself survived as a newbie!).

It seems there is a general consensus that the Wiki should develop into an authoritative and credible alternative to the numerous pilot books that, because they are in print form, are invariably months or years out of date. To achieve that, however, the content needs to be well-written, accurate, up to date, consistent in presentation and credible. In my view this will prove impossible to achieve if every subscriber, regardless of experience, skills and even knowledge of English, is encouraged to edit at will. The result will be, and indeed already is in places, a 'dog's dinner' and the admins will continue to spend their valuable time restoring pages instead of filling the numerous gaps on the Wiki or mentoring new editors.

You'll notice that I have made a distinction here between subscribers and editors and that is at the heart of the change that needs to take place in my view. I no longer believe that new subscribers should be encouraged to 'Grab a page and build it' because experience shows that all too often they lack the necessary skills. It's like turning a novice driver loose on the freeway without a single driving lesson. I believe that new subscribers should be encouraged to input their comments or updates on the new 'Comments' page but only be allowed to change the 'Last visited' section on the main page until they have earned their spurs. Once a subscriber demonstrates the necessary commitment and skills – and after a suitable period of mentoring by the admins - then and only then should they be given editor privileges and let loose on editing and creating new pages. To me, this is a win-win situation, since less committed or capable subscribers would still feel motivated by just submitting comments and updates while more competent and experienced ones would feel privileged to be invited to become editors. It wouldn't be difficult to implement at this point since there are virtually no regular contributors and it could be done in conjunction with announcing the new easy-to-use 'Comments' facility to existing subscribers.

I know this 'three-tier' approach, with admins, editors and contributors, is controversial and it is unlikely to achieve much traction at present, but if the Wiki is to achieve the status and quality of content that I believe it can it will require a move in this direction.

Meanwhile I wish the Wiki and its remaining admins every success for the future. I hope this note may help focus discussion on the measures needed to ensure that success.

GORDON KNIGHT Athene of Lymington

Hi Gordon,
Your comments make a lot of sense. Although I haven't had a chance to contribute much recently I do remember the steep learning curve, and I came in as a skilled programmer with 35 years in the computer business. For the "average Joe" I have to agree that without guidance and mentoring they can only make extra work for those with the requisite skills.
At this juncture I'd like to personally add my thanks for your tireless contributions, and say that I'm very sorry to see you moving on. All the best, and fair winds friend.
Rob --Haiqu
Rob, thanks for your kind comments. I hope you don't mind, but I've used your reply to help further the debate about the future of the Wiki on the Home Page 'Comments' page [2]. We've clearly both struggled with editing at the outset, even though we've come at it from opposite directions!
Best wishes.
GORDON --Athene of Lymington 16:04, 28 February 2016 (GMT)

Discussion about the Wiki

Rob please take a look at the on going The Discussion about the future CruisersWiki. You have been quoted there --Istioploos 22:05, 29 February 2016 (GMT)

Seen. Thanks. --Haiqu
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