It's time for Abilors Tooning guide to become a WIKI page
 

The guide is almost 3 years old and its getting dated. I've often thought that it belongs more as a living and breathing document/resource. I think the time has come that we should make the guide a WIKI type page where multiple MSFers could contribute expertise and keep content up to date (and in check), and as the torch passes from members to members.

Abilor had a way of putting things in laymans terms that a greater population could digest (myself included). I had a few lightbulbs come on after reading his document.

I am not a tuner nor do I have any desire to ever be one, but I think that if we, the consumer, understand the fundamentals of tuning then we can work with the tuners better and be more educated about our cars to prevent ZZB and other catastrophic failures. Tremendous amounts of information is available on this site, mostly from hard fought victories/research/testing. If it made its way to one place, wow...

@Haltech;, is there any way to create a WIKIPEDIA type page that we could import Abilors Tooning guide and members can read/modify/change content?

I think this has come up a few times, not specifically his tuning guide but just a MSF wiki.

I know there is a plug in out there for this, however, it does require a lot of testing to get tweaked. Let me go see whats been developed and come back with a better answer.

This is a great idea, I'd be willing to help in anyway I can. Maybe we should start hoarding threads somewhere to begin gathering info?

Thanks. I would be willing to be a plankowner of this project and put some hours in.

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This sounds like an awesome idea. Would be a great step forward for the mazdaspeed community. Would be willing to help with this.

EDIT: Maybe this could be more than just a tuning page. Tuning being a section of it. Just all good info in one place/page. A good place to start and trial things would be tuning, however.

@Haltech; I know that miata.net has something called the garage which is their wiki for pretty much everything you need to know for a miata: Miata

I think something similar would be a good perk for VIP's.

Wow that is an awesome idea Russ! I downloaded and printed his and Nishan's pdf's and I agree, many light bulbs lit up when I read them (and still do as I go back through them.)

Definitely should be a VIP perk. But i think this is a great idea as well. A garage section would come in handy for quick reference stuff. I know sometimes i need a refresher on something i already knew. I'm also in for contribution.

A lot of it could be built using what is already in the KB, just in an easier, everything in one place w/links format. Organization will be key in making is user friendly/simple.

We could have intakes pages, exhaust pages, Intercooler pages, tuning page, theory page, how to links, wheel/offset page, suspension, page, etc. All in one easy to navigate place like Wikipedia. In a way, it's really showcasing this forums pretty much complete knowledge in one place. It's good for all of us and I think highlights the experience and expertise of our members.

Looks like there is really only one actively being updated for Vbulletin. Ill shoot the dev an email and ask him some questions that revolve around my security issues. Once i get confirmation on it working how i have this setup, we can move forward.

The biggest challenge will be making sure the information is correct and up to date. I think it's a great idea but there should be checks for accuracy.

This^

I know this adds 'another step' and more work for someone else, but the information "to be added" should be verified by a small council of tuners, prior to being accepted and added to the wiki.

Hard part sections should be pretty simple though. We don't need this to be a product page per say as we already have stickies for that; it's more of a run over of how systems (or tuning) work and how each is a part of the whole pie.

I am definitely willing to help throw together some pages on drivetrain and powertrain operation and breakdown.

It could be expanded greatly to include everything browns tend to ask, and could be a one stop shop for more than just tuning; parts lists could be eventually included (get all this if you need to build your motor), as well as other centralized stuff like UOA without the discussion (but can be linked back to the appropriate forums thread).
Haltech, I'm at your disposal for this project, provided it's a go; just hit me up with a pm if you need anything.

Maybe we need some way of approving/voting for/vetting contributors who can author/modify documents. Maybe someone needs a certain amount of karma or posts or rep or something to be permitted to author/change documents. It's much like WIKIPEDIA. If that contribution model works for billions of people, we can make it work for us.

Obviously WIKI is all rev controlled and peer managed, so the data could be updated to the best available information and if something got jacked/trolled, it could be rolled back to the last good point.

Alright fine, I'll do it. I'll be the president of this wiki bullshit.

Obviously mods, quasi-mods (like gearheads) and trusted pillars (people whom have gone above and beyond providing information/help like Lex and Phate if they weren't already gearheads) would be given access to update, with maybe others voted in to do the bitchwork maybe.

Great idea, I think the two sections one has merit.

One for the brownie what BOV should I get and parts listings etc
Second VIP one for tuning guides and so forth

It may also be possible to consolidate a few things that already exist into this section. The MPGTooning thread is a particularly good example of this. There's a lot of experimentation with good data to support the conclusions therein in that thread.

Fantastic idea!

Let me know if you need any help on this one once it gets up and running.

Im going to install and configure this tonight. Ill keep you updated.

In terms of editing the wiki, I think privileges should be limited. For example, rather than making it open for editing, we could use something like a "submit entries" page. The submitted entries could then be approved by the wiki moderators to prevent bad info from being added and good info from being deleted. Said moderators could add/delete entries as they see fit/necessary.

I'll contribute to this by coming up with the title.

wikiSpeedia

Job done.

Hey @Haltech; any updates? Need any help from us?

That is goddamn brilliant, Kevin may want to copywrite that.

I've got it almost configured.

Russ and everyone else, I'll need a list of users for this wikispeedia group who will have the ability to make the edits. Thanks

This is worth a read as a supplement to the tooning guide (Abilor learns to tune):

http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...ss-port-78151/

I'm able to help if needed! Great idea.

I'll be happy to contribute my (admittedly limited) tuning experience and editing nous to this as well. I'd suggest that we have a pseudo formalized progression for how information should flow before it gets posted and is viewable to the public. This will improve the quality of the information posted (which I think we all agree is one of the general goals here), and it'll decrease the forum's exposure to liability. On that note . . .

We might also want to consider that if we're making this WikiSpeedia section as an ultimate tuning guide for the MZR DISI, that we should have some sort of a disclaimer that makes it clear that the authors, editors, and MSF should not be liable in any way, shape, or form to anyone who follows the guide and blows up. This should be a strictly "at your own peril"-type of endeavor.

I'm all for the project, obviously, and I'm happy to contribute in whatever way I can (even if it's just being a grammar-Nazi), but it'd be wise to proceed with a certain level of caution.

Edit:

My apologies for picking a nit, but as a point of particular interest for me, as a budding IP Professional in the legal field, it's important to note that this would be more like a Trademark than a Copyright. It would be a unique, arbitrary or fanciful (or at the very least, "suggestive"), non-functional mark for the Wiki for MZR-DISI tuning. A copyright, would apply to the information within the Wiki, as it would be information fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Of course, there are copywritten materials too, but that's more like what a copywriter does for an advertising agency, a la Mad Men.

I should add, that I love the WikiSpeedia name too, I think it's a brilliant plan!

I'd like to be able to help with this in any way. I think I have a good amount of knowledge and experience on here.

I can help make edits and add information when I have a spare minute or two so add me to the list.

Hmmm, how to proceed.... I think we could setup this way to start:

Here is what I think we need personnel wise:

Editors

Help contributors with any questions, check spelling/grammar/content and contact contributors when questions arise. Non contributor members can contact editors if they think there are problems on any of the pages. Maybe 3-5 of these folks. These guys can create/edit content.

Knowledge Base Transition Contributors

I think we need people who can transition KNOWN good information/data/stickies to Wikispeedia direct from MSF. i.e. basically cut and paste common knowledge/proven information These guys should be technical contributors to MSF and should be selected through some process. Maybe we pick 5-10 guys who can create Intake pages, exhaust pages, 07-09 MS3 factory specs page, 10-13 MS3 factory specs page, MS6 factory specs page, etc. These guys should carefully create content from existing good content; a lot of copy/pasting and cite the references on the respective MSF forum pages. These guys can create new content but cannot edit existing content on Wikispeedia.

Freelance / New content contributors

I think all Gearheads have earned the right to become freelance contributors. These are our tenured professors so to speak so I think they are all granted contributor status and have free reign to create topics, edit topics, etc. They can basically do anything but delete topics. Whether they choose to contribute is up to them, but that's a right/privileged they have earned over their years of working with MSF platform.

I think affiliated MSF e-tuners should also be freelance contributors by default. I think they are all granted contributor status and have free reign to create topics, edit topics, etc.

Structure

I think we can layout a skeleton structure of the Wikispeedia, basically a top level diagram of how the pages would go and where they would go. I think this could be a community driven kind of thing from forum members input.

I think we can open this up as the data gets in place and we can open up to more contributors. I think this might get us a good start.

Just to frame it, here's a suggestion for pages we could start with. This alone would probably end up being 50 unique pages of Wikispeedia content.

This seems like a good set up to get things going. I'd be glad to help as an editor or help with the KB transition. I also have a lot of info that is not in the KB bookmarked/saved on my computer. Let me know I can help. I can upload/link all of the info if necessary.


IMO, we should try to group as much stuff as possible together, to keep the main link list short, but then we can expand inside of each category. It's kind of hard to explain in words, so I'm going to photoshop a wiki page as an example.

We can also say, ok, everything is on one page until we hit a certain word count and the content needs to be broken up into more pages. Once those hit a certain word count, it breaks up again. I just don't want to read 5 pages that are 50,000 words each.

I didn't mean the articles themselves, but rather the article listing. Here is an example:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7379/1...fbe10db3_o.png

Factory Specifications:

• '06-'07 Mazdaspeed6
• '07-'09 Mazdaspeed3
• '10-'13 Mazdaspeed3

Engine Performance:

• Intake
• Exhaust
• Intercooler
• Fueling
• Turbocharger

Possibly even sub-sub categories if you will. Like if you were to select fueling, you would get a drop down with options like:

• High Pressure Fuel System
• 5th/6th Port Fueling
• Ethanol (E85)
• Water/Methanol Injection

I know it seems like a lot of clicking to get where you're going, but it will be easy to navigate than scrolling through a huge list of every category to find what you're looking for. Just an idea, but regardless, it's awesome to see this coming together. A section with links How-To's would be great as well, we would just need to keep it updated, unlike most of the ones in the respective sub-forums that already exist.

I see.

Like it so far... The key is going to be the directory/section break downs. Needs to be simple to navigate yet concise. Tough balance.

Not sure what I can do but willing to help :)