edit Pete Forsyth

• I'm working for AboutUs writing some articles.
• My main project, these days, is The Open Lobby: a project to inject transparency and accessibility into government by brute force! Take a look, and please sign up to stay informed, and find ways to contribute to this exciting project.
• I do a lot of writing and editing for Wikipedia. My user page there has lots of stuff… wikipedia:User:Peteforsyth
• My personal website, very minimal and out of date: PeteForsyth.com

edit AboutMe

I like to think of myself as an architect/builder of the Internet, or of the commons in general. I've made web sites, but that's not what I mean; I'm much more interested in the content that's available, than in any specific site. I write and edit for Wikipedia, I blog, I comment on other people's blogs, I Facebook, etc. etc. I haven't entirely figured out how to support myself in this endeavor yet, so I still do computer-related consulting for small businesses and individuals.

I've always been interested in the idea of collective ownership and stewardship, and I like to think of the Internet as something we all own, and can shape into whatever we want it to be. I grew up in Massachusetts, which is one of only four states that calls itself a "commonwealth;" also, the main park in its capital city is called the "Boston Common," and is where everybody got to graze their cattle back in the day. I came to Oregon in 1991, and have found these ideals, which I knew mostly from history class, to be alive and well here. People here support and use free software, offer up their yards to their neighbors for community activities, devote huge amounts of time to coaching Little League, etc. It's all very inspiring.

My main contributions to this effort have been on Wikipedia, where I've spent the last couple years working mostly on Oregon-related articles. I also volunteer for a number of community organizations, including Powell Little League, the Citizen Campaign Commission, the Giving Tree, the Bus Project, and Free Geek.

I'm also very interested in the process of decision-making, from small, community-based groups on up to how to run a country. I've found that consensus is an excellent way to make decisions, where possible; it gives lots of people a true sense of ownership over the decision, and emphasizes problem-solving over coalition-building. It's also entirely compatible with other systems; one doesn't need a formal consensus system to use consensus as a tool.

My favorite (and totally atypical!) Wikipedia contribution of all time.

edit FunStuff

Brandon Roy is ridiculous.

Don't be parkin' that booty.

Wikipedia: why it's important. Trailer for forthcoming documentary!

Looks like there's a lot more footage online, here.

edit ThoughtsAboutAboutUs

I am fascinated and inspired by AboutUs: it has great people behind it, some really cool technology, and a bold vision. It seems that there's a desire to have all community members contribute to the excellence of the site, and in that spirit I'm going to compile some concerns below.

Metacommentary: This grows out of a discussion at SuggestionBox; I'd like to keep my own record independent of trying to convince anybody of anything. Please feel free to either edit this text directly, or comment on my talk page. I'm not possessive about my text! I may edit your edits, but that's what this is all about, right?)

The newcomer's experience

For a project that aims to build a very large community, I would think this issue is paramount.

• Where to go to ask questions? One advantage of a wiki is that there are (potentially) lots of people available to help each other out, so it's less necessary to immediately ask newcomers to read a bunch of documentation (much of which may be beyond their needs or comprehension.) The "help" or "support" links should very quickly give the newcomer a taste of the WikiWay, by encouraging them to ask questions and build connections. I suspect that the focus on the 800-number is aimed to meet this need, and I think that's a great step. But more than that, I'd take a lot of the specific documentation off the "help" page to make it less overwhelming, and direct people to a page where they can ask questions. Then a fellow wiki user can direct them to the right PART of the documentation, or just answer them directly, or start a discussion. A "Documentation" link should be easy to find, but it's not the same thing as "Help."
• Presently, there are SuggestionBox, DailyBuzz, and InterestingHappenings. To my mind, none of these really promotes the idea of "jump on in and let's get talkin!" which I think is essential to a wiki becoming a community. I'll try to flesh out this idea and offer a suggestion later, hopefully with more input.
• "Useful links" menu: this is almost completely invisible to me, it blends right in with "Sponsored links," which is something I'm accustomed to ignoring.
• I wonder whether AboutUs has worked closely with an Interface Design specialist. I think my piecemeal suggestions could be helpful, but ultimately, it's important to remember that there's an entire discipline devoted to addressing the kinds of things I'm bringing up, available for hire. Folks like that do amazing things.
• "discussion" vs. "talk": This is a more general MediaWiki concern, and one that could be easily addressed. "talk" and "discussion" are unnecessary synonyms; I think the tab should just say "talk," which is how most wikifolk refer to those pages anyway.
• Wikipedia has a nice feature on diff pages that gives horizontal scroll bars in individual sections of text, when non-breaking text like long URLs extends beyond the box. Prevents crashing text; nice feature.
• Not sure if this is just me, but when I see "IRC," I think of something geeky and complicated. I was surprised to find that "Chat live with community members in the Web IRC" just meant "Chat live with community members." No software to install, launch, or configure…just click and type. I think most companies just say "click here to chat," without mentioning the technology that supports it -- I think that's the better approach. Those that care to learn can always ask.

Could you just fix this? That would be awesome! TedErnst (talk) 13:19, 21 December 2007 (PST)

Ted, the ContactUs page appears to be protected, so I can't. Also wasn't sure how much it's OK to much around with that stuff! But I did change the text at Portal:AboutUsHelp/Contact, which is not protected. Thanks! -Peteforsyth 13:39, 21 December 2007 (PST)

• CamelCase: I don't really have a preference, but my gut says that anything that makes the site feel less familiar to newcomers is potentially discouraging. I see the menu on the right does not use CamelCase for items like "Contact Us" and "Daily Buzz." Is there a reason the page titles are in CamelCase?

Both Daily Buzz and dailybuZZ work now, so pagenames really don't matter. Some of us are still really attracted to the idea of a LinkLanguage, so CamelCase is a natural, but we're obviously undecided as a community. If you'd like to move those pages, I'd bet they don't get moved back. TedErnst (talk) 13:18, 21 December 2007 (PST)

How are decisions made?

One of the appealing things about Wikipedia is that it's pretty easy to figure out how a given decision is made, and for those that are not just "be bold" or "general consensus" situations, to figure out who you gotta talk to to get your opinion heard. Not so here: many of the pages are locked, but it's not clear who the ultimate decision-maker is if you want to change the front page, or the menus, etc.

Peter, excited to read this! Jump in! If there is a page that is locked, it shouldn't be! Be bold and if something gets changed back, then we can discuss. Your thoughts are right on and perfect for help grow this place. We don't have all the answers! :-) I personally come from non Mediawiki and Wikipedia, much smaller wiki, so it has been a fun ride trying to figure out how to grow this place. Would love to talk to you via phone/skype about Organic Community Building when you get a chance. Best, MarkDilley

Thanks, Mark! I am occasionally Skypable at peterdforsyth; but also, I plan to be stopping by the office some after the holidays, so maybe we can just discuss in person. In the meantime, is it possible for you to unblock Contact Us? -Peteforsyth 19:47, 22 December 2007 (PST)

edit Wiki Coach projects

• MomentumPrint.com.au (done/contacted 7/12. Still need to work on categories.)
• ExpressDelivery.biz (contacted 7/13)
• PallasFinancier.com
• EFESOnline.com
• BidSale.us
• BlueMarbleMedia.com

edit Stuff I'm working on

• The Open Lobby
• Wiki success stories
• /Wikify the Bus!

edit My Influence Us Comments

edit Peteforsyth's Comments on Pdxtc.com

• Peteforsyth (delighted) : Scott is a very approachable and articulate person, and breaks down the complexities of SEO in a way that anyone can understand. I owe most of my understanding of the field to a presentation he made. Highly recommended. 18:17, 29 May 2008 (PDT)
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