ResearchWikis/notes/2007-09-04 guru.com project

Questions

• Was the sample wiki shown in the PowerPoint presentation an actual MediaWiki installation? If so, I could use a copy of the skin and relevant .css files to make the wiki I am developing start out with that look. Since the appearance is 2nd priority, however, I won't focus on this until the functionality has been implemented.
• For next stage: need to pin down how they would like each user's "credits" to be displayed.

Progress

• non-editable sections - done; turned out not to be really necessary
• automatic indexes - done
• enable the patrolling feature - done
• "add a page" feature as in wikihow - done, but may be too simple

Proposal

1. Tasks to be done

• non-editable sections
• automatic indexes
• enable the patrolling feature
• "add a page" feature as in wikihow

1a. non-editable sections

• Create 1-3 pages with protected sections as specified by employer
• Includes creation of individual protected pages for transclusion in main page, with contents specified by employer

1b. automatic indexes

• Install extension or make other code changes as necessary so web site has the ability to automatically display lists of pages based on [[category]] tags.
• Create 1-3 such lists either as needed for actual use or as examples for others to follow. Additional lists can be created if budget permits.

1c. enable "patrolling" feature

• set flag in LocalSettings.php -- see http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Patrolled_edits for how to use this feature

1d. Install "add a page" feature

• decide which extension is best for implementing this feature
• install extension
• create page for adding a page, if necessary
• make any necessary technical modifications (i.e. anything which can't be done through the web browser by a person familiar with normal MediaWiki editing) to bring the "add a page" page in line with the look-and-feel of the rest of the site

2. Breakdown of time

These estimates do not take into account any unexpected complications I may run into once the content requirements are known and I have actually looked at the site.

BILLABLE HOURS

• 2a. non-editable sections: 1-2 hours
• 2b. automatic indexes: 1-2 hours
• 2c. enable "patrolling": <1 hour
• 2d. install "add a page": 2-5 hours

I didn't list a time estimate for the "add a page" feature in my original time estimate (email of 8/30 5:37 pm) because at the time I needed more information. Of all the requested features, this is the one I where I am least certain of the exact process to make it work, hence the higher time-estimate and greater variation. Even with the maximum of 5 hours, however, this still falls within the allocated budget for this project.

CALENDAR TIME TO COMPLETION

7 days maximum