Adding to Wikitravel information on Phuket: Yes or No?

[Bello Uomo]

In case you are not aware, Wikitravel is a community-maintained online resource which provides a stack of very useful information on holiday destinations around the world. Sort of an "online Lonely Planet".

Here are some related to Thailand.

Phuket: Phuket travel guide - Wikitravel
Patong: Patong Beach - Wikitravel
Bangkok: Bangkok travel guide - Wikitravel
Pattaya: Pattaya travel guide - Wikitravel
Chaing Mai: Chiang Mai travel guide - Wikitravel
Hua Hin:Hua Hin travel guide - Wikitravel

The one on Pattaya is very good. But looking at the one on Patong, it is a bit bare. I would like to add to it.

But I am just wondering what the "policy" is among BMs about sharing with the world some of the 'secrets' relating to accommodation, restaurants, bars etc.

[stevem]

See this thread

http://www.phuket-info.com/forums/co...ki-phuket.html

[LivinLOS]

Theres 2 being created one for tourism and one for the nightlife.. I think Main Page - Phuket Wiki is moving to SiamWiki.com for tourism purposes and I am just starting AsianNightlife.net - The FAQ for nightlife through Asia : HomePage

I also think theres a very good idea to have a wiki based on another thai topic but will keep that one private for a while..

Please dont start any edits on asiannightlife.net yet as I am still playing with scripts, and wish to get adsense approval before putting up too much adult content.

I think wikis are a superb way to deal with more static information and are hand in hand with forums for more community chatting without taking anything away from each other.

[Insomniac]

Is the www.asiannightlife.net site yours Livin?? If it is and you need some information contribution on nightclubs/bars (non adult content) i'd be glad to help

[LivinLOS]

Yes it is..

I am still not sure if I am going to use that script (tikiwiki).. I dont like the tikiwiki install skin but the skin that I have on it now (a semi clone of the mediawiki skin.. That powers wikipedia site) is clean and looks nice.. Also tikiwiki has lots more CMS features like blogs etc for once the site has become known and has a good selection of information.

Give me a couple of days to build more of the bones / structure to the linking system and then yes all nightlife but non adult contribs will be very welcome.. Once adsense is approved I will add the more naughty nightlife pages and see if google pull adsense.. If barladies.com can have adsense then I am not sure what they tolerate, they pulled mangosauce but leave barladies.. Makes no sense.. Not trying to make money from it but would be nice of adsense paid the hosting costs also I have never used adsense on a site so its all a learning thing for me.

DNS propogation has been slow.. I still only get the non www url if www prefaces the address it is not in my DNS hostfile yet. I checked with a proxy and it seems to work when bouncing through a US server.. So really its still at the teething stage and not ready for prime time.

I want to make it clear I dont think this is in competition with this site and Nicke has said he doesnt have a problem with the idea.. I think the 'how much is a ST' and other questions that are repeatedly asked can be ideal for a wiki.. But hope to keep it objective facts rather than subjective opinions as much s is possible.

[Bello Uomo]

Oops...sorry about that. I didn't realise there was already things happening in the background.

All the best to the guys doing work in this area.

[syeatman]

Originally Posted by Bello Uomo

In case you are not aware, Wikitravel is a community-maintained online resource which provides a stack of very useful information on holiday destinations around the world. Sort of an "online Lonely Planet".

The one on Pattaya is very good. But looking at the one on Patong, it is a bit bare. I would like to add to it.

But I am just wondering what the "policy" is among BMs about sharing with the world some of the 'secrets' relating to accommodation, restaurants, bars etc.

As LiL/Stevem have pointed out plans are afoot for at least a couple of wiki's based around thailand/nightlife and beyond.

I like Wikitravel, but to be honest never go there as I find sites like that try to cover anything and everything without being specific and targeted properly. It's a bit like trip advisor and similar sites...they cover so much but quite thinly imho.

With SiamWiki the idea is to bring the focus back directly on Thailand so that people will be more inclined to contribute and also have a better say in what goes in the wiki, which is not really an option with wikipedia and it's brother/sister wiki's

Phuket-wiki.com is currently up and open to edits (albeit moderated as already there have been adult related edits , which will not be allowed)

I will transfer ALL valid info to SiamWiki when it is live which should be in the next few weeks (I've been distracted back on to my original project), but at least you have a site to use in the mean time.

Any questions/suggestions let me know, it's more about what the community wants for the wiki than myself, though I do have final say

[syeatman]

Originally Posted by LivinLOS

I am still not sure if I am going to use that script (tikiwiki).. I dont like the tikiwiki install skin but the skin that I have on it now (a semi clone of the mediawiki skin.. That powers wikipedia site) is clean and looks nice.. Also tikiwiki has lots more CMS features like blogs etc for once the site has become known and has a good selection of information.

Interesting that you are looking at TW. I initially rejected that as it dos not seem to have a WYSIWYG editor...which I really do think is needed for non-techies to be able to get involved. Maybe it does have one and I just haven't looked at it in any detail.

I still haven't decided on which one I will use, prob Mediawiki as it is so well supported, but I really need to have a look and install/play with half a dozen before I settle. As I said before I have been distracted back to my other project, so I am lagging behind Be interested in any observations good or bad about TW.

Originally Posted by LivinLOS

Give me a couple of days to build more of the bones / structure to the linking system and then yes all nightlife but non adult contribs will be very welcome.. Once adsense is approved I will add the more naughty nightlife pages and see if google pull adsense.. If barladies.com can have adsense then I am not sure what they tolerate, they pulled mangosauce but leave barladies.. Makes no sense.. Not trying to make money from it but would be nice of adsense paid the hosting costs also I have never used adsense on a site so its all a learning thing for me.

Will Adsense even be worth having? What I mean is will you be better off with a purely adult advertiser on the site? there's a few out there, though I have no experience with any of them, but it may be worth looking at.

The other reason I'm thinking about is that it's probably not the best idea to get banned from Adsense, as it may negatively affect your page ranking and search engine placements, and there's no arguing with Google is there?

[LivinLOS]

Well the wiki markup langage is really simple.. And also mediawiki doesn't have a WYSIWYG system either (though I do admit its easier).. I think mediawiki is probably the best wiki out there but like tikiwiki's added feature set so far.

As to adsense.. I have never ever tried to use banner and rotating them and am under the idea adsense is the easiest and often best return.. Its not a big issue to me anyway more a question of wanting to learn. I dont think they pull your ranking if adsense is removed, merely pull the ad account.

[syeatman]

Originally Posted by LivinLOS

Well the wiki markup langage is really simple.. And also mediawiki doesn't have a WYSIWYG system either (though I do admit its easier).. I think mediawiki is probably the best wiki out there but like tikiwiki's added feature set so far.

Well it's not actually a true WYSIWYG editor, but it has a toolbar that means you do not need to know the actual markup for the core formatting (Bold, Itlic, Links, Tables, etc..) that makes it a lot easier. I'm just not sure how many people will bother to join without some sort of help.

Originally Posted by LivinLOS

As to adsense.. I have never ever tried to use banner and rotating them and am under the idea adsense is the easiest and often best return.. Its not a big issue to me anyway more a question of wanting to learn. I dont think they pull your ranking if adsense is removed, merely pull the ad account.

I wouldn't be so sure of that, I've read some pretty crappy things they have done to sites for nothing much, and they are also a law unto themselves which does not help when they are the market leader.

Have a look at clicksor, think they support adult ads.

Oh, and you can get a regfile for IE that lets you right-click any webpage and see what sort of ads will be returned, selectable by country too. Adsense preview tool Handy to be able to see what sort of ads you'll get when testing.