New Wiki Public Beta Test
Our new Wiki is now available for beta testing. It has already been updated for version 1.1.x and we wish all users to have access to accurate information. However, please be patient. Our Wiki Project has already been months in development and has a long way to go.
You may access the new wiki at: http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/ Links from the Main Menu on our webiste and Forum, now go to the new wiki.
You do not need to log in to browse the new wiki. However, if you wish to use RSS feeds and page notifications, then you need to login using your forum user name and password. Then add the email address you use in the forums via Tools > My Preferences on the Wiki menu.·
During the beta test only users who request access to make contributions will be allowed to edit the wiki. The purpose of the beta is to refine and perfect this process.· Once that is successfully completed, our wiki will be freely accessible for everyone to contribute.
Wiki Implementation Plan
Phase I - Team Test - Oct 1 to Nov 21, 2010
More than 30 of our team members have tested the new wiki internally. Many are already using it extensively and have started making contributions. We have been very pleased with how easy it is to navigate and find information, as well as to update and add content. There has not been even a single complaint... yet! 
Phase II -· Public Beta Test - Nov 21 to Dec 18, 2010
Our public beta test has now begun. Get ready, get set, GO!!!
You do not need to log in or register for the new wiki unless you wish to use RSS Feeds or Page Notifications.
Any user, especially extension developers, who wish to start adding good content to our wiki, are welcome to request contributor status to add and edit wiki pages. Just log in using your forum user name and password, and add your email address under· Tools > My Preferences. You may then request access via the comments forum thread for this News or send a Private Message to Dadeo. We will rely on test contributors to give us feedback on the process of contributing to the wiki and ensure it is working well and thoroughly documented before the end of the beta test.
We really want to see how the wiki works for you, and how it works when there are a lot of users using it - so stress testing, searching and so on. Please try and use the new wiki as much as possible because that will give us the most usable results. Our new wiki uses the Lucene search engine, which has some intelligence built in. That means the more users search for, and access pages, the higher those pages will rank in search results. Thus, as you use our new wiki, you will actually be helping to 'train' it for future use and new users.
We still have a lot of formatting, tagging of pages, and standardizing formats and layouts and styles to do during the beta test. We plan to design and develop a number of templates for various types of content, such as a template to mark a page outdated, or to enter a skin or plugin page. These templates will assist you in contributing to our wiki. Some of these are already completed, others are in process.
Phase III - Wiki Goes Live - Dec 18, 2010
Based on your feedback during the public beta test we should be able to complete many of required templates finalize the style and layout standards and tag all wiki pages to improve searching and wiki management.
Once our wiki goes live, any user who logs in using their forum user name will automatically be able to contribute to the wiki.
Phase IV - Future Development
We have many plans! What you see in our wiki so far is about 20% of what we hope to achieve. One of the major goals is to implement an Intelligent Document Framework. This is a new way of structuring data so that all relevant data is accessible from one page. We will be working on some examples to show you how this will work during the public beta test.
Another goal is to expand our development documentation. We have already begun to do this by documenting all changes which require changes to skins or plugins. We intend to expand and improve this process - to build a history of all development changes, particularly to the user interface. We hope this will assist our community developers, as well as users who test our test releases, to clearly understand what changes have been made to each release and how to implement, test or use them.· You can see the first beginnings on the What's new in 1.2.0 page on the wiki home page.
In particular we plan to work on a proper Skin Design manual and Plugin Developer Manual with the assistance of many of our experienced extension developers. These manuals will be 'How to' guides, like 'How do I make a sliding menu?', or 'What IDs can I use in my plugin? 'What skin properties do I need to support so that skin designers can create fabulous designs for my plugin?' You get the idea.
Feedback
We need your feedback. Post any questions or suggestions in the Website/Forum/Wiki Feedback General Forum. Post a new thread for each feature suggestion so we can add a poll and all vote for the new features. Use the prefix for [Wiki] so we don't miss your post. That's where we'll be looking!
Stay tuned for the upcoming Inside Scoop blog on our new wiki!
