Wiki Life: What can I contribute?

 

One thing that can hold people back from contributing on a Wiki is the uncertainty of what they can add to the community.  There are numerous ways to contribute and not all of them mean that you have to be the most knowledgeable person in any technology.  Below we present a few ways that YOU can contribute to the Wiki  community.

Personal Knowledge

This is one of the most common types of contribution on the Wiki.  The inspiration for these articles can come from a multitude of sources.  Maybe you were installing the latest version of a software product and came across an easier way to do something that you wanted to share with everyone.  If you are an active member of forums, perhaps you see the same question asked over and over.  Instead of writing an impromptu answer to each thread, you write a full-fledged Wiki article and post a link to it any time you see that question asked in the future.

Auto-generated information

Another source that has been used a few times is automation.  This is not necessarily automating the Wiki process, but automating the gathering of information for a Wiki article. Here are a couple of examples of this:

This information was all gathered with a few simple PowerShell scripts.  You might wonder why this information is useful.  There are numerous scenarios where it comes in handy, such as troubleshooting a virus or Trojan.  By comparing these lists against what is on your system, you can determine if there are any malicious folders, processes or services.

Articles or blog posts from other sites

Even if you are just starting out your IT career and are not familiar with any of the technologies in the IT world, do not fret; you can still contribute!  When you are studying or just searching the web for information, keep an eye out for anything you think others might find useful.  Examples:

Note: Be sure to give credit to the original author and link to their work. It is also highly recommended to add value to the article instead of a simple copy/paste.

Keep in mind that these are just three examples of inspiration sources for the Wiki; inspiration can come from anywhere!

-Rich Prescott

 
Engineering Efficiency
@Rich_Prescott
Windows System Administration tool 
AD User Creation tool