Is there a FAQ here at all?

The File Library

Knowledge Base Articles Discussion

Those links above provide some of the information you desire here.

There is also this document: User-Guide

 

Yes, those forums exist, but are highly unorganized, especially due to the changover to this forum's software, and the crashes.

Again, we seniors should organize the KB and file library.

 

I suggest we create a FAQ page on the Wikipedia linked to the Prius page.

Advantages are:
o use one of the best maintained software tool out there (wikimedia)
o easily updated by anybody
o well maintained, high bandwidth, and backed-up site
o survives independant of PriusChat reliability
o does not take bandwidth from PriusChat but can link back directly to the KB and file library
o uses the very popular site URL designed specifically as a repository of knowledge
o uses page format that's more conducive to a FAQ. web forum post with followups just doesn't work
o immune from somebody taking it home in a fit

[edit]
I have created this page on the Wikibooks now. Please help out and fill it in. If not, I'll continue to fill it in with the most common questions/answers I see.

 

Well, I moved the FAQ page to Wikibooks which is more suitable for FAQs.

 

Do you think we should have just one page on Wikibooks? Perhaps running a Priuschat Wiki would be better?

I think there's certainly enough Prius information to make a Wiki for. I could set one up on my (mostly empty) site, if you guys think it's a good idea.

 

Well, as it gets filled in, it'll hopefully end up to being more than one page.

Danny, most of the links linkback to the old PriusChat anyways. I certainly disvow ownership of it so please feel free to shape it.

The reason I advocate offsite at an wikimedia.org site instead of a PC Wiki is because they got bandwidth and space, they're very well funded, their hardware is performing pretty well, they actively maintain and develop the wiki software that's used at major sites, they're colocated somewhere that has reliable and regular backups and network support, nobody OWNs it so nobody can take it away/loose interest/disappear. So all the good reasons.

 

For those who don't know wikis, I'd like to point out a few things...

Anyone can edit a wiki page, including the Prius FAQ. Have a favorite question that belongs there? Go add it! Just click 'edit this page' at the top and have fun. (You might want to create an account first, that way your changes will be attributed to you on the history page and not to your IP address. However, if you don't want to create an account, you don't need to.)

Don't worry about doing the wrong thing. The page's history is saved and is fairly easy for someone to revert.

I think the only way the FAQ will become what it really ought to be is if we get more people to pitch in.

 

I would only have difficulty with that in that incorrect information might be provided. So many misconceptions out there.

 

If you see inaccurate, you can fix it, and it would stay fixed, unless somebody comes up with better referenced correction.

It's better than trying to search many forums for information that's spread out in too many threads with no firm answer with just as much incorrect or vague information.

As you're implying, an accurate manual is better than nothing.

 

Well, inaccurate information is certainly possible, as is petty vandalism. Which is one reason you should go look at it once in a while. Bad information will be corrected quickly if we have more people watching and editing the page.

If you see obviously bogus information or vandalism... revert it.

 

Also, be careful about crap spammers adding lists of links to stupid drug-store pages. There should be an RSS feed that will notify you of changes to the pages (if you have registered). You can designate somebody to be the WikiPolice and just watch the RSS notifications coming in (using something like bloglines.com), and revert anything spammish quickly.
-bill

 

I think it would be better if one of us (with moderator support) (not necessarily volunteering) took responsibility for creating and editing this and soliciting entries.

 

Well, I already popped in and correct "left-hand" to "right-hand"
for the location of the battery ventilation inlet. Again, I'm
really iffy about wiki style repositories for this stuff, despite the
discussions I've had in the past with people who maintain "well,
enough users want it to be right so it self-corrects". I will
continue to claim that long-term, this is NOT TRUE and does not
scale. Why? Because once you've written something and it's all
nice and correct and sanity-checked by several peers and everyone's
happy, you tend to think "okay, that's done" and move on to something
else. To maintain that body of information in its correct, non-
vandalized form, you would have to go back and re-read it almost
every day and compare it against a backup or constantly be checking
the change log. It should be NO ONE's fulltime job to maintain the
Prius FAQ, especially when part of that is guarding against random
incorrect or malicious edits.
.
I will agree that a free-for-all editing forum may well be the right
way to *build* it, but there really needs to be a way to lock down
the parts that are done against further changes -- unless a sufficient
quorum of knowledgeable people agree that it needs another change
cycle. Maintaining a body of knowledge that others will come to
rely on and may contribute to making or breaking someone's decision
about buying a Prius *CANNOT* be allowed to get subtly laced with
inaccuracies over time once the major contributors have ceased
active construction.
.
I know that once I get through building something the way I want,
I get really pissed if someone comes along and screws it up. I
would not wish that stress on anyone else, and I submit to the
group that relying solely on the Wiki approach is the wrong way
to go. Unless there's some way to lock sections against further
edit, without a password or something. Please take this under
serious consideration before y'all get too committed to this.
.
_H*

 

Hey, sorry I edited that again to be US-passenger-side because it's both left-hand or right-hand depending on which way your head is looking, and that's too ambiguous. Yes, it says rear-right in the manual. Isn't this option working out great so far?

I agree, an open Wiki is high-maintenance, but we could really use a FAQ page that's easily accessible and it's available NOW. This wiki does have the ability to ban repeat offenders and IPs, and there is a discussion going on in wikipedia about how to lock it down a bit more to lower the maintenance.. This page will benefit from whatever they come up with.

There are also quite a few other great FAQ pages out there including VFAQ, but it's my belief that the ability to add to a FAQ directly outweighs having to submit to a moderator who won't be always available, and possibly a large cause of stagnation or freeze-death of the FAQ.

If there a module to create it directly in PC with the assurance of reliable access and backups, or some other way/place, then we can move it there when it's there.

In my line of work, the SLA aka uptime is paramount, so I personally refuse to commit to anything that will disappear/crash/burn/0wned after I put effort into it because the creator wasn't technically savvy enough in maintaining the backend.

Besides, currently it's mostly an organized table-of-contents-style portal to the fabulously great guides/faqs already written by experts, such as John, on the many specific subjects with no great need to duplicate the material.

 

At a wiki we use as a FAQ over at RemixFight (it's a music thing) we were getting a lot of spammers so we locked it down to require a login/password to edit. That can help to cut down on random edits by people you/we don't trust.
So far, I don't see a way to "lock" a page, but I may not have full administrative rights for that page... ok, my friend says - yes, you can lock pages if you're an administrator.
Sounds ok to me!
-bill