OpenWetWare:FAQ: Difference between revisions

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==General==
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===Who are you?===
===Who are you?===
OpenWetWare is a group of researchers that are interested in increasing the amount of organization, dissemination, and communication in biological research (or just want an easy way to keep a lab webpage up-to-date).  Everyone that has access to OpenWetWare can edit all pages in the site. Thus the evolution of all the pages are due to everyone involved.  If you want to know who has done what, check out the history file associated with every page.
OpenWetWare is a group of researchers that are interested in increasing the amount of organization, dissemination, and communication in biological research (or just want an easy way to keep a lab webpage up-to-date).  Everyone that has access to OpenWetWare can edit all pages in the site. Thus the evolution of all the pages are due to everyone involved.  If you want to know who has done what, check out the history file associated with every page.  If you have questions, please [[OpenWetWare:Contact|contact us]].
 
===How did this site get started?===
The site was started by graduate students in the [[Endy]] and [[Knight]] labs at MIT on April 20, 2005 (called Endipedia).  The site was officially opened to researchers worldwide, and renamed OpenWetWare, on June 22, 2005.
 
===Why would I (or my lab) want to join?===
Check out the [[OpenWetWare:Why join?|Why join?]] page for a list of reasons why OpenWetWare may be of use to you and your lab.
 
===Are you people just a bunch of scientific hippies?  Why are you doing this?===
See the "who are you?" question above.  In general, we are not all hippies.  We are doing this to construct a resource for ourselves.  It is ultimately a selfish pursuit. Peruse some of the pages and you will notice that different labs/groups/individuals use OpenWetWare in different ways. Like many other things in life, OpenWetWare is what you make of it.
 
===Do you ever plan on going commercial?===
Probably not.  OpenWetWare will always remain a free and open site dedicated to encouraging and celebrating open scientific information.  It is possible that in the future that partnerships with organizations and/or commercial entities to ensure the long-term sustainability of the site will be considered.  For now, and while we still have funding, the answer is no.
 
===Is OWW backed-up? / How can I be assured this site will be here tomorrow?===
Currently there are several labs to whom wiki functionality is vital, thus the wiki minimally will remain as long as these labs are in existence.  Hardware and support is contracted to [http://rackspace.com Rackspace], an industry leader of managed hosting.  Rackspace provides server monitoring provides several redundancies for hardware, network access, and power. OpenWetWare is backed up daily, and we are continuing to improve the redundancy and backup capabilities.  As far as trusting others with your information goes, we are probably a safe bet.  Also, if you are really worried, we would love others to host mirrors of the entire site, or the [[OpenWetWare:Data_dumps|daily dumps]].  Please [[OpenWetWare:Contact|contact us]] if you are interested.
 
===Who runs this site?===
The [[OpenWetWare:Steering committee|OpenWetWare steering committee]] is responsible for the overall direction of the site as well as ensuring that OpenWetWare continues to adhere to its [[OpenWetWare:Mission|mission]].  The steering committee is all-volunteer group of OpenWetWare users from many institutions.  You are welcome to [[OpenWetWare:Steering committee members|join]].  The [[OpenWetWare:Board|OpenWetWare board]] is responsible for ensuring the long term sustainability and success of OpenWetWare.  It consults with the steering committee on all decisions affecting the user community.
 
===Sound like a cool idea, but I have nothing to contribute!===
Sure you do.  One of the motivations for OpenWetWare is to lower the barriers of entry into biological research.  Many of the researchers on OpenWetWare are relative newcomers to biological research and are struggling to cope with the steep learning curve in biology.  We're trying to accumulate enough information on OpenWetWare such that a person with little lab experience could, for example, go to the [[DNA Ligation]] page, read it and be able to carry out a successful DNA ligation reaction.  Thus, some of the most useful contributions to the site are from people doing a technique for the first time.  They are more likely to document the little things that can easily trip up someone new to a procedure.  So newcomers to biological research are strongly encouraged to edit OpenWetWare with whatever information they learn along the way.  Or if you have a question, ask it in the [[Questions and Answers | research help forum]].


===Can I/we join?===
===Can I/we join?===
Yes!!!  The more people that are contributing, the more useful the site becomes.  Please [mailto:admin@openwetware.org email us].
Yes!!!  The more people that are contributing, the more useful the site becomes.  Please check out the [[OpenWetWare:How_to_join|How to join]] page.
 
==More FAQs==


===Why would I (or my lab) want to join?===
[[Image:Gettingstarted green.png|left|40px]]
Check out [[OpenWetWare:Why join?|this page]].
[[OpenWetWare:FAQ/Editing|'''Editing''']]<br>
FAQ on contributing to OpenWetWare


===What's the deal with access?===
Currently we have the site as world-readable and member editable, and there are essentially no options to make pages be otherwise.  We decided upon the current level of access based upon our key goals of open access and collaboration.  We also understand there are times where information cannot be posted for the world/other students/et al, to read.  In our lab, we handle this by certain members having private wiki's on their own computers where they organize their thoughts and information. 


In the future, we may be able to implement the beginnings of what you describe. After talks with some of the people over at Mediawiki, they have begun writing code to make such edit/view access more dynamic and programmable by individual users.  In time, perhaps we can incorporate some of these improvements as they are made available.  This will offer some semblance of security (and would not get indexed by google for example), but is not as safe as say having a site behind a firewall.  Anyways, there are a variety of options, but in the end you have to balance increased security with decreased ease of access and manipulability.  For the time being, we will keep OpenWetWare at the current access level.
[[Image:Groups turquoise.png|left|40px]]
[[OpenWetWare:FAQ/Access|'''Access to the site''']]<br>
FAQ on viewing and editing access to OpenWetWare


===Do you ever plan on going commercial?===
No.


===How can I be assured this site will be here tomorrow?===
[[Image:Service lab.png|left|40px]]
Currently there are several labs to whom wiki functionality is vital, thus the wiki will remain as long as these labs are in existance.  We have been generously donated hardware and support by the MIT BioMicro Center.  OpenWetWare is backed up daily, and we are continuing to increase the redundancy and backup capabilities.  So as far as relying on academia goes, this is a fairly good bet.
[[OpenWetWare:FAQ/Labs|'''Labs''']]<br>
FAQ on having a lab wiki on OpenWetWare


===Why the dual license?===
Long story short, we like Creative Commons for it's machine/human readability.  We like GNU's FDL because Wikipedia and others use it.  We would like the two groups to settle their trivial differences, so that we can all move on with our lives.


===How did this site get started?===
[[Image:Service course.png|left|40px]]
[[OpenWetWare:FAQ/Courses|'''Courses''']]<br>
FAQ on hosting a course on OpenWetWare


===Are you guys just a bunch of scientific hippies?  Why are you doing this?===


==Technical==
[[Image:Community orange.png|left|40px]]
===How do I edit a page?===
[[OpenWetWare:FAQ/Copyright|'''Copyright''']]<br>
FAQ on copyright issues and OpenWetWare


===Are there any rules?===
|}
Check out the [[Etiquette|etiquette]] page.
</div>


===How do I make the wiki pages for my lab/group look like a static website sans wikiness?===
__NOTOC__
Check out [[OpenWetWare:Dewikify]].

Latest revision as of 13:02, 8 May 2007

Labs & Groups
From around the world 		Courses
Host & view classes 		Protocols
Share techniques & more 		Blogs
Read OWW blogs

Who are you?

OpenWetWare is a group of researchers that are interested in increasing the amount of organization, dissemination, and communication in biological research (or just want an easy way to keep a lab webpage up-to-date). Everyone that has access to OpenWetWare can edit all pages in the site. Thus the evolution of all the pages are due to everyone involved. If you want to know who has done what, check out the history file associated with every page. If you have questions, please contact us.

How did this site get started?

The site was started by graduate students in the Endy and Knight labs at MIT on April 20, 2005 (called Endipedia). The site was officially opened to researchers worldwide, and renamed OpenWetWare, on June 22, 2005.

Why would I (or my lab) want to join?

Check out the Why join? page for a list of reasons why OpenWetWare may be of use to you and your lab.

Are you people just a bunch of scientific hippies? Why are you doing this?

See the "who are you?" question above. In general, we are not all hippies. We are doing this to construct a resource for ourselves. It is ultimately a selfish pursuit. Peruse some of the pages and you will notice that different labs/groups/individuals use OpenWetWare in different ways. Like many other things in life, OpenWetWare is what you make of it.

Do you ever plan on going commercial?

Probably not. OpenWetWare will always remain a free and open site dedicated to encouraging and celebrating open scientific information. It is possible that in the future that partnerships with organizations and/or commercial entities to ensure the long-term sustainability of the site will be considered. For now, and while we still have funding, the answer is no.

Is OWW backed-up? / How can I be assured this site will be here tomorrow?

Currently there are several labs to whom wiki functionality is vital, thus the wiki minimally will remain as long as these labs are in existence. Hardware and support is contracted to Rackspace, an industry leader of managed hosting. Rackspace provides server monitoring provides several redundancies for hardware, network access, and power. OpenWetWare is backed up daily, and we are continuing to improve the redundancy and backup capabilities. As far as trusting others with your information goes, we are probably a safe bet. Also, if you are really worried, we would love others to host mirrors of the entire site, or the daily dumps. Please contact us if you are interested.

Who runs this site?

The OpenWetWare steering committee is responsible for the overall direction of the site as well as ensuring that OpenWetWare continues to adhere to its mission. The steering committee is all-volunteer group of OpenWetWare users from many institutions. You are welcome to join. The OpenWetWare board is responsible for ensuring the long term sustainability and success of OpenWetWare. It consults with the steering committee on all decisions affecting the user community.

Sound like a cool idea, but I have nothing to contribute!

Sure you do. One of the motivations for OpenWetWare is to lower the barriers of entry into biological research. Many of the researchers on OpenWetWare are relative newcomers to biological research and are struggling to cope with the steep learning curve in biology. We're trying to accumulate enough information on OpenWetWare such that a person with little lab experience could, for example, go to the DNA Ligation page, read it and be able to carry out a successful DNA ligation reaction. Thus, some of the most useful contributions to the site are from people doing a technique for the first time. They are more likely to document the little things that can easily trip up someone new to a procedure. So newcomers to biological research are strongly encouraged to edit OpenWetWare with whatever information they learn along the way. Or if you have a question, ask it in the research help forum.

Can I/we join?

Yes!!! The more people that are contributing, the more useful the site becomes. Please check out the How to join page.

More FAQs

Editing
FAQ on contributing to OpenWetWare


Access to the site
FAQ on viewing and editing access to OpenWetWare


Labs
FAQ on having a lab wiki on OpenWetWare


Courses
FAQ on hosting a course on OpenWetWare


Copyright
FAQ on copyright issues and OpenWetWare


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