Update: the example in this question is somewhat outdated, as I've edited the Android tag :)
What is the specific goal for a tag wiki // the relation between a tag-wiki and its excerpt?
I would assume that the tag wiki itself should be complete, and the excerpt is just a summary. I was looking at the Android wiki and this starts with:
Developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance.
Now while this is true, this is hardly a good description of what Android is :). It looks like you should already know what it is before reading this wiki.
The excerpt does start with something more sane:
Android is Google's software stack for mobile devices
I thought I might add something like that to the wiki, but looking at the edit history (nr 11 at time of writing, dated Apr 1 '11 at 22:18
, the equivalent description in the wiki itself was deliberately removed by a diamond moderator, so I'm hesitant to re-add it, not willing to go into an edit war :)
Question:
Therefore I come to this question: Should the wiki itself
- Be a complete description including the information from the excerpt, with the excerpt containing a shorter version for the popup
- Or is it something different, like for instance the wiki supposes a pre-existing knowledge of the excerpt (it being more of an introduction) with more in-depth information?
Also: the excerpt seems more than just that: it's the text you see when adding tags, so it has also some information about what to do and when to add. In the case of android the complete excerpt is currently:
Android is Google's software stack for mobile devices. Please use the Android-specific tags such as [android-intent], not [intent]. For non-developer questions, see http://android.stackexchange.com
(The emphasis is mine.)
The part about what tag to use doesn't seem relevant (to me) when you are looking at the tag-wiki, only when you are using the tag (so looking at the excerpt). It currently looks like the "excerpt" is something of a "tag usage description", whereas the wiki is more general description? (Note that I don't mean "should be" in any of this, just trying to get clear what is currently the goal of which part). This could be one of the "different" options:
- The excerpt containts some information that is double (like an intro), and some information that is not copied in the wiki (like tips on using it)
(And in the end, following from this, should I / we / you / someone add something to the Android wiki that describes what it is or not?)
I've seen some differences in approach among the various tags by the way. Doesn't it kind of seems like a free-for-all currently? "We" (read: I) could just edit the Android tag wiki to make a bit more sense, despite the mentioned change by a diamond moderator?
OK, this seems to be going nowhere, I've edited the wiki to include the excerpt, as I think I've shown enough effort to not just be labelled as an "edit war". (It hasn't been 'peer reviewed' though at the moment.)