Dear Chloe,
Thanks for this information. I will mull over it!

One question of clarification, what exactly do you mean by this:

As for archived conference materials, these are all open-access. This is not an exclusive benefit for IWA members but rather is a completely accessible resource for all site users.

Let's take the example of the recent IWA Conference in Nairobi:
Are you saying that all conference presentations and the papers (if the authors agree) will be available on your website (if yes, which link?). Or only some? Maybe only those from IWA staff?
If all of them, that would be truly awesome.

We are currently collating the sanitation ones from said conference also for the SuSanA library here (process ongoing):
susana.org/lang-en/library/library?view=...eitem&type=2&id=1861

Kind regards,
Elisabeth

Hi Elizabeth,

While I agree that Wikipedia attracts more traffic than the WaterWiki, the chances of those users being interested in your article on composting toilets is much higher when they come from a community site consisting exclusively of those with an academic/professional/practical interest in the water sector than it is if you article were to become a needle in the haystack of Wikipedia!

All WaterWiki article content is categorised according to subject area. It is possible to pull a list of content the exclusively related to sanitation, which makes up over 10% of the total WaterWiki content. For example:

www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main...ewTag&tag=Sanitation.

In terms of using Wikipedia, as a popular platform, to reach out to those who are not yet interested in sanitation: We host articles on the WaterWiki which have been adapted from Wikipedia, for example: www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Articles/Sanitation.

As both sites are open-access there would be no reason to not use both to target both an informed and a more general audience.

You cannot, however, post full research articles on Wikipedia. You can reference or link to extended articles but the articles themselves have to be hosted elsewhere. A platform is still required to host the content and the WaterWiki could be that platform!

As for archived conference materials, these are all open-access. This is not an exclusive benefit for IWA members but rather is a completely accessible resource for all site users.

The only areas of the WaterWiki which are restricted are private group discussion spaces. All reference material is open to all.

I hope this has answered some of your questions!

I look forward to discussing this further with you.

Best wishes,

Chloe.

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Note by moderators: This post was made by a former user with the login name CParkerWaterWiki who is no longer a member of this discussion forum.

Dear Chloe,
Great to see you on the forum. I will also try to visit "your" forum (IWA Water Wiki) more in return.

For the benefit of the others, I copy here a little exchange we had by e-mail:

Overall, there are two things that I wonder about with the Water Wiki:

1. Why have a Water Wiki rather than getting everyone to include their content in Wikipedia directly? I use Wikipedia all the time.
2. How reliably are topics found by Google searches? In the past, when I search something on Google I sometimes end up on the SuSanA discussion forum pages; but rarely or never does a Google search direct me to a Water Wiki entry (perhaps this is due to the search terms I have tried).

Your answer was:

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The WaterWiki is an information source which is exclusively tailored to the water sector. Unlike Wikipedia, it is a resource which caters specifically to a water audience and provides networking opportunities for water professionals to share materials as a community. As the WaterWiki is not exclusively a collection of articles but also a virtual meeting place and archive of conference materials, it provides functions which are unavailable on Wikipedia.

As WaterWiki articles tend to be very specific, it is often difficult to find them on Google using general search terms. Imagine trying to find a particular journal article, for example, searching only on a few key words. However, some of our most popular articles, for example “Coagulation and Flocculation in Water and Wastewater Treatment”, are easily found via Google because they cover niche subject matter which is of exclusive interest to particular disciplines within the water sector.

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I still see a weakness in a specific "Water Wiki" when it comes to the topic of sanitation. Firstly, "sanitation" is not represented in your title of a "Water Wiki". Secondly we want to also get people interested in sanitation who don't know yet about the importance of sanitation. They might look for any other topic on Wikipedia and then end up on a sanitation-related page on Wikipedia if there are enough of them, and in the right places (links).

Or are your Water Wiki articles sometimes linked from a Wikipedia page (could be in the "further references" section of a Wikipedia article?

I just think if I had the time to write about, say, composting toilets or even small-bore sewer systems - then I would probably rather write an article on Wikipedia than for the Water Wiki simply because I would assume that I would have more readers on Wikipedia.

The other functions of your Water Wiki I understand. It is great if it's a place where conference presentations (and papers?) are made available after conferences. Is that standard practice now and would it be only accessible for IWA members (which I could understand because you also have to attract new paying members, and giving such an exclusive service could of course be an attraction).

Kind regards,
Elisabeth

Note by moderator: This post was originally here but has now been split off into its own thread.

A related thread about Wikipedia is here: forum.susana.org/forum/categories/54-wg-...together-with-others
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Dear All,

Can I suggest a collaboration on an existing open-access information site?

The IWA WaterWiki currently hosts over 1,200 articles, case studies and poster presentations on all aspects of water and sanitation, including contributions from organisations such as UN Water and the World Bank.

I would be very happy to host any materials arising from this discussion onto the site.

For now, you may find these pages interesting:

www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Arti...ishingFreetoDownload

www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Arti...ergencytoDevelopment
www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Arti...tiesSanitationStatus


Please do let me know if you would like to get involved with contributing to the site!

Best,

Chloe.

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Note by moderators: This post was made by a former user with the login name CParkerWaterWiki who is no longer a member of this discussion forum.