Explanation of shift to Wiki

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What is Happening?

The Elvis Costello Home Page is transforming into a Wiki, a website where everyone is able to edit the content, and are collectively responsible for maintaining it. This wiki uses the same software as Wikipedia, but is modified to suit the purposes of the site. It also has facilities for "rolling back" errors and vandalism so that valuable info is not lost.

Why Change to a Wiki?

The Elvis Costello Home Page has grown to be an enormous site. Elvis Costello is also a very active artist, and I am not able to do all that is needed to update all the information that should be available there, due to work and other commitments.

I believe that I have been holding back the Elvis Costello Home Page from where it should be. One person is just not capable of keeping up with all the information that should be contained within the site. I receive so much information all the time from lots of different people, and I am unable to keep up with formatting it, entering it into the correct databases and then updating the other required parts of the web site.

Vision

I see a web site that is much better than the current Elvis Costello Home Page. It is transformed into a wiki, where people are able to enter their own data and images, and collectively be responsible for it.

Via the wiki, I see the Home Page continuing to grow and evolve to be a total archive of all of the information available. All information from the EC Home Page will be transferred to the wiki version, so that all parts of it can be corrected and updated as required.

How To Join

If you want to join in, help out, and even put your own stamp on the Home Page, simply go to the sign up page at:
http://wiki.elviscostello.info/
and click on the link "Create an account or log on" at the top right.

Transition

I will keep The Elvis Costello Home Page just ticking over with bare-bones updates for the present. I will gradually transfer the data from the various databases that I have to the new wiki. It is then up to the wiki users to take over and update the site.

I will be one of the Sysops (System Operators = system administrators) for the The Elvis Costello Home Page Wiki, to help guide and maintain it, but I will need help from other willing people. Please be in contact if you want to help with this.

Summary

I am positive that we can work together and transform The Elvis Costello Home Page into an up-to-date and complete archive of the music of Elvis Costello.

-- John Everingham, JohnE 19:15, 7 April 2006 (CDT)