Saintapedia:Keep it simple

Keep it Simple (KIS) is a good rule of thumb to follow when editing wiki pages. When in doubt use paragraphs and plain English not code.

Background

In a wiki, all users are basic webmasters in the sense that they can upload files and edit content. The average wiki user may not have advanced web design skills, but “advanced” pages are not the primary goal of the wiki. Many organizations spend considerable time and resources debating the form of web content. The “container” is important but it is not as important as the content. When it comes to wikis, content and conversation are king and form should follow content not the other way around. The majority of the debate about wikis throughout your organization should revolve around how to get more “eyes on content” to improve accuracy not that it looks pretty or whether the corporate webmaster approves of the design.

Advanced wiki pages loaded with CSS calls, HTML, and template functions can deter average users from making edits to pages. When the average user goes to make edits in overly complex wiki pages they see mostly code; with light MediaWiki markup, they see mostly plain English.