What the Bard had to say about wikis

In recognition of his 445th birthday, April 23rd is henceforth dubbed Talk Like Shakespeare Day. A little-known “fact” about the playwright and poet is that he had some wise things to say about working wikily.

That’s right, Shakespeare’s words can even apply to the ethic of wiki communities. In honor (or is it honour?) of his gift, here’s a trio of our favorite selections.

Assume Good Faith

There is some soul of goodness in things evil,
Would men observingly distil it out.

Henry V tells what it means to Assume Good Faith. It’s not uncommon for people to add things that seem stupid, ugly or inappropriate to a wiki. But taking the time to fix it and explain things to them often works out in your favor. Sometimes in wikis, the best contributors were once deemed vandals and ne’er-do-wells.

Be Bold

I hold my peace, sir? no;
No, I will speak as liberal as the north;
Let heaven and men and devils, let them all,
All, all, cry shame against me, yet I’ll speak.

Emilia, in Act V, scene ii of Othello, proclaims the spirit of Being Bold. In wikis, it is most definitely better to dive in an edit rather than hold back something you have to add.

Be Inclusive

And many strokes, though with a little axe,
Hew down and fell the hardest-timber’d oak.

Henry VI, Part 3 gives us a nice metaphor illiuminating the value of being inclusive. To include everyone means you can tackle jobs once thought impossible, like building a free encyclopedia or creating an open directory of the entire Web.

Tagged as: shakespeare, talk like shakespeare day, the wiki way, wiki