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open source soapmaking wiki invitation
Dear Members of rec.crafts.marketplace,
I'd like to extend an invitation to visit Saponaceo.us, the recently launched 'open source soapmaking wiki'. The aim of this wiki is to be the most complete, comprehensive soapmaking resource on the internet: "A compendium of soapmaking knowledge". It is called the "open source soapmaking wiki" because the information in it is licensed under the Creative Commons License, making it owned by no one (or everyone depending on how you look at it). It contains free, community-driven, non-commercial information in the familiar Wikipedia format (the software that runs Wikipedia also runs saponaceo.us). So if you are a regular contributer to Wikipedia, you will be very comfortable with the identical format of this site. -- The definition of 'Saponaceous' is "resembling or having the qualities of soap; "a soapy consistency". http://saponaceo.us/ Saponaceo.us also contains a directory of soapmaker and commercial soapmaking business links, acting as a kind of one-stop soapmaking contact addressbook. I have started this wiki for several reasons. A wiki is very appropriate for building a cohesive community. It addresses the problem of soapmaker activity being dispersed over several similar groups. I noticed on Yahoo! Groups alone, there are over 30 soapmaking-related groups. More if you include candlemaking, scenting and crafts/business. Attempting to subscribe to all of these groups is a management nightmare (I've tried). Plus, if one requires this level of connectivity to a community, then having listservs, mailing lists and room-view groups are probably the least efficient of formats for this purpose. Secondly, trying to learn soapmaking from the internet is hard for a beginner. There is a wealth of information out there, because of folks like you. Kudos to all of you, you make me and other soapmakers proud. As one who learned the art of soapmakign from you, I appreciate your nurturing. I remember what it was like to be a beginner. As a beginner, it was overwhelming. I found myself acting as more of an investigator, than a soapmaking disciple or student. Hunting and collecting information. Sometimes reassembling it incorrectly and unknowingly until bad things happened (blender-soap ends up like chalk, oily-lye, beginner errors). Bottom line is: Beginners do not know where to start, how to start, or where to begin digging through the sites. They are forced ultimately to buy a book or several. Sound familiar? Now imagine this community of soapmakers, you, me, our friends and families acting as mentors for people new to soapmaking. Inexperienced soapmakers would then rely on the so-called "wisdom of crowds" to give them the right answers all the time, nurturing them from journeyman to master. I'd say that would be something worth investing my time in. What do you think? Is it worth a look? Please help me get behind this project. I think it will be a good contribution to the world- and we can make it happen. I want to reiterate that this wiki supports a commercial/business index and business pages, as well as personal soapmaker pages. These is a contact phonebook and all are encouraged to use this space. For example, I have added the Lye Calculator provided by Majestic Mountain Sage because I use it and think it is great. Be the first to get your name out there- tell your friends and by all means, if you support this project, please blog about it or link to from your blog or webpage. Thanks for your kind consideration. Sincerely, Michael Chris Neglia --- soapmaker::webdeveloper mchrisneglia AT yahoo DOT com (971) 678.7924 |
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