Technology
The World Science Community will be based on wiki wiki software. However, it may be beneficial to include a couple of features that differ from the existing wiki wiki webs.
'1. A user rating system similar to ebay.' One problem that wiki pages face is that it is not always easy to judge the quality of content or accuracy of information on a page. It may therefore be possible to allow users to rate the pages they visit in order to guide the users search and understanding of a topic. One problem of course is that wiki wiki pages are constantly changing, so one users rating may not reflect the state of the page when the next user visits it. However, by using a history option similar to that being used by Wikipedia (and others), one could assume that pages will only get better (unless vandalised, in which case the old page can be replaced with the click of a button). Also, by restricting the user quality rating calculation to, say, the 10 last users visiting the site, it may be possible for the users ratings to accurately reflect the quality of the page.
'2. Data Boxes.' When reporting scientific findings, etc, it is important that the data that is reported is accurate. It may be possible to protect the validity of a researchers data by adding the option of "data boxes". These are boxes of information (most likely numbers) that a user may insert into a wiki page. A data box can be deleted by anyone, but cannot be edited. Personal Note (Espen): I'm not sure if this is necessary -it may be easier to simply link to off site fixed web pages, or provide fixed web pages specifically designed for research data.
'3. User friendly layout.' Although the current wiki wiki formats are reasonably user friendly, it may be possible to make them easier to use for both novices and experts by actually researching different web formats in terms of ease of use, efficiency, ?, etc. The use of ambient information (e.g. colour coding, subtle changes in symbols and positioning, etc) could provide fewer and less confusing stimuli to the novice, while making life easier for the more experienced user. Espen's good friend and lecturer in Manchester specialises in visual navigation (psychology) and could probably be persuaded to help him out. Espen has also done some undergraduate work on navigation and visual attention.