ReadMe, a readers advisory sort of wiki page

One of the types of questions we get a lot in Ask MetaFilter is “what book should I read on XYZ topic?” It’s one of those questions that the hive mind is actually good at answering because it’s just brainstorming and list generation by a self-selected group of people, not the “do I need to get this wound looked at?” sort in which you really shoudl ask a doctor. So, someone on MetaFilter decided to organize these questions into a wiki page. MetaFilter has our own wiki where a lot of information that may not need its own home on the site can reside, and where users can contribute content directly. The page is called ReadMe and contains a categorized list of over 650 topics on what to read, linking directly to the Ask MetaFilter thread where the topic was discussed. There’s even a section about libraries. It still needs a bit of tweaking, but what an awesome resource and a good concrete example of the nifty aggregating effects of blogs, and the “anyone can build something” effects of wikis.

5 thoughts on “ReadMe, a readers advisory sort of wiki page

  1. Good lord, that’s awesome. Was there mention of this on MeTa?

  2. See, this is what happens when I just skim everything via RSS. I miss all the REALLY good stuff.

  3. Now that’s the kind of community service that ought to be rewarded. I know this is Libnet and not Mefi but I imagine this as a seeding idea – noncompulsory Quarterly reward scheme in the event that someone does something ‘out of the ordinary’ awesome that benefits the masses.

    Oooh – first time I’ve noticed that live preview pane below. Nifty!

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