Jason Baumeister over at SnapStream Blog announced the other day they have opened up a Wiki for the Beyond Media platform. Check it out over at http://code.snapstream.com.

Which begs the question why don't we have one for Media Center?

Good question.

Our team has been using a wiki internally as a collaboration tool for work on the Windows Media Center Presentation Layer and Media Center Markup Language. I've been pondering whether or not to create one externally, weighing the pros and cons. For example...

Reason Not To: We already have some great enthusiast sites like TheGreenButton.com where developers hang out.

Reply: It's wonderful for discussion, not as efficient for fact finding. You must search, and sometimes dig through lots of posts to find an answer.

Reason Not To: We have a newsgroup for free technical support.

Reply: To be honest, I'm not thrilled with the web interface nor Outlook Express for interacting with our newsgroups. And again, they aren't great for fact finding.

Reason Not To: We try to get everything you need into the Software Development Kit itself.

Reply: Yes, but we can't update that puppy in real time, and folks external to Microsoft have a hard time contributing except during beta or direct partnership with us.

Reason Not To: Do you really want to add another item to your plate?

Reply: What item? This should be a 'set it and forget it' activity where the community, not you, drives the content. Trust them.

...and so on. Typical, big, slow company thinking. Has blogging taught me nothing?!?!?

So, it's time to stop debating inside my head and create a wiki for the Media Center platform.

There will invariably be folks saying we are being copycats. They would be right. I (eventually) know a good thing when I see it.

Seriously, kudos to you, SnapStream, for creating a wiki for your platform. I hope you will see our imitation as the sincerest form of flattery.