The Nature of the Beast

In any MMO, there is a great deal of "lore" or specific knowledge about the game: its mechanics and interface, its virtual geography, characters, monsters, treasure, equipment, skills, quests, and techniques for solo and group play. Some of these things the game company typically documents, in order to give players a starting point. But most of the rest, the real expertise, is meant to be "discovered" through playing the game, and is usually only documented (to the extent that it ever is) by the players themselves.

Those of us who've played one or more MMO's over the years tend to accumulate quite a lot of knowledge in our heads about our hobby. Sometimes, players will commit bits and pieces of what they know to writing. This assists other players by spreading knowledge of discoveries. Unfortunately, these kinds of postings are usually made in forums or on static websites. Each web author posts pieces of the mosaic in different places, and usually, nobody keeps any of them up-to-date. If a player Googles for certain information a year later, she may get dozens of hits, many pointing to stale or conflicting information.

The Wiki Solution

Wiki pages represent an excellent solution to this problem. They allow for collaborative authorship of documents. They facilitate inclusion of other accessory objects, such as images, charts, tables, graphs, and maps. Updates and changes can be handled by editing the original document, a quest writeup for example. MMO's evolve, and to be useful, player-generated documentation must evolve too. Wiki pages also allow rollbacks to previous versions, in the event that undesirable or incorrect changes are made. Users can even compare various revisions side-by-side with the differences between them highlighted. Wiki editing uses a syntax much easier to master than HTML, very simple and intuitive even for non-technical folks. (One can also import actual HTML into a Wiki page.)

Our Implementation

On Comoro, Wiki is the centerpiece of our Tiki system software. Articles, forum and blog posts, even FAQ entries, are in the form of Wiki pages and support Wiki syntax and functionality. This allows for seamless cross-referencing amongst different types of documents. Additionally, external and Directory links to other sites are easily incorporated.

As a Comoro user, you can create a Wiki page anytime, and categorize it as you see fit, such as tagging it with the game to which it belongs. You also get a personal Wiki home page, which other users cannot edit. You can then reference your pages elsewhere on the site, simply by enclosing the name of your Wiki creation in double-parentheses, e.g. ((Captain Jack's Guide To Speccing Your Pirate)). It really is that simple!

Expectations

Realitically, we don't expect to become a leading respository of information for older, mature MMO's such as Everquest, Lineage, DAoC, Runescape — or even WoW. Though we'd be pleased if that occurred. We recognize that there are already hundreds of sites which serve the needs of those communities, and will continue to do so. But we consider that Comoro.net represents a chance to get a fresh start at player documentation for MMO's which are in the pipeline, such as Age of Conan and Warhammer Online. We plan to be there at the beginning, both as players and as service providers.

Unlike other meta-gaming sites, we're going with a premium subscription basis while keeping our site advertising-free. We're also integrating player guild hosting using the very same technologies we employ on our main site. Since it is possible to exchange pages between one Tiki and another, or to import/export RSS feeds between them, this means we have the potential to create an aggregate knowledge-base of tremendous scope and impeccable organization, which will benefit all of our subscribers and MMO players generally. That, in a nutshell, is where we see this going.

Finding Content on Comoro

To find game-related content on our site, there are three basic approaches:

1. Click on the Categories link in the Menu (at left) and drill down to the topic you want.
2. Click on the folders for Directories (lists of links), Articles, Blogs, Forums, etc., and list objects of that type.
3. Use the Search bar at the top of the page.

To contribute content, just edit or create at will! Permissions are restricted where necessary. If you want to practice Wiki editing, we suggest playing in the Sandbox (under the Wiki folder).

Enjoy your stay and have fun!