Writing and tending pages
A useful Almanac page gives a future reader a clear account of a subject, with enough evidence to check the claims that matter.
A useful Almanac page gives a future reader a clear account of a subject, with enough evidence to check the claims that matter. It may begin with one observation, but it earns its place by holding understanding that can be revisited and revised. Writing it is part of caring for the person’s knowledge, not a way to archive every conversation that mentioned the subject.
The active assignment also determines coverage. Dream explicitly accounts for the user and every discovered person and organization, with project overviews for identified projects. Keep small subjects concise and uncertain identities provisional; do not use selectivity as a reason to omit that inventory.
Before creating a page, look for an existing account of the same person, organisation, place or theme. If Sam has changed roles, Sam’s article usually needs an update; a second article about “Sam’s new role” would split the story a reader needs in one place. An email announcing that change remains an original in the mail account, with a source locator that the article can cite. A meeting on the calendar remains a calendar occurrence unless its meaning, participants or consequences warrant a lasting event article. Knowledge and entities explains the kinds of subject Almanac can represent; Originals and evidence explains what an article can claim from an original.
The opening paragraph should tell a reader what the subject is and why this account matters. Develop the rest in a natural order: the relationships, decisions, changes and exceptions that make the subject intelligible. A list of extracted facts may be easy to collect but hard to use. Imagine a page about a collaboration with Meridian Labs. “Meridian is a company” says little; explaining what the user and Meridian have done together, who was involved and how that relationship changed makes the page useful when a new message arrives. Keep dates and qualifications where they alter the meaning. Attribute consequential or uncertain claims to the evidence inspected, and say when a conclusion is an inference rather than a statement made by a source.
Give the record a description that helps someone recognize it in search results. Put the richer account in its body and use structured fields for facts the kind can represent precisely. Prose links such as preferences or continuing work should lead to a related explanation at the moment a reader would benefit from it. A link to another subject helps navigation; it does not create a formal relationship or prove a factual claim. The page should remain readable even if the reader never follows a link. A short wiki overview can then point into real, developed subjects instead of being filled with empty pages built for navigation.
Tending a page starts by reading its current version and the relevant original, especially when a new observation appears to contradict an old one. If Sam leaves Meridian, preserve the supported history of working there while correcting any claim that Sam works there now. Revise the affected prose and fields together, keep unrelated entries in collections, and leave the person’s own notes alone. Almanac checks the record’s revision during an edit; when it has changed, reread and reconsider rather than replaying an old replacement. After a consequential change, read back the page so the saved account—not merely the intended edit—is what you report. Editing saved knowledge gives the exact commands and schema checks.
A page is never finished merely because it has a title or a citation. Its value is whether the next reader can understand the subject, follow the evidence and tell what still may change. Why Almanac has a wiki places that continuing care in the broader purpose of Almanac’s maintained understanding.