Use of this wiki
Regarding the use of this and other wikis:
There are now several separate wikis in use for various games, rule sets, and other content. Some content is mixed, while other content is separated. A new approach should be used, which either definitively separates or definitely unites the content.
The Separate Wiki Approach
Separating the content would entail a separate wiki for each rule set (MySRD, NARR, etc), one for each game, and one for each campaign setting. The primary advantage of this approach is that the linkage is simple. As opposed to having to name an article, for example, "Whirlwind Attack (MySRD Feat)" or "Classes (Loretan campaign setting)" or "Races (Loretan game)", one can name articles simply, knowing that the meta-information is assumed by the wiki in which the article resides. Also, for future use, the wikis remain specific to a single topic, as opposed to having some content that is reusable (i.e. rules and campaign setting information) mixed with content that is not readily reusable (such as game-specific house rules and characters).
One major disadvantage of this approach is the difficulty of migrating content. It is time-prohibitive to transfer large numbers of articles, such as the SRD content. Extensions and/or third-party tools to facilitate such migration are scarce. Other disadvantages include inconsistency between user interface elements, installation and configuration of wiki extensions (such as those that make the embedded HTML tables used in class charts possible), and the specific wikitext (and therefore functionality) of commonly-used templates.
A possible mitigating factor would be to use this site as a meta-wiki, providing linkage to other wiki sites. This may require some maintenance, and/or modification of the wiki engine. It would provide a more consistent user interface, and could serve as a storage place for templates and other common content.
The Combined Wiki Approach
Combining the content into one wiki makes all content easier to search, modify, and archive. The user interface remains consistent, and templates always have the same functionality.
A major disadvantage is the necessity of renaming large numbers of articles to conform to a new standard, which itself must be devised. For instance, any rule element must have some indicator of which rule set it is a part. An example might be renaming the article Whirlwind Attack (Feat) to MySRD:Whirlwind Attack (Feat). The wiki engine supports unlimited arbitrary namespaces such as MySRD:, SRD:, and NARR:. As an added bonus, the SRD: namespace can be set up to automatically link to the D&D Wiki or some local copy thereof.
Other Points to Ponder
In any case, there must be some amount of mass migration, renaming, and modifying of articles. This is needed, in any event. Also, for things such as campaign setting information and rule sets, better indexing is needed. Manual indexing is fine, when it is complete, but an automated solution is preferred. Third-party extensions thus far experimented with have proved unsatisfactory. Perhaps a custom-coded solution will be best.
There is even the possibility of replacing the wiki system with a custom Content Management System, one that stores the full HTML content of all articles, in addition to the historical content (for rollback and informative purposes). This would be similar to MediaWiki, but designed more to suit the needs of our particular site(s). In particular, it would be much more friendly to a rich UI experience (aka HTML formatting worth a damn). This would entail a large time commitment up front, but it remains a possibility.