Signal Integrity

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I get several emails a month from people asking “Is there an IBIS model for XYZ part”. I usually refer them to Teraspeed’s IBIS page and IBIS Models page.

If the info is out-of-date (as is often the case), I ask them to do site-specific Google search. Using Altera as an example, http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=IBIS+site:altera.com.

But I’m wondering if there’s a better way than “spray and pray” Googling or burdening a single librarian with hundreds of update requests.

Sooo…How about crowdsourcing?

“Crowd-what-ing,” you say?

‘Crowdsourcing is a neologistic compound of Crowd and Outsourcing for the act of taking tasks traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing them to a group of people or community, through an “open call” to a large group of people (a crowd) asking for contributions.’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdsourcing.

Specifically, I’m wondering if we should create a table off of the IBIS page on wikipedia (or some other wiki) for IC vendors to update their info themselves. It would look something like this prototype I cobbled together.

Please vote in the informal straw poll above and/or leave a comment below.

Post updated April 5, 2010

Thanks to everyone for the feedback and encouragement

There are several options each with pros and cons:

• Web page (or blog) with an appointed honorary librarian
• Wikis e.g. hosted and self-hosted (list of wiki softwares)
• Discussion forums (bulletin boards) e.g. hosted and self-hosted (list of forum softwares)
• Email reflectors like the si-list at http://freelists.org
• Shared document/table like a Google Docs spreadsheet.
• Hybrids of the above like Google Wave which they say is a “next generation” email/collaboration/documentation tool

Here are some issues with each:

• Ease-of-use versus functionality: email is easy to use, but email reflectors and forums have limited searchablity and it’s hard to aggregate threads of (possibility duplicated) conversations.
• WYSIWYG versus markup languages: some wikis and forums require you learn a mark up language.
• “One truth” (conclusion) versus “Let a hundred flowers blossom” (conversation) (yes, I do understand the irony of Mao Zedong’s imperative):
• Wikis attempt to arrive at some sort of consensus between the editors on the readers’ behalf (although there’s usually a discussion page for editors behind the “real” page for readers) whereas
• Discussion Forums let everyone voice their own opinion and each reader has to plow through the threads to draw their own conclusion from the (possibly heated) conversation.
• Reputation: How do you hold a contributor accountable for their contribution? How exclude spam in?
• Privacy: How much info to do I have to submit to sign up? As a reader? As a writer? How to prevent harvesting of personal info by nefarious agents?
• History/reversion: How do we track and undo “bad” edits? How to delete “bad” postings?
• Who pays? There are plenty of “free” hosting sites, usually ad-funded. Do we want an ad free site by paying to self-hosting fee? If so, how do we split the check?
• Structured versus unstructured: Do you want a rigorous database schema (specific column headings/fields for each row/record in (possibly interlinked) tables)? Or more free form? If structured, how to come to a consensus schema?
• Who runs the thing? What are the costs and benefits for the admin?

Below I’ve added a second poll to so you can vote for your favorite:

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