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CIC wiki of industry terms now live; suggest changes, new definitions

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The Collision Industry Conference Definitions Committee has officially replaced a 20-year-old static glossary with a dynamic, 21st Century wiki.

A wiki is a shared document which can be edited by any user, the most famous example of which being Wikipedia. In this case, anyone in the entire collision repair ecosystem served by CIC — repairers, insurers, OEMs, suppliers and others — can submit alterations or additions to a glossary of collision-related terms under ground rules voted upon by the audience Thursday.

If you have a term you’d like to see added, “it’s your opportunity to do so,” Committee Co-Chair Chris Evans (State Farm) said. The ability of users to provide feedback was “probably the key point and takeaway,” he said Thursday, mentioning at one point that AirPro business development Senior Vice President Michael Quinn was the site’s first contributor.

“The intent of the Wiki Glossary is to be an ongoing work product for CIC, and to be used by the entire industry,” Evans said in a statement in March. “The committee will review change or addition submissions to the online form, which can come from any person. This will add value to the glossary by keeping it current with ever-changing terminology our industry uses.”

Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association Executive Director Fred Iantorno, a committee member, called the CIC Wiki a “living document.”

“Look at it from that perspective,” he said.

The Collision Industry Conference Definitions Committee has officially replaced a 20-year-old static glossary with a dynamic, 21st Century wiki. (Screenshot from CIC website www.ciclink.com)

The previous static CIC glossary dated as far back as 1997 and spanned 31 pages, according to Evans. The new version live on the CIC website was double that at 62 pages, he said — even though the committee deleted some antiquated or now commonly understood terms, such as “cursor,” according to Iantorno. (“Blinking rectangle or other graphic symbol indicating where the next keyboard input will be placed.” The 1997 computer section offers an hilarious benchmark of how far the industry and America itself has come in terms of tech-savviness.)

Evans called attention to the new automotive scanning and programming section, which the body built with the help of the CIC Emerging Technologies Committee that’d been defining such terms itself in 2017. He mentioned that CIC committee members had also presented other definitions during last week’s CIC, and “at least from my perspective, this would be a great place to put them.”

Unlike other wikis, notably Wikipedia, the proposed changes won’t take effect immediately or automatically. Subject matter experts will evaluate the proposals and update the terms accordingly under a time frame hashed out at CIC Thursday.

“There will be a vetting process” Evans said.

Submitted changes will be reviewed and rejected or approved no later than quarterly, the dozens of voters in the audience decided, which Evans said was the sentiment of his all-volunteer committee as well.

Society of Collision Repair Specialists Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg said he feared a situation where a definition alteration went live immediately and gave legitimacy to misinformation, citing an Indiana legislature hearing where an insurer lobbyist proclaimed “industry standards” an appropriate way to fix a vehicle.

However, it sounds like the submitter won’t be left sitting around wondering about the fate of their request during those three months a change might be under review. Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association Executive Director Fred Iantorno suggested users could receive feedback in the form of having their revision housed on an in-review tab until an action was ultimately taken. “Then you would see it from there,” he said.

Features draw interest, and interest draws features, according to Iantorno.

“There’s a lot of things we can do,” he said.

The CIC audience also supported the notion of having some oversight over the changes approved by the committee. The majority of the dozens who voted Thursday felt the audience should be told of the changes at the quarterly CIC meeting, but not required to approve each one, a decision that Evans said mirrored the committee’s thinking.

More information:

Collision Industry Conference Wiki/Glossary

Collision Industry Conference Definitions Committee webpage

1997 CIC definitions

Images:

Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association Executive Director Fred Iantorno discussed the Collision Industry Conference wiki on April 12, 2018. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)

The Collision Industry Conference Definitions Committee has officially replaced a 20-year-old static glossary with a dynamic, 21st Century wiki. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)

The Collision Industry Conference Definitions Committee has officially replaced a 20-year-old static glossary with a dynamic, 21st Century wiki. (Screenshot from IC website www.ciclink.com)

Collision Industry Conference Definitions Committee Co-Chair Chris Evans (State Farm), left, presented the new CIC wiki on April 12, 2018. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)

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