Problem: You need to clean up a Xiki discussion page, but you do not (yet) want to just create a summary (cf. refactor by summarising)

Solution: Condense the existent discussion.

• Rewrite individual contributions to a discussion by using a 3rd person narrative approach.
• Distill each contribution to clarify flow and intent.
• Refactor to point form to emphasize steps in an argument.
• Keep signatures in each contribution.
• This also helps when you refactor by writing for future readers.

Example: Initial chunk of a discussion: “But there's a problem if you assume systems design comes before concept design. A system can only be defined if we already have the concept of it, some kind of mental model or other, about which we can write systems-y things. How can systems design come before concept design if the concept isn't there yet? –Fil Salustri (2013.07.30 17:29)”

Refactored version: “Fil Salustri (2013.07.30 17:29):
A concept is a mental model.
A system is an implementation of (more specific than) a concept.
So concept design comes before systems design.”