TikiWiki

A word or two about Wikis: A Wiki enables users to create and edit a virtually unlimited number of content pages, even if they don't know any HTML. On the surface, the Wiki feature can be thought of as an exceptionally easy-to-use tool for adding content to a TikiWiki-powered Web site — but this view understates this feature's significance. Wikis are perhaps the most useful tool yet created for online teamwork and collaboration.

To grasp the nature and utility of TikiWiki's Wiki feature, you'll need to understand the simple (but important) design philosophy that underlies all Wiki software (see "Understanding Wikis," below). Then take a look at "Feature Overview," also below, for a birds-eye scan of the many capabilities of TikiWiki's implementation of the underlying Wiki concept.

Understanding Wikis: In brief, a Wiki is a computer-based collaboration system based on three major principles:

Few would debate that online collaborative tools should be easier to use, but the second of these two principles — "Wide-Open Read/Write Access" — sounds risky to most people. But don't get scared off just yet. In Tiki-Wiki (as in most other leading wiki packages), you don't have to throw open your Wiki pages to the whole, wild Internet. You can:

Use Permissions: Restrict Wiki page-editing rights to registered users, or to more narrowly defined user groups, or to forbid page editing entirely, if you wish. At British Car Forum, I have chosen to limit editing permissions to only BCF members who are also registered on the Wiki site. I can also lock individual pages so that only myself (the site admin) or the page author can alter content. Of course I'll use this sparingly since locking pages from collaborative editing defeats the whole purpose of the Wiki.

Monitor Important Pages: You can monitor a page, which means that you're notified (via e-mail) whenever a change is made.

Restore from Page Histories: If someone messes up a page, not to worry. TikiWiki (again, like most Wiki packages) keeps a detailed history of all the changes made to a given page. Previous versions can be quickly restored — typically, in less than one minute — without having to fuss with backup tapes.

Throughout the world, leading corporations and universities are quietly using Wiki software to facilitate team-based, collaborative writing — and they're reporting success after success. So why not at British Car Forum? To be sure, authors need to know what they're getting into; after all, someone might come along and make changes to the "brilliant page" they just posted. (Of course, the original author can go back in an remove the changes, but it would be much better to revise the page to show that there are differing points of view!) To avoid ego-related squabbles, TikiWiki administrators need to explain the Wiki philosophy to team members (and provide plenty of tools that enable users to work through conflicts regarding page content).

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