Wikis are so thunderously cool. The potential for anyone to go ahead and edit a document on the web is outstanding, witness the joy that is Wikipedia. However there is a problem with wikis: no-one wants to edit and update a wiki page.

I don't know why this is. I have been thinking about it and the 2 problems that I see are:

1. Editing wikipages is hard. While wikis try to stay as plain-text-as-possible, usually they turn into a soup of specialized characters with specialized meanings. The first piece of wiki software that has a good WYSIWYG editor, that is especially for wiki content will soon gain wide adoption.
2. Wikis are hard to edit, because the user isn't encouraged to edit the wikipage. Usually they have to click on the edit link (if they can see it) and then read through a warning about how they should play well with others, and a list of about 50 documents to read just to fit in.
3. and finally wikis are hard to edit because the potential editor feels that they might make a mistake, or their contributions will get stomped over.

The first 2 problems can be solved with technology. Wikis need to be easier to edit. Personally I would welcome a move to an XML wiki syntax (maybe some kind of combined subset of XHTML and Docbook) with a WYSIWYG editor.

The third problem is a little harder. The HomeStarRunner Wiki is a good place to go to get ideas on making your wiki friendlier for community fostering. This might also be solved via technology, by making a clearer division between the community of a wiki, and the content of a wiki, with threaded discussions, standard profiles, and perhaps even messaging. (I am not sold on site-wide messaging myself).

Ultimately I would like to see a REST wiki with all of these features. This means some PHP coding with meditation, and some Javascript. But where the hell am I going to find time for this? (Maybe I'll do 15 mins of coding on it a day?)

here is a great quote from Robin Whittle, creator of the Devil Fish modification for the TB-303. Don't worry if you can't understand the electronics technobabble, there are some real gems in here.

The Devil Fish does not have an external oscillator, but it does have an external input. The Devil Fish principle is for a single chain of processes (not two oscillators in parallel) to be doing things which range from "electronic naturalesque" to "mechanical overdrive" - through the use of unusual circuitry, high signal levels, and in one case, a filter FM feedback system which can elegantly approach chaos. Those who recognise that complex things like a love life can benefit from wise or reckless overloading of certain elements (for instance a hard spanking) are well on their way to understanding the Devil Fish. In this case the filter is driven well beyond normal limits. Like an ultimately appreciative spankee, its noises and gyrations provide depth, complexity and emotional heat which is exciting and highly satisfying for all concerned. (As when any gentleman heats up a derriere, there is no permanent damage.) Boosting the oscillator level to 20 times normal was good, but there was a promise of even greater excitement at even higher levels. I decided this called for the clothesbrush treatment and whilst examining various combinations of standard resistor values, decided that the pair which gave 66.6 times the normal level was the most auspicious. (Gentlemen, if you think that all that women want is what they say they want, then you need to read some romantic spanking fiction written by women, for women. An excellent source is "Sassy Ladies Magazine" - PO Box 4516 Lexington, KY 40544 USA US$12 for a sample issue. From their advert - "Independent, feisty women find they still need strong, caring men.")

Right then.

Time to start modding.

I'm actually in the process of looking at the Devil Fish modifications, and seeing how I could implement my own, and even looking into other mod ideas. All this is on my x0xd0x wiki, specifically the mods section.

So I've ranted and ranted about wikis. But My friend Jen asked a very important question:

Why?

Why a wiki? Why indeed. Really, I had no answer for her beyond the stock geek answer of "They're fucking new and hip and funky and great!" (Okay, they aren't that new, but they are hip and funky and great). So here is my attempt at a better answer.

What is a wiki?

First, here is a quick background on what a wiki is. It is simply a collection of webpages that anyone can edit using plain text. No need to learn crazy programming languages, just start typing, and away you go! Most wikis have ways to format your text, to make it bold, italic, headlines or whatnot. Generally this syntax is easy to learn, and is something that people generally do with plain text communication anyway. (For instance, underlined text is usually written as __underlined__ or bold text as *bold*.)

The real power of a wiki is the hyperlinking of other wiki documents. These are called "WikiLinks". The original wiki (C2, or Wiki Wiki Web) used a system where WordsThatWereCapitolizedAndHadNoSpaces were considered the name of a page. This is a Smalltalk/Java programmer convention, where you can't use spaces in the name of your software components, so everything is written in "Studly Caps" or "Camel Case" (because your text looks like it has all kinds of humps. This explanation might also be valid for "Studly Caps").

The real power in this system is its simplicity. Say you are writing about the game "Animal Crossing", and you are talking about all the places in town. Any time you felt that a topic could be expanded upon, you would remove the spaces when referring to it, and it balloons out from there. For instance, you might write this on your WikiPage:

Each town in Animal Crossing has a PoliceStation, FarawayMuseum, TomNooksStore, TownDump, WishingWell, PostOffice and TrainStation. There are also a selection of trees and rocks. The sea is to the south... (etc.)

The wiki software notices each word in CamelCase and converts it to a wiki link. This system is also set up so that Happy Accidents can happen. Say when you were writing the above WikiPage, you didn't realize that someone else had already created a page called "FarawayMuseum". This page would automagically be linked up!

Wikis also have something called "Backlinks". When you click on a page title (generally) it will display a list of all pages that link to a particular WikiPage. Someone figured out that they could add wikilinks to the bottom of each page with a special title, and categorize the pages on the wiki. In our Animal Crossing example, we might add "CategoryPlace" at the bottom of the PoliceStation, PostOffice, TownDump pages. When we visit the CategoryPlace page, and check its backlinks, we will have a list of all the (categorized) places! It doesn't stop at categorization either. There is something called a WikiTag or WikiBadge, which is used the same way. Someone might ask a question on a wiki, and add a link called "AnswerMe". Someone might notice that something needed fixing on a wiki, but doesn't know how to do it, in which case, they might add a link called "FixMe". Then people could visit each of the backlinks of the AnswerMe page, so see which questions need to be answered.

What can they be used for?

Usually, wikis are used to solve a problem, such as the problem of programming (See Wiki Wiki Web, the original Wiki) or social software and online communication (Meatball Wiki).

They can also be used as peer-reviewed repositories of knowledge, such as the Community Scheme Wiki for Scheme programmers, or the exellent HomeStarRunner Wiki which is one of the largest, most exaustive exploration of Home Star Runner ... EVAR. And of course, I cannot forget to mention Wikipedia the collaborative encyclopedia, which has spun into all kinds of wiki-based knowledge collaboration projects.

A wiki can also make an excellent system for a business to store, retrieve and share documents about the business process, client information, etc. This is especially good for IT departments where a wiki can store programming documentation, network layouts and host information, etc. They work really well for open source software projects, where the programmers are potentailly spread out across the world, but it provides a central repository for information.

But it doesn't have to be limited to information. There is no reason why someone couldn't start a wiki based around Choose Your Own Adventure. One could start the story off at the main wiki page, and create a WikiPage for each choice. Similarly, one could use a wiki as a medium for a Role Playing Game. This would give you more freedom then a MUD/MUSH/MOO, but it would require the same consensus of the rules as a Pen and Paper RPG. (This would be better suited to a game like Amber Diceless RPG, rather then say Advanced Dungeons and Dragons).

Wikis also make good mind maps. If you want to link a concept in to your mind map, just make it a WikiLink. A wiki could be protected, and set up as a family tree system, so that members of a large family can enter in their family details as things change.

The People to Wiki Connection

One of the coolest things about Wikis is how they simultaneously centralize and decentralize information. Take the Homestar Runner wiki for example. There are a bunch of Strongbad/H*R fan sites out there, some of them with good information, some not. Now, you could go and build another fan site out there with different, and possibly better information, but all of this information is spread across various different interweb sites. If information needs to be fixed, updated or changed, it is up to each individual webmaster to change that information. How many websites out there are "Last modified 2001-19-08"? Wikis centralize this information, there is one access point to store and modify the information, but it is also decentralized, because a wiki makes us all webmasters. Anyone can fix or change the information as they see fit. Yes, there are some problems with this level of decentralization, but not as many as you might expect. If you are interested, check out WhyWikiWorks. This is what makes the H*R wiki so good. H*R has a rabid fan base, and it shows in the quality of their wiki. None of these people individually could make a fan site that was as detailed, but collectively they have created a thing of beauty.

The hardest thing about making a wiki go is generating enough interest. People initially seem to have a hard time with the idea of a webpage that they can modify. If you really wanted to run a public wiki, you need to spend at least a few months of being the only content writer in what seems to be a ghost town. You got to love the wiki for its own sake. After awhile, with some promotion, love and care, you will start to develop a community around your wiki, and it will (hopefully) grow and blossom before your eyes. SeedPosting on Meatball wiki is essential reading. Meatball wiki is essential reading anyway.

Oops. In my last post, I forgot to provide a link to the DokuWiki homepage where you can download the thing. So there you go.

If you want to play around with a dokuwiki, I have set one up here. Feel free to go ahead and create pages and generally play around. If you want to create your own subwiki, do it! I'm interested to see where this ends up. So go have fun. Make a photography wiki, make an event planning wiki. Make an animal crossing wiki. Whateva. Go nuts, lets see where it goes.

I'm Wiki Crazy. Everyone knows that.

For those that don't know what a wiki is (which rock have you been living under) Wikipedia will explain all.

So now, it is time to review some wiki software: DokuWiki. I've installed some wikis in my time. Some of them were okay, some of them were good, and lots of them were CRAP. Until I met DokuWiki, MediaWiki (the software that runs Wikipedia) was my all time favourite.

Was.

DokuWiki however is overtaking MediaWiki. DokuWiki is like MediaWikis faster cuter cousin. Installation isn't too difficult at all. About the hardest thing you need to do is make a few directories webserver writable.

The reason why a wiki does its thing so well is that it takes simple text, and transforms it into HTML, which, if you don't know, is the stuff that makes the web go.

Basically it lets you turn something like this:

== A big Title
This is some normal, **bold**, //italic// text

into this:

A big Title

This is some normal, bold, italic text

This conversion from somewhat normal text into the cryptic goblety-gook of HTML is what makes a wiki so good. This somewhat-normal-text is called "Wiki Markup" Hell, I know HTML like the back of me hand, but I still prefer using good Wiki Markup instead. DokuWiki has absolutely excellent wiki markup. It is simple enough to use, but is remarkably effective.

DokuWiki also has a good selection of plugins to extend what kind of syntax you can have in your wiki. This goes from the simple (plugins for displaying the date according to the users region) to the massively complex (a blog plugin, so that you can use your wiki like a blog). Programmers can easily write their own plugins, and the plugin API is pretty well designed.

There is also the option of adding different media types to DokuWiki, such as images, PDFs, and pretty much anything else you could imagine. This setup doesn't seem as powerful as MediaWiki's handling of ... well... media, but it is easy to use and elegant.

And unlike lots of other PHP projects, the directory structure is laid out properly. For most people this really isn't an issue, but as a programmer I respect the level of organization and detail. Another big plus is that it uses the PHP native templating engine. Which is to say, the writers of the software use PHP the way it is designed to be used, instead of writing (or using) massively complex parsing engines to display some HTML.

The code quality of DokuWiki is good. The code is done up so that there is no newline between braces, which I find annoying, but that is just a question of style. The code itself is well commented, both for each function and inline. I think that the variable names and function names could be a little clearer, and a little more modular, but the programmer at least knows what refactoring is.

So the verdict is... if you need a wiki installed, DokuWiki is the one.

Update: I linked up Dokuwiki. Duh. I also added my own wiki at wiki.jonnay.net.

The Wiki Cities Calgary Wiki. University of Calgary Wiki.

"Every man and his dog has a blog, but wiki is the way of the future."

Update: Shell has started to post some of her pictures to the WikiCities Calgary Wiki. Kick ass!

The quizlet meme has gone on far enough. But this is really hits the spot.