Wikis, a Quick First Look

It is rather timely that we are examining wikis this week, as we are in the midst of depending on their functionality to host our discussions.

To get oriented, I went to the most obvious source, Wikipedia itself. The site contains a very engaging introduction to the wiki.

Ward Cunningham developed the first wiki and implemented it in 1995. In some ways, the wiki has maintained its simplicity over the years. It typically runs as a server application that allows multiple users to create, edit and link pages together. Many companies run wikis behind their firewall as a collaborative tool.

Personal wiki software also exists. One example is VooDoo Pad, which makes a set of linked pages incredibly easy to create.

The Wikipedia article really captures the spirit of wiki openness. A wiki is designed to make it easy to correct mistakes. It is not concerned with making it impossible to make mistakes. As a teacher, I find this approach rather intriguing.

One of the biggest issues of a wiki is the checking the validity of edits to a page. Several features can assist with this. A recent changes page lists recent edits and may be set to ignore minor edits. A revision history can reconstruct previous page content and allow an editor to restore a page to some previous version. Many wikis have a difference function, which highlights only the differences in page versions.

Another aspect of managing page content is user security. This security is often surprisingly soft. A wiki may allow unregistered users to make edits. If registering is required, it may be a simple and quick process. I became a Wikipedia registrant in a few minutes. A wiki may place a waiting period on a user before editing is allowed or require them to prove their trustworthiness as their edits are monitored.

As a contrast in open verses closed wiki systems, the article directs the reader to compare Wikipedia’s (open) approach to that of Citizendium (more restrictive and closed). The Citizendium site promotes itself on placing credibility and quality over quantity. The site is searchable and also offers the structure of a directory.

Well, as a new member of Wikipedia, I am off to their sandbox to experiment with some editing. It has been set up as a safe place to learn how things work and avoid doing any real damage.

posted by John Lobe @ 8:37 AM