3 ms·

Is this really a "wiki" or is it an online document editor? It's easy to create the basics of a "wiki," and while reliably importing documents into a wiki isn't

Is this really a "wiki" or is it an online document editor? It's easy to create the basics of a "wiki," and while reliably importing documents into a wiki isn't easy, it's just a starting point. The important features of a Wikipedia (Mediawiki) are an emphasis on links within the site, the ability to view changes across the site, changes on one page, and to see how a page was composed in clean markup, the clean markup also preventing behind the scenes jumbly messes of "structure." Missing any of these points loses a vital aspect of wikis. The category structure and templates are also important features, supporting what in Wikipedia's case is a strong support community that can go well beyond what a formulated menu structure can offer. (Mediawiki has emphatically refused to implement any kind of fine grained access model, this is one area other wikis have advantages.) But now people expect more, they don't want to be forced to use markup and they want to simultaneously edit documents in a rich editor, in a social setting where its easy to find and connect with other contributors. This is the current focus of Wikipedia and while other efforts have their own strengths, not connecting finely to Wikipedia's developments is, to me anyway, missing the greatest element of development.

HarveyKandola 12y ago
It's online document editing with approvals, diffs, etc. The funny thing is regular business users think of it as a wiki. Me and you know different! Think of the business folks at Wells Fargo or any other larger enterprise. They will upload 100's if if not 1000's of documents. Now they can link between documents or just work on each document as they do. Wiki is a word we think doesn't fit -- but we keep running into it. The joy of start-ups: too much uncertainty!
- HarveyKandola 12y ago
  To be clear -- it's WYSIWYG editing (TinyMCE editor to be specific)
- davidy123 12y ago
  Thanks for the clarification. I wonder if the word "wiki" might not work against you though. In my experience people's idea of a wiki is fixed on something from a decade ago. They often react with outright revulsion to the word (though granted most terms in our field such as "portal" and "CMS" have also been abused). But there have been so many examples of "wikis" that turn into woolly messes or are too technical for 'ordinary' uses to want to commit to so fail in their goal of being open for anyone. Without the traction of a Wikipedia style site I would think you might be better off using another word.
  - HarveyKandola 12y ago
    Agreed. Just looking for that word!

HarveyKandola 12y ago

It's online document editing with approvals, diffs, etc. The funny thing is regular business users think of it as a wiki. Me and you know different! Think of the business folks at Wells Fargo or any other larger enterprise. They will upload 100's if if not 1000's of documents. Now they can link between documents or just work on each document as they do. Wiki is a word we think doesn't fit -- but we keep running into it. The joy of start-ups: too much uncertainty!

HarveyKandola 12y ago
To be clear -- it's WYSIWYG editing (TinyMCE editor to be specific)
davidy123 12y ago
Thanks for the clarification. I wonder if the word "wiki" might not work against you though. In my experience people's idea of a wiki is fixed on something from a decade ago. They often react with outright revulsion to the word (though granted most terms in our field such as "portal" and "CMS" have also been abused). But there have been so many examples of "wikis" that turn into woolly messes or are too technical for 'ordinary' uses to want to commit to so fail in their goal of being open for anyone. Without the traction of a Wikipedia style site I would think you might be better off using another word.
- HarveyKandola 12y ago
  Agreed. Just looking for that word!