Cohousing-L Mailing List: Wiki (was Communications)

[Dale Grover (dgrover]

A Wiki website is a special type of website that allows "anyone" (in 
our case, anyone with the right password, which is all our members) 
to make changes easily and quickly.  In all other respects, they are 
regular web pages that you can print, view, link to, etc.

For example, if you want to add or change something on one of the web 
pages, at the bottom of each page is a link called "edit this page" 
or similar.  If you click on that link, you get a new page that 
allows you to edit the contents of the original page.  The contents 
of the original page are shown in a text box that is fully editable. 
Once done, you press "save this page" or similar, and the page is now 
updated.  The editing is done in more or less plain English (not 
HTML), though you can learn a few simple formatting rules that let 
you create tables, numbered lists, bold, italics, include pictures, 
etc.  It is also simple to create a new page.

Here's one Wiki site:  http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?WikiWikiWeb  Yes, you 
can make changes to any of the pages there (though they have a 
special sandbox page http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?WikiWikiSandbox set up 
for practicing).

Wiki's are not always simple to set up, and not all web hosting 
accounts will run the necessary software, but the requirements are 
not that unusual and most modern hosting accounts will be sufficient.

The important point is that a lot of information for communities 
wants to persist, but even when email is archived, it is not 
organized in any deep sense, and traditional web sites usually have 
just a few people allowed to make changes, which adds a lot of 
friction to the process.  Who wants to email the webmaster to add a 
recommendation for a vet to the website?  With a Wiki, anyone can 
easily add information in a quick, organized, persistent way.

We found that a quick demo at a business meeting *dramatically* 
increased its use.  It sounds complicated to use, perhaps, but once 
you set it, it's far easier than email.

--Dale


> What is the "wiki?"
>
>
> Saoirse
>
> --
> Harmony Village Cohousing
> Golden, Colorado
> http://www.harmonyvillage.org
>
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