Wiki Technologies

There are a wealth of wiki engines available that run the gamut in terms of level of customizability, functionality, security features, and cost. Wikis can essentially be broken down into two categories: locally installed (you download the software and host the site on a web server) and wikis that are developer hosted (no downloading required and hosted by the software service provider). The term Wiki Farm is often used to describe hosted solutions. The differentiation is much like the trends we have already seen with blogs – much like the difference between Blogger (Developer hosted) and Moveable Type (Locally Installed). Which option you choose will depend largely on your goals, technical resources, and comfort with wiki technology.

Locally Installed Wikis:

Some things to consider when choosing a locally installed wiki:

• Ease of installation
• Ability to customize skins/templates available
• Programming language with which it’s developed (PHP, Perl, etc)
• Data storage system it uses (Database, file system, revision control system)
• Availability of documentation and ongoing development support
• WYSIWYG versus mark up language editing
• Cost (there’s plenty of open source wiki software out there, but some that you may pay for (commercial software) such as Confluence)

Examples:

MediaWiki is one of the most popular wiki engines used today. The most well known example of a MediaWiki wiki is Wikipedia. A good number of libraries are also using MediaWiki including St. Joseph’s County Public Library and the Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki. MediaWiki is that it is open source (free!), has a variety of “skins” or templates to choose from in order to customize your wiki’s look, is relatively easy for users to add content, and touts itself as being easy to install and develop.

PmWiki is also free to download. PmWiki offers templates to choose from or can be customized, and also has some significant security access features to work with. PmWiki also offers some interesting features like RSS, multi-media tools, and the ability to categorize pages. The University of Minnesota Staff Home Page was developed using PmWiki.

Hosted Wikis:

Without installation and development as major concerns, some things to consider when choosing a hosted wiki:

• Cost – not all are free, cost often varies depending on the service package chosen
• Customizability – applying templates or creating a custom skin
• Access control / security features
• WYSIWYG versus mark up language editing
• Amount of space allotted to your wiki (e.g. 10 GB)
• Domain mapping (can you create a wiki using own domain name or use the wiki farm’s domain name (e.g. ourwiki.com versus ourwiki.pbwiki.com where pbwiki is the wiki farm)

Examples:

pbwiki claims to be “the world’s largest consumer wiki farm”. pbwiki prides itself on being quick and easy to use, and has some advanced features like RSS. We actually set up a wiki using pbwiki lis757wikimania and we invite you to use it (Password is lis757). Go ahead – create pages, add content, make comments! Enjoy!

Seedwiki is another popular hosted wiki. The level of service you choose determines price – free to $49.95 a month depending what level of security, hosting and customization required. SeedWiki offers some limited security features, and uses “widgets” for feature upgrades. Documentation is spare. Butler WikiRef, the Butler University Libraries' Reference Wiki uses Seedwiki.

Theses examples are just a proverbial drop in the bucket - there are dozens of wiki platforms out there to choose from. Luckily there are sources to help you choose:

Wiki Matrix - an excellent source for comparing wikis

Notes, links and conversation: Free hosted wikis: comparison of wiki farms

Comparison of Wiki Farms - a fairly comprehensive overview and comparison of wiki farms

Which Open Source Wiki Works For You? Shlomi Fish

Sources not cited above:

Wikis in Libraries: Sites, Resources and Links Darlene Fichter