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The meeting to decide on the One True Wiki has happened, and Mediawiki has been chosen, pending successful implementation of the customization we need to do for Free Geek.
Looking for RT? todo.freegeek.org?
Try here. Not sure what RT is? Try RT.
Why a wiki?
A wiki is a wonderful way to collaborate on projects. It allows people to make changes quickly and easily with simple formatting characters, to put in a small piece, or a long discussion. The great thing about a wiki is that one can make a small addition without having to take responsibility for a whole project. The whole community can participate in small or large pieces.
A wiki is very fluid, and yet a history can be maintained so that none of the changes are lost. It is very similar to CVS in this respect, but easier for the non-technical person to use.
Why Mediawiki?
Mediawiki is a very full featured wiki. Many features contributed to our choice, but several stand out:
- The interface is attractive and easy to read.
- It has a well-developed system for user logins and change tracking
- It does not use WikiWords to create links
- Each article has a "talk" page so that important changes can be discussed without cluttering up the article page.
The two major downsides to Mediawiki is that it is more time-consuming to administer (so please be understanding) and that it doesn't have a built-in spellchecker.
How to use it
Please login. This will give you a username and a page of your own on which to brag, preach, lament or act mysterious. It also gives you access to a watchlist to keep track of pages you are interested in and allows you to choose how you want pages displayed.
Some pages to look at:
- Recent changes shows the most recent edits.
- Practice editing should happen on the Sandbox.
- "My watchlist" is a way of keeping track of changes on particular pages.
- Each page has a corresponding discussion page. Use this page to discuss major changes, questions, etc...
Free Geek links
These links are for introductory pages for each of the primary areas of Free Geek. Please add to this list if something is missing.
Wiki links
- Collaborative Technologies
- Tech Support
- Free Geek Startups
- Coders
- Classes
- Policy Development
- Stories
- Intern Schedule
- Volunteering
External Links
Helpful links
- How to configure your Free Geek email.
Please see documentation on customizing the interface and the User's Guide for usage and configuration help.