FreekiWiki:About
Welcome to FreekiWiki, the Free Geek communal documentation that anyone can edit. The content of FreekiWiki is free, written collaboratively by Free Geek volunteers. This website is a wiki, which means that anyone with access to an Internet-connected computer can edit entries simply by clicking on the edit this page link. On FreekiWiki you are welcome to edit articles yourself, contributing knowledge as you see fit in a collaborative way.
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.
FreekiWiki history
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.