View source for Wiki Introduction

Also availabe in ((/Doc/Deutsch/EinfuehrungInWiki Deutsch)) 
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Everything you need to get started
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%%(wacko wrapper=box wrapper_type="quote" wrapper_title="Ward Cunninghams Eureka" wrapper_width=300)Steve -- I've put up a new database on my web server and I'd like you to take a look.  It's a web of people, projects and patterns accessed through a cgi-bin script.  It has a forms based **authoring capability that doesn't require familiarity with html**.  I'd be very pleased if you would get on and at least enter your name in RecentVisitors. I'm asking you because I think you might also add some interesting content.  I'm going to advertise this a little more widely in a week or so.  The URL is PPR:FrontPage .  Thanks and best regards. -- Ward%%
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===Wiki Origin==

"Wiki" (engl.: quick) is part of the Hawaian word wiki-wiki, which means  "very quick". The naming was inspired by ((../English/WikiWikiBus Wiki-Wiki Busses)), that connect the Terminals at Honolulu International Airport (HNL), Hawaii. 

The very first wiki originates from the developer [[../Deutsch/WardCunningham Ward Cunningham]], who rather incidentely designed  this technique around 1995 as a small practical tool for quick and straightforward collaboration in software development. 

Stopp. This was not a single person invention. ((!/WikiHistory Read)) the whole story.

=== Wiki What? ===%%(wacko wrapper=box wrapper_type="quote" wrapper_width=370)«Inventing the World Wide Web involved my growing realization that there was a power in arranging ideas in an unconstrained, weblike way.» ++- Tim Berners-Lee, Weaving the Web++%%
  * Structure, which is defined in a completely free manner by users
  * A "view" of this structure from any perspective
  * A broad range of capabilities for formatting text that does not reqire a knowledge of HTML

A wiki is a site that can be built on the fly. By default, all users have the right to do anything. Each can creat new pages and edit existing pages. The database can provide information on what has changed on a particular page in the recent past, who changed what on the page, and previous versions can be restored, if necessary.

{{include page="../English/WikiPhilosophy" nomark=2}}

=== Is there something like the best Wiki-Software?==
Hm. Some developers try to create all-in-one devices suitable for every purpose. A tool which does everything and satisfies every users needs presumably is infeasible. We favor tools that do little, but do it as well as possible. Every wiki-software has pros and cons. There are many other wikis that can be ((http://www.wikimatrix.org compared)) with WackoWiki.

=== Why a forum may be inconvenient? ===
%%(wacko wrapper=box wrapper_type="quote" wrapper_width=400) "Contrary to their reputation, Wikis are content management systems that can be managed. They simply take a different approach to content management by choosing to emphasize speed and flexibility rather than strict controls. In order to successfully implement a wiki software package you will need to look at workflow from a different perspective and be sure to select wiki software that provides the right level of content monitoring and access control for your organization." -- ((/Doc/English/Articles/WhatMakesAnEnterpriseWiki What makes an enterprise wiki?))%%

If you need a site for ongoing discussions of something or to interact with someone, then the first thing that may come to mind is a forum. However, forums quickly become inconvenient, because of the following:

  * Forums have a clear, previously defined structure -- for example, "rooms" -- some of which contain threads, while others contain messages..
  * Forum messages are arranged in chronological order. Practically speaking, this isn't very useful if you're trying to do something more than just interact with someone, i.e., get something accomplished in a collaborative way.
  * The capability to format text is extremely limited, if not absent altogether.

Forum messages can't potentially be published for more than just these three reasons. Messages do not have permanent URLs (addresses). In addition, the moderator has power over everyone; in practice, nobody has their own "personal corner." 

====more details==
((WikiConcept WikiConcept))
((WikiNature))


===Further reading==
  * [[/Doc/English/Articles/WhatIsAWiki What Is a Wiki (and How to Use One for Your Projects)]]
  * ((/Doc/English/Articles/WhatMakesAnEnterpriseWiki What makes an enterprise wiki?))
  * ((/Doc/English/Articles/EmbraceTheWikiWay Embrace the Wiki Way!))

You can learn more about this and many other subjects in general at ((../Русский WackoДокументация [in Russian])) and in particular at the  ((../Русский/Паттерны pattern descriptions [in Russian])).


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((../English back to overview))