Lets talk Wiki

[Nidan Melbourne]

This is targeted to the Chief Instructors or Owners of schools that are here .

We know that there is the Wikipedia that we all can access (and modify; also be barred through your IP).

But what I want to know is how many of you have a Wiki that is private just for your club or organisation. And it contains information that is pertinent to you?

By that I mean it looks and feels like a Wikipedia page, but has just information that is relevant to you. And how many of you would recommend it?

[Spartacus Maximus]

What would be the purpose of having such a website/page?

[JR 137]

What would be the purpose of having such a website/page?

I’d imagine disseminating information to members of your organization while keeping it current and confidential. You could put syllabi, manuals, policies, etc. on it and give access to whoever you wanted to have that information. And you could edit and update it relatively easily.

I’ve never used it, nor am I a CI, Kaicho, etc., but I’d imagine that would be a great idea. What would be great too is if there’s an option to send an update alert to everyone whenever it occurs.

[sensei8]

I've never heard of that before, which is of no surprise, seeing that I'm computer/etc illiterate to the core when it comes to things like this. Interesting concept/idea, though.

[Bulltahr]

Facebook closed group would be a lot easier for users....

[DWx]

Hmm I'm just starting out with my own school but I like the idea!

Currently I have set up Facebook Page and Group but not everyone has Facebook. In addition to my main website I'm also working on a free Google Site which hosts all of my syllabus in PDF format plus club documents. All of the instructors have access as collaborators but students can just view and download.

[Bulltahr]

Google is great for cloud storage and collaboration/sharing.

If they don't have Facebook they are unlikely to understand the features of a wiki page.

I'm not sure but wiki pages are kind of 90s or early 2000s tech and a bit clunky to use. I imagine that Patrick would have excellent advice on such a topic.

[Patrick]

Thanks for the kind mention, Bulltahr. Interesting question, Liam!

As Liam probably knows, but I thought I'd mention for others, the software that powers Wikipedia is free and open source, meaning you can use what they use pretty easily. You can find it here: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki

To keep it even simpler (in some ways), you could always collaborate over Google Docs.

I think it's a good thing that you are talking about, at a high level, because I think it's helpful to have this information hosted somewhere where you have control over it. Things can happen to Facebook Groups and Pages. Not that it would, but it's always sort of risky putting all your eggs in one basket.

I think it just really depends on what is easiest to use for your and your members. By default, I'd probably push people toward (a private) WordPress installation. You can do similar things with it, and I feel like more people are familiar with it.

Hope this is helpful. If you've self-hosted a Wiki, definitely post!

Thanks,

Patrick