native wiki

[dvsDave]

The biggest blank spot in both VB and IPB is their lack of a native wiki product.

I want a wiki product with multiple namespaces and autolinking of terms from the the forums to the wiki entry. I also want to be able to see a list of terms in the wiki displayed like the memberlist on vb. (characters listed in a row across the top)

You provide that and an import from vbulletin and I'll move in a heartbeat.

 

[Floris]

Just generally talking about Wiki, they can be very powerful.

Collaborative authorship of content is very important. Wiki gives you the ability to write pages, FAQs, etc. all with full revision history and commenting.

As for which solution is best, again I don't expect XenForo to spend 2 years trying to copy MediaWiki.

Integrate > Duplicate

You said it perfect right there, Collaborative authorship of content ..

That's what we need with our mods, in order to make board and staff and other documentation, that we share private/public.

The node > page > should be at least be able to be editable by the team members, if the permission is set to allow so. This would allow the owner of the board to have a policy page nobody can edit, but an account page for members that has info about how we handle accounts, .. that can be edited.

A full fledged wiki might be a nice "second" product by xenforo limited, but a collaborative editing of certain content on xenforo the forum software, would be a nice start.

I would totally pay for a stand alone wiki product by mike/kier by the way. It's ridiculous how bad mediawiki and other free or paid (the affordable ones at least) solutions are.

 

[Jaxel]

I don't think a Wiki is needed... However, a CMS/blog with a TEMPLATE SYSTEM (like in wikis) would be more than enough to fill most needs.

 

[AndyB]

The latest developments over at vBulletin have shown what a nightmare it is if a company tries to provide a can-do-it-all solution for forum owners. Once many people cried for a CMS solution to be implemented in vB, rather than just using another solution like WP or Drupal. Now a majority of users would be just happy if the forum software got fixed and improved and to forget about the abysmal CMS component of vB4. I maintain my position: Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Stick to what you can do best. Make it as flexible as possible to allow for easy integration of other products.

This is an extremely important point. I hope Kier and Mike don't make the same mistake.

 

[dutchbb]

I don't see the need for this. MediaWiki is very good and there will be an integration for it at some point. CMS would be priority, if they're going to take on the next big thing after the forum product.

 

[Digital Doctor]

I don't see the need for this ... MediaWik

Mediawiki is a terrible wiki for almost every forum owner at this site.
It is just too cumbersome for the vast majority of users.
Unfortunately the world has not yet seen a good wiki / forum combination.

 

[Shamil]

I don't see the need for this. MediaWiki is very good and there will be an integration for it at some point. CMS would be priority, if they're going to take on the next big thing after the forum product.

MediaWiki can be a CMS.

 

[dutchbb]

Mediawiki is a terrible wiki for almost every forum owner at this site.
It is just too cumbersome for the vast majority of users.
Unfortunately the world has not yet seen a good wiki / forum combination.

It works perfect with vB for me once you learned how to integrate and use it, no problems at all.

MediaWiki can be a CMS.

Nah, not a good CMS for me.

 

[Alpha1]

It works perfect with vB for me once you learned how to integrate and use it, no problems at all.

Mediawiki code is horrible for the end users. I've been using mediawiki when vbWiki was out. Few of my members participated in that. Most members were very confused by mediawiki code. After that I switched to NuWiki, which caused a good majority of my members to participate in wiki writing. Mediawiki code is just too (end) user unfriendly.

 

[dutchbb]

Mediawiki code is horrible for the end users. I've been using mediawiki when vbWiki was out. Few of my members participated in that. Most members were very confused by mediawiki code. After that I switched to NuWiki, which caused a good majority of my members to participate in wiki writing. Mediawiki code is just too (end) user unfriendly.

Ok I agree with that. I'm pretty much the only one writing in our Wiki, and that's for a big site.

 

[Alpha1]

I think there is a pretty big chance that a lot of your users will jump in, right after you add a native wiki which can be edited with the forum editor they are used to.

 

[Digital Doctor]

I'm pretty much the only one writing in our Wiki

Well, if you are the only one creating the content ...

Collaborative authorship of content is very important. Wiki gives you the ability to write pages, FAQs, etc. all with full revision history and commenting.

then almost any software will do. Wiki are meant to be Collaborative.

Forums are back and forth discussion.
Wikis are a collection of collaborative documents.

 

[dvsDave]

VaultWiki.org has already committed to porting their product to XenForo.

 

[feldon30]

I have also heard quite a few negative comments about MediaWiki, as far as the coding, and also beating your head against the wall to get it to do things that you expect it to do. They probably need to either fork that project, or start a project cleaning up the core code.

 

[dutchbb]

Well, if you are the only one creating the content ...



then almost any software will do. Wiki are meant to be Collaborative.

Forums are back and forth discussion.
Wikis are a collection of collaborative documents.

I use it more as a CMS now, because it failed as a wiki... Looking to replace it with a real CMS when XF has one available.

 

[wtgw]

Could you have a special user class called wiki where the post edit history is saved or the edits are moderated? When a thread contains especially useful info you could add a first or second post as a native inline wiki.

My wishlist includes a different post background or border to let it stand out, a mini quick reply space at the bottom of the wiki post to encourage edits (which expands when you click it to be a full sized quick reply and shows edit rules right above the bar).

An important feature for my site would be an option for each post limiting how many lines are visible to what user class. This way guests can see most of the info but see full info if they sign up. You could also have another user class wikimembers where the post by wiki is public but the post by wikimembers is only visible to x-class users. Customizing permissions and wiki class would be great so you could have another user class wikisubscription.

The basics would look like nuwiki until that software was abandoned. I read the edit-history thread, in this case you could set the option to only save edit history for this user class which would save space and requiring moderation on all posts would protect vandalism of the wiki.

I like the idea of a wiki but with a forum it has to be inline and have the same user interface as the forum. Please remember that many people's computer skills stop just above reading the internet and sending email. They have useful info to add too.

I am not a programmer so if this feature isn't possible, please explain why or what the challenges are.

 

[Digital Doctor]

VaultWiki.org has already committed to porting their product to XenForo.

Wow. Huge news. I will discuss this with them.
Thanks for the information

 

[Jethro]

Unless I'm mistaken, doesn't IPS and ExpressionEngine package their solutions like this? They have a base price for their core product (EE is their CMS, IPS is their forum), and they build and support addons to those core pieces with additional prices. It seems to work well for them and their customers, and you only have to pay for what you want.

Correct at IPS you pay for the forum software as your base and then add whatever modules, both official and third party, that you need (CMS, Blog, Gallery, Arcade, Wiki, Articles, etc). There's a suite price, but don't get me started on the treatment of the existing clients there.

 

[SchmitzIT]

We also run a MediaWiki site with a plugin to connect it to vB4. A more intuitive wiki that allows me to import the current wiki closely coupled with XF would be a blessing, and I would gladly pay for it.

 

[wtgw]

Nobody else thinks a user class that can have moderated edits by all other user classes is a good idea? This would solve the problem of having an inline native wiki with the same interface as the forum. Most people don't want to or can't figure out how to edit wikipedia.

 

[Shadab]

You mean something like what they call a "Community Wiki" over at stackoverflow?
» http://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/11740/what-are-community-wiki-posts

How do Community Wiki posts work?

Community Wiki posts work by transferring ownership of the post from the original author to the community. They make the post easier to edit and maintain by a wider group of users, but they do not contribute to any user's reputation. Community Wiki posts are marked as community wiki.

It would be great to have this feature. But obviously not in the very first release.