Traditional Wiki Versus Database

[xIsabel38]

For a gaming type Fansite, information and resources for the players have always been important. My project is still in development but it is a Fansite based on an upcoming game.

The question I ask myself is do I want to use a Wiki, and if so which one? Or do I want to use these new Database type formats that are becoming very popular.

Wikis have always been a great information source and many games use Wikis. In fact they have become so popular that sites dedicated specifically to easy wiki creation have erected all over the place such as Wikia, Wikispaces, and Wikidot. A popular game that uses MediaWiki is Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. But Wikis can also be confusing and some like MediaWiki have a totally different markup language which may be confusing to the average user. This brings me to Database platforms.

Lately, Database resources have become more and more popular. If you're not sure what I mean, consider these D3DB, RiftHead, or Thottbot. But information on how to actually create such a Database site seems scarce. And when I questioned several developers about possibly hiring them to create such a system, the pricetags were higher than I would have hoped for. So I'm asking everyone here what they think of Wikis versus a Database platform? Would you use a Wiki if a Database was available elsewhere? What type of Wiki would you even like? Would VaultWiki or XenCarta be a good alternative to MediaWiki? Or should I just hold out and try to focus on paying the heavy price for a Database?

Any thoughts, opinions, suggestions, recommendations, or whatever?

 

[Alpha1]

It sounds like you need something similar to wikidata. I have asked @pegasus to include this in vaultwiki. I'm not sure if this is coming.

 

[xIsabel38]

I haven't been able to try VaultWiki, can I see yours? I'm trying to compare it to XenCarta.

 

[Jaxel]

I haven't been able to try VaultWiki, can I see yours? I'm trying to compare it to XenCarta.

I used to use VaultWiki when I had VB4 and I highly recommend it for most forums.

My issue with VaultWiki however was every template was built on the fly and it had no caching mechanism. So on template heavy wikis such as mine, some pages would take 40 seconds to load. I also found it to be TOO feature rich. I didn't want to give my users all the options that VaultWiki had; I find that most wiki software is too complicated. So with my wiki, I just made it simple and feature limited on purpose.

 

[xIsabel38]

I find that most wiki software is too complicated. So with my wiki, I just made it simple and feature limited on purpose.

I have been using yours for a while now (the free version) trying to figure out how everything goes. I have made some progress and I can definitely appreciate that it is a lighter, less intensive Wiki because I personally know next to nothing about Wikis. So using yours is actually better for me than say, MediaWiki.

But there are some features that I could really use and I think would be an excellent addition to your system and those are the things I PM'd you about. If you have or will do those then I am ready to buy right now with Brand Free.

 

[pegasus]

My issue with VaultWiki however was every template was built on the fly and it had no caching mechanism. So on template heavy wikis such as mine, some pages would take 40 seconds to load.

I don't know when you last used VaultWiki, but one of the main points VaultWiki has had over NuWiki was that NuWiki didn't cache template-based pages at all. VaultWiki has had caching for as long as I can remember, even on template-based pages, except in one case: if the page (or one of its templates) pulled data about the visiting user. In this case it's necessary to disable caching on that page, and I personally don't think there is an elegant way around it.

It sounds like you need something similar to wikidata. I have asked @pegasus to include this in vaultwiki. I'm not sure if this is coming.

I have seen the request you mention (https://www.vaultwiki.org/issues/2837/) and I think I finally have a grasp on how it might work in the scope of VaultWiki.

 

[Alpha1]

This will bring VW to a whole new level.