[MLUG] Re: Wikipedia on /.

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> I must say that I've never understood the concept of Wiki, even after 
> installing and playing with TikiWiki.  It's too abstract and 
> intellectual a concept for my small brain.

It's editable web content. Anyone can press the "Edit" button and type what they will. Think of it as a public whiteboard. It's about taking anyone who can type and giving them the ability to create content on the web. It's about lowering the barrier to creating "web pages". No fancy HTML to learn, no figuring out what the heck "FTP" is or where to get one. Just press "Edit" and type. It really is that simple.

That said, /running/ a wiki is a bit different than /using/ a wiki. If you're just starting out, try KwikiKwiki instead. It's much simpler to get up and going. http://www.kwiki.org/.

> What is to prevent some malicious script kiddie on a mindless joyride 
> [...] to mess with their content and links?

Three letters. CVS. Most wikis have some sort of version control implemented.
That means that either anyone can "undo" someone else's grafitti, or an admin can if it is a restricted action for the wiki. On a mass scale, it's called a WikiWipeout.

See http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?WhyWikiWorks

And in particular, see http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?WikiWipeout

Also http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?WhyNobodyDeletesWiki
and http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?WhyTryToDeleteWiki

That site is Ward Cunningham's WikiWiki site, the original, so I'd say it's pretty authoritative on the subject of wikis.
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