version=pmwiki-2.2.0-beta35 ordered=1 urlencoded=1
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author=Scott Connard
csum=restore
ctime=1142432267
host=71.225.230.171
name=PmWiki.WikiGroupMotivation
rev=8
targets=Profiles.Pm
text=!! Why WikiGroups?%0a%25center green%25 [-''Explanations about WikiGroups given by [[http://www.pmichaud.com/ | Patrick R. Michaud ]] on the [pmwiki-users] mailing-list''-]%0a%0a''Over time people have asked for something that could contrast WikiFarms%0aand WikiGroups, especially the advantages and disadvantages of each,%0aand I agree such documentation is needed.''  But thus far I haven't%0abeen able to come up with a concise description, so lacking that I'll%0ajust tell the story, motivations, and conceptualization behind each,%0aand perhaps we can all refine it into something that works well%0aon a page.  Or maybe the stories will suffice.%0a%0aFor this message I'll talk primarily about WikiGroups, and save%0aWikiFarms for another message (since they came later in development).%0aAnd I'll just present things as a narrative -- a history -- since%0athis is still the example I work from when thinking of how WikiGroups%0acan work.  Apologies in advance for the length of the narrative --%0aif I knew a good way to shorten it we'd have our description.  :-)%0a%0aIn September 2001, when I wrote the first version of PmWiki%0a(pmwiki-0.1), my desire was that the various groups I%0aworked with at the University and elsewhere could use "wiki"%0aconcepts to maintain web sites that were otherwise unmaintained.%0aIn general, the overarching theme was that each of these web sites%0ahad its own designated webmaster, but that web maintenance was only%0aa small part of each webmasters' overall duties.  What's more, the%0awebmaster typically served as a bottleneck, in that even if there%0awere several people willing to update page content, they had to%0acoordinate or submit the changes to the webmaster for them to%0atake effect.  So, updates happened rarely, if at all, and the%0asites quickly became out of date.  ("Page rot" is the common term.)%0a%0aSince I was the webmaster for several of the sites, anything that%0aI could do to empower others to update the site without involving%0ame would be a Good Thing.  This is a central theme behind PmWiki%0adevelopment -- make it possible for other people to do the work%0athat I would have to otherwise be doing.  :-)%0a%0aSo, I created the first version of PmWiki, and started using it%0ato build and maintain web sites for the various projects and groups%0aI was involved in.  These included a research group, the computer%0ascience club, the college, my academic department, each of the%0avarious courses I was teaching, as well as my own personal pages.%0aInitially I started out by installing separate copies of PmWiki%0afor each "group" that wanted a set of pages.%0a%0aPretty soon, other people, departments, instructors, and organizations%0asaw how I was using wiki to maintain my site, and they all wanted%0awikis of their own.  So, I'd either get them to build pages in%0aone of the wikis I had already set up, or install yet another%0acopy of the software somewhere that they could use.%0a%0aWith only one level of page names, having independent groups%0atry to share the same namespace didn't always work well.  There%0acould only be one page named "MyResume", and so authors had to%0a"plan ahead" as far as what to name their links and pages.%0a%0aAlso, there wasn't a good mechanism to be able to protect a%0aset of pages from being edited -- one could protect individual%0apages, but that got really tedious if there were several dozen%0apages to be protected (and every new page had to have a password%0aadded to it).%0a%0aSo, since the single flat namespace wasn't working out well,%0apretty soon I was fielding more requests for independent wikis.%0aThis involved installing a new copy of the software, coordinating%0asoftware updates, and trying to keep track of all of the%0aRecentChanges pages to make sure things were going well.%0a%0aOf course, this went directly against my goal of getting others%0ato do the work.  :-)  Of course, I could've just started handing%0apeople copies of the software and telling them to maintain it, or%0amaking it possible for people to create their own fields in%0aa wikifarm, but that would require that others know the same%0athings an administrator would need to know, and many of the%0apeople who wanted to create wiki spaces didn't even have a%0aUnix account.%0a%0aWhat I *really* wanted was for >>authors%3c%3c to be able to create their%0aown "wiki spaces" without them having to become wiki administrators%0aor ask me to set things up for them.  And I wanted groups of people%0ato be able to create and reorganize pages on a moment's notice.%0aThus, the concept of WikiGroups was born -- as a way for people%0a(non-admins) to create their own spaces for wiki content without%0ahaving to seek out or become an administrator to do it.%0a%0aOne of the key ideas behind WikiGroups was that it would be%0apossible to make each group "appear" to authors as though it%0awas separated from other groups on the wiki.  Thus, each WikiGroup%0acan have its own set of passwords, header, footer, and skin.%0aEach WikiGroup could have its own "HomePage", "RecentChanges", etc.,%0aand to someone who didn't know anything about "WikiGroups" it%0aall appeared to be its own wiki.  But for those who did know%0awhat was going on -- and it didn't take long for people to figure%0ait out -- they could share a common set of documentation, help%0afiles, tips for using the wiki, etc., and they could also easily%0alink to related pages belonging to other groups (e.g. the CSClub%0acould link to pages in the CSDepartment or to course notes in the%0aCOSC1435 group.)%0a%0aFrom my perspective as an administrator, this was a much better%0ascenario than the original one.  First, whenever someone wanted a%0aplace for wiki pages, I didn't have to install anything, I would%0atell them "just create a page in a new group".  Even better was when%0athey stopped asking me even that -- since there were plenty of other%0apeople around (besides me) who could tell them how to do it.%0aSoon people started sharing with others the details of setting group%0apasswords, creating new pages, making "skins" using GroupHeader%0aand GroupFooter, etc.  My involvement became more along the lines of%0aimproving the software, updating a few installations, and helping%0aout with the occasional problem or feature request.%0a%0aAnother advantage of the WikiGroup structure was that I could%0amonitor a whole bunch of groups at once through the AllRecentChanges%0apage.%0a%0aThe things that have happened since then with WikiGroups are really%0ajust extensions of that original concept -- i.e., make it possible%0afor authors to create specialized sections of content without%0anecessarily having to involve an admin to do it.%0a%0aTo show how well it works in practice, the student wiki at%0aTexas A&M University- Corpus Christi currently has 5,372%0aWikiGroups.  Yes, that's ''*groups*'' -- there are currently over%0a180,000 ''*pages*'' on that wiki.  The instructors in the First%0aYear Program all walk the students through the basics of%0acreating a personal WikiGroup, editing pages in the group,%0aand linking to other pages, and then the students use that%0athroughout the academic year for various assignments, information,%0aand collaborative projects with other students.  The wiki%0aadministrators (all part-time) never have to deal with creating%0athe groups, other than to handle the occasional issues with%0aforgotten passwords or upgrading software.  (And several of%0athe instructors in the program have been given the site admin%0apassword so they can resolve password or content problems%0awithout having to contact the wikiadmin.)%0a%0aSo, that's the history and original motivation of WikiGroups.%0aIt's primary feature is that it allows creating new sections%0aof related content without having to involve an admin, but%0astill allows an "overview" picture to be formed from all of the%0agroups.%0a%0aMore about WikiGroups versus WikiFarms in a later message.%0a%0a[[~Pm]]%0a
time=1173628098