wiki software

[mrcharly-YHT]

I'd like to build up a wiki of information on our boat, sort of a workshop manual and technical list.

Originally I was going to set up html pages, but then thought that a wiki could be better - I could work on it whenever I had web access, etc.

Has anyone have any experience of small-scale wiki software? Edit history recording isn't particularly important, adding images is important.

[MSeries]

If it is just you editing the pages, perhaps a blog site might be more appropriate. Something like Crash!

[andygates]

I use Wiki On A Stick as my magic notepad.  It's portable, and lives on a USB stick on my keyring. 

[nic]

I use dokuwiki for our local go-ride cycling club. It's free, very simple, can be made pretty, supports images and does not require any database back-end.

I have had some good experience with confluence. it's deemed as an enterprise grade wiki software but is very easy to use.


Links:

    dokuwiki    [DokuWiki]
  

    Confluence - Enterprise Wiki Software

[mrcharly-YHT]

I want it on the web so I can edit it from home and work.

It will have lots of pages, and the autolinking + search facilities in a wiki would be very useful.

I'm looking at MediaWiki and MoinMoin so far.

I'll have a look at dokuwiki and confluence, thanks.

[Panoramix]

http://moinmo.in/ may fit the bill

[red marley]

I've had very good experiences with Google Sites. Has all the usual Wiki features (multiple authors, rollback, access control) but requires no installation. Has a nice WYSIWYG interface with the option of raw HTML if that is your preferred thing. The only limitation I can find is a 100MB limit on each site, so image heavy stuff stored on their server could be a problem (linking to large files off site is not a problem though).

[mrcharly-YHT]

I've had very good experiences with Google Sites. Has all the usual Wiki features (multiple authors, rollback, access control) but requires no installation. Has a nice WYSIWYG interface with the option of raw HTML if that is your preferred thing. The only limitation I can find is a 100MB limit on each site, so image heavy stuff stored on their server could be a problem (linking to large files off site is not a problem though).

That's not a wiki, it's just an html site.

It might do the job for me tho', so thanks.

[PrettyBoyTim]

I've used DokuWiki before. It's pretty good and very simple to set up.

[red marley]

[Google Sites is] not a wiki, it's just an html site.

Out of interest, what makes a Wiki a Wiki? To me, allowing multiple authors, ability to edit communal pages and ability to roll back to previous versions is what defines them. Are there other things that I am missing? I ask only because I have been calling Google Sites a Wiki for a while now, and don't want to confuse people if I am missing the point.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Nope, you are describing content management.

Wiki's typically include:

Collaborative editing.

Simple markup.

Automatic linking (often from camelcased entries)

Search engine that is limited to the wiki contents.

They started out with just offering collaborative editing and simplified markup.

These days there is an assumed appearance to wiki pages. Typically there is a toc (or mini-toc) and an informational page.

I have no problem with editing html, it is what I do all day long.

I just want something with a simple interface so I and my partner can use it to enter data about our boat.

[Panoramix]

I have just started to use moinmoin + portable python to store information on a usb stick, quite nice to organise random information.

On a boat I would rather rely on paper to store critical technical info as electrical stuff does not like the marine environment and when things go pear shaped I would not really want to rely on a PC.

[mrcharly-YHT]

On a boat I would rather rely on paper to store critical technical info as electrical stuff does not like the marine environment and when things go pear shaped I would not really want to rely on a PC.

That depends . . .

The electronic format is better for us because it can be referenced from anywhere. Say I need to order some oil filters, I'll just look online to check the model, etc.

Paper, in my experience is far too easy to mislay. In emergencies I don't go looking for info, I just fix things!

[andygates]

The nice thing about a wiki is it's just as easy to slap images in, just link 'em.  So you can take a photo of that oil filter invoice and stick that on the wiki for re-order, and still have the paper version in the glovebox in case it goes bang.

[Panoramix]

I hadn't thought of this, sure you can find an internet cafe in most places!

In emergencies I don't go looking for info, I just fix things!

Lucky you

[mrcharly-YHT]

I hadn't thought of this, sure you can find an internet cafe in most places!

In emergencies I don't go looking for info, I just fix things!

Lucky you

That's not luck, that's necessity!

In a house, you can get away with ignoring problems for a bit. That's not really the case with living on a boat.

[Panoramix]

That's not luck, that's necessity!

In a house, you can get away with ignoring problems for a bit. That's not really the case with living on a boat.

All marine diesel engine seem to have united against me, so now I have become philosophical and have no shame in sculling/sailing the last meters. In my case things get eventually fixed but I would like to be able to say that I just fix things!

[TimO]

This may or may not be of any use to use, but Turnkey Linux has a MediaWiki configuration, so you've got a LiveCD with everything already installed on it.  I've been looking for an excuse, and the time, to have a play with this.