Wiki Packages

What is a Wiki?
A wiki is a type of computer software that allows users to easily create, edit and link web pages. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites, power community websites, and are increasingly being installed by businesses to provide affordable and effective Intranets or for use in Knowledge Management. They’re great for projects that require input from multiple users. The uses for a wiki are nearly infinite. Any project that requires an easy way for groups to collaborate on a project or supply input is perfectly suited for a wiki. Ward Cunningham, developer of the first wiki, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work". One of the best-known wikis is Wikipedia.

There are several open souce free wiki packages including MediaWiki, which is what powers Wikipedia. DokuWiki and PmWiki are smaller simpler projects but also offer a rull range of Wiki features and have good community support.

To learn more about MediaWiki please visit their website: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki

To learn more about DokuWiki please visit their website: http://wiki.splitbrain.org/wiki:dokuwiki

To learn more about PmWiki please visit their website: http://www.pmwiki.org/

Bottom Line:
If you want to build a huge wiki use MediaWiki. While it's somewhat complicated and does require some technical expertise to modify, it will hold up to even the largest wikis. If you want something simpler we recommend PmWiki or DokuWiki.

What else you will need to know before you launch your online wiki?
All three of these wiki packages are turnkey and give you everything you need to start your own wiki. But there is a slight learning curve on how to use and maintain your wiki. Learning the syntax for wiki publishing does take some getting used to, but anyone should be able to learn it, even if they've never done any web publishing.