The Whys and Hows of the Main Wiki

Why bother with a Wiki? It looks complicated.

A Wiki is a collaborative web environment. You can read more about it in the introductory pages and the TWikiTutorial.

If you just need to work on your own web sites, a Wiki offers only a few advantages over the usual way. However, if you wish to have a group of people editing the same set of web pages, a Wiki is a good way to accomplish this.

How do I get started?

To prevent abuse from the outside world, you must register before you can edit any of the pages on this site. The boiler-plate descriptions on some of the TWiki and Main pages may seem to state otherwise, but that is how the access configuration has been set up.

When you register, WilliamSeligman will get an e-mail message. I'll add you to the one of the TWikiGroups you indicated on the registration form; if you're a member of more than one group, mention that in the "comments" section of the registration form and I'll add you to those extra groups.

At that point, you'll be able to edit pages on the Main site, and the pages on your group's separate web pages (the ones you see listed on the sidebar on the left).

Some things to keep in mind.

• No, a Wiki is not all that easy to use, despite what the boiler-plate TWiki pages might say. It takes a while to get used to it.

• You can mark up text using TWikiShorthand, but that will only take you so far. Sooner or later, you'll have to learn HTML to get the most of your web pages.

• Having problems using the main WYSIWYG editor? So do I. I never use it; I use the "Raw" editor instead. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "Raw Edit" link.

• All of the Wiki web pages are stored on our web server, not in your home directory (as it would be on a personal web site). All of Nevis shares about 30GB of space on the web server's disk. Please remember that before uploading all your data to the Wiki; you might want to post a web link instead.

• Please, please, please read the documentation before you ask WilliamSeligman technical questions about Wiki. I don't know much more about Wikis than you do. If you ask me a question, I'll probably just consult the manual myself.

-- WilliamSeligman - 28 Jul 2005