Wikis

I like the idea of wiki's even though I have no real experience with them other than wikipedia. I can see where they would be useful in setting up a community forum of information site. I think that leaving the wiki open for anyone to edit, like wikipedia, has its advantages and disadvantages. Leaving it open allows anyone to share their information and ideas, which presents a much broader range of perspectives and opinions. Unfortunately, this can also lead to presentation of misinformation and can get out of hand if not monitored. Limiting the wiki's editors can help to manage the quality and control in the site.

Wikis are great tools for businesses. We were thinking of setting up a training wiki for the employees of the winemaking shop to learn the processes of wine making. We could also set up a wiki for our customers so they can share their tips and experiences. In the case of libraries, wikis can be used as an interactive website among staff. I think keeping a wiki open to the library patrons as a community center is a great idea. However, leaving anything open to the public runs the risk of getting out of hand. Even the community forum in my town can become opinionated and malicious.

I started a wiki on PBWiki. I didn't spend too much time on it but still found that setting up the account and starting was very easy. The tools and interface seemed user friendly to me. I could easily edit the text and links were easy to create.