All part of the Grand Domination Plan

Post #44,658 by kmself 7/6/02 9:55:52 PM Reply	All part of the Grand Domination Plan I'd proposed it [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=32939\|here] at zIWETHEY (Suggestions forum). The basic instigators are me (I rolled it out, own the filetree on the TWiki server (same as z.iwethey.org, BTW)). Jason's the master of the box itself, though Mike "Yendor" has root. Drewk and Cargocult (aka pwhysall) are other significant contributors. Where z.iwethey.org is more discussion oriented, TWiki is more an informational respository. The key idea is that you can edit any page (pretty much literally). Basic configuration is also largely accomplished through changing content of specific pages. "Community blog" is a pretty good description. Given that the concepts and features may not be blindingly apparent, I've updated the front page slightly to make the introductory text clearer. Let me know what you think of this...or go ahead and change it yourself. Yes, you can edit any page. Including the front page (OK, there are ways to lock this down if needs be, but we haven't yet). Other features: Integrated change control. All pages ("topics" or "nodes") are automatically versioned under RCS. It's easy to review the revision history of a page, to look at the diffs between any two versions, or to see the page at any state in time. Search. Ever want to find something at z.iwethey.org (or EZBoard or Infoworld) but couldn't? TWiki has a built in search function. I've modified the default templates to put a search dialog on every page, the "Search" link goes to a more detailed search. Automatic link generation. Text entered as a WikiWord (mixed case, no spaces) automatically links to an existing topic of the same name. If the topic doesn't exist, the WikiWord becomes a placeholder, indicated by a '?', which will create the topic if selected. Support for moving/renaming topics. If a topic is renamed, all links to it are renamed as well. Automatically. Linkrot, at least within the TWiki, is eliminated. Simplified HTML markup. For the utter newbie, just entering space-seperated paragraphs works. There's a simple markup (follow the TextFormattingRules link on the edit page) that supports _italics_, *bold*, and `=typewriter=` fonts, [link\|#\|[[links]]], lists (ordered or not), etc. If you need more control, you can use full HTML, but this is not necessary or encouraged as a rule. Plugins. Remember smilies? We got 'em, as well as a few other slick features, see [link\|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/TWiki/TWikiPlugins\|TWiki Plugins]. Embedded Scripting and inclusion. The [link\|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome\|TWikIWETHEY home page] is an example of a fairly complex page which includes elements from elsewhere, including dynamically generated content -- the recent changes and tree views -- and content pulled in from other pages either for simplicity, management, or to allow references from multiple pages. This makes for some interesting and powerful possiblities. The basic idea is to create a repository for some of the information which is repeatedly itereated here and elsewhere, in a form that's both searchable and updatable. By all means, hop on in. `-- Karsten M. Self [link\|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com\|kmself@ix.netcom.com] [link\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/\|[link\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/]] What part of "gestalt" don't you understand? Keep software free. Oppose the CBDTPA. Kill S.2048 dead. [link\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html\|[link\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html\|http://www.eff.org/...a_alert.html]]`
Post #44,677 by tjsinclair 7/7/02 11:18:21 AM Reply	Cool So can we do our edits in plaintext or HTML or is there some kind of markup we need to learn? Tom Sinclair "Subverting Young Minds Since 03/13/2000"
Post #44,678 by pwhysall 7/7/02 12:40:14 PM Reply	Sorta. You can use regular HTML, but there's Twiki shorthand for a lot of stuff. Frexample this: 1. Item 1. Item 1. Item turns into a numbered list whereas this: * Item * Item * Item turns into a bulleted one. [link\|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/TWiki/TextFormattingRules\|Here] is a handy page that you should read first. Working in TWiki is as easy as typing in text - exactly like email. You don't need to know HTML, though you can use it if you prefer. Links to topics are created automatically when you enter WikiWords. And TWiki shorthand gives you all the power of HTML with a simple coding system that takes no time to learn. Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Blog]
Post #44,681 by kmself 7/7/02 2:55:19 PM Reply	Whatever The simplified markup provided is trivial. But you don't even have to supply that. Again, the key feature of TWiki: you can edit any page, applies to everyone. Which means someone else can come along and edit your page. This might be a major refactoring, it might be correcting typos and adding markup. The hard part (from the collective perspective) is getting information into the system in the first place. Once it's there, copywriting and editing tasks can be done by anyone. And once you've seen a few pages, you'll probably pick up most of the basic formatting rules. I'm having this same discussion at work, where we're using TWiki to document policies, procedures, inventories, system configurations, etc. While the pushback I'm getting is "people won't learn the markup", simple truth is that paragraphs of text -- which I can't provide, because I don't know the background on a system -- are sufficient. Markup can come from elsewhere. Example: I could have written this post in TWiki exactly as I've written it here -- five paragraphs of text. The only difference is that my <em> and <strong> tags would be replaced with _underbar_ and *asterisk* respectively -- and that only if I'd chosen TWiki syntax over HTML, as either is perfectly valid. -- Karsten M. Self [link\|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com\|kmself@ix.netcom.com] [link\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/\|[link\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/]] What part of "gestalt" don't you understand? [link\|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/\|TWikIWETHEY] -- An experiment in collective intelligence. Stupidity. Whatever. Keep software free. Oppose the CBDTPA. Kill S.2048 dead. [link\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html\|[link\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html\|http://www.eff.org/...a_alert.html]]

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