It is sometimes the case that a group of people want to have a central repository for storing information. People collaborating on a project need a joint workspace. One of the ways this can be done is through a platform called a wiki. This is a website that can be edited remotely by anyone. Probably the best known wiki is the Wikipedia this is a free encyclopaedia on the web that allows anyone to add entries, or to edit entries already there.
There are many wiki engines available, for this review I am going to look at the MoinMoin engine. MoinMoin is free open source software. There are several editions,including a desktop editon which doesn't need a web server to run. Which one you choose depends on your web server, operating platform and intended use. The desktop editon can be useful in a small workgroup situation where access is over a LAN, or for individual use. To edit an existing wiki you only need a web browser. To create your own wiki you need to download the client, and to run MoinMoin on the web you also need to have Python installed on your system.
Wiki platforms were developed as a way was to make collaborative web pages easy. The distinctive feature of wiki is the use of WikiWords. Also known as CamelWords, for the hump in the middle, they are generally two capitalised words run together. As an alternative you can use a capitalised word and add a capital at random. For example HolidayHotspots or HoliDays. Within a wiki engine users create links and new pages with the use of these simple and distinctive words. A wiki word typed on a page automatically creates a link to a new blank page, clicking on the new link takes you to a creation page with options to choose a template or start with a blank page. There is also a list of pages with similar names so the user can check that they are not duplicating effort.
Once the page is created there is a wide range of formatting options available. These are detailed in the WkiSandbox which is one of the pages included as part of the download, along with extensive help pages. New users are invited to experiment with the sandbox to learn about the features of wiki before creating or editing pages. There are two editing options in MoinMoin. Text and GUI. The text window is a lot like writing HTML, with simplified tags which are detailed at the bottom. In GUI mode editing ihas the look and feel of a word processing package with buttons across the top for text formatting and external link creation. All very straightforward.
One of the important features of the MoinMoin wiki is the categories system. This is a way for page creators to group pages by subject and works rather like subject headings in a library catalogue. The user creates a category, such as CategoryBeer, pages about beer can then be linked to this category. The CategoryBeer page will include a list of all the pages in the category so they can be browsed to. Pages can belong to more than one category also, linking visitors to more content.
MoinMoin has been used for a wide range of wikis. Notable examples include FedoraWiki for users of the Fedora operating system, and brewiki for homebrewers in australia. you can see an extensive list on the main MoinMoin wiki here
If you are looking for collaborative software that is easy for the group to use, wiki can be a good way to go, and you certainly can't beat the price.