Preface

Abstract

Why a book about wikis? Some time ago, Anja came back all excited from a conference on technology and social movements in Munich. There, she had taken part in a workshop on working and organizing with wikis. In the meantime, her excitement is also shared by lots of others. The popularity and notoriety of this small bit of software can primarily be attributed to the Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia. Yet a number of organizations have also discovered wikis as a simple and versatile tool for their work. For instance, the hackers of Berlin’s Chaos Computer Club used it to organize their conference. We were drawn to wikis chiefly due to the opportunity to utilize wikis as organizational software for small groups. We wanted to find out more. Yet even the attempt to install a wiki was a puzzle. Information and documentation on the Net were few and far between. There was no manual. The only book on the subject, by Wiki creator Ward Cunningham, was very informative, but not sufficient for our purposes. We sensed that wikis could be used for much more than developing texts in a cooperative manner. However, the wiki world is a jungle rampant with political discussions and racing technological development. What was missing was a survival kit, a practical introduction that recommended paths through the jungle. You are now holding an initial cartography of that jungle. Have a look around the wilderness, and become familiar with its inhabitants. Design your environment by setting up your own camp and blazing new trails.