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Foswiki vs Tiki Wiki
October 04, 2024 | Author: Adam Levine
5★
Foswiki is an open, programmable collaboration platform. Runs on Linux, Mac OS X, Windows (even stand alone on a USB Stick), also available as easy-to-setup software appliance for VMware or VirtualBox
1★
Tiki is the Free/Libre/Open Source Web Application with the most built-in features. So whatever feature you can imagine running in your browser window, chances are Tiki does it. Knowledge base: Wiki, FAQs, File gallery, Photo Album, Tags, Search, Kaltura video management integration, etc. Collaboration/Project Management: Wiki, Forums, Tasks, Permissions, Timeline, Proposals/Votes, Blog, Categories, Watch, etc.
Publishing/web site: News articles, Blog, RSS, Newsletter, Maps, Themes, Banners, WYSIWYG, SEO, etc.
Foswiki and Tiki Wiki are both open-source wiki platforms, though to simply call them “wiki platforms” is a bit like referring to the Earth as “mostly harmless.” Yes, they’re there and yes, they do what they say on the tin, but the manner in which they go about their business is about as similar as a teacup is to a trans-dimensional warp drive.
Foswiki, you see, was originally known as "TWiki" but decided to rebrand, likely because the letter “T” was either unfashionable or causing some sort of existential crisis. Foswiki prides itself on being a highly customizable and flexible little thing, structured neatly with wiki pages that can be edited using a simple markup language, much like scribbling notes in the margin of a galactic guidebook—if that guidebook could also manage your intergalactic spaceship’s operations with finely-tuned precision. Organizations fond of locking things up tightly, controlling who gets to see what and recording every infinitesimal change, will find Foswiki’s penchant for fine-grained access control and obsessive version tracking both endearing and slightly terrifying. And if that weren’t enough, Foswiki has a plugin architecture that lets you bolt on everything from issue tracking to full-blown project management tools, effectively turning your humble wiki into something that could quite possibly manage the construction of an improbably large space station.
On the other hand, Tiki Wiki—often referred to simply as "Tiki," presumably because nobody has time for extraneous syllables when they’re managing the universe—approaches things rather differently. Where Foswiki is all about being the Swiss army knife of meticulous workflows and access controls, Tiki Wiki is more like the all-you-can-eat buffet of collaborative platforms. Why stop at wiki functionality when you can throw in blogs, forums, file management and, probably, a small galaxy or two for good measure? Tiki is what happens when you combine the sensible shoes of a content management system with the flashy jetpack of a wiki platform and it does so with reckless abandon. Community building? Check. Project management? Check. Universe creation? Possibly. It offers an entire toolkit, making it the go-to solution for organizations that like the idea of having everything, including the kitchen sink, in one place. And in true Tiki style, its modular approach lets administrators turn features on or off with the flick of a switch, as if they’re adjusting the settings of a hyperdrive engine.
In short, Foswiki is your go-to if you need something you can tweak, prod and adjust until it fits your complex needs like a well-worn bathrobe, complete with meticulous controls and workflow precision. Tiki Wiki, by contrast, is the sort of platform you turn to when you want *everything* and you want it now, wrapped in one comprehensive package that does everything except serve you a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. The choice between them depends largely on whether you’re more inclined towards Foswiki’s structured, customizable universe or Tiki’s kitchen-sink approach to collaboration. Either way, don’t panic.
See also: Top 10 Wiki software
Foswiki, you see, was originally known as "TWiki" but decided to rebrand, likely because the letter “T” was either unfashionable or causing some sort of existential crisis. Foswiki prides itself on being a highly customizable and flexible little thing, structured neatly with wiki pages that can be edited using a simple markup language, much like scribbling notes in the margin of a galactic guidebook—if that guidebook could also manage your intergalactic spaceship’s operations with finely-tuned precision. Organizations fond of locking things up tightly, controlling who gets to see what and recording every infinitesimal change, will find Foswiki’s penchant for fine-grained access control and obsessive version tracking both endearing and slightly terrifying. And if that weren’t enough, Foswiki has a plugin architecture that lets you bolt on everything from issue tracking to full-blown project management tools, effectively turning your humble wiki into something that could quite possibly manage the construction of an improbably large space station.
On the other hand, Tiki Wiki—often referred to simply as "Tiki," presumably because nobody has time for extraneous syllables when they’re managing the universe—approaches things rather differently. Where Foswiki is all about being the Swiss army knife of meticulous workflows and access controls, Tiki Wiki is more like the all-you-can-eat buffet of collaborative platforms. Why stop at wiki functionality when you can throw in blogs, forums, file management and, probably, a small galaxy or two for good measure? Tiki is what happens when you combine the sensible shoes of a content management system with the flashy jetpack of a wiki platform and it does so with reckless abandon. Community building? Check. Project management? Check. Universe creation? Possibly. It offers an entire toolkit, making it the go-to solution for organizations that like the idea of having everything, including the kitchen sink, in one place. And in true Tiki style, its modular approach lets administrators turn features on or off with the flick of a switch, as if they’re adjusting the settings of a hyperdrive engine.
In short, Foswiki is your go-to if you need something you can tweak, prod and adjust until it fits your complex needs like a well-worn bathrobe, complete with meticulous controls and workflow precision. Tiki Wiki, by contrast, is the sort of platform you turn to when you want *everything* and you want it now, wrapped in one comprehensive package that does everything except serve you a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. The choice between them depends largely on whether you’re more inclined towards Foswiki’s structured, customizable universe or Tiki’s kitchen-sink approach to collaboration. Either way, don’t panic.
See also: Top 10 Wiki software
