F.10. 10. What Controls Will I Need?

Arguably, the first rule of wikis is that there aren’t any rules. It is true that wikis function best when they are driven by the communities that use them, but you need to think about a few basics of control before you start:

  • Do you need logins, and if so who will authorize them?
  • Will you need to hook the wiki up to an existing user base, such as Active Directory or another LDAP store, or will it be good enough to manage the users and groups entirely within the wiki?
  • Will you have some sort of initial structure for your wiki content?
  • Will you give users a sandbox area to learn the wiki in?
  • Who will be able to see, read, and edit which pages?
  • Who will monitor recent changes and do any necessary roll backs?
  • What’s the philosophy for rolling back content and incorporating comments?