To the WikiSuite community,

Today, we announce that, going forward, WikiSuite will become supported on all major Linux distros (CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian, etc.) building on the experience gained with ClearOS. This has been happening for several months now, and it's time to make it official.

Founded in 2011, WikiSuite has become The most comprehensive and integrated Open Source enterprise solution.

Key components of WikiSuite started about a decade earlier, with Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware (2002) and Openfire (2002)

The feature set already being very extensive, the WikiSuite leadership team decided the time had come to increase focus on deployability and manageability. This transition will manifest itself in two ways:

1. Make it easier to deploy WikiSuite on popular "Infrastructure as a Service" (IaaS) offerings. The main goal is to be agnostic to the service provider and maintain easy portability — AWS, MS Azure, Linode, Digital Ocean, etc.
   • Our primary focus is to collaborate with the Virtualmin/Webmin community. The code is here: https://gitlab.com/wikisuite/virtualmin-installer/.
   • We will further invest in Tiki Manager to facilitate various use cases:
     • Make it easier to provide Tiki instances within a classic shared hosting scenario
     • Advanced projects which require dev-qa-production workflow
     • Etc.
2. When appropriate and when it does not cause a vendor lock-in, we'll embark on a process to leverage Cloud Native capabilities.

What is the historical context here?

WikiSuite was founded in 2011. In February 2012, we chose ClearOS as our operating system and built several ClearOS apps.

The goal was (and still is) to make a system which is fully self-hostable. Some of the early WikiSuite instances were running on repurposed old laptops!

About ClearOS: ClearOS is a derivative of RHEL, with a great selection of tools and a great unified web admin interface. It eases server management and covers use cases such as Gateway and Networking...

Although it's possible to convert a CentOS to a ClearOS, this is unsupported.

What is changing?

We will:

• Expand support to other distros (Such as CentOS, Debian and Ubuntu) as per the Virtualmin support policy
• And cease support for ClearOS-specific apps (They are all Open Source and we'll welcome new maintainers)

So, for example: Openfire is supported, Why Openfire but the Openfire app for ClearOS ( https://github.com/WikiSuite/app-openfire ) is no longer supported. Each WikiSuite component will be installed as per their operating system (via regular packages .rpm/.deb, or Docker) with potential automation (ex.: via Bash/Ansible/etc. scripts).

Won't this mean losing some functionality?

In some cases, unfortunately, yes. Over time, we will reimplement the functionality in another way, aiming to support all main Linux distros.

What about deprecation of CentOS 8 (vs CentOS Stream)?

We will go along with what the Virtualmin community decides:
https://forum.virtualmin.com/t/centos-8-lifecycle-end-2021/108483.

Why are you making this change?

We want to make it as easy as possible to adopt and deploy WikiSuite.

Many organizations and hosting providers have a short list of supported operating systems. When ClearOS was not an option for them, we needed to set up WikiSuite components like Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware and Openfire. Sometimes on RHEL. Sometimes Ubuntu, etc. And even on Windows.

So we are doing most of the work, but are not getting the benefits.

Also, there is overhead to keeping apps updated. That diverts energy from adding features and improving the integration.

Also, while some community users want to install locally, more want to install on cloud providers. Thus, we will make it easier.

Should this have been done since the beginning?

That is an interesting question. Since we can't go back in time and compare two universes, it's really just an opinion.

Focusing on one distro provides many benefits: Predictability, standardization, lower complexity / overhead / etc. It's like speaking a common language. No question that selecting ClearOS has provided many benefits. However, in other cases, it has added extra work for little benefit; for example, the Elasticsearch app for ClearOS.

Will it still be possible to run WikiSuite components on ClearOS?

Yes, but without Virtualmin. The WikiSuite components (Tiki, Openfire, etc.) can run on all Linux distros so they can be installed on ClearOS (usually with the CentOS recipe). However it will be more of a manual process because there will no longer be ClearOS apps. So you install Tiki as you would any web app: https://documentation.clearos.com/content:en_us:app_web_server.

Why have a web panel?

If you are an experienced sysadmin, you may prefer to just install a fresh Linux and configure LAMP. We want a consistent recipe and to make it easier to manage servers. Virtualmin was selected to do this.

How will you replace the functionality provided by ClearOS?

1.1.1. Identity Provider

ClearOS has a very nice integration of OpenLDAP. This is designed for a small organization context where each user is added by the Administrator. However, in an open community context, we also need self-serve capabilities (registration, change email, reset password, etc.) Tiki offers all this. And there is a recipe for SAML (to be improved — see https://dev.tiki.org/SAML-SSO-Authentication).

We will add any missing features to Tiki. As an example, here is a recipe for Tiki to be an identity provider to Openfire: How to install Openfire using Tiki for its userlist.

1.1.2. Firewall, Dynamic Firewall and 2FA

ClearOS has a nice GUI to manage the firewall. And when an app is installed, it conveniently warns the server admin about ports to be opened.

https://www.clearos.com/products/clearos-editions/clearos-7-home/marketplace/network/Dynamic_Firewall
https://www.clearos.com/products/clearos-editions/clearos-7-home/marketplace/system/2FA_for_Webconfig

We will soon release "Tiki Firewall" which will be an extra layer of protection over Tiki. Written in PHP, it will be usable with all distros:
https://doc.tiki.org/Firewall.

As for server management and 2FA, we use an Open Source distro-agnostic solution: MeshCentral.

1.1.3. Attack Detector / Fail2ban

ClearOS also has a nice app to detect and report attacks (a GUI on Fail2ban):
https://www.clearos.com/products/clearos-editions/clearos-7-home/marketplace/gateway/Attack_Detector.

We will use Fail2ban for Virtualmin:
https://doxfer.webmin.com/Webmin/Fail2Ban_Intrusion_Detector.

1.1.4. Domain names / PHP / Apache / SSL / Let's Encrypt / multiple version of PHP / MariaDB / MySQL (shared hosting use case)

ClearOS has a great tool to create websites and databases:
https://documentation.clearos.com/content:en_us:7_ug_web_server
https://documentation.clearos.com/content:en_us:7_ug_mariadb.

And the WikiSuite project contributed:
https://news.clear.co.com/lets-encrypt-app-live-in-the-clearos-marketplace/
https://news.clear.co.com/php-engines-app-now-live-in-the-clearos-marketplace/.

ClearOS is designed so that each project has its own virtual machine (which has many benefits). There is no strong segmentation between various websites on a same ClearOS server. Virtualization permits each ClearOS instance to have the proper resources allocated. The same is possible with Virtualmin. However, Virtualmin additionally permits to have multiple clients and projects on the same server with strict segmentation since its core business is the shared hosting use case.
https://www.virtualmin.com/documentation.

1.1.5. Elasticsearch

We will deprecate https://github.com/WikiSuite/app-elasticsearch and https://github.com/WikiSuite/adminer-elasticsearch, and use a standard upstream recipe for each distro (Docker, RPMs, etc.).

Unfortunately, Elasticsearch is no longer Open Source:

• https://www.elastic.co/blog/licensing-change
• https://www.elastic.co/blog/license-change-clarification

Thus, research is ongoing to pick an Open Source alternative: https://avantech.net/Elasticsearch-Alternatives.

1.1.6. Openfire

We will deprecate https://github.com/WikiSuite/app-openfire and use a standard upstream recipe for each distro (Docker, RPMs, etc.).

We already have:

1. How to install Openfire using Tiki for its userlist
2. https://github.com/igniterealtime/openfire-tikitoken-plugin

1.1.7. IMAP and SMTP server

ClearOS has a very easy set up for email, using Postfix and Cyrus IMAP:
https://documentation.clearos.com/content:en_us:7_ug_imap
https://documentation.clearos.com/content:en_us:7_ug_smtp.

Tiki has support for CalDAV and CardDAV, and integrated Cypht Webmail: http://dev.tiki.org/Email-as-a-first-class-citizen.

Virtualmin is designed for shared hosting and has a mature email feature set, using Postfix and Dovecot. So we'll support the commonly used standard email protocols (SMTP and IMAP). As for JMAP, it's on the roadmap for Dovecot. Since this will likely take a while, we will explore using a Proxy.

We have also started experimenting for email users to be provided by Tiki (like we can do for Openfire): https://gitlab.com/fabiomontefuscolo/kube-tiki/-/commit/e5d6ef06f036ab5307825cfbb1598a15cb998123.
So Tiki will be able to create ad hoc email addresses via the Virtualmin API. Example: create a mail address for a project.

1.1.8. Syncthing

We will deprecate https://github.com/WikiSuite/app-syncthing and use a standard upstream for each distro (Docker, RPMs, etc.).

What we have: How to install Syncthing on Virtualmin.

Our goals: Syncthing in WikiSuite.

1.1.9. Tiki Manager

We will deprecate https://gitlab.com/tikiwiki/app-tiki-manager and focus on a distro-agnostic approach. We will investigate via https://packagist.org/ or Docker or just create .rpm/.deb.

Tiki Manager will detect if it's running within Virtualmin and offer appropriate paths as defaults.

1.1.10. Monitoring and Logs

This aspect is still to be determined. Candidates include:

• Zabbix
• https://github.com/netdata/netdata
• Explore more with the Virtualmin community
• See also: https://dev.tiki.org/Monitoring

1.1.11. Kimchi and KVM

We will deprecate https://github.com/WikiSuite/app-kimchi and use a standard upstream for each distro (Docker, RPMs, etc.).

1.1.12. FusionPBX and FreeSWITCH

We had not created an app yet, so nothing to deprecate. We will use and use a standard upstream for each distro (Docker, RPMs, etc.).

1.1.13. Xibo

We had not created an app yet, so nothing to deprecate. We will use a standard upstream for each distro (Docker, RPMs, etc.).

Please keep informed and participate to the the developments here:
https://gitlab.com/groups/wikisuite/-/activity

Thanks!

Marc Laporte, founder

In April 2020, Grant for the Web announced a public call for web monetization project proposals eligible for one of three levels of funding: Spark, Mid-Level, and Flagship. In less than two months, applications were received from 286 applicants. The applications were analyzed and evaluated by an independent and diverse panel of judges.

We at WikiSuite are delighted to have received a Mid-Level grant for the submission "Tiki ILP Integration & Monetization" as it will accelerate our integration of ILP and Coil web monetization features into the Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware component of WikiSuite.

ILP — Interledger protocol — is an Open Source technology for connecting all types of ledgers, from e-wallets to blockchains. The purpose is to smoothly execute financial transactions with anyone, regardless of the location or currency or transaction amount. Interledger, or as one may call it, "The new Internet of Money," allows you to receive money from any ledger, without setting up accounts in multiple systems.

Coil — a new approach to web monetization that we are also implementing in Tiki — replaces paid advertisements with the ability to "experience web monetized content in your browser while supporting sites you love in real time." This is a perfect solution for every company or organization that may have had issues with being treated equitably in a marketplace stifled by corporate domination. And with Coil, web content can be monetized without having to display advertisements from other companies on our websites, mobile apps or videos.

WikiSuite, "the most comprehensive and integrated Free / Libre / Open Source enterprise software suite," is especially suited to knowledge-centric organizations and offers most of the data and information management features all organizations need. This mid-level grant will facilitate the integration of Interledger and Coil with WikiSuite components, thus enhancing WikiSuite’s capabilities for website monetization and sending/receiving payments via Interledger. As Open Source software, this enhanced multi-component suite will of course be available to the general public at no cost. And organizations using WikiSuite for their Information Management Systems will be able to deploy this new monetization and payments functionality.

We are overjoyed to be among the pioneers of these Open Source monetization technologies alongside outstanding established organizations, and very pleased to be granted this opportunity.

https://www.grantfortheweb.org/blog/2020-mid-grantees

Stay tuned for more updates from us!

Filmed on February 26th, 2020

Here is the handbook mentioned in the video:
https://18f.gsa.gov/2019/08/05/budgeting-handbook/

You can join the discussion here: https://twitter.com/waldojaquith/status/1233134423710871553

See also

• Cigref published a report “Open source, an alternative to major IT providers”

Digital signage is a form of electronic display that shows information, advertising and other messages. Digital signs (such as LCD, LED, and plasma displays, and projected images) can be found in public and private environments such as retail stores and corporate buildings. Nowadays digital signage plays a vital role in our industry as it is replacing traditional printed catalogs, menus and product listings in restaurants, shopping centers, and other community places.

Most of the time people use a USB flash drive to feed individual screens, to display the desired media and, whenever they have to update the media, they manually update the contents of the USB flash drive and plug it back in. This can be very inconvenient when managing a large number of displays and especially when you have to manage displays at multiple locations. That’s where XIBO can help manage all of your digital displays with a centralized media management system equipped with scheduling and other features. With XIBO you can keep all your digital displays up to date automatically.

What is XIBO?

Xibo is a powerful open source digital signage platform with a web-based content management system and Windows, Android and webOS signage player applications. Xibo helps you to create your dynamic content for digital signage.

The interface of this powerful software is very simple and user-friendly and based on five core points:

1. User Control
2. Display Management
3. Layouts (Screen Sizes)
4. Media Management
5. Scheduling Media

This image shows how XIBO works:

Xibo Introductory Video

What are the benefits of using XIBO?

1. Open source (FREE)
2. User friendly interface web interface
3. Easy to make media layouts
4. Create and change your content and it displays dynamically
5. Schedule upcoming content
6. Control and design your content from anywhere using a web browser through a CMS

Where to get XIBO?

Download XIBO

In 1799 the kilogram was defined as the mass of a litre of water. In 1889, metal cylinders of the precise identical mass were created as reference objects.

In the hundreds of years since, the physical nature of the metal caused those cylinders no longer to reflect the identical mass as defined. In order to ensure the integrity of a vital unit of measurement, the kilogram was redefined as the same mass but simply expressed in terms of fundamental and invariable physical constants.

Without this single, standard definition of this or other fundamental units, commerce as we know it would not be possible. There is no trust in a world where anyone can invent their own definition for units, items, and concepts on which others rely, and without trust there is no community, no collaboration, and no cultural or technological development.

In exactly the same way, the term "open source software" was coined in 1998 as software that provides a set of precise freedoms and benefits, including but not limited to the freedoms to run, study, redistribute, and improve the software on which you rely . These benefits are codified in the Open Source Definition (OSD), which is based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines. The Open Source Initiative, its members, affiliates, and sponsors, promote and protect this fundamental definition through software license review and approval.

Without this single, standard definition of "open source," software development as we know it would not be possible. There is no trust in a world where anyone can invent their own definition for open source, and without trust there is no community, no collaboration, and no innovation.

Recently there have been efforts to undermine the integrity of open source by claiming there is no need for a single, authoritative definition. These efforts are motivated by the interests of a few rather than the benefit of all, and are at odds with the principles that have so demonstratively served us well in the past decades. If allowed to continue, these efforts will erode the trust of both users and contributors, and hinder the innovation that is enabled by open source software, just as surely as having multiple definitions of a kilogram would erode and undermine commerce.

We, the undersigned, affirm our commitment to the Open Source Definition. We acknowledge its importance to the development of the software on which we rely to operate our businesses and organisations. We pledge to guard and maintain the Open Source Definition and we recognize the Open Source Initiative as the steward of the Open Source Definition.

Open Source Initiative, Board of Directors

American International University West Africa, The Gambia
Apereo Foundation
Association Francophone des Utilisateurs de Logiciels Libres
Associazione LibreItalia
BigBlueButton, Inc.
California Association of Voting Officials
Creative Commons
Debian Project
DemocracyLab
Drupal Association
Eclipse Foundation
Journal of Open Source Software
Kaiyuanshe
KDE e.V.
Linux Australia, Inc.
Linux Professional Institute
LinuxFest Northwest
Mozilla Foundation
New Zealand Open Source Society
Odoo Community Association
Open Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla)
Open Source Sweden
OpenProject GmbH
OW2 Consortium
Plone Foundation
Powering Potential
Puerto Rico Python Interest Group
Python Software Foundation
Rensselaer Center for Open Source
Snowdrift.coop
sysarmy
The Document Foundation
The Perl Foundation
Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware
TYPO3 Association
Xerte Project

Note: This post is originally published by Open Source Initiative

Tiki 19 was recently released by the Tiki Community (Tiki.org). A number of significant feature upgrades insure that Tiki remains future-proof and stays current with rapidly advancing technology. Key discussions were held among Tiki developers during WikiSuite Unconference 1 to hone the details of this release and guide the ongoing progress of the project.

Major upgrades in this version include an update from Bootstrap 3 to 4, which is good news for front end developers who can now take advantage of Bootstrap 4 power, such as SCSS pre-compiling and Flexbox layout, in Tiki templates and pages. Much attention was paid to the front end aspects of the project in this release, with Font Awesome updated from 4 to 5, Reveal.js slideshow integrated along with PDF export, menus enhanced with SmartMenus, and much more. The presentation features have been enhanced to enable building powerful and mobile-friendly displays such as this one.

Key new features include Plugin Diagram for easy building of flowcharts. XMPP chat rooms can now be embedded in a wiki page. Out of the box special-layout landing pages can be quickly created by using Plugin Layout in a wiki page. For a complete list of changes, please see Tiki 19.

Tiki 19.x is a Standard Term Support (STS) version and will be supported until Tiki 20.1 is released.

WikiSuite is a modern enterprise suite with such broad and deep capabilities that it can truly be called a "business operating system" — an enterprise suite that encompasses most of the business processes found in typical diversified companies and organizations. To meet its objectives, every enterprise, large or small, requires a digital platform strategy that addresses its business and IT needs. WikiSuite is composed of specialized technologies designed precisely to meet the digital needs of today's organizations.

Here is an overview of WikiSuite - the business operating system.

Underlying OS

WikiSuite runs on a Linux-based open source operating system especially built for server, network and gateway systems. It can be installed to power your local intranet and/or your presence on the Internet, depending on your connectivity requirements. It provides a secure platform for all of the WikiSuite applications. For details, please visit https://wikisuite.org/OS-and-Network.

Communication

One of the first and most basic requirements of any business is effective communication, through multiple channels and in real time. WikiSuite provides solutions from traditional email to advanced video conferencing. Find out more about WikiSuite Chat and Video Conferencing and Email and Calendar features.

Collaboration

Teams with a superior ability to collaborate and integrate naturally work more smoothly and produce better results. WikiSuite offers features ranging from automated file syncing to real-time collaborative content development for your teams in a secure and controlled environment. With WikiSuite, you can set up user group and category areas to provide appropriate user access to specific segments of the system. Multiple group and object-level user rights enable the management of many people in the system.

Knowledge Sharing

Information created can be shared by setting up public and private web portals. WikiSuite builds websites equipped with modern features such as a CMS (for news and announcements), blogs, forums, e-commerce solutions and more. For an extensive list of the WikiSuite web application features, please visit https://doc.tiki.org/Features.

Business Processes

WikiSuite can help you design and control your business operations management. Optimize your performance with centralized and integrated management features. No matter if it's manufacturing, retail, marketing or research, or other field, WikiSuite offers flexible tools and technologies to manage and improve processes with statistical data and other information. Analyze and make better decisions informed by actual data available in real time. Find out more at http://wikisuite.org/BPM-and-Analytics.

Choosing the right technologies for any organization is a critical decision. All WikiSuite apps are industry-leading open source technologies and are being actively developed by their respective teams and communities. The WikiSuite team itself works directly with other relevant open source projects and brings them together within the WikiSuite platform as the most comprehensive and integrated Free / Libre / Open Source enterprise software suite.

What can this business operating system do for you?

Once configured and deployed for your organization, it will become an invaluable and important asset for your organization. Here are some abilities you have with WikiSuite that make it the best option for any small or medium organization, especially one that is knowledge-centered.

• Take advantage of all the benefits of100% open source software.
• Keep control of your data and manage it securely.
• Optimize and streamline your business.
• Build your business knowledge base.
• Save hardware and software costs to do all that WikiSuite does.
• Take comfort in the availability of paid support and management if needed.

Where we are headed

WikiSuite is working directly with the teams behind the spectacular open source systems integrated with it. Forming a unique set of features and tools to manage data in any organization. Founded in 2011, WikiSuite is the most comprehensive and integrated open source enterprise suite available today for Free. Our mission is to empower organizations better manage, secure and use their information, to become data-driven, and achieve their optimal performance.

Getting started — : How to Install WikiSuite

Do get in touch with us, comment or contact us, and we will be glad to assist you.

The open-source engine behind WikiSuite capabilities to convert HTML pages to PDF is mPDF. mPDF recently released version 7.0.0 which has major changes in the code structure and performance of the HTML to PDF engine. mPDF started in 2008 and is a leading open source technology for PDF generation which has reached over 2 Million Downloads!

We want to congratulate the team behind mPDF for their great work and building an impressive HTML to PDF converter.

Find out detail about mPDF changes in 7.0.0 and get download link at
https://github.com/mpdf/mpdf/releases/tag/v7.0.0

See how mPDF works with Tiki the Web Component of WikiSuite
http://wikisuite.org/blogpost5-Tiki17-makes-collaborative-digital-publishing-a-breeze

Over 2 Million Downloads on Packagist.org!
https://packagist.org/packages/mpdf/mpdf

Tiki is one of the core components of WikiSuite and provides key features to manage private and public information, files, tasks, and other data of an organization. The much talked about Tiki 17.0 was released a few days ago and we would like to introduce you to the key improvements and additions in this stable release.

New libraries and features are added in Tiki 17.0 in addition to the up-gradation of many existing features. Key options introduced are as follows:

1- H5P

As we talked about it earlier, this tool creates and publishes HTML5 interactive contents such as surveys, polls, quizzes, interactive videos and much more. For more information on H5P content visit our previous blog.

2- mPDF

Tiki already had the capability to produce PDF files from Tiki pages. However, with mPDF Tiki is much more powerful and feature-rich in exporting PDF files with a set of advanced features. Now you can export HTML/Wiki pages to e-books, reports, brochures, profile, from your Tiki website. For more information on mPDF capabilities and features visit our detailed blog on PDF generation from Tiki.

3- Browser Automation

Web Scraping with PhantomJS and CasperJS: PhantomJS is a headless WebKit with JavaScript API, and therefore, it is an optimal solution for fast headless testing, site scraping, pages capture, SVG renderer, network monitoring and many other use cases. CasperJS is a navigation scripting & testing utility for PhantomJS among others.

Other enhancements include: New HTTP headers were added for enhanced security, password blacklist to stop users from using common (easy) passwords, improved search, trackers and more.

For a complete list of features, you can visit
https://doc.tiki.org/Tiki17

H5P stands for HTML5 content package. It is an open source project launched from Norway and what they have done is to give user ability to build interactive content and then the ability to embed that content into your website. Flash was used to create such interactive contents which H5P can now build with HTML5.

There are many different types of interactive contents which users can create, share and reuse:

More H5P Content Types

H5P is introducing more content types and you can import them as they become available. The possibilities are endless and H5P interface makes it super easy to build interactive contents within minutes. We can create the content on H5P website and embed it in any website. Or we can go a step ahead and integrate H5P code within our website and create H5P interactive contents.

Tiki17 has integrated H5P with built in plugin

First of all, you need to enable the feature in control panel -> file galleries -> enhancements.

Once the feature is enabled you need to activate H5P Plugin. Go to “Editing & Plugins” in the admin control panel of your TIKI to enable the plugin.

Once the plugin is enabled you will find additional option to create H5P content in the “File Galleries”

Click to create an H5P file and you will reach a new page to type in a file title and select content type. Once you select the content type you want to create you will see the options for that content type. For example check a few content type forms below:

Before creating a new H5P project you need to import (upload) some example content types (this will be improved for 17.1+).

Select from Different Content Types

You need to play with different content types and watch tutorials and help at H5P website. H5P interactive contents are a great way to train your team as well as engage website visitors in various activities.

Here are some videos for you to find out more about H5P

Wiki pages are known to be the best way to build information collaboratively in web pages. Tiki17 now introduces powerful PDF output options from any page or page structures to produce PDF documents. Tiki17 users now can easily convert their website pages into high quality PDF documents ready to download. Possible usage includes publishing eBooks, generating reports, and brochures.

Some of the key features of Tiki PDF productions are as follows:

• Custom Cover Image of PDF
• Setup header & footer contents
• Page size and margins
• Custom page settings for any set of pages within a PDF
• Page break to enforce a new page
• Password protect PDF files
• Watermark image or text
• Use multiple pages to produce a PDF
• Overwrite Global PDF settings and use Custom settings

New Tiki PDF capabilities are built on mPDF open source PHP script to convert UTF-8 encoded HTML into PDF files. There are more features in planning phase to make the PDF output even stronger. Over time, we will implement most of mPDF's vast feature set. Already, the mpdfmanual.pdf (8 megs download) is over 600 pages! For more information and feedback visit Tiki.org

Wiki is one of the core technology in WikiSuite. We are using a much more powerful and feature rich Wiki named Tiki. The Wiki technology has proven itself with world famous projects like Wikipedia, WikiSpaces, PBWiki, and many others. Many businesses and organizations now are building their own Wikis to collaboratively build and manage knowledge base for their organizations which helps them improve in many aspects.

Today we want to talk about what aspects of Wiki makes it unique and powerful for collaborating online and building knowledge base.

Open Source

Wiki is an open source project available for anyone to download, install, modify and use for personal, commercial or non-profit use.

Wiki Formatting

Wiki uses its own syntax for formatting contents in a page. Wiki syntax is easy to adapt & learn and replaces HTML tags for page headings, bullets, tables, links and images etc. Unlike HTML tags WIKI syntax is very simple and fast. Many other content management systems are now also adopting Wiki like short codes to format contents in a web page.

For example in HTML if you want to create a heading you will write:

<h1>My Heading</h1>
 
Where as in a Wiki it will be only 
!My Heading

Control

Although it looks a Wiki is open for anyone to make changes but actually it has complete control over who can edit a certain page. Administrators can setup multiple user groups and apply permissions to categories. More also the page administrator can also turn on the option for approvals before any change is made public. You may also block a page for any public edits.

History

It's actually Wiki which introduced versioning of a web page. Every time a wiki page is modified a new version is created. Users can see history and compare versions to see what changes have been made to a page.

Structure

Structures organize multiple Wiki pages into a tree or book that can be easily navigated by users. It helps in organize large contents into chapters like a book.

Compare & Roll Back

Two versions of a page can be compared with changes highlighted and administrators can rollback a page to any previous version.

Page Watch

Users can watch a Wiki page to get email alerts anytime an update is made to the page. This simple tool helps keep all participants and observers of any page to stay updated.

These are some key features of Wiki pages and how managing content in a Wiki is fast and facilitates teams to work together in real time.

Complete TIki Wiki Features List: https://doc.tiki.org/Features

FOSDEM stands for Free & Open Source Software Developers’ European Meeting. It is a free for all open event without any registration where open source software developers meet, share ideas and collaborate. Thousands of software developers gather in Brussels Belgium every year for the event. It is a great event to interact and exchange knowledge with other open source developers and project leaders.

Marc Laporte was representing WikiSuite alongside other project components Tiki, Kultura, Kolab, FreeSWITCH, and Jitsi Meet.

Marc Laporte Founder WikiSuite Interview

Christian Mollekopf of Kolab Interview

Alexander Mette of Tiki.org

FreeSWITCH (Giovanni Maruzzelli) at FOSDEM 2017

Jitsi Meet - Saúl Ibarra Corretgé at FOSDEM 2017

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel. See you next year at FOSDEM 2018!

In today’s fast digital world all businesses and organizations are required to work with multiple data sources to perform various functions. Multiple software are used to manage emails, websites, internal data, customers, sales and other processes. Choosing the right technologies, software and their combination is very important to increase organizational efficiency and productivity.

WikiSuite is a perfect example of Free open source software grouped together to form an Enterprise Suite to build & manage organizational data and increase performance. WikiSuite provides almost 80% of all the standard applications any organization needs.

Integration

Working with different isolated softwares can be a hurdle in performance of your organization. WikiSuite integrates these software applications in one Enterprise Suite and increases efficiency, control and security of your data. It reduces your workload to manage users on different applications and once integrated you can use them all with the same user account. More also these applications are able to share information with each other to reduce redundant data in the system.

Collaboration

Organizations have multiple users connected at various levels working at different applications. WikiSuite provides shared communication channels between different resource groups to communicate from any device and platform. It simply can boost any organization’s performance by providing communication and sharing apps such as video conferencing, text messenger, screen sharing, and drawing board within an Enterprise Suite.

Control

A well integrated Enterprise Suite provides administrators and managers better control and security of their data & resources. A distributed network of softwares and resources increase vulnerability for data losses, security holes and slow performance. WikiSuite provides complete control over all the data, its encryption and sharing.

Independence

WikiSuite is built from the ground up and is fully independent to function without the need of any additional softwares. Starting from the operating system to software applications and integration, everything is available within WikiSuite.

Being open source and having support of community behind every software application, WikiSuite do not lock down any organization. Organizations using WikiSuite can have complete control over their data without compromising/sharing it with any third party organizations. With a community behind software applications you get ongoing upgrades and new features.