I created the first wiki as an online commons and have seen its strengths and weaknesses first hand. I suggested a more refined ownership model with a position paper titled Folk Memory. Its realization, this wiki, federated wiki, has turned out to be aligned with that vision but different in many ways, often due to the implementation realities of the modern web.
Here we explore with metaphor where we have landed. We could call a wiki a notebook. That is one metaphor. We choose instead the more overtly collaborative metaphor of a wiki as a home.
Aside: Another apt metaphor is leaving notes for each other in a hole in a tree. We don't explore this aspect of wiki here.
This is one of several introductory works describing wiki for various audiences. Others might be a better starting point for first-time users or curious-bystanders.
We remain excited about this platform and have become increasingly confident that it embodies important new ideas. We will explain.
We show you what we find interesting in the federation and suggest how you can make yourself at home here.