Re: Articles or Wiki Pages
> Hi
>
> I am new to tiki and have been helped such a lot from users of thsi forums. I have received some good information on the difference between articles and wiki pages and which one to use. I am still battling with it though. So far, Ricks has kindly told me about the url differences etc. I was thinking that I would use articles for non collaborative works - so when people wanted to submit articles that they wanted reproduced "as is" and then use wiki pages for more collaborative topics.
>
> Does anyone use the different types together on one site like this? If so can you have a menu of categories that include both types? If you have a subject that has some articles written about it by different people plus a generic collaborative "work" then is there a way that clicking a link to the subject word - such as "the Alsation" could bring up all such items in a list like last articles?
Well, Categories are the main tool Tiki has for grouping things like that. If the page-bottom category block is enabled, all items in a category will be listed there. Wiki pages also get the category "breadcrumbs" list at the page top, if enabled.
The Browse Categories page shows the entire hierarchy of categories and their items, and can function as a kind of site map.
> My problem is that I really like the submission process for articles - the form is intuitive and makes it easy for my users to add content. I like the concept of wiki pages and working together though and I like the generated urls.
>
> Are there any other benefits to using Wiki pages?
Wiki pages, apart from being collaborative, also retain their histories, so it's easy to see earlier versions. This may or may not be especially useful at a site. Wiki pages can also be members of a structure, which is particularly useful for a series of pages such as a tutorial where there is a set sequence, since they get navigation links at the page tops (previous, next, home, etc.).
Articles have a set format, with the title, subtitle, topic image, intro text, body text, and so on (also with the strong chronological aspect of their listing). I think this gives readers the idea of "news article" (since this is what the format was intended for), like slashdot.org or news.google.com, and may not be appropriate for more free-form pages where all kinds of page formats might be used, and the aspect of publishing time isn't so important.
Among other things, I think wiki pages are best for information that isn't especially time-sensitive (like feature stories in newspapers); articles are best when publishing date is significant (news stories). In a given category, articles are good for recent events, etc., wiki pages are good for background information, reference information, tutorials, guides, things like that. That's my take, anyway, but I'm sure there are all kinds of ways to approach this.
-- Gary
;){kind=link}
;){kind=link}