Wiki Patterns

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====== Registration Required ======

This pattern refers to the common practice of requiring users to register to edit wiki pages, yet not tying the registration to any meaningful authenticator---just to a password. The result is a wiki that is vulnerable to vandalism and wiki spam, is vulnerable to identity spoofing and other things, yet requires users to create a password-protected identity for their first edit and to log on for subsequent edits.

===== How do I notice it? =====

  * You have trouble with wiki spammers, in spite of registration.
  * You have someone registering slight variants of some trusted user's account for edits ("Barton C Massey" vs "Bart Massey").
  * You don't get many drive-by contributions.

===== How do I fix it? =====

One way is to adopt an Open-Edit policy, allowing anybody to edit the wiki without registering, and employing alternative effective measures to combat spam.

Another is to use a [[Clean Permissions]] scheme, such as [[Permission Granted]] or [[Community Write]]

Another is to provide an incentive for registering, such as a personal profile space, which gives a person space on the wiki to tell about her/himself, and allows them more flexibility in using the wiki than just contributing to the community space.

===== Related Patterns =====

  * [[Clean Permissions]]
  * [[Permission Granted]]
  * [[Community Write]]

===== Further Reading =====