With over 100 active groups and 5,000 users, NTEN's Affinity Groups platform is an incredible resource for those in the nonprofit tech community. There are a variety of discussions constantly taking place, ranging from the very basic and elementary aspects of technology in the nonprofit sector to the more sophisticated and technical.

A lively discussion recently occurred in the general NTEN Discuss Affinity Group about selecting wiki software. Some recommendations:

• MediaWiki, the free and open-source software originally written for Wikipedia
• PBwiki, the popular free, hosted wiki solution with an optional WYSIWYG editor
• Confluence, the paid enterprise wiki created by Atlassian
• PmWiki, another free and open-source wiki software
• Wikispaces, a PBwiki-like hosted free wiki solution
• Wikipedia also has a lengthy list of more wiki software

In addition to specific software, there were some general tips and considerations discussed:

• Wikis are good for creating a knowledge base or encyclopedia
• Wordpress or some other CMS might be better suited for a collaborative website project, or Google Apps or Zoho for simple collaboration
• Since wikis are so "free form," a "gardener" or someone dedicated to guiding users and cleaning up may be necessary
• A facilitator may also be useful
• Sandboxes can be used for people to introduce themselves and get used to the wiki
• Wikipatterns has some useful practices as well as some to avoid
• An interesting examination of the "ten best wiki communities"
• More general tips and a case study of wiki adoption

Join the Affinity Groups for free today in order to view more useful and interesting discussions.