Overview
The AAS uses CMS Groupware called Tiki Wiki. This CMS has many features that have been combined to make a free and open source collaboration tool. The primary feature that the AAS uses in Tiki Wiki is the wiki. However, we can use it for forums, blogs, articles, image galleries, a directory, and much more. It was originally set up to be used by the Executive Office staff to help document internal processes and procedures. It has been slowly expanding and is now used by the AAS Council, some divisions of the AAS, and a few AAS committees and working groups.
What is a wiki?
Wikipedia Wiki entry
A wiki is just a quick and easy way to allow almost anyone to view, edit, and create content online. This makes it very easy for people in many different locations to create and edit content at the same time. No more passing Microsoft Word documents back and forth by email or uploading files to an FTP site and keeping track of who changed what.
Getting Started
Login Into Tiki Wiki
To use the Tiki site each person must have a Tiki account setup. This account is not tied to your AAS Member ID, sorry. Each account will be added to various groups that you work with. For example, if you are part of CAPP and the Pubs Board you will be added to each of those groups so that you can view and edit those pages. Once added to your groups you can view and edit that content.
View Tiki Page
Viewing a page is just like viewing any normal webpage. Just follow the links. Once on a page you may have a few extra options depending on your security levels. Some of those other options include attachments, comments, page history, etc. If you see an access denied message that probably means that you are currently not part of the group allowed to view or edit that page.
Edit Tiki Wiki Page
Depending on the page and your permission level for that page you may be able to edit the page. Editing most of the content should be fairly straight forward. However, you will want to review the Tiki Wiki syntax before making major changes.
Feel free to play around in the AAS Sandbox before changing live pages that others are using.
Create New Tiki Wiki Page
Depending on the page and your permission level for that page you may be able to create or start new pages. Before you get into creating new pages you should email Scott Idem or the admin of your Tiki group.
A Little More Than Basic Information
Naming Conventions
Every single page has to have its own unique page name, if two pages happen to have the same name, for example "My Ideas", whichever was created first will take precedence. Therefore the second "My Ideas" page would be linked to the first "My Ideas" page. The name should be as specific as possible without being too long. Use your best judgement. Instead of My Ideas using something like "Scott Idem's Ideas" instead. Please also keep in mind that anytime you repeat an existing page name in any of the other pages it will become a link, making linking relevant pages just that much simpler.
Search for Content
Another benefit of having a unique page name is that when you conduct a search through the search engine of the Tiki page, all pages with the keyword(s) you entered would be populated accordingly, making finding files easier and more user friendly.
Content Management
Tiki is very flexible in terms of making a spreadsheet within a page (similar to Microsoft Excel), or creating a page with attachments (PDF files, Word documents, etc), or even administering polls.
Security Levels
There are many security levels and groups in Tiki. It is possible to make a page that is viewable and editable by anyone without even being logged in or on the other extreme, you can restrict a page to being viewable and editable by only one person.