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This is an old revision of WikiRoles made by JavaWoman on 2004-09-27 04:38:16.

 

Wiki Roles


Some thoughts on roles of the people associated with a Wiki


I've tried to make this as general as possible, not dependent on any particular Wiki system or implementation.

The concept of a role


Roles are not persons: a single person can have multiple roles, and a single role can be played by different persons: a role defines the relationship of a person with a Wiki.

Associated with roles are powers and responsibilities: things a (user with that) role can or cannot do, and things a role should or should not do. Roles are like hats people wear; when working with a Wiki you may be wearing different hats, but at every moment you're likely to wear only a single one. I find it helps to be aware of what hat you're wearing while doing things "with" or "to" a Wiki, and to wear only a single hat at a time.

Definition of WikiRoles


  1. Before everything else, there's someone who "owns" the place:
    In general this role decides to set up a Wiki, and provides hosting (or somehow pays for it). Without an owner, there is no Wiki - someone has to start it all.
    In WikiLingo we call this role the WikiOwner.
  1. First, there's the equivalent of a webmaster or system operator:
    This role applies to someone who can do the system-level stuff and takes care of installation and creation of program files and installation and configuration of the database (if any).
    In other words: this role enables the existence of the Wiki (on behalf of the WikiOwner), and is responsible for making sure it runs, and runs smoothly. Conversely, this role can also take a Wiki down (again on behalf of the WikiOwner).
    In WikiLingo we call this role the WikiMaster.
  1. Then there is the role of administrator:
    This role applies to someone who has the powers to keep things neat and tidy and can assign permissions to (other) users of the Wiki. An administrator generally has special tools to be able to do things like changing configuration and do user management without having to depend on a WikiMaster for direct access to files and database on the server.
    In WikiLingo we call this role the WikiAdmin.
  1. Finally, we have users:
    Without users that are not also WikiOwner, WikiMaster or WikiAdmin, we have a personal blogging system, or maybe a CMS (content management system). While WikiMasters and WikiAdmins are special kinds of users, it's the other users that determine the "wikiness" of a system. The user role in a Wiki is not only a reader or site visitor: a user determines its content. Generally, any user can edit any page but there may be exceptions determined by the WikiMaster or WikiAdmins, for instance by requiring people to create an account to gain edit rights; and by protecting certain pages so they can be edited only by specific roles or users.
    In WikiLingo we call this role the WikiUser.
    When users need an account to create and edit content (configured by a WikiAdmin) they must choose a WikiName for themselves by which name they'll be known; in this case we must define yet another role:
  1. Maybe (or hopefully), we also have "mere" visitors:
    The role with the least rights is for the one who merely visits: someone who browses the Wiki content (usually without leaving a trace, or maybe leaving anonymous comments) but cannot create or edit content (or does not). Depending on system configuration by the WikiAdmin, a visitor may, or may not, add comments to pages.
    In WikiLingo we call this role the WikiVisitor.

Summary


So we have the following roles, in order of decreasing powers:
  1. WikiOwner
  1. WikiMaster
  1. WikiAdmin
  1. WikiUser (who may choose a WikiName)
  1. WikiVisitor


categories
CategoryWiki
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