This is a comprehensive guide to understanding wiki posts in Discourse, including creation, recognition, configuration, and best practices for usage.
Required user level: Trust Level 3 (default) or Moderator/Admin
Wiki posts in Discourse are special types of posts that can be edited by multiple users, enabling collaborative content creation. This guide will cover what wiki posts are, how to create and manage them, and their unique features and configurations.
This very post is a wiki post!
Summary
This documentation will explain:
- What a wiki post is
- How to create and remove a wiki post
- How to recognize a wiki post
- Configuration options for wiki posts
- Common issues and their solutions
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Additional resources for further reading
What is a wiki post?
A wiki post is a special type of post in Discourse that can be edited by any user with the required permissions. This promotes collaboration as multiple users can contribute to the content of the post.
Creating or removing a wiki post
To turn a regular post into a wiki post, you need to be either a Trust Level 3 (default), a moderator, or an admin. Any post within a topic can be converted into a wiki. It’s common to make the first post a wiki, but it isn’t a requirement.
How to create a wiki post:
- Select the wrench icon:
- Click the Make Wiki button:
How to remove a wiki post:
If a post is already a wiki, the Remove Wiki button will appear instead of the Make Wiki button.
Recognizing a wiki post
Wiki posts have a unique icon and different buttons, making them identifiable from regular posts.
For users who cannot edit wiki posts (default Trust Level 0):
- They will see a green pencil icon at the top right of wiki posts:
For users who can edit wiki posts:
-
The Reply button is de-emphasized to highlight the Edit button:
Clicking the pencil icon shows revisions if the post has been modified, displaying the number of changes:
Viewing the revisions history provides insights into the changes made:
Users with permission to create wiki posts will see the Edit Wiki button:
The Wiki Editor badge is granted to users the first time they edit any wiki post.
For admins and moderators:
- They have additional options to revert changes or hide revisions from non-staff users:
Configuration for wiki posts
Admins and moderators (collectively “staff”) have several options to configure wikis:
- Admins can change the trust level required to create wikis using the site setting
min trust to allow self wiki. - Admins can install the DiscoTOC theme component for an automatic table of contents.
- Staff can configure a category to make the first post in all new topics a wiki by default (note that this setting is not retroactive).
- Staff can lock/unlock edits to a wiki post using the wrench icon.
- Staff can style wiki posts via CSS (see this guide on changing the style of a wiki post).
Best practices
- Regularly monitor and review content to ensure accuracy and relevancy.
- Encourage collaborative editing for up-to-date information.
- Use categories effectively to manage and organize wiki posts.
Common issues and solutions
Simultaneous editing
Simultaneous editing is not supported in wiki posts. If two users edit at the same time, the latest save will overwrite the previous save. For details, see editing wiki posts simultaneously.
Unsupported features
Footnotes are not supported in wiki posts.
FAQs
How can I change the trust level required to create a wiki post?
Admins can modify the min trust to allow self wiki setting to adjust the required trust level.
Can I make existing posts a wiki by default?
No, the setting to make new topics wikis by default applies only to new topics. Existing posts must be converted manually.
Can I lock a wiki post?
Yes, staff can lock a wiki post through the wrench icon and selecting “Lock Post”.
Additional resources
- Create a Wiki Post
- Change the style of a Wiki post
- Editing wiki posts at same time as someone else sometimes loses revisions
Last edited by @hugh 2024-06-18T03:33:41Z
Last checked by @hugh 2024-06-18T03:33:48Z
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