Can you set up your own wiki?

[KatyMac]

Can you buy a space & put your own stuff in it?

Is it safe (confidential)?

Is it hard?

Is it expensive?

TIA

About.com [[http://personalweb.about.com/od/wikihostingandsoftware/Wiki_Sites_Wikia_Wikicities_etc.htm
links to a number]] of possible services

WikiSpaces www.wikispaces.com/site/pricing

Wiki-Site.com

WetPaint - notes on setup are here

For someone with webspace / domain already, they could build a wiki section/ site using PHP Wiki (though worth searching SourceForge in case there are lots of other chunks of course code available).

NB There are often many sites with source code for specific projects / tasks but SourceForge seems to have a stronger following, and therefore, maintenance of source code, from what I've seen.

Ok, I'm kind of stuck with some of the language you are using

Could you make it a bit more basic please (for those of us with less techy ability)

I've used WikiSpaces and it's really pretty easy to use yet also quite powerful.

I was able to use the free version of the web site and for me it was fine. One thing I don't think the pricing page makes clear is that you can lock your free Wiki down so that only people you trust/know can edit it. However anyone will be able to read it.

OK read only could work - I'll think about it

It's a big concept

Well you could pay for the 5$ a month option and then you'll get private Wikis.

However there might be cheaper, or better options, out there once you start spending money on it.

For "free" I was very happy with WikiSpaces.

Sorry - didn't mean to be too geeky - I have not personally set up my own Wiki. The links were to a few sites which I found searching for 'ready to use' 'create your own' services.

The final bit (because I don't know if you wanted to add to existing website) was a bit about how one might add on a Wiki facility without spending anything but one's time (source code is free, but clearly needs some technical know-how).

Another thought - have just been responding to someone asking about setting up a forum - I mentioned web hosting can be had quite cheaply (tenner a year or even less) via Ebay and that Fantastico (de Luxe) is an add-one for cPanel web hosting which allows easy installation of lots of different types of add-on package, whether it be photo gallery, forum, or (have just checked) Wiki !!

So with cheap hosting and a few clicks it should be possible to get your own phpWiki area set up in a couple of days from start to finish. Good luck!

OK - I obviously need to think about this more - why I am doing it & what it is for

Thanks for your help guys

Give WikiSpaces a quick go, it really is quite easy. It'll let you have a play around with what a Wiki could do for you. You can then decide if it's something that you do want and, perhaps more importantly, if it's something you want to spend time and money on or if the free one is good enough.

Katy, I agree with BP, WikiSpaces or some other hosted solution (where you don't have to get involved with the Wiki software at all) is probably best for you.

For anyone reading this and seeing the link to PHPWiki, I strongly recommend that you look first at MediaWiki which is the software that WikiPedia uses and DokuWiki which is my personal favourite.

That's really great info - but you know when you say "I know let's......" the only later think about how, why, who for, for what purpose. Well I'm there atm it's a great idea but it needs thought

"it's a great idea but it needs thought"

As said that's the huge plus of something like WikiSpaces, in minutes you can have a Wiki up and running for you to play with and try out your ideas and all for no cost what-so-ever.