Holiday Gift Guide

Holiday Gift Guide (part 2) – Wikipedia and MediaWiki Books

Continuing our three-day stroll down the Wiki related book aisle, today we look at books specifically about the popular Wikipedia website as well as the MediaWiki software that powers not only Wikipedia, but many wikis.

As you probably know, Wikipedia is hands down the most popular Wiki on the internet and it’s not unusual that there are so many titles devoted specifically to it, however as the website is based on a lot of core Wiki values, many of the historical and philosophical lessons found in these books apply to other wikis as well.

Likewise, MediaWiki is the engine of choice for many wikis (AboutUs uses a highly customized version as well), so while these books apply directly to MediaWiki installations, there are some cross-wiki concepts in regards to similar syntax, linking styles and organizational structures.

Top Picks

• How Wikipedia Works: And How You Can Be a Part of it by Phoebe Ayers, Charles Matthews and Ben Yates (No Starch Press 2008, 537 pages, $29.95) – One of the newest players on the Wiki book scene, How Wikipedia Works offers insights, anecdotes, tips and tricks from Wikipedia veterans on how to use the website to find and evaluate information, contribute to and create new articles, communicate with other Wikipedians, understand Wikipedia’s policies and procedures, and deal with vandals and other malicious editors.

• MediaWiki Skins Design by Richard Carter (Packt Publishing 2008, 250 pages, $39.99) – We’ve got to admit to a bit of pride here. A couple of us on staff were wanting to get this book as a resource and were surprised when it arrived that we were mentioned in it (pages 15-16)! MediaWiki Skins Design is a informational resource for graphic designers, developers and wiki administrators to customize the look and feel of MediaWiki installations to completely alter the appearance of the common wiki platform.

Other Wikipedia/MediaWiki Titles

• MediaWiki (Wikipedia and Beyond) by Daniel J. Barrett (O’Reily Media 2008, 374 pages, $39.99) – One-stop guide to MediaWiki with a tutorial and quick reference on how to utilize MediaWiki to it’s full potential.

• MediaWiki Administrators’ Tutorial Guide: Install, Manage, and Customize your MediaWiki Installation by Mizanur Rahman (Packt Publishing 2007, 240 pages, $39.99) – Information on installing and structuring a wiki using the MediaWiki platform. Includes advanced formatting, using images and multimedia, security and managing users.

• Wikipedia: The Missing Manual by John Broughton (O’Reily Media 2008, 477 pages, $29.99) – Information on how to contribute to Wikipedia with practical advice on creating articles and collaborating with other writers, editors and volunteers. Includes information on how to join the community of Wikipedia volunteers to help review, clean up and maintain the site.

• Wikipedia Readers Guide: The Missing Manual by John Broughton (O’Reily Media 2008, 56 pages, $9.99) – Companion to Wikipedia: The Missing Manual by the same author, this book focuses not on editing Wikipedia, but on how to navigate the vast website to find the information you need. Also includes information on how to alert Wikipedia editors to flaws in articles and how to contribute without getting sucked into disputes.