A reflection on federated wiki with an architectural metaphor. The Library, The Pub, The Café are places that invite us to linger and pause and reflect; some quieter than others; different sorts of conversations. The Mall invites us to spend money. The Office demands; a ticking clock, tapping its foot impatiently. Federated wiki is more like a library than a pub.
Federated wiki is more like a library than a pub. It's quiet with people pursuing their own research, occasionally comparing notes. Your Attention is Yours.
What does a library have that a book doesn't? The simplest answer is stacks. A more expansive answer is also a reference section, librarians, scholars, patrons, and workspace. One book can describe itself in the table of contents and index, and in footnotes. The bibliography gives us a clue that the author had access to a library and offers the reader suggestions about what else to read according to the reader's interest.
Ward's recommendations about how to write in wiki are a lot like scholar's use of a library and bibliography. See Writing with Strangers and Search Optimized
But wiki differs from a library or from scholarship in that we invite the publishing of unfinished work. So the lineup is a workspace that lets you spread out and consult many books at once while developing your own research.
Could also be a library with a café next door. Chat rooms and video calls are where we get together over coffee or tea.