On 5/22/2010 4:25 AM, adam overton wrote:
hi there
i've never used wordpress before, but am hearing about it constantly,
and was wondering if anyone on this list uses both pmwiki and wordpress
and could explain some of the differences. i know wordpress isn't a
wiki, but it appears to have a level of customization that makes it very
attractive. i'm interested to know what the advantages & disadvantages
of each might be in terms of developing flexible sites for folks, and if
there are those out there who use wordpress for certain situations, and
pmwiki for others.
any suggestions? how are they different?
Easiest way is probably to try it. You can setup a free account on
wordpress.org
Fundamentally Wordpress is *primarily* a blogging platform, but can be
stretched into other areas. PmWiki *can* be used as a blogging platform,
but that is not the primary focus; it's designed to be a flexible
web-platform that can accommodate a huge range of web-site styles.
Personally I view this in two ways: in terms of the use to which the
site will be applied (the website style); and in terms of the
skills/experience of the primary user (not the reader).
*Web Site Styles*: WP is very good for your average person to get their
thoughts onto the web. It's great for being able to blog. PmWiki simply
does not have this built-in -- it can be added, but even then it's not
quite as robust.
But PmWiki excels in other areas, where it's more akin to the
capabilities of Drupal or Joomla. Again, PmWiki *can* do blogging, but
it's not the primary focus; it's designed to be a flexible web-platform
that can accommodate a huge range of web-site styles, with aprimary
focus on open and collaborative editing. Wordpress is *primarily* a
blogging platform, but can be stretched into other areas if needed, but
does not have a robust wiki editing mechanism.
*User*: There are very large conceptual hurdles to over-come with
PmWiki. I'll give some examples, but this is the primary reason I don't
recommend PmWiki in all cases, and tend to guide certain groups of
usually not-so-computer-literate people to Wordpress.
] PmWiki markup is simply too obscure for non-computer users -- seeing
the markup in the editor is not what people expect today. They expect to
be able to edit largely what will be displayed. Worpress isn't wysisyg,
but it's close enough.
] Managing attachments is considerably easier in WP; *but* it's not
perfect, and it's the area I usually end up having to explain a few
times. PmWik is simply too obscure.
] Look and feel for site-administrators in WP is way better than even
the best skins on PmWiki. This sounds like a poor reason, but for a
large portion of non-computer literate users, this tends to be a
significant factor.
~ ~ Dave
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